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Caritas Challenge Clip [Final]

Original Pattern [Final]

Alex Burger DSDN 171 Project 5 [Final]

Does Rococo Design hold a place in the present day?

Rococo design was developed in France in the 18th Century. It was a move away from Neo-Classicalism which focused around straight lines and focused on fluid natural forms. Rococo was popular during prospering economical times and was used as a way to show off ones wealth to friends and family.

Rococo had a lot of criticism from post design reformists because they believed in function over form and that Rococo was unfit for purpose and over-ornamented. For Example Adolf Loos said “The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use.” The quote “less is more” adopted by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, an architect during the Modernism movement is still relevant today because people want things that are clean, simple and easy to use and with the world economy today the majority of people can’t afford the eccentricity of Rococo design. Post Modernists like Robert Venturi argued that “less is a bore” contradicting the less is more idea but the key focuses of Rococo design are still around in present day design but widely reformed and abstracted and still holds historical significance in the development of design to this day.

APA References:

Venturi, R. (2003, October 1). The Industrial Design Reader. 1966: Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradition in Architecture. Skyhorse Publishing

Gorma, C. (2003, October 1). The Industrial Design Reader. 1910: Adolf Loos, “Ornament and Crime. Skyhorse Publishing

#DSDN 171

sa-wh-blog

Stop Motion our group made during todays tutorial. Group Members: Kate Campbell, Tom Barlow, Samantha Whitmore, Alex Burger and Clae Baxter

Task 3

#DSDN 101

DSDN 171 Assignment Four: Trade Me Hunt

This silver plate serving dish has clear aspects of rococo style such as the extravagant shell and leaf designs on the outer rim of the dish and on the top of the cover connected by rope design. Another sign that the dish is an original rococo piece is the date it was made given by the seller. It was made in c1890 by an English firm that was in operation between 1875 and 1900. Rococo was developed in France in the early 1800s but English Rococo developed later which makes this items creation in the right time period which would lead us to believe it is an original. The seller also writes that the piece bears the hallmark of the Folgate Silver company which would instantly authenticate the piece because the makers original hallmark is engraved on it. The seller also states that the piece was purchased from a prestigious Philadelphia, Pennsylvania estate off a person who loved to entertain in a grand manner. This also suggests the piece could be an original because it perfectly fits the function of Rococo design. Rococo was designed for the wealthy during prosperous economic times and it was a way of showing off your wealth to friends and family. According to design reformists like Pugin Rococo design lacks functionality which is suggested by the seller as they say it can be used as a serving dish but it would make a lovely sideboard display piece. This particular item is in good condition according to the seller who says that there are only a few scratches from previous use. The dish is made out of shiny silver which gives it a polished expensive appearance.

The description from the seller is very detailed and matches the item on sale exactly, compared to other Rococo design auctions it was a more descriptive. Buying hand me down antiques such as this silver dish can be good because the price increases with age as these items have historical significance and buying an original means that you are one of a few who would own such items.

APA Reference:

The Continuing Curve: Baroque and Rococo Design [PDF document]. Retrieved from School of Design Website: http://schoolofdesign.ac.nz/pluginfile.php/8720/mod_resource/content/2/171%20lecture%20baroque.pdf

#DSDN 171

Final Iterations

#DSDN 111

Animation [Final]

Brief: This project will embody traditional Dutch culture and New Zealand Culture. I was born in The Netherlands and consider it my main cultural background, but I have lived in New Zealand for 8 years which means the culture has had a significant influence on me. I want to investigate Dutch art culture based around abstract expressionism and New Zealand art culture based around Maori design and the design culture at university. These cultures clash because abstract expressionism is about aesthetics and expression of emotion and ideas whereas design is about functionality. I want to combine these clashing cultures into an image that expresses both cultures and abstract the more functional design elements with abstract expressionism and merges the two.

#DSDN 101

Story Board [Final]

#DSDN 101

171 Poster [Final]

Wellington designer Alex Burger brings us his exhibition ‘Fluid Form’ to the Wellington City Gallery this May. This exhibition brings together two very different styles from the past and the present, 18th Century Rococo design and Modernism. The two styles contrast as 18th Century Rococo design incorporates natural, wealthy and aesthetically pleasing stylistic elements like curves and twists whereas modernism focuses its stylistic element around straight lines and functionality. The two styles are combined to juxtapose each other through the curved and straight lines which emphasize the stylistic differences and to create a harmony between the two. Burger creates this harmony with the use of the basic materials, plastic card and aluminum wire. The use of cheap materials is unlike the Rococo style which focused on showing off wealth to friends and family, but shows the modernist stylistic element of functionality. The combination of these styles by Burger gives us an exciting refreshing look at an old design style brought into the present through the juxtaposition of curves and lines to create aesthetic functional artworks. Exhibition opens on the 1st May.

#DSDN 171