Living World

Kim White

09.05.09

Thesis

“Design for a Living World”

 

The two designers that I decided to focus on are Christien Meindertsma and Ezri Tarazi. Meindertsma’s project was called “Flocks,” which consisted of a wool—a by-product of sheep.  She used the wool from the sheep to knit not only beautiful patterns, but objects like blankets and stools.  Considering that sheep eat much less than cows and emit less gasses, it seems like a logical and efficient choice of material—as far as process and use.  Tarazi’s work was entitled “Living Forrest,” and consisited of nine bamboo stalks that contained lighting fixtures, speakers, computers, wine, compact discs, as well as a few other things.  Tarazi focused on the bamboo—comparing it to trees as a better form of material because it takes less time to grow and is naturally used in everyday life in cultures in China where it grows.   I felt as though Meindertsma showed better use of the material and entire concept than Tarazi because she didn’t just take the material and shove something into it and call it design; she manipulated it, played with it, and weaved it to create a more durable structure and therefore allowed a broader range of function.  To make Meindertsma’s design better, I would experiment more with natural dyes—fruit juices, plant pigments, etc—to liven up the work a bit more.  For Tarazi’s, I probably would’ve used a different material—rope for example—and turn it into hanging structures so that it felt a little more like a forest, and it eliminated the need to import bamboo from overseas—lessening the carbon footprint, if you will.