Designblog

Fauna, a word which brings sweet and fluffy images to my mind. Horrible. Especially because it’s always linked to the other half; Flora. The combination of those two words is a summary of almost all the things we see in our free time. (watching birds, taking a walk…). So for me it was quite easy to search for a book which was linked to my tag.

Although the intentions of my original tags were more general, I now ended up with a book named ‘The cat’s tail’ (De staart van de kat). Just a nice title made of simple words. Not too heavy or philosophic. The title and the cover fit well together. The book is white, small and empty. There are no images on the cover. It’s quite the opposite of images that sneaks into my mind when I think of fauna.

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To find a book with the tags “mass production” and “hand works” wasn’t really easy to find, because these two term are really different. Almost the same, as positive and negative.

But “Design of the 20th century” become the book which has both words. Inside you can find mass production but also hand works.
Originally design come from the industrial revolution. Before that, products are made by hand. The design and realization from the objects were most of the time from the hands of an craftsman. Because of the new industrial production processes, and the works, design become different from production.

In this book you can find photographs from famous designers as J. Hoffman, P. Strack, C. Scarpa, etc.
It’s nice to enlarge your vision on design with this book.

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For the first posting I chose two books, which ended up in six differend tagwords ranging from ‘tribe’ to ‘random’ and from ‘cheapfashion’ to ‘funny’. It was quiet difficult to find a new book corresponding with most of those tagwords. I ended up with a book which is really mysterious. The cover is white, except from the title: Zeven Dagen, houdbaar. Not even the author is mentioned on the cover. Also in the book there is no preface or explanation about what it is about and what is going on. Each page of the book contains three drawn objects or words. The drawings are really direct, kind of primitive which made me think of the tagword ‘tribe’. The connection between the drawings and the words is not always obvious, most of the time you have to guess what this connection would be. This reminded me of the other part of this project directed by Matthias Kreutzer, in which I am busy with this unclear connection between two images and a tagword. For me, an image doesn’t have a meaning for itself, you generate a meaning outside of the image, by for instance associatians, memory’s and certain conventions. When you place two images together, the meaning is generated between them. The same with an image and a tagword.

Rietveld Acadamy Library: No 758.3 dui 1b

My second book choice was based on my tag word that was yellow. I went for a book that was completely yellow and hoped that the contents of the book related to my other tags (dot, shapes and forms and jewelry). The book I ended up with was a book made by an artist called Toon Verhoef. I did not find many dots in the book, but there were some. There was no jewelry to be found in this book, but there were many super yellow paintings which had many shapes and forms that could be easily seen as beautiful shapes and forms, as you will find in many jewelry rings, necklaces, earrings etc.  I was happy with the book because it was really yellow so was the inside of the book.

Number: verhoe 3

The second book I choose is about the architecture from library’s and museums. Because my tags were “library” “arranging” “industrial” it isn’t a really big surprise that the book I find now is quite similar to the other one. But the most important difference is the fact that this book is about the architecture of the buildings.

It is a really interesting book because you will find out more from well known buildings and also discover some new. Off course the architecture is really important for the atmosphere in library’s and museums.

The reason that makes this book interesting for me is that they show every detail of the buildings. I like the fact that you can find maps, models, etc. In some way it almost looks like a hobby book, for self-made architecture. But to make one of the buildings myself, is not gonna work I guess…

Publik Library Amsterdam: 718.4
Bauten der Kultur: “Museen und Bibliotheken”

The Rietveld Library. I take a sharp left immediately after I enter. The art section. While still trying to figure out how I will find my third and final book, I am confronted with a bright colored cover. A book leaning against some other books, clear in sight. I might have even turned my head to see if this book was really looking at me and not someone standing behind me.

The happy colors are formed into vegetables on a plate. I take it from its shelve to have a look inside, where I find more food on plates, vases with flowers, some abstractions and many, many dogs, most of them sleeping.

I figured I should not even look further. This book was so clearly out to be found by me, I could not just put it back.

When I leave the library, I find myself in a state of happiness, yet a little tired and quite hungry.

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I have these tags: mystery, old fashion and first sight with me when I went to library, I really had no idea what’s kind of book would be found?I felt so mystery….

The cover of this book from Desiree Dolron didn’t attract me so much; I was chatting with someone and picking books randomly, so I think the first sight on this book was not the cover but a photo inside, it shocked me.

It was a black white photo, seems a pair of kid’s feet were burning in the flaming fire. “What happened?! ”I shouted in my mind. And I looked up other imagines in the book quickly, and I didn’t find a clear answer. All people (some were corpses) in the images seem to be in some mystery rituals, madly and bloody. Then I had a look at cover, “Exaltation Images of Religion and Death”.

I can’t forget that pair of feet, I borrowed the book.

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for my third choice of book i chose this monograph on the work of Maurizio Cattelan.

a donkey with a widescreen television on its back- the contradiction(the ancient donkey and the modern television) and absurdity of this picture got me into a conversation with the student returning this book who  strongly advised me borrow it. upon looking in it i saw a similar anarchistic italian wit to that of Felini (especially in the chaos of Amarcord).

the book features some of the very interesting projects that the artist has been engaged in from early 1990 to 2000-

Super noi(super us) where the artist has been portraited by 50 of his friends through a police sketch artist.

Spermini the artist created 500 molds/masks of his face, each slightly different representing sperm.

Torno Subito(i’ll be right back) due to unsatisfactory resulting work for a solo show the artist locked the gallery with this sign hung on the front door.

Stadium the artist elongated a table soccer game to fit 25 people, commenting on racist issues on immigration in itali, half of the players of north african descent and half of italian.

i have not finished this book yet but i really recommend it, in the projects as well as in the large, extensive,insightful interview with the artist.

Rietveld library code : -catt – / 1

The second book that I chose from the library was the ‘Extreme Interiors’. When I was looking at the previous tags, city, nomadic and reality, I created an image in my head, which represents a young man with a suitcase in his hand at a big city airport. The book’s width is greater than its height and it has a nicely finished cover containing bright and striking pink and yellow colours. The cover picture is displaying a man in a suit with his back turned away from us looking like someone that is probably driving a fancy car or piloting a space ship…

The book was exactly what I was looking for.

Book nr:145664

This second book the family of man attracted me in a different way. printed in 1955 it was at the time  – ”the most ambitious and challenging project with photography that had ever been attempted” (three million photographs were originally collected from amateur and professional photographers (not to mention more than a handful of gems by Henri Cartier Bresson). 10,000 of which were included in the MoMA exhibit while a further 506 photos from 68 countries were chosen for this publication (now that’s a die-hard archiving project!!)

“The Family Of Man” was originally produced for the museum of modern art in new york- not with the intention presenting the photograph as art but to show – ”photography as a dynamic process of giving form to ideas and of explaining man to man.” -to teach man about himself in all his various creeds and shades (this book was much before its time and although it did not have the intention of formenting multicultural acceptance it probably had a great influence and later gave way to books such as the 1968 random house publication The Colour of Man.) in the foreword Edward Steichen explains that his family of man was created in the passionate spirit of devoted love and faith in mankind.”.  and this i feel is what drew me to this book. pictures of birth, love, life and death shown with tangible empathy and passion. pictures of every possible ethnicity.  tribesmen from papua new guinea, native americans, french peasants, maori. this book although outdated is not without some degree of power still as can be seen by the frequency it has been rented out in recent years by people with a similar curiousity and interest to mine.

rietveld library number – 760.3 / stei / 1

Entering the room expecting to be overwhelmed by an overload of impulses. This was not happening this time. No screaming of flirting books. I looked at the place where the magazine was before. From where it was observing me and had tried to seduce me. Her replacer silently watching me with a smile. The change of time leaded to the divergence of being.

This time deliberately searching for the escape from reality. But how can you find one when you are in need. The books were deadly silent now I was the one who was screaming. Devastated by frustration. One book after the other moved through my hands. Attentively searching for a way to escape.

This time no hidden doors.
Time is jostling. Again the clock dictates my swiftness and need to precipitate. Entangled in the web of time. Paralyzing me. Feverishly starting to look for an escape.

Suddenly between all the books on a notable shelf a dim glittering. A sparkle of hope, would this be the one? Finely resting in the palm of my hand.

The opposite of absorption this time, the appearance of a reflection. For a moment I was captured in this image while seeing myself. This was no escape but fruitlessness of reality.

Boek nummer : 760 -bax- 1

The advantages of being a woman artist:

‘Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labeled feminine.’

‘Being included in revised versions of art history.’ (Guerilla Girls)

After listening to a presentation on feminist art I contemplate these statements. I find them funny, but they also make me uncomfortable. What is a woman artist? Are there specific issues she should address?

Later, in the library, I know I have to find a book on design, but first I wander around to find a book that addresses the subject on my mind. Intuitively, I pick up a pink book with feminist essays on art. Later, I return to my initial task and pick up a book on color theory. That book, now lying in front of me on the table, doesn’t speak to me at all. If this is a subjective library, I should just read about feminism instead.

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The book I chose is all about it’s size and content. It’s is a big white book, very light and very thin. On the cover there is a broche of a beautiful lady in gold. Her legs are squatted, her torso upright and she holds her arms wide open. Her arms are part of very lush and colourful butterfly wings. She has two curly antenna’s on her head and her hair flows around her face and arms. She appears to be flying. When I saw her I knéw that my pinnocchio has found his Blue Fairy. It’s a book about Nouveau Jewelry. Because of the sheer size of this book, the pictures of the jewellery inside are very big and very impressive. Every page is full of color and has a vibrancy that really captures the attention and imagination. It’s like a box of candy’s this book. EYEcandy!

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Looking for theft, tiny and supermarket, I came across this old book about jewels. It is indeed tiny. You can steel jewels (or this book, however it’s not interesting). And about the supermarket; I link supermarket to housewives and my impression of this book so far is that it’s kind of prudish and suitable for housewives in their midlifecrisis. I can see them joining in little groups making bracelets and collars; bitching about their husbands. Maybe twenty years from now I will borrow it again, just after moulding class didn’t turn out to be ‘my thing’.

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(it’s not called “an introduction to juwellery” by the way, that’s just what it seems to be)

Something happened to me at the library. Not such an everyday thing.

A clear report of what happened at the library: The first book I took from the shelf was the right one.

You might think: “Okay. What a breaking news”, or you might have read my last post and know that I’m the girl that never picks the right book from the shelf, and that’s why your now thinking: “Chapeau chapeau!”.

Extraordinary it was. This book wasn’t a swindler. Not a library loser. Opening the book proved my thought, it was lend 29 times before. I trusted the people who had lend this book before me. They must have picked the pick for a good reason. Probably.

The book contained 846 pages of sketches of forgotten trees, endless forests, empty landscapes. It was sketched two centuries ago. Flipping through these, almost numb, pages made me feel like walking through a library. The feeling of being lost. The feeling of never finding the right book. The feeling of being a library loser. These 846 pages were a perfect resemblance of my library feelings. After thousands of failures, I found a book that fits me.

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Finding a new book with the tags; “alchemy, identical, metaphysics, mysticism and mythology” was more difficult then I expected.
Still, all the time my eyes lingered back to this one book lying on its back, showing on the cover naked classical looking ladies, who are eating grapes, playing the the Arabic ‘ud’, and generally having a good time.
Not to difficult to associate with my tags ofcourse, its only logical.
The title of the book is “Oriëntalisten (orientalism)”. The subject of the book tells about the western depiction of aspects of eastern culture by writers, designers and artists, which is hostile and inaccurate, and mainly based on stereotypes.
It sounds fascinating, but within all likeliness I will not read a single word of its content. A pitty.

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Waiting. For the next to come along.

I am plain, hard and angular, but soft and blue under the surface. Filled with interesting elements, like a little treasure – waiting to be found. A treasury of various jewelleries. Shape, material, colour and content. Judging from my appearance I look like something out of a dumpster or like I should be returned to a recycling station. If only people could see.

Looking aside or being abnormal does not need to be terrifying, but should bring forth curiosity.

Grab the book as it lies here on the shelf with its naked surface. It doesn’t seem all that interesting, but somehow you still feel drawn to it. A book where the content does not show, this must indeed be a disadvantage. Who would choose this book based on its external?

Do we choose the book or does it choose us?

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