Over the past few decades, we have experienced dramatic changes in some of the most established dimensions of human life: time, space, matter and individuality. Today our minds must be able to synthesize such transformations, whether they are working across several time zones, traveling between satellite maps and nanoscale images, gleefully drowning in information or acting fast in order to preserve a bit of down-time. Organized by Paola Antonelli, Museum of Modern Art Curator of Architecture and Design, Design and the Elastic Mind focuses on the ability of designers to grasp momentous advances in technology, science and social mores, and to convert them into useful objects and systems. Included projects range from nanodevices to vehicles, appliances to interfaces and building facades, pragmatic solutions for everyday use to provocative ideas meant to influence our future choices. Designed by award-winning book designer Irma Boom, this volume features essays exploring the promising relationship between design and science by Antonelli, design critic and historian Hugh Aldersey-Williams, visualization design expert Peter Hall and nanophysicist Ted Sargent.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
From The New York Times:
"Design and the Elastic Mind," an exhilarating new show at the Museum of Modern Art, makes the case that through the mechanism of design, scientific advances of the last decade have at least opened the way to unexpected visual pleasures... As revolutionary in its own way as MoMA's "Machine Art" exhibition of 1934, which introduced Modern design to a generation of Americans, the exhibition is packed with individual works of sublime beauty. Like that earlier show, it is shaped by an unwavering faith in the transformative powers of technology... "Design and the Elastic mind" is the most uplifting show MoMA's architecture and design department has presented since the museum reopened in 2004. Thanks to its imaginative breadth, we can begin to dream again.
-Nicolai Ouroussoff
"Design and the Elastic Mind," an exhilarating new show at the Museum of Modern Art, makes the case that through the mechanism of design, scientific advances of the last decade have at least opened the way to unexpected visual pleasures... As revolutionary in its own way as MoMA's "Machine Art" exhibition of 1934, which introduced Modern design to a generation of Americans, the exhibition is packed with individual works of sublime beauty. Like that earlier show, it is shaped by an unwavering faith in the transformative powers of technology... "Design and the Elastic mind" is the most uplifting show MoMA's architecture and design department has presented since the museum reopened in 2004. Thanks to its imaginative breadth, we can begin to dream again.
-Nicolai Ouroussoff
About the Author
Paola Antonelli joined The Museum of Modern Art in February of 1994. Her first exhibition for the museum, Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design (1995) was followed by many successful shows, includingThresholds: Contemporary Design from the Netherlands, Achille Castiglioni: Design!, and Safe. Antonelli has taught at the University of California in Los Angeles and has lectured extensively on design in North America, Japan and Europe.
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book presents the philosophy that design is an interface between humans and technology. This discussion is very clear but it then wanders into very abstract concepts of design and depicts many design exhibits at MOMA. A good portion of these examples i was unable to discern what interface they were addressing. All were visually captivating and occasionally engrossing. While these visual perambulations were enjoyable amd leading they did not connect me with any environment nor seem to "simplify" that environment.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Sniff Code
Format:Paperback
In a lot of ways this book reminds me of many of the publications that have been put out by COLORS magazine. There is an eccentric encyclopedic quality that makes this book exciting from the very moment you touch. It's virtually impossible to do a random opening and not land on a page that has an element of surprise and novelty. A random opening for me took me to page 31 where I find "MyBio-Reactor Cows" created by Elio Caccavale. Another random opening takes me to "sketch furniture", where the furniture is exactly as it sounds: designed to look like literal 3D interpretations from loose pencil sketches (only the materials are white).
Despite the playful novelty of many of the artifacts presented here, there is a sobering perspective offered by the book. All of the work here seems to walk up to the line of diminishing return as far as science and technology goes. It's the line that divides productive progress from over-productive regression. The MyBio Dolls are such artifacts that present this distinction. For this reason, this is a very important book for anyone who is curious about what the future might look like and perhaps what it shouldn't look like.
My only criticism of the book is that it passes the point of diminishing return as far as Graphic Design is concerned. The layout and type setting is often slammed against the photography. Stylistically it's cool and thematically appropriate, but also fatiguing on the eyes. Some pages I simply couldn't read without working too hard, which I'm not willing to do -- so I didn't read them. It also results in several spreads in appearing just downright cluttered.
But that's my own [...] reaction, and other readers may have little to no issue with getting past such gratuities. These readers will find this book to be a gem. Others will enjoy the book too -- the parts they can read.
Despite the playful novelty of many of the artifacts presented here, there is a sobering perspective offered by the book. All of the work here seems to walk up to the line of diminishing return as far as science and technology goes. It's the line that divides productive progress from over-productive regression. The MyBio Dolls are such artifacts that present this distinction. For this reason, this is a very important book for anyone who is curious about what the future might look like and perhaps what it shouldn't look like.
My only criticism of the book is that it passes the point of diminishing return as far as Graphic Design is concerned. The layout and type setting is often slammed against the photography. Stylistically it's cool and thematically appropriate, but also fatiguing on the eyes. Some pages I simply couldn't read without working too hard, which I'm not willing to do -- so I didn't read them. It also results in several spreads in appearing just downright cluttered.
But that's my own [...] reaction, and other readers may have little to no issue with getting past such gratuities. These readers will find this book to be a gem. Others will enjoy the book too -- the parts they can read.
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a very useful compendium, and a help to better understand what seen in the MoMA Expo.
I liked the expo, and I like more the book.
I liked the expo, and I like more the book.
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