Marcel Sloots - Publication Workshop

September 24 2008

Marcel Sloots is a Dutch graphic designer working out of Eindhoven for nearly 7 years within the firm Volle Kracht. Translating to “Full Power”, the firm name describes the way he approaches his work, full of ambition and creative determination. Some of his latest work, the interior of the Mu Gallerie, celebrated the gallery's 10th anniversary. Located on the first floor of the De Witte Dame, the home of the Design Academy Eindhoven, the Mu is an exciting gallery exhibits design, music fasion, architecture and new media by local and international artists.

In September 2008, Marcel Sloots came to the Design Academy in order to conduct a workshop with the second year masters students with intentions of creating a comprehensive publication for the Source program. The Source program invites guest speakers to the Academy with the intention of creating a personal dialogue between student and professional through lectures and interactive workshops. During this particular workshop Sloots gave each student three packages each containing records of Source lectures from the previous year. It was up to the students to format each lecture into one easy-to-read and informative publication. By the end of the day the students had completely reworked the layouts of each Source document, in some cases condensing three pages of records into one. The workshop allowed students gain a unique perspective on visual communication design while completing the Source publication in just one day. Under the guidence of Sloots the students produced quality work for a client (the Source program) in a very short amount of time demonstrating a brute force mentality, aparent in his work and his outlook on the design industry.

When asked about which projects he enjoys to work on the most Sloots states that he has no preference for what kind of design he may work on as long as he picks the right client to work with. He stresses that every designer should “Be very ambitious when choosing a client”, “find out what you may be asked to do” and understand the politics surrounding the client, something commonly overlooked by designers when taking on a new project. He offers this advice about the design insdustry to new designers: “what is important is the spirit of your work, as long as you are doing something what comes out in the end will be alright”, aiming to provide direction to those at a creative standstill.

The workshop with Marcel Sloots was an important demonstration of the challenges a designer may face when working for a new client. Having the students work along side Sloots in creating the publications taught them his “volle kracht” mentality of hard work and determinations, which has brought him success in the design industry. Student-professional interactions like these provide unique opportunites to the students at the Design Academy, teaching key design skills straight from proffesionals through the Source program.

Satyendra Pakhale

Lecture from a cultural nomad

On the 22nd of October of 2008, Satyendra Pakhalé gave two lectures to both bachelor and master students at the Design Academy Eindhoven and accorded us a private interview. He began his presentation by sharing his vision of the world and questioning the audience on its own perceptions. He then proceeded to reveal himself through his works and motivations.
It was a great privilege for us, participate in the event, as well as an opportunity to get to know the designer behind the Man and Humanity Master department better. The team coordinating the event is composed of first year master students, Maurizio Montalti, Bart Nijssen, Cecelia Tzuchun, Timothee Magot and Carolina dos Santos Reis.

Satyendra Pakhalé is a very inspiring speaker with a persuasive manner of communication. His approach was very open-minded and he engaged in very interesting discussions on every topic. He started by addressing modern issues that haunt our planet, like environmental crises and social inequalities. According to Pakhalé, such issues are no longer isolated and need to be addressed by everyone, especially the new generation of designers. He preached appropriateness in our practice, which can be reached by approaching every project according to its context. Sustainable and ethical issues need to be part of the process but there are no rules on how to incorporate them. According to Pakhalé, it is all about perspective. For example, a material that in one context is not environmentally friendly can in another case be the best solution. To support his argument, he cited famous thinkers in the field like Vitor Papanek and Buckminster Fuller. Altogether, his discourse was very inspiring and moving, however it is one that has been around for many years without really producing any impressive ideas. Ultimately, Pakhalé urged us to take a position and to have our own point of view, but there was a contradiction in his reasoning: he answered every question with a positive and negative response and ended up questioning everything, and by doing so, never really took a position himself.
Next, Pakhalé showed us some of his most emblematic creations, like his famous ceramic works and his metal crafted horse. It was highly stimulating to discover the details of the production methods he employed. Without going too deeply into technical considerations, he explained his process, of how he joined traditional techniques and materials with modern expertise throughout his work. He built his reputation by transcending materials and techniques to come up with uncommon uses and results. That is what makes his singularness, and his view of design refreshening.
The interview session was for us the time to bring up Pakhalé’s role as the head of the master in Man and Humanity. He at first hesitated to accept the position, but the system in which the DAE works appealed to him. By having a freelancer status, he is able to contribute to the education of design without having any time-consuming administrative tasks involved, and thus he can continue to devote time to his creative activities. In creating the structure of the program, he brought in different professionals from the industrial design and creative fields, enriching the course and making it very resourceful to the students. In this way he definitely crossed the lines between disciplines and gave the master his cultural-nomadic flavour. Getting to know the person behind the program permitted us to have a better understanding of the program’s agenda and to see how his influence shaped the master.
Pakhalé’s presentation and his concepts fit the Man and Humanity Master perspective, but his professional success is more of a commercial accomplishment, being associated with big names that have no true link to social issues. What is unsettling is that his achievement comes from his stylistic and material approach, not in giving and sharing real solutions for the future. His clients and his projects don’t address the issues that worry most of the young generation, those who will have to pay the bills for the decisions that are made today. However, this does not take away from his considerable contribution to the design world. Satyendra Pakhalé remains an admirable designer and a greatly motivational speaker to inspire worldwide designers and creators of all generations.

Article: Carolina dos Santos Reis
Poster: Timothee Magot
Photograph: Bart Nijssen and Maurizio Montalti

John Thackara lecture

John Thackara lecture

John Thackara

John Thackara is a enterprising design lecturer, author and symposiarch. He leads a number of design projects including Doors based in Amsterdam and DOTT from the UK. He has advised numerous government organizations on design including the Dutch government and the European Commision. Constantly travelling, Thackara has lectured in over 40 countries and written 12 books about the predicament of design in contemporary society. His primary research focus is to answer explore advances in technology and how it affects our lives, that is, not what technology and design can do, but what can they be used for.

Transcript of Interview:
This transcript begins mid talk; Thackara has been introducing the St Etienne Design Biennial which as Director of Doors, he is co-ordinating. The subject being discussed in the nature of objects to comprise the Biennial and whether could be contributions from the Design Academy masters students.

*** represents inaudible dialogue.

QUESTION (Saron Paz) - Usually we find in design that the things that succeed are not always the things that work the best… we like simple things that can make a difference in our lives, but some things are very efficient, but no one will actually use them…

> Exactly. And thank you for saying that. That’s we need to find out the difference between something that is clearly brilliant but is never going to make any difference, versus, that looks sort of “hand to mouth” or *** but will make a difference. So the criteria is, how do we know the difference between those two things. So for example, Cisco Systems has decided that $500,000 video conferencing machines, about which they say, nobody need ever go in an aeroplane again, if they have one of these things. Its just bullshit, whereas, maybe some man in Kerala makes telephones calls work better for people so that we wouldn’t feel isolated when ringing up our mothers and loved ones, having no longer the possibility of going on aeroplanes, which the future I am facing for myself. Two extremes. And I don’t know the answer by the way. 12 months. Its 5000 square meters this show. It’s a bloody huge empty space.

QUESTION (Saron Paz) – So what about setting up criteria for *** any object?

> Yes. So I am happy for all suggestions, whether its criteria, or individual exhibits, I don’t mind. I foolishly agreed for the 50th time in my life for a too small timetable. And um, I am just entering the maxium anxiety phase, well, after christmas, when there is no more time left, at all, is when I will panic in a major way, so if you can find someway to help me I would be very very grateful.

QUESTION (Guy Keulemans) – I think that when you said “first aid kit” I think you hit the nail on the head, because if we soon get to the point where we cannot produce new objects, it’s all going to be about repairing the stuff we have, so first aid kits of repair kits for all these things –

> Well I had this conversation with someone recently who said, it all sounds very mcuh like going into hospital – but can it be beautiful, can it be a beautfiul first aid kit.

QUESTION (Guy Keulemans) - And can we create more attachment by repairing things?

> Well a bit part of this show will be people lashing up wireless networks from old nintendo consoles and stuff, because that’s part of it. And a friend who called *** who runs a festival called Pixelate, and there is a whole world of completely insane hardware and software hackers out there, which is just one bit of it but in terms of the rest of it… things like design software, do you encounters you know this “lifesycle analysis” this is a very sort of heavy and boring subject ,but various people are making tools to help designers understand the material consequences of a products. Do we need one of those? I think we need one of those in one of the tents. But there are all these snake oil salesmen, software companies, who do we believe?

QUESTION (Frans Parthesius) – Well, I would like to thank you for coming and talking about something very close to our hearts, and *** thankyou for bringing John here.

> Well, your welcome, and really I need help and between now and after christmas it would be great to figure out something tangible. Its 5000 square meteres before you agree to anything rashly, it’s a bloody huge shed. **** The risk as already been taken *** to genetically engineered ones ***** Do you know Stelarc? He’d now growing an artificial ear on his arm.

End Transcript.

Analysis:

John Thackera’s lecture was interesting and mainly concerned the activities of the British design initiave DOTT, which applies design thinking to problems usually considered in other disciplines (such as healthcare, sociology, nutrition). Its does strike one that as much as designers can offer new solutions in these areas because of their fresh persective, it also means they can become lost when delaing with subject matter out of their experience or training.

The St Etienne Design Biennial that John discusses in the discussion after the lecture, sounded full of potential as a design exhibition focussing on new well considered solutions. On Thackara blog website, he repeats his call for young designers to submit ideas based on the concept of “first aid kits” for technology and design. Hoever, the Biennial is due to begin in November and while Thackara’s conceptual initiative does not seem to have such a presence on their website, the exhibition does include references to urban planning and eco-design solutuons, as well as the usual fashionable new chairs and other meaningless products.

Thackara’s blog however, can be recommended for any design student as a casual and timely discussion on contempory problems in design. Recent posts touch on urban planning for increasing food localisation, the problems of bulk retail refridgeration, and the concept of “de-growth”.

Hans Wilschut workshop Rotterdam

Lyric Reflections on Urbanism
by William Hunter


On Wednesday, May 28, 2008, Rotterdam based photographer Hans Wilschut delivered a lecture titled, ‘Lyric Reflections on Urbanism’, for the Design Academy Masters Department SOURCE program. Prior to his early evening talk, Wilschut conducted a workshop with the Masters students. In a personal narrative fashion, Wilschut presented examples of his recent work, mainly large format photographs depicting urban conditions across the globe. In these images, the artist attempts to spark a dialogue with the city. Admitting a keen interest in the boundaries between public and private domain, Wilschut wishes to challenge the viewer to sharpen their gaze. He believes that people too often merely walk the streets of cities oblivious to the details which tell the true stories. Wilschut asks “What exactly are we looking at?”

The piece ‘Rock’ portrays a type of incredible world. Using trickery in perspective the viewer tends to question or doubt the realistic nature of the illustrated scene. This method, as in much of his work, would seem to indicate signs of digital editing. But Wilschut is quick to defend this falsity. He admits using the computer in the production process, but notes that if the piece is planned correctly then no digital editing is required. In most of his cases, once the image is shot it is ready. Wilschut describes himself as an urban explorer, traveling landscapes with or without permission. These explorations often lead him to places hidden from view or places that people don’t manifest. An example of this was an image taking from the top of a heavily trafficked suspension bridge in Shanghai. The view from the camera, perched atop the bridge, looks to the directional axis of a bustling street below. The fascinating aspect of being in a place where people don’t exist, a place we don’t quite understand, and the vantage point achieved reflect the city in ways we haven’t seen.

The recent work, aptly titled ‘Landmark’, is perhaps Wilschut’s most socio-critical to date. In it we see the city from above. The image’s central focus is a building that has partially collapsed do to a severe rainstorm 3 years prior. The artist sees the building as a symbol of reverse urbanization as the building still stands in its deconstructed state. Adding to this commentary is the fact that the photograph, due to consciously chosen fading light and angle, is nearly a perfect architectural photograph, a genre in which the artist disassociates himself from, despite buildings and urban environments being the focus of his work. But this photograph isn’t highlighting new architecture, rather than exposing the economic malaise of the city.

In fielding a question following the talk, regarding the themes of his photographs, Wilshcut simply states that he creates works that stand alone rather than belonging to a formal series. And while there may seem to be reoccurring subjects of urban decay and industrial scenes, he would simply be too bored with the serial method.

Hans Wilschut workshop and interview

Hans Wilschut Interview May 28, 2008
William Hunter (interviewer) Fumiaki and Gina (cameras/video)


WH: You say that the photographic study is a dialogue with the city. What does that mean for you?

HW: It means that I go to the city and try to react on the things that wonder me, that give me ideas and I can never predict what will happen. So the city sort of dictates what I will do.

WH: And is the product that you develop; is that sort of the answer to these questions or the dialogue, the conversation that you have? Do you see as sort of giving anything back to the city at all with this conversation? Or is just about the city’s feeding you these new things?

HW: Yeah the city is feeding me. I’m not really looking for answers actually. The city gives me reasons for other questions- not in the literal way, more in a process, as a process.

WH: You also mention that your images reveal what only the photographic eye can see? Does this mean we’re missing something or being too quick with our naked observations?

HW: Oh yeah. I think nowadays we are so use to image, with everything that comes, with all the influences that come towards us. Such as internet- we can travel the whole world through the internet. By television, by what you see on the streets, or the billboards. Image has become a very flucterative thing. I think if you take time- the photographic eye takes time for this. Sort of creates a moment of slowness.

WH: Right, rather than being lazy. The general person kind of going around is spoiled by the images. They don’t do enough investigation into things- seeing behind something.

HW: Do the fact that we consume image very quickly, we make conclusions very quickly as well. For me, the aim of making photographs is to slow this process down. And raise more questions. Not to aim at answers, but to get the process of thinking about the environment going.

WH: What’s the longest amount of time you have spent trying to capture and produce an image?

HW: On the spot you mean? Or…

WH: Well because you mentioned that, sometimes you have to- you go in- if you see something, going around a city that interests you and you take these quick photos as almost like documentation and memory devices to then possibly go back and then to capture it in the real way you want to. And you’ve also mentioned going to places that you’re not supposed to be at. Not necessarily trespassing, but sometimes its harder to get to a certain place. So what’s the most challenging piece or project that you’ve been involved with where it took more time to get what you wanted or to realize exactly what you wanted out of a site?

HW: I have a few actually. But an interesting one is one I did in Lagos last year, of a building that was collapsed partly, which made the building controversial because it was showing lack of direction by the city government. In Lagos they did not want tourists to photograph the building, so it was guarded by soldiers in every angle, every street. For me I found this location on top of the highest building of Lagos Island and to obtain this permission, I think only that cost me 4 days, 4 days of waiting in corridors and going from different stages and hierarchy of the company. And then at the moment that I thought I had the picture, coming back in Holland, there was something wrong with the light. It didn’t match, so I had to go back a few months later and I had to go through the same process again. Which was altogether a pretty long process of taking this photo.

WH: You’re talking about ‘Landmark’?

HW: Yeah, ‘Landmark’

WH: That goes to my next question. That’s one of your most recent projects. How does that piece represent your general, total ideas on urbanization, where it’s at now, for that one it was about- you talk about it being a regenerative urbanization, like the opposite direction, since it was collapsing or had collapsed?

HW: Before that I used to photograph a lot of urbanization things that were the result of capitalistic societies. So, architecture that exists through in investments. So here it totally reversed. When a country doesn’t play a role in the global economics, its somehow can result in a shape of architecture that is almost organic. For me that was an interesting change.

WH: With most of the pieces you do, you say you’re asking this question ‘What’s really there”. “What’s really behind what we see or don’t see”. What is it about that that interests you? It might be obvious what that is because you just have sort of an imagination that goes beyond what is always kind of presented to us. But how does that fuel your work? It seems to be that driving force behind what you get to seek and what you photograph. It’s always this sort of back door thing, whether it’s an industrial plant, or these backyards, or the city from a viewpoint that most people aren’t at. We’re not always on top of buildings. We experience most things from the street level. And a lot of your photographs take us to places that we haven’t been.

HW: Yeah it reveals something from another point of view or another harmony or disharmony of the city. But I don’t understand your question actually.

WH: Well, what is it about this sort of, this thing beyond that interests you, that seems to be very central to all your pieces? What is it about that, rather than, as other photographers might be, they take pictures of what exists. Its almost just a documentation of either a culture, or…

HW: Right, like a registration of things.

WH: Yeah.

HW: Well it’s the urge to see the things differently. It’s the urge to photograph in a lot of cities and still the urge to leave behind with only one city, the one that’s in my mind, that’s a result of the choices and not the geographical connection. I’m using real cities to make almost unreal photographs of them as if they were constructed.

WH: It also seems that a lot of your pieces are night scenes. I don’t know if that’s an effect that you’re getting after you take it, in the studio or… a lot of them seem to be- the sky is very dark and therefore you get to really see these lights of the city or a place, whether it’s a street light or all the lights of the buildings. Is that true or do you have other, do you take, do you also have pieces that exists during the daytime.

HW: I do have some. I do have some. It has to do with the subject of the photograph. If I would shoot something very literal, very boring, very naked as a subject, I might choose for daylight. I don’t want to make it more than it is. Sometimes it’s really interesting to see the influence of light to feel the intensity. Somehow the intensity of a place becomes more real if it’s a night seen for me. And also the fact that through the night light, it’s a tool to alienate the scene from reality. I’m very interested in taking the time for light, finding the right situation by the scene that I’m shooting.

WH: Maybe the last thing. How much time goes into the actual production of the photo? After you’ve got the image, after you take the picture and you bring it back to the studio?

HW: Well, most of the time goes to letting it rest. I usually make big prints as sketches, so like 140(cm) wide or so. I try to understand if a picture stays powerful or not. This can take half a year, and sometimes even longer. I just finished a work that I kept 4 years waiting or so, and after realizing now it’s the right time, now it’s fitting all together. But maybe you want to know how much time I spend behind the computer for post production- this is not so long actually.

WH: So often or hopefully you just get the shot and when it’s ready to be processed it’s almost there.

HW: Yeah. I do have some shots that I know on the moment of shooting that they are powerful. It happens a few times a year. But this is rare actually.

WH: And it seems like your work has taken you many places. Has there ever been a place that really surprised you or that you saw something in a place that you wouldn’t have imagined.

HW: Oh it happens all the time actually. That’s the interesting part of going to cities with the only goal of trying to understand the city in terms of making photos of it. And it means that sometimes I miss parts of a city that others usually see.
WH: Do you always do that? Are you always the photographer? Are you ever just the visitor? Or are you always looking at cities that way now?

HW: Actually I went to Turkey for a holiday and then I came to realize that it was very interesting to go back for photography and then I saw the city in a totally different way. But I had to disconnect from the other experience. It was difficult because I had been a tourist already. I had to change the approach. And it resulted actually in a work that expressed the feeling of being a tourist. It was a hotel situation that felt like a prison, because it was not finished yet at the moment I shot it was still concrete and there was only one person living in it- you could tell by the little light- it was a guard. But this particular photograph totally represented my feeling as a tourist being in such a resort disconnected from the other culture, which a lot of tourists do. They just go there. They eat there sleep there, they swim, they party, and they don’t enter the country or leave the resort.

WH: Do you guys have anything?

FG: What were your interests when you were a student? We are students now…?

HW: Actually when I was a student I studied painting. I painted very abstract paintings. But at that time I already made drawings of city details, which I made more abstract in the paintings. Funny thing is that nowadays I make a lot of abstract photographs, starting very sharp and very real, but by the tools that I have, I try to get more distance from the reality. So I’m sort of back where I started.

FG: Ok thanks.

WH: Good?
FG: Yep.

WH: Ok.

Lidewij Edelkoort lecture