Entries Tagged 'DÉCOR' ↓

.. obviously designed by a graduate of the John Cleese School of Funny Exhaust Pipes. Or sent by some deity specifically to upset The Iconophile. Follow the thread here and here.

is a tumbler blog (or so I’m told). Imaginary photo-narratives built on images from Dwell.

Eeek! The quiet and leafy suburbs of Adelaide are easily shocked: in this instance by this chunky 1958 Ford Edsel Citation convertible. The Edsel was produced between 1957 and 1960, and was by all accounts a bit of a flop. Its styling was judged to deliver less than it promised – and the entirely new production line intended to replace the Lincoln in the race against GM misjudged the market entirely. The addition of a dramatic vertical grill to an otherwise conventional lumpy body shape was insufficient to sustain production numbers, and the brand died. Now they’re rare. And especially in original unrestored condition like this example.

Why are collectors attracted to the last of the breed, to lemons, or to examples of 20th century design which disprove the ideology of modernity’s inexorable progress? It’s not just a matter of rarity, but also some sense of being just outside the norm, of (at last) making fun of another generation’s questionable taste and judgement. Thus this great shiny lump of steel, wide enough to seat three abreast, with huge V8 motor, which handles like the Queen Mary, even with enough gadgets to aspire to technological progress, inspires a special appreciation of conspicuous consumption and an aesthetic of excess among baby boomers.

The Ford Edsel is often cited by design historians as the archetypal instance of designers marketeers stylists getting it wrong. The timing was terrible, when the launch coincided with the onset of the 1957 recesssion. Established brands were being closed down in every direction. By the time it hit the market, there was no niche for the Edsel to fill, and so it died, at a reputed cost of $40m. Wiki claims the name itself may have contributed to its demise: “…in honor of Edsel Ford, former company president and son of Henry Ford. Marketing surveys later found the name was thought to sound like the name of a tractor (Edson) and therefore was unpopular with the public. Moreover, several consumer studies showed that people associated the name “Edsel” with “weasel” and “dead cell” (dead battery), drawing further unattractive comparisons.”

But of course we should treasure the remaining examples – especially those which have not been ruined by restoration! They teach us where we’ve been, and show us where not to go. Iconophilia thanks Tony and Olive for the photo-essay.

…is not even a question for Cubans! In that other universe, for the last fifty years, the stock of pre-revolutionary gas guzzlers was (almost) all Cuba had as private transport. If they could afford the petrol. Just keeping them going and refurbished is their automotive industry.

Iconophilia thanks Jan Luedert for these recent photographs of a 1953 Buick being reconstructed in downtown Havana. Jan writes: “the pictures where taken near Trinidad the UN World Heritage City. The shop was set up by two Cubans as a private enterprise. The interesting thing about these vehicles is the way that it represents “true sustainability” as these cars are rebuilt, recycled and always find their way back to the road. What they also do at the shop is install a more modern diesel engine so the while the chassis is old style 50s the engines are usually new and often diesel. It is incredible to watch how without a fair degree of ingenuity and with how few resources a car that would rust away in our world finds its way back to the road. Cars are mostly communal in Cuba and one hardly ever finds a car with less than five people in them.”

More paint than metal, methinks. For more background, read this piece by Tom Miller from the NYT.

But who among you doesn’t feel just a little bit guilty that we in the outside world take such perverse pleasure in observing the fact that Fidel’s Revolution has subjected his country to this technological time-warp? How pictureque is it (still) that Cuban citizens are forced to live out the historical antipathy to the U.S.A. by driving around in these decaying icons of the excesses of the decade of the 1950s? Contradictions abound in such circumstances. For example, what are we to make of this 1948 Cadillac Fleetwood snapped by The Iconophile in the back streets of Tehran in 2007? If it looks somewhat abandoned, consider (a) how difficult it would be to get spare parts these days, and (b) how much more politically incorrect it would be on the streets of Tehran than Havana?

You’ll think I’ve got a thing about automotive orifices. But, post Edsel, it’s still happening! There’s a very bad case of overdesign in The Iconophile’s own carpark… Or does this little Civic produce triangular CO2?

Iconophilia suggests: surely some local Wittgenstein afficionado must be the author of this spectacularly austere house in Watson Rise in Canberra?

Well here’s the story. Iconophilia has discovered the hideous petuniae are funded by Canberra’s organisation of property owners, CBD Ltd. Despite their self-congratulatory spin, somebody must be in charge, some arm of government must have thought, what a great idea! Let’s have four months of naff, eight months of empty rings. (Despite their assurance: “On completion of the project the Planter People will totally remove all installations.” Well they didn’t did they?)  So let ‘em at it! There are 1300 plastic potties in all. Money must be burning a hole in their pockets. And the public loves it, so they say. They’ve got one totally legitimate email to prove it…

In their own words:

“Each Year Canberra CBD Limited contracts the Planter People [it's like living in PhotoshopWorld] to festoon the City with flowers. There are 350 locations (1300 baskets) from Hobart Place, along Northbourne Avenue through City Walk, Petrie Plaza and Ainslie Avenue. The flowers are installed early November and stay in place until after the Canberra Festival in March.

“The public love this addition to the City and following email is an example of comments we have received:

“You mentioned your plans to beautify the CBD and I keep meaning to send this note telling you what a great job you are doing. The flower baskets are sensational.

Congratulations on the wonderful addition of flower planters to the inner city areas in Canberra. What a breath of fresh air it is to see these wonderful colours everywhere”.

This is not a commercial. This is. Your Iconophile has been techo-gazumped. Please explain. The invisible readymade below (Maquette for an Invisible Sculpture) was first exhibited in DECOR in Canberra, in August 1993, (in a show curated by Kevin Henderson).

The specific function of a watering-can seems to have stimulated designers to stretch the limits of plasticity. But how does it feel to water your plants with an award-winning icon? Especially one made of extruded plastic? Dutch-born Monika Mulder’s award winning Vallö (2001) (above) is currently part of Democratic Design: IKEA at the International Design Museum in Munich.

The great Danish designer Erik Lehmann Hansen seems to have seen the humble watering can as an excuse for a playful exercise in style, echoing the geometric purism of his predecessors. But somehow he has exaggerated those characteristics to produce a postmodern object which seems to make fun of its origins: part oil-can, part Constructivism. I haven’t been able to discover the date for Lehmann’s watering can (Rosti #5173), but Lehmann was Rosti’s chief designer from the mid-70s. Although most of his classic designs were cast in melamine, his watering can is extruded silver thermo-plastic.

If the too-much-plastic thing is worrying all you 21st century readers, now check out this nifty award-winning recycliste design by French-born Swiss designer Nicolas Le Moigne seen here at designboom… His minimal use of plastic, part-recycled, maximises functionality, minimises consumption.

…how many April firsts do we have this year? How many Halloweens? The CT’s report last Sunday claims the Chief Minister chose this $90,000 beauty himself to enhance the “Latin American Quarter” which is, apparently, at the corner of Childers and Rudd Streets, to the west of Civic. Even the artist admits “it’s a tongue in cheek” work… And according to the lucky artist, our CM is demonstrating “just how pro-active Jon Stanhope has been”. He would, wouldn’t he? He’s probably already been paid once for the Sydney gig, and he’s already working on a commission across the Lake (we specialise in multiple commissions in this town). It’s a revealing article. Being unaware of a Latin American Quarter so close to his place of work, your Iconophile investigated the address as he drove home. He can now assure you the Quarter will be enhanced by many thousand percent by the addition of this symbol of public taste. Coming off a very low base. See the 360 degree view below to experience the compelling virtual ambience of The Quarter.