The Victoria & Albert Museum holds an amazing collection of works from across all fields within Design and the Visual Arts; and for the London Design Festival it is showing 12 installations across the site. I had a preview of the pieces yesterday and its certainly a “must visit” on the design trail. If you’re not able to get into London for the Festival here’s a look at some of the pieces on show.
The Cromwell Road entrance has undergone a dramatic transformation with the installation of a 12m diameter timber wave cascading down the steps. Architects AL_A (winner of the V&A’s recent international competition to design a new courtyard and exhibition galleries) collaborated with structural engineers Arup in the creation of Timber Frame, a striking three-dimensional spiral made from oil-treated American Red Oak. This material is usually used in the construction of furniture and its the first time it has been used structurally and on such a large scale. Ultra thin laminates have been glued together and bent to create the tightly curved shapes.
The second dramatic piece is by design duo Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec collaborating with Kvadrat(if you click the link they have a lovely stop animation preview). Textile Field takes over the entire gallery that holds the Raphael Cartoons and gives the visitor an entirely new angle to view Raphael’s work. The gentle undulations of the fabric pieces allow you to lay back and look up at the huge canvases. Its a wonderfully playful piece, the springy foam lets you bounce along as you decide which art work to lie infront of. I’d just love to know how they chose the colour pallette I’d like to think they pulledcolours from the Raphael’s.
Beyond the Valley also created an interactive piece, inviting visitors to try out digital design. The iPad ‘Granimator’ gives you an assortment of patterns and wallpaper designs that you can remix in your own interpretation. You design can then be uploaded on to a website for all to view. Surrounding you in the room are digitally remixed pieces by Beyond the Valley.
The other installations are dotted across the gallery for you to seek out. And I personally like the way they encourage you to hunt down pieces sited next to works in the collection that you may not have noticed before. Its a vast collection and you can be tempted to only go for things you already like; its refreshing to be sent into rooms you might walk past.
New York design gallerist and curatorMurray Moss’s collaboration with Belgium-based Materialise takes you on such a journey. Industrial Revolution 2.0: How the Material World Will Newly Materialise used cutting edge laser and digital technologies to build 3D objects. Angel is a wearable piece that has been placed in a spot that has been unoccupied for years. It references the classical statues that line the stairwell where the empty plinth in sited.
The dress, again wearable, pulls you to a phenomenal rococo fireplace that despite numerous visits I’ve never seen before!
I was lucky enough to chat to Murray after the tour and I’m gutted that I didn’t record everything he said. What I will take with me is the idea that museums can be seen as radical spaces; they contain the cutting edge work of their time. Its a great mind shift, you can all to often look at a museum or gallery as a place for old things but if you shift your thoughts and look at objects as radical and new it gives you a greater insight.
Do have a look at the V&A programe of events they have some great talks and activities going on across the Festival.