Wednesday 15 April 2009

Chanel No 5


al Sabah Gallery show on Icon meets Icons, East meets West, in Kuwait until the 26th of April 09.
The product is a small size perfume bottle transformed into an art object.
The exercise can look futile until you wonder who is behind each bottle.
It then opens up (thanks to the web window to the world) to a series of designers who might be far away from Ms Chanel, but has accomplished notable works in their fields and their search.

Check out a few names:

Based upon: (takes the time to question the root of a creative idea and goes beyond pretending by giving tribute to where all it came from) http://www.basedupon.co.uk/
Arik Levy: http://www.ariklevy.fr/
Martin Baas: (the plastic chair in wood is by far the best use of that popular design that pollutes the world) http://www.maartenbaas.com/
Tom Dixon: http://www.tomdixon.net/
Pieke Bergmans: (uses crystal melted on objects, foam melted on things, design virus...) http://www.piekebergmans.com/
Pepe Heykoop: (His graduation lamp, an interactive unusual object is named "lightness of being") http://www.pepeheykoop.nl/index.html

The list is not exhaustive.. if you ever go to the gallery, pick another name and fly on the design web...

3 comments:

Waleed Shaalan said...

I see a flirtatious dance between art and consumption. There is a subtle elevation of the Channel bottle making a consumer object into 'art' increasing the lust for consumption of the bottle and of the art. Art is valued on the intensity of the desire to own making art similar to pagan objects where the object is more important than what it is behind it or what it represents. I do not have to pay 250 million dollars to enjoy and apreciate the stupidity of Damien Hurst diamond encrusted scull for example. I enjoyed the second floor I love Souk more. It was clear and honest about what it was.

Anonymous said...

When talking about the designers, did you say that it felt like tigers chasing a mouse?

Bill Tanaka said...

Consumption of icon perfume bottle, consumption of design,
trying to trigger a happening on the art scene.