Week 14: Post modernism/Deconstruction

Post-modernism started in the 1980s because there was a revolt against the strict rules of modernism. After a global recession, economics improved and more inventions helped kickstart the mentality of "grab all that I can". It propelled the ideas of individualism and uniqueness. People wanted more variety and strangeness in architecture which led to more playful and creative elements in designs that may allude to historical references. The movement included different movements such as the Memphis movement. This was a group of designers who sought to abolish modernism and its strict mandates. They were inspired by Art Deco and Pop Art and valued irony and distortion in scaling. 

One prominent designer during this period was Michael Graves. he believed that humanism was the center of design. he embraced classical architecture and focused on the idea that ornamentation gave meaning to space. He defied the modern use of curtains and windows by using smaller-scale ones. He also embraced more decorative detail. he believed in strong colors and that the design should be available for the masses. Like many movements, he specialized in colors that represented nature and used authentic colors of materials to help influence his designs.

Destructivism was a design style that emerged in the late 1980s. Standard parts and pieces of a building were moved around to create a new structure. A big characteristic of this movement was taking apart pieces and putting them back together in a form with the purpose of surprising people. A notable artist during this time is Frank Gehry. He would experiment with a wide range of cheap materials to titanium and he believed in buildings where the very space of it delights you rather than focusing on just the visual aspect. His designs are focused on the movement of buildings where his projects curve, bend, and crumple in unexpected ways that break the norms of traditional building design. This can easily be seen in the Dr. Chau Chak wing building where it is crumpled giving the appearance that it is more of a paper model than a building.

One Step Further: The Wiggle Chair

This chair was first thought of in 1969. Many artists and scientists from NASA asked Frank to give the place a quick makeover. Because of the budget, he wanted to come up with something simple and given the environment, it would also be futuristic. He discovered that bending and altering the direction of the layers of cardboard would still have enough strength to support the human weight and yet still have a smooth texture on all four sides. He found that he could easily cut these sections into geometrical forms and bend them into ribbon candy shapes. What was very interesting about this chair is that the certain design and materials used gave it a noise-canceling quality that could cut the sound volume in half. The chair plays into postmodernism as it breaks the traditional sculpting of four-legged chairs and has no legs or smooth base. 

The chair is a testament to inspiration from materials. Frank Gehry wondered how he could make something out of scrap cardboard into a chair let alone a chair that can support someone. Creativity isn't just about the materials, textures, and colors you use but how you shape your material. It is a strong chair despite the material by allowing the density of the cardboard ribbons to combine. Like the zigzag chair, the wiggle chair breaks boundaries yet maintains comfortability and support. 

References

Frank Gehry Paintings, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory

The Story Behind Frank Gehry's Iconic Wiggle Design | Architectural Digest

References

Frank Gehry Paintings, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory

The Story Behind Frank Gehry's Iconic Wiggle Design | Architectural Digest