Recent Acquisitions for the 2021 Collab Journal<br/>

Fall 2020

Petit Pli – Clothes That Grow

Designed for continuous size adjustment (rather than simply requiring users to buy larger replacements), Petit Pli’s clothing for children focuses on versatile waterproof outerwear pleated in such a way that it can grow bidirectionally in tandem with the child, snugly fitting a range of sizes from four months to three years of age. The clothes are ultra-lightweight, making them suitable as a layer over summer or winter attire, and are engineered within the pleat formations to be resistant to tears. They are machine washable, require no ironing, and fold up to fit in a pocket. The line was created by London-based Ryan Mario Yasin, who originally trained as an aeronautical engineer, and received the international James Dyson Award the year it debuted.

References

Children Are Extreme Athletes, Petit Pli: Clothes That Grow home page, petitpli.com

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

“View-Master” (Model G)

At its debut at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, the View-Master was sold as specialist equipment accompanied by stereoscopic pairs of small Kodachrome color photographs on film, termed “View-Master reels.” Manufactured and retailed by Sawyer's (a company specializing in slide projectors, slides, and scenic postcards), the design was an invention of Harold Graves, a postcard maker, and William Gruber, an organ maker and keen photographer for Sawyer's Photo Services in the U.S. Charles “Chuck” Harrison first redesigned the View-Master for Sawyers in 1958 while working at the Chicago firm of Robert Podall Associates. Harrison initially introduced the Model F which greatly refined the previously bulky internal battery. However, his Model G, produced from 1959 onwards, moved from Bakelite to injection molded plastic which allowed for a range of colors and designs that revolutionized its market appeal and made it a mass consumer entertainment device. Harrison was one of the first African-American industrial designers of his era and later became the first to lead the design department at a major corporation, Sears, Roebuck and Company.

References

Charles Harrison. A Life’s Design: The Life and Work of Industrial Designer Charles Harrison, 2005.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/obituaries/charles-harrison-dead.html

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/12/10/charles-harrison-designer-obituary/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/intelligent-designer-99915628/

Gift of Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger, 2020

"Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies: Alberta, Canada" Reel for "View-Master". 1948. 2020-22-8

"Yellowstone National Park: Grand Canyon Area, Wyoming, U.S.A." Reel for "View-Master". 1948. 2020-22-3
"Flowers of Hawaii I" Reel for "View-Master". 1951. 2020-22-2
"Rare Bird Farm: Miami, Florida U.S.A." Reel for "View-Master". 1955. 2020-22-4
"Silver Springs I: Florida U.S.A." Reel for "View-Master". 1955. 2020-22-6
"Egypt: Faraway Lands" Reel for "View-Master". Mid- 20th century. 2020-22-7
"Silver Springs and Florida Flowers U.S.A." Reel for "View-Master". Mid- 20th century. Made by Sawyer’s Inc., Portland, Oregon, founded 1914. Paper, plastic. Reel (diameter): 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm). Sleeve: 3 11/16 × 3 11/16 inches (9.4 × 9.4 cm). 2020-22-5
"The Wizard of Oz: The Emerald City" Reel for "View-Master". 1957. 2020-22-9
"Historic Washington, D.C.: Scenic Picture Tour" Reel for "View-Master". Mid- 20th century. Made by GAF (General Aniline & Film), Parsippany, New Jersey, founded 1886. Paper, plastic. Reel (diameter): 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm). Sleeve: 3 11/16 × 3 11/16 inches (9.4 × 9.4 cm). 2020-22-10

Gift of Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger, 2020

”Serif” TV 2.0

With a minimalist box-like frame, flat screen and thin V-shaped supports, the Serif TV was the first electronics design created by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Launched in 2015, the model was enlarged and updated with wider screen options and an ambient mode in this 2.0 version of 2019. The television exemplifies the Bouroullecs’ thoughtful, drawing-based approach to design in its elegant physical reference to typography (from the side it forms the capitalized letter “I”) and emphasis on the aesthetic form and materiality of the object. In fact, the Serif TV is as much an object of design as it is a functional piece of equipment, carrying its own significance and beauty within an interior. Serif is included in “Circus,” an exhibition of the work of the Bouroullecs held at the Museum in 2021- 2022 and supported by Collab, the Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

References

Bouroullec, Ronan, and Erwan Bouroullec. "Serif TV 2.0." Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, bouroullec.com/?p=348.

Gift of Samsung GEC, 2020

Year End Gifts 2020

Red White Vase

This handsome Jongerius vase was given to the donor by Collab, The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in honor of her forty years of service to the organization; she, in turn, is presenting the vase to the Museum in honor of Collab. Like other designers of her generation, Hella Jongerius explores the boundaries between craft and industry. Working with the Royal Tichelaar Makkum ceramics firm, Jongerius insisted on leaving every firing flaw in place, including the seams that are imprinted in the porcelain vase by its mold. Her use of Toyota red industrial spray paint was inspired by the fact that the traditional recipe for red ceramic glaze was declared unsafe in 1997 because of its toxic cadmium content.

Gift of Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger in honor of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2020

Spring 2021

Perspire

Perspire is a conceptual work created by young apparel and footwear designer Alice Potts, who experiments with novel, sustainable materials including bodily fluids and natural vegetable and plant dyes. Pott’s experiments began at the Royal College of Art in London, where she was a student from 2016 to 2018, and where she collaborated with medical scientists at the nearby Imperial College London to develop her confidential technique for rapidly growing sweat crystals.

In this example, the sweat from a dancer’s exertions has manifested in beguiling crystals on the surface of a pair of toe shoes pigmented with dye made from red cabbage. Part of a larger series titled Perspire, the pair posits alternative futures in which the accessories we sport are highly personalized, not only through formal and conceptual choices but also through the biosignature of the base materials with which they are constructed.

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021

Sneaker Collage

Helen Kirkum, a London-based footwear designer, makes sneakers that call attention to big-picture issues like recycling, resource use, and obsolescence, as well as personal considerations of aesthetics, construction, and craft. She visits recycling centers across London and hunts for orphan shoes that she knows can’t be reused by secondhand wearers because they lack a mate. Back in the studio, these materials form the basis of her design process. Kirkum first cleans the shoes just enough so that they don’t lose character, then slices them up for their component parts (taking care to retain the stitch lines), and carefully lays out the parts in sequence. She then puzzles together elements from multiple solo shoes to form a new pair that explores unexpected juxtapositions of texture, material, and color. Her fellow RCA alum Jacob Patterson occasionally lends his knitwear skills to help join the pieces together.

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2021

"Scott's Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery, Philadelphia Water Works"

"Scott's Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery, Philadelphia Water Works". Paul Scott (British, born 1953). Plate likely made by Henshall & Williamson of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, England, ca. 1802 – ca. 1828. 2019. In-glaze decal collage on altered transferware (c. 1820), gold leaf. 1 × 10 inches (2.5 × 25.4 cm). 41-2021-1

In their heyday in the 19th century, English transfer printed wares (produced when a monochrome print on paper is transferred by pressing onto a ceramic piece) were enormously popular. The United States was a major market for these wares, adapted with printed imagery showing American scenes and landmarks. British potter Paul Scott has developed a technique to rework transfer printed wares from the 1800s with new imagery, thus layering historic meaning with contemporary symbolism. In this case, Scott has reworked a Staffordshire plate showing the Fairmount Waterworks juxtaposed with a scene of (sadly familiar!) contemporary traffic congestion on I-76. In this case, the meaning of a plate that celebrated a remarkable American landscape and engineering feat of the 19th century shifts into our own time, becoming perhaps a meditation on our relationship to the environment and the landscape, and concerns about pollution.

“Sinmi” Stool

Norman Teague is a Chicago-based designer and educator who describes his practice as using design as an agent for change and mechanism to empower BIPOC communities.

Designed for perching as well as sitting, Teague’s handsome “Sinmi” stool references the designer’s self-identification as African-American and his African roots: its title Sinmi means “to relax” in Yoruba; its unusual form evokes components of African stools as does its wood material, although made of modern industrially processed wood - bent plywood and birch laminations - instead of being hand-carved. The stool design stemmed from Teague’s interest in informal seating, particularly in the relaxed positions people assume in comfortable settings, such as leaning on the back of a chair or car or straddling the edge of a sofa.

Purchased with funds contributed by Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the PMA, 2021

“Itafile III”

Inspired by his African heritage and forms from the natural world, Madoda Fani’s striking ceramic work aims to bridge the traditional and the contemporary. He hopes that his ceramics will remind people of the importance of preserving their heritage and culture, while living in the present. Fani uses traditional Zulu techniques to make his wares, including hand-coiling, burnishing, and smoke-firing, which he learned from descendants of legendary Zulu craftsmen like Nesta Nala. He typically works on a large-scale, building organic-shaped vessels and ceramic furniture, which, by combining old and new techniques, are entirely unique. This stool, one of a trio, reflects Fani’s distinctive approach. The smooth surface of its robust mushroom shape is punctuated by carefully carved intricate patterns. The repetitive rhythm of the detailing calls to mind the drama of overlapping fish scales or insect exoskeletons. Fani has won numerous awards in national competitions in South Africa and his work has been exhibited internationally in Paris, New York, and Miami.

References

Debbie Loots, “Artists We Love: Madoda Fani,” Lifestyle, February 4, 2016, https://visi.co.za/artists-we-love-madoda-fani/

Karen Tennet, “Body of Work: Madoda Fani,”House and Leisure, June 19, 2018, https://www.houseandleisure.co.za/content/body-work-madoda-fani

Purchased with funds contributed by Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the PMA, 2021

“Magodi – Amanda”

Zizipho Poswa’s ceramics reflect her personal experience as a Xhosa woman, growing up in rural South Africa and later staking her claim as a contemporary artist in Cape Town. The round form of this piece, titled Amanda, references the practice of umthwalo, where women carry heavy items on their head. For Poswa, who remembers carrying buckets of water on her head during her youth, the strength required to balance these loads and walk long distances is a testimony to the endurance of Xhosa women. Amanda also celebrates the beauty and heritage of traditional African hairstyles, belonging to a series called Magodi, the local term for such hairstyles. Poswa gave each piece in this series a traditional Xhosa name to honor actual women who were influential in her life. Amanda references just such a specific model, and more generally suggests the resilience and strength of women, the dignity and value of women’s labor, and the beauty and vibrancy of Black hairstyling. Poswa developed a deep appreciation for traditional African hairstyles while working as a hair model in 2007. The ceramic piece’s technical complexity and vibrant surface treatment is meant to convey the intricacy of woven, braided, and threaded hair. The braided loops on top reference a specific hairstyle worn by West African women and documented by the celebrated Nigerian photographer J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere.

References

Tracy Lynn Chemaly, “Shaped by Culture: Ceramicist Zizipho Poswa Embraces the Past Through Large Scale Works,” Pin-Up Magazine, https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/interview-with-south-african-ceramicist-zizipho-poswa

Sean O’Toole, “The Power of Zizipho Poswa’s Ceramics,” Surface, December 2, 2019, https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/the-power-of-zizipho-poswas-ceramics/

Offered by Southern Guild, Cape Town

ZXX Typeface

Sang Mun’s ZXX typeface arose from a question: “How can we conceal our fundamental thoughts from artificial intelligences and those who deploy them?” In answer, he decided to “create a typeface that would be unreadable by text scanning software (whether used by a government agency or a lone hacker) – misdirecting information or sometimes not giving any at all.” First released in May 2012 (it was Mun’s final project as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design), ZXX was offered as a free download in the hope that as many people as possible – sharing his concern about the growing problem of privacy and personal data security on the internet – would use it.

The typeface consists of four different fonts in addition to the more standard sans serif and bold letterforms. Camo, False, Noise, and Xed are each designed to thwart machine intelligences in a different way: Camo camouflages the individual letters with ink splotches and scrawls; False reverses the letters of the alphabet and numerals in a code wherein Z equals A and 0 equals 9; Noise obscures the letters with a barrage of digital dots of different sizes; and Xed draws an X on top of each letter. Designed to confuse optical character recognition scanners, these fonts are still readable to the human eye.

Mun took the name ZXX from the library of Congress classification system, in which ZXX indicates “no linguistic content; not applicable.”

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Gift of the designer, 2021

Ghost Minitaur

With four triangular legs and weighing just thirteen pounds, this dog-size robot might be deployed in the near future in place of humans in search and rescue missions, military operations, and possibly even off-Earth exploration – anywhere unknown, rough, hazardous, or environmentally sensitive terrain is present. The Minitaur was developed by Ghost Robotics, a start-up company founded in Philadelphia in 2015 by Avik De and Gavin Kenneally under the direction of their University of Pennsylvania engineering professor Daniel Koditschek, whose research involves the design, construction, and testing of autonomous robots. As the Minitaur demonstrates, these machines can mimic the mobility and dexterity of animals. The Minitaur can run and turn at high speed, jump over small obstacles, scramble over difficult terrain, flip, open doors, and climb stairs and chain-link fences. Recent updates allow it to better navigate various surfaces, including grass, rock, sand, snow, ice, and urban debris.

The Minitaur has no gears, hydraulics, or external sensors that would add weight and mechanical complexity: it moves by sensing the force of objects it interacts with. “It feels everything directly through its legs,” explained Jiren Parikh, CEO of Ghost Robotics. “It measures the force that is put on the leg using a torque sensor in the motor. That force tells it if it is on sand, ice, or dirt, and it adjusts its balance accordingly.”

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Gift of Ghost Robotics Corporation, Philadelphia, 2021

SB-01

Space Boot SB-01, introduced in 2017, is Reebok’s first footwear for use off-Earth. Designed in collaboration with the David Clark Company, it will be worn with the new space suit Clark has produced for Boeing’s crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with its reusable Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft. Creating a new boot for astronauts shuttling to and from and working aboard the ISS took about two and a half years. Clark’s brief to Reebok was to develop a hybrid of a running shoe/sandal/wrestling boot/aviator boot that would be lighter, more flexible, and more comfortable than the leather boots with firm soles traditionally worn by astronauts. Reebok integrated its new Floatride foam – introduced earlier in 2017 in the Floatride Run line of running shoes – into the space boot.

Astronauts tested the calf-high boots by climbing in and out of the spacecraft capsule and running, jumping, and wearing them over long periods of time with their pressurized space suits. Unlike traditional space boots, the SB-01 was designed to be part of the space suit: it is built with a flame-resistant shell and an interior mesh that stretches and then locks when the suit inflates. The Space suit and the boot are also, for the first time, united by a shared aesthetic. In the initial version of SB-01, the boot shaded from white on the foot to blue at the top to integrate with the new space suit astronauts will wear on the mission. In this latest iteration, the entire boot is blue, save for the zipper, logo, and lower sole, with its stylish chevron pattern.

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Gift of Reebok International, 2021

CV Dazzle: Camouflage from Face Detection (two)

CV Dazzle: Camouflage from Face Detection (two). Designed by Adam Harvey (American, born 1981). Photographed by Cha Hyun-Seok (South Korean, born 1986)
2017. Inkjet print. 36 × 24 1/2 inches (91.4 × 62.2 cm). BTH-103a—d

Adam Harvey, an artist and designer based in New York and Berlin, is concerned with issues of privacy and government. In response he created Stealth Wear (2012), a hood and other garments that enable the wearer to avert overhead surveillance.

Harvey further explores the aesthetics of privacy in CV Dazzle, his highly stylized face makeup and hairstyling, which camouflages and protects the wearer against facial detection and recognition systems. CV (computer vision) face-detection technology relies on mathematical pattern-recognition techniques that identify the relationships of key facial features. With their bold, countershading colors and abstract, intersecting patterns, CV Dazzle makeup and hairstyle interfere with the visual continuity of the face and head – their shape, textures, symmetry, tones, and contours – thereby disrupting facial-detection algorithms. The name Dazzle derives from ship camouflage used during World War I (also known as Razzle Dazzle), when warships were painted with unique, complex abstract patterns to make them difficult to target.

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Gift of Cha Hyun-Seok, 2021

The Performers: Act VII (Uncanny Valley)

Hiroshi Ishiguro, the Japanese professor and director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University, is dedicated to making the world’s first fully autonomous, sentient androids, and he has created them in multiple versions. Perhaps his most famous is Erica. Erica’s appearance is photorealistic, her skin appearing soft and flushed with color and her eyes able to track movement in the room around her. Ishiguro’s work is delicately considered by the filmmaker Barbara Anastacio in Uncanny Valley, commissioned by the men’s magazine GQ in collaboration with the fashion house Gucci. Anastacio’s short film is set on the grounds of a Shinto temple, reflecting Shintoism’s belief that every object has an innate spiritual quality, drawing connections between animate and inanimate objects.

This object was shown in and acquired from the exhibition Designs for Different Futures, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-2020.

References

Hiesinger, Kathryn B., et al., editors. Designs for Different Futures. New Haven, Yale UP, 2019.

Gift of Barbara Anastacio, 2021

Side Chair

Among the earliest chairs Hans J. Wegner designed exclusively for Carl Hansen & Søn, the CH30 was created in 1954, part of a series of seat furniture that was not only unique but set new standards for modern furniture design with its clean lines and refined craftsmanship. The chair incorporates the sophisticated cabinetmaking details that brought Wegner and Hansen international recognition, among them, the elegant cruciform cover caps on the back splat, and curved, oval backrest that pitches back in line with the rear legs to ensure optimal stability. The chair was produced with padded and plain oak or walnut seats but this all-wood chair emphasizes the natural beauty of the wood and the skill of the designer in making a traditional material so modern.

Gift of Carol Lynn Crocker McCandless, 2021

“First 100 Days” Posters

Conceived and curated by photographer Conrad Benner (American, born 1985), whose popular photo-blog (StreetsDept.com) showcases Philadelphia’s street art scene, this series of thirteen posters was supported by Mural Arts Philadelphia, the nationally recognized public art program that unites artists and communities in mural-making and more. “First 100 Days'' was launched on January 24, 2021, just four days after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated as President and Vice-President of the United States. Benner designed the project to engage the public in policy issues the new administration could address during its crucial first 100 days, putting the posters to work as a collective voice for change. The posters were given away in the city and offered free online to download and print. Benner selected the artists, working with each to identify the policy issues their posters would prioritize. Most of these diverse, emerging artists are trained in illustration or graphic design and each of the artists published a statement about themselves and the policy issue they selected in Benner’s streetsdept blog:

https://streetsdept.com/2021/01/24/first-100-days-artist-created-posters-demanding-action-from-biden-harris/

Brunofsky: Cancelling Student Debt: “I have watched many loved ones carry this weight with them for far too long. Add in a pandemic that has caused alarmingly high unemployment rates and the incompetence of the 45th president, now is the time to cancel student debt.”

Candy Alexandra González – Housing for All: “Everyone is deserving of safe, accessible, and affordable housing. In the devastation caused by COVID-19, it has been our most vulnerable citizens who have been hardest hit.”

Derick Jones – Universal Healthcare: “The government and the people in charge mess with our lives on a daily basis, the least they could do is make sure we’re healthy enough to keep taking a beating.”

Donte Neal – $15 Minimum Wage: “I chose to focus on this topic in light of the many people in my family and friend groups that have currently fallen on hard times. Hardworking folks across the country have found themselves unable to support themselves and/or their families on the current minimum wage of $7.25…”

Jenny Scott – Racial economic equity: “We live in an economy based on private owners monetizing goods for financial stability. Given that bureaucratic structures have been historically riddled with racist intentions, Black and brown businesses are statistically afforded less financial resources…”

Jonai Gibson-Selix – Reallocating Police Budgets: ”… there is no amount of money that can be invested in police reform that will fix this broken system. Fund public services, divest from police.”

Kah Yangni – $2,000 stimulus checks: “We live in one of the wealthiest countries on the planet. There is no reason for people here to be suffering in the middle of this crisis. We need Biden and Harris to step in and give us the resources we need to survive.”

Krista Dedrick-Lai – Closing immigrant camps: “As a mother, I cannot find words for the horror I feel about what has been done to imprisoned immigrant children and families. I have no words for the rage I feel at how little has been done by our government to right its wrongs, or even to stop them. Families belong together.”

Lisa Kelley – Harm reduction: “Harm reduction is the practices, policies and programs aimed at reducing harm associated with drug use… People who use drugs deserve services and resources that meet them “where they’re at,” whether that is actively using drugs or attaining abstinence.”

Marian Bailey – Reopening schools safely: “Over the last year, I’ve seen countless posts about teachers that have contracted Covid-19 and lost their lives. We live in a space that treats teachers like glorified babysitters and it is horrifying. Teachers deserve more money, more support, and should be kept in mind when folks are discussing the full reopening of schools.”

Marisa Velázquez-Rivas – Environmental justice: “Climate change is a racial justice problem—if you’re a person of color you’re more likely to live in locations terrorized by toxic facilities, flooding, climate-related disease, and other issues…It’s so important to expand the conversation around climate justice — ensuring that all people, regardless of race and ethnicity, get equal protection from the worst effects of climate change.”

Melita Tirado – Abolishing I.C.E.: “Being a first-generation Peruvian-American from two immigrant parents, I resonate with the agony they (ICE) have caused the Latinx/e community in it’s immoral separation and deportation of our people… The new administration needs to abolish ICE urgently because it never should have existed in the first place.”

Natalie Hope McDonald – Vaccinating the country: “I can’t think of anything more urgent right now than getting COVID-19 vaccines to more people. If we can inoculate as many Americans as possible within the first part of this new year, we can and will save lives.”

"Canceling Student Debt" Poster from the "First 100 Days" Project

Student debt should have been cancelled long ago. Impacting 1 in 5 adult Americans, student debt creates a burden and overwhelming stress that lingers long after graduation day, and in many cases lasting a lifetime. I have watched many loved ones carry this weight with them for far too long. Add in a pandemic that has caused alarmingly high unemployment rates and the incompetence of the 45th president, now is the time to cancel student debt. Read more.