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| Making it for Real: MIAD Industrial Design Alumni Exhibition Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design 273 E. Erie Street, Milwaukee Brooks Stevens Gallery of Industrial Design Part I: July 28-November 4, 2006 (1997-2005 Alumni) |
There is a subtle ritual of mental preparation that
you go through before entering an exhibition, a
moment of anticipation and awareness that you
are leaving the ordinary and everyday world for a
setting that is specialized and purposefully
loaded with meaning.
Entering the Brooks Stevens Gallery of Industrial
Design, the first impression is almost a shock –
it’s all so ordinary, so disconcertingly familiar. A
coffee maker, kid’s toys, even a motorcycle on a
pedestal. But not everything in this exhibition is
entirely quotidian. Some items are quite
unrecognizable and stand out for their intriguing
shapes. Weird pinchers, about five feet tall, look
like giant escargot-eating utensils. But in reality,
they’re exotic looking post-hole diggers. Who
knew? And who knew that it would become the
mission of a MIAD grad to design post-hole
diggers? But that is exactly what this show deals
with, and more specifically, what alumni of MIAD’
s respected Industrial Design department have
produced in their post-school careers.
you go through before entering an exhibition, a
moment of anticipation and awareness that you
are leaving the ordinary and everyday world for a
setting that is specialized and purposefully
loaded with meaning.
Entering the Brooks Stevens Gallery of Industrial
Design, the first impression is almost a shock –
it’s all so ordinary, so disconcertingly familiar. A
coffee maker, kid’s toys, even a motorcycle on a
pedestal. But not everything in this exhibition is
entirely quotidian. Some items are quite
unrecognizable and stand out for their intriguing
shapes. Weird pinchers, about five feet tall, look
like giant escargot-eating utensils. But in reality,
they’re exotic looking post-hole diggers. Who
knew? And who knew that it would become the
mission of a MIAD grad to design post-hole
diggers? But that is exactly what this show deals
with, and more specifically, what alumni of MIAD’
s respected Industrial Design department have
produced in their post-school careers.
| Daniel J. Lipscomb, Post Hole Diggers, 2003 For Fiskars Garden & Outdoor Living |
This is not to say that there are not
outstanding pieces in terms of visual
appearance. Oved Valadez, a 2005 graduate
of MIAD who is with ZIBA Design, presents
the sleek and sexy Sirius S50 Satellite Radio
and Docking Unit. If gadgets hold any allure
for you, you will feel pangs of techno-lust. So
shiny, so pristine, the remote control buttons
are ready for you to run your fingers over. But
alas, it’s encased in plexiglass. Which
curiously makes these look like they’re
suspended in an ice cube, rather like a
futuristic ice-age relic, or a gimmicky import
from Siberia.
Brian Ellis, class of 2002, has made his
mark with the LEGO Company. His is one of
the most interesting displays because of the
concept drawings included with his LEGO
creations. A color rendering for Dino Attack
2010 is a heart-pounding visual adventure: a
LEGO-made SUV careens down a sodden
dirt road in the driving rain, trying to escape
the four fierce purple dinosaurs brandishing
their claws (no, none are related to Barney).
Also on display is a concept drawing and
figures from the Harry Potter series. Based
on the Goblet of Fire adventure, it sticks pretty
close to the script, but certainly the doors are
open for young minds to invent volumes of
stories even beyond the imagination of J. K.
Rowling.
But not all on display here is about fun and
games. There are plenty of household and
industrial tools, which begins to feel like
walking through an upscale version of the
Sears hardware department. This exhibition
is much less about flashy displays of
futuristic design than it is about design as a
job. Installed in the gallery of an art school
with a strong focus on building careers in
industrial design, it is more than
appropriate. Students beginning a new
semester can see the work of their
predecessors, some who are just little more
than a year out of school, making progress in
their chosen field. It is a purely practical
show, but a real and inspiring look at post-
college possibilities.
- K. M. Murrell
(Katherine Murrell is co-publisher of
Susceptible to Images).
Comments? Email
kmmurrell@susceptibletoimages.com
outstanding pieces in terms of visual
appearance. Oved Valadez, a 2005 graduate
of MIAD who is with ZIBA Design, presents
the sleek and sexy Sirius S50 Satellite Radio
and Docking Unit. If gadgets hold any allure
for you, you will feel pangs of techno-lust. So
shiny, so pristine, the remote control buttons
are ready for you to run your fingers over. But
alas, it’s encased in plexiglass. Which
curiously makes these look like they’re
suspended in an ice cube, rather like a
futuristic ice-age relic, or a gimmicky import
from Siberia.
Brian Ellis, class of 2002, has made his
mark with the LEGO Company. His is one of
the most interesting displays because of the
concept drawings included with his LEGO
creations. A color rendering for Dino Attack
2010 is a heart-pounding visual adventure: a
LEGO-made SUV careens down a sodden
dirt road in the driving rain, trying to escape
the four fierce purple dinosaurs brandishing
their claws (no, none are related to Barney).
Also on display is a concept drawing and
figures from the Harry Potter series. Based
on the Goblet of Fire adventure, it sticks pretty
close to the script, but certainly the doors are
open for young minds to invent volumes of
stories even beyond the imagination of J. K.
Rowling.
But not all on display here is about fun and
games. There are plenty of household and
industrial tools, which begins to feel like
walking through an upscale version of the
Sears hardware department. This exhibition
is much less about flashy displays of
futuristic design than it is about design as a
job. Installed in the gallery of an art school
with a strong focus on building careers in
industrial design, it is more than
appropriate. Students beginning a new
semester can see the work of their
predecessors, some who are just little more
than a year out of school, making progress in
their chosen field. It is a purely practical
show, but a real and inspiring look at post-
college possibilities.
- K. M. Murrell
(Katherine Murrell is co-publisher of
Susceptible to Images).
Comments? Email
kmmurrell@susceptibletoimages.com
| Oved Valadez, Sirius S50 Satellite Radio and Docking Units, 2005-2006. Ziba Design, designed for Sirius. |
| Brian Ellis, LEGO installation and concept drawing for Dino Attack 2004 (released in 2005) by the LEGO Company. |
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The end product of these recent grads efforts are emphasized far more than the design process. But,
the exhibition is mounted in an art school where upstairs, the life cycle of ideas and their refinements
is under relentless consideration. However, for your non-designer viewer, the steps required to go
from imaginative dream to tangible reality are entirely missing. But in this context, maybe the more
valuable lesson is that the theoretical exercises of the classroom to eventually yield a practical reality.
On the purely aesthetic level, most of the objects in this show are acceptable, though not
overwhelming. It’s like the difference between watching a runway fashion show and then looking at
the ready-to-wear merchandise offered at Target. The theatrical fireworks and daring irrationalities
associated with splashy and flashy couture shows are abandoned in favor of the practical, the
purposeful, and the potential of marketability to a wide audience.
the exhibition is mounted in an art school where upstairs, the life cycle of ideas and their refinements
is under relentless consideration. However, for your non-designer viewer, the steps required to go
from imaginative dream to tangible reality are entirely missing. But in this context, maybe the more
valuable lesson is that the theoretical exercises of the classroom to eventually yield a practical reality.
On the purely aesthetic level, most of the objects in this show are acceptable, though not
overwhelming. It’s like the difference between watching a runway fashion show and then looking at
the ready-to-wear merchandise offered at Target. The theatrical fireworks and daring irrationalities
associated with splashy and flashy couture shows are abandoned in favor of the practical, the
purposeful, and the potential of marketability to a wide audience.