[Emily Potts] Last week we were inspired by three amazing artists: Henning Wagenbreth, Sophie Dutertre and Placid. In keeping with the French artist theme, I’m starting off this week’s Creative Chain with an illustrator I deeply admire and respect.
[Kim Rogala] As the Mohawk Show 12 entry deadline approaches (May 31st, so hurry and enter!) we wanted to direct your attention to the Show’s materials that were created by the team at Tether. We asked Stanley Hainsworth, founder and chief creative officer of Tether, to tell us a little about his thoughts behind the designs.
[Alyson Kuhn] Michael Boyd, designer of the PLANEfurniture line, collects modernist furniture, art, architecture and design books, and ephemera. Last year, he decided to create a line of modernist-inspired furniture that “makes you think, holds your body, eases your mind, and sits well within your budget.” That’s a quote from the jacket flap of PLANEfurniture: types + prototypes, designed by Mick Hodgson of Ph.D, A Design Office. I recently sat in some of the furniture and can confirm that it is quite user-friendly.
TEDTalks: Maira Kalman: life is random, just enjoy it
Maira Kalman’s TEDTalk — like her life, personality, and Strand curated book collection — can be described as random, scatter-brained, and a little wonky, but in the best of ways. In thinking of how I would write this, I remembered Kalman saying in her 2007 talk, “I can’t stand the idea of anything that starts in the beginning, you know, beginning, middle and end, it really scares me, because my life is too random and too confused, and I enjoy it that way.” So, like Kalman, I’ll just dive in.
Maira Kalman is a writer and illustrator, best known for her New Yorker cover designs and the 56 paintings that add color and liveliness to the somewhat dry (but essential) Elements of Style. Kalman, however, has no use for rules, and admits that she ignores those presented in Elements of Style, daring to use run-on sentences and even create her own words (like “extinctified”).
While we may be aghast at Kalman’s disregard for grammar and facts, it’s precisely this personality trait that sets her free, allowing her to create uninhibited. “It’s better not to know anything, because if you know too much, you’re stymied,” says Kalman in her talk. Later, when discussing the drawings she’s created during TEDTalks that she didn’t understand, she adds, “Good things come out of incomprehension.”
It’s sometimes essential to know the rules before taking on a project (rewiring a house might be disastrous if you don’t know what you’re doing), but I agree with Kalman. In creative endeavors, sometimes it’s better just to jump in and see what flows.
Do you have a few TEDTalks you watch over and over for inspiration? Share them with us in the comments. [SJ]
What makes life wonderful? TEDGlobal 2011 is underway in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the theme is “the stuff of life.” So, it is in this spirit that we share a few of our favorite TEDTalks, like those from artist Vik Muniz and Ixoraa Media founder Lakshmi Pratury. And, all week on Felt & Wire, watch for talks curated by design pioneers like Bryan Flynn and CMYK Magazine’s Curtis Clarkson.
