'Design Life Now' at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston
Sneakers and medicine bottles aren't exactly what you might expect to find at an art exhibit. But the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston isn't your typical art museum. Impressed by the ICA's new and stunning harbor-side building, the organizers of the show decided that this venue would be perfect to house "Design Life Now," an exhibition of innovative American design produced over the past three years in the fields of architecture, furniture, film, graphics, animation, science and fashion.
As explained by assistant curator Emily Moore Brouillet, "Design Life Now" is a triennial show presented by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to reveal the amazing breakthroughs made by cutting-edge designers who apparently have unlimited imaginations. That is apparent throughout the exhibit, which includes works by 80 designers who draw inspiration from technology, math, biology, engineering and physics, turning far-out conceptions into objects as matter-of-fact as the iPod and as quirky as Michael Meredith's collection of bright green, star-shaped plastic objects, which turn out to be coat hooks.
Associate professor of architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Meredith not only contributed to the show, he designed its galleries.
If the coat hooks aren't immediately recognizable, there's no mystery about the splendid object that hangs overhead. It's clearly a kayak, with clear being the operative word. In fact, it is the only transparent kayak in the world. Manufactured by a Honolulu-based company called Blue Hawaii, this rare vessel's transparent urethane casing and Kevlar frame not only allow the operator to see the world he or she is gliding through but, at the end of the day, to fold it up into a 26-pound package small enough to fit in a backpack.
Wandering through the exhibit, which ranges from the iRobot Roomba, a disc-shaped appliance that vacuums floors and now seems slightly old-fashioned, to the virtual reality films of Hunter Hoffman, one can see there is really no horizon for these designers who are as much scientists and engineers as they are artists. That certainly is the case with Hoffman who, with his colleagues at Seattle's University of Washington, created a virtual-reality game called "SnowWorld" whose icy images are so powerful they reduce the pain of severe burn victims.
While many of the designers are unknown, others over the years have become household names.
Herman Miller's inviting workplace environment, with two translucent, basket-weave settees hovering high over a table, looks as though it would promote camaraderie while providing privacy.
In this family friendly show, wherein adorable models for a Pixar animated feature are apt to be around the corner from a display of Judy Geib's exquisite jewelry, or Thom Browne's wildly imaginative fashions for men, there is something for everyone and the promise of a future that will look like nothing we have ever known.
DESIGN LIFE NOW: NATIONAL DESIGN TRIENNIAL at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston, through Jan. 6, 2008. Admission $12; $10 students, seniors; 17 and under free; Free from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and for families on the last Saturday of each month. 617-478-3100 or icaboston.org
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