Straight Line Designs Studio Visit
Oct. 7, 2011
Link: Straight Line Designs
Quite a different change from "Art" as we are used to studying it. Can something functional such as furniture be considered "Art?" This is the obvious question that stands out, but it's been discussed to death and frankly doesn't interest me. What does it matter if it is Art?
However, this is an interesting cultural space in which we find ourselves to which its history adds some depth. The space begins as a warehouse of some sort, so we are in a commodity space--a place where things of various nature and value are stored that are to be sold at such and such a price. None of these things are made on the site. It is a transitory space for the exchange of commodity.
Next, it becomes studio space. It is a social, semi-public, community space, but obviously private as well. It is still a transitory space. People come and go, as do objects. But now, things are being made on site. Art is being made, supposedly. The site is now one of production, and things originate from it.
In its present state, furniture is made on the site, and perhaps art is made as well. It has become a small microcosm of mass production, not on a grand scale, but it has similar qualities of mass production. Orders are taken, and supply is determined by demand. Labour is hired by demand, and now things are being made to meet a supply-demand market. There are workers who are trained to make specific objects, which are mass-produced on a small scale, and sometimes unique objects are made as well.
We are unsure whether the objects made are "Art," but perhaps we can say that the people occupying and working in the space are "artists." They are not necessarily artists in this specific space, but maybe in other spaces, or on certain days. Of course, artists are not free from the market. That would be unfair for the rest of the population.
We end up with an interesting space where Art is implied and in its history, where artists work, but not where Art is necessarily produced.