In this class we consider how anonymous vernacular objects might be revelatory of a culture, then turning to design practices like packaging and product design.

1. module 10.1
material culture
A r t 1 0 0
U n d e r s t a n d i n g V i s u a l C u l t u r e

2. agenda
• BIG QUESTIONS:
• what kinds of information are embedded in material objects?
• how might this information differ from what is available in a
fine art object?
• can we read everyday objects formally and semiotically?
• what is an artifact?
• what is a "vernacular" object?
• what is the difference between a "designed" object and a
vernacular one?

3. Artifacts…
reveal huge amounts of information about the people (and the
cultures) that made them.
We can “read” these images to learn about
other societies, and about ourselves.

4. In the West (Europe and the USA), this
kind of artifact has been “put on
pedestal” as the most exalted kind of
artifact.
Here we tend to privilege art above
other kinds of artifacts.
(E.g., Krannert vs. Spurlock Museum)
Augustus St.-Gaudens, Diana,
1892-4, in Philadelphia Museum of Art
One category
of artifacts is
art.

5. How are objects presented in these two
different venues?
What does the method of display convey about the
value/significance of the objects displayed?

13. Another category of things is
“vernacular” objects.
Shaker side chair, maple with rush seating, c. 1880

14. These are ordinary objects which have wide popularity
and whose specific origins are obscure.
Shaker side chair, maple with cane seating, c. 1880 Plastic outdoor chair, c. present

15. Bryan Ropar with a small sample of his plastic chair collection

16. Maarten Baas, in collaboration
with Contrasts Gallery, Shanghai
Plastic Chair in Wood, 2008
elm wood

17. Sam DURANT, Porcelain Chairs, 2006

18. Jules Prown
“…works of art constitute a large
and special category within
artifacts because their inevitable
aesthetic and occasional ethical
or spiritual (iconic) dimensions
make them direct and often overt
or intentional expressions of
cultural belief. The self-
consciously expressive character
of this material, however, raises
problems as well as
opportunities; in some ways
artifacts that express culture
unconsciously are more useful
as objective cultural indexes.”
(Prown, “Mind in Matter,” p.2)
Siegfried Giedion
"We shall deal here with
humble things, things not
usually granted earnest
consideration, or at least
not valued for their
historical import. But no
more in history than in
painting is it the
impressiveness of the
subject that matters. The
sun is mirrored even in a
coffee spoon.”
(Giedion, “Anonymous” p. 294)
The value of “anonymous history”

19. Now we’re going to look at a third
category of artifacts…
DESIGN OBJECTS

20. What is design?
We use this word often, for example:
Fashion design
Interior design
Product design
Packaging design
Graphic design
Automotive design
Digital design

21. Sonia Rykiel
Paris, Spring 2015 collection
Agatha Ruiz de la Prada
Milan, Autumn/Winter 2009 collection
Jeremy Scott
New York, Spring 2016 collection

22. Fashion design, or product
styling?

23. interior design
Miles Redd

24. packaging design—water

25. packaging design—water

26. packaging design—water

27. packaging design—water

29. packaging design—water; this might be considered an actual design innovation
as it consists of 50% post-recyled PET plastic
http://designforgood.eu/portfolio/marie-stella-maris-sustainable-bottle/

30. tailfin of a 1959 Cadillac, designed by Harley Earl, GM design legend
Art and Color Department (1927)
Styling Department (1937)
“dynamic obsolescence”

31. Compare the Tesla which runs on a different kind of motor.

32. We need a
distinction
between:
Something made through a
process of careful
consideration, often but not
always credited to a specific
maker.
Something made with both
function and aesthetic appeal in
mind.
AND
relatively minor changes in
the appearance of a
product
design
vs.
styling

33. Design for a better world
“Very few aspects of the material environment are
incapable of improvement in some significant way by
greater attention being paid to their design.
Inadequate lighting, machines that are not user-
friendly, badly-formatted information, are just a few
examples of bad design that create cumulative
problems and tensions.”
—Heskett, p. 2

34. Between us, as people, and the
objects that surround us.
Good designers try to make this
relationship a happy one.