Okay…. so I DID say in my last post that all my “Trip” posts moving forward would be current… but I forgot about this one OKAY??? this is the last one I PROMISE. This one was to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and it was my first time in my adult life going!
Yet another wonderful event with the AAPIDA organization– this was actually my first one with them! I wasn’t even a member at the time, but my friend was, and she brought me with her as a guest. I met with the leader of the Philly chapter, she invited me to join, and a little while later, I did. Again, I’m so happy I did 🙂
The Trip:
This one is a little different than the others I have talked about so far. Instead of the focus being on Japanese architecture, this exhibit was about Japanese product design. Now, I’m as anti-over-consumption as the next guy, but I’m obviously talking more about large corporations and mass-produced goods when I talk about that. It was nice, albeit a little dystopian, to be in a room filled with artistic objects. I’ll try to limit my thoughts until that section, but I’ve got some strong and conflicting ones for sure!!
There was quite the variety of objects in this room – all designed by Naoto Fukasawa, and a lot of which were designed for the ever-popular stationary and everything brand Muji. Now, I personally love Muji, and I think it is a great representation of affordable products with style, longevity, and creativity, but I digress… again I’ll try to keep my thoughts until the end. From high-end seating worth thousands of dollars per chair to a unique and recognizable wall-mounted CD player worth about $30-$ 50, depending on where you find it and its condition, there was an impressive spread of materials, styles, and media throughout the space. (If you look in the lower left corner of my photo, you can also see a certain viral lamp from a certain Swedish built-it-yourself brand… this is where they got that design!)
The spread of the objects was beautiful, with magnolia chandeliers and reimagined stem bouquet vases. The designs were very impressive, and although they all had an air of unity that linked them, they also felt very different and unique. We got a special guided tour of the exhibit from the museum, so we got to learn all about the history of the items included. A lot were part of product and furniture design history, which is always awesome to learn about. The connection between different designs of brands can be quite interesting.
My thoughts:
I have thoughts. Conflicting ones, too. But they are nonetheless strong. Such is the life of me, unfortunately 
On the one hand, I thought it was really cool to see objects and furniture on display in a museum. I liked that my industry (or part of it at least) was being shown in the same building as some of the most famous paintings in the world. I thought everything in the room was gorgeous, important to the industry, and unique – but I’m not sure if it was in the same way as I look at traditional art, and that’s for one reason… You can purchase all of it. Yes, I know you can buy an original painting or prints of it, but there was something about products that could be mass-produced by a factory that felt weird in the space. Now there were some original sketches of Noato Fukasawa’s designs on the wall and an original prototype of one of the chairs that I definitely felt right looking at there, and this is in no way to discredit his work, as I think he is one of the most influential and interesting product designers of our time, but in a museum dedicated to fine art it felt different. Maybe what it is is that I think these objects belong in a different type of museum, more relating to products and industrialization. This was a temporary exhibit, so that made it sit a lot better, but something about mass-produced media in a space that typically showcases one-of-a-kind, individual artwork was a new experience for sure.
Again, I would like to restate that I absolutely love Fukasawa’s work. I think his creativity, designs, and process are something to be studied by aspiring product designers, and I often pursue things he has designed to put in my home, or other designs. That being said, product design is a very different industry for a reason. Product design is swayed by profit margins, by corporate and investor interests, by money. It is a product after all, so it can be very difficult to tell how much of the work is the artist’s creativity and artistry and how much of it was altered or demanded by the corporation it is for. I do think that Fukasawa is allowed a lot more creative freedom than most product designers, and his own perspective is that objectivity is more important than creativity when designing products. This begs the questions: Does this objectivity and humbleness count as his own self-expression? Is that philosophy in itself anti-corporation? What is the line between selling out and making a living off your art? This is why my opinions are so jumbled up!!! It’s honestly so hard to come to a conclusion that I am still deciding how I feel while writing this. Maybe that’s exactly why this exhibit exists; to be provocative is to be art, I suppose.
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments – do you think this exhibit belongs? I would love to hear what some of you think about product design, its place in the art world, and if Fukasawa is more corporate than other artists generally displayed in museums. (also p.s. I really want this bag… it’s made of washi paper and crinkles as you use it – so fun!!)
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