As one of the presenters at IMA’s Miller House Symposium, I may sound rather biased. Nevertheless I would say it was one of more interesting symposiums in which I have participated. Craig Miller, the design arts curator at the museum ingeniously decided that rather than having a full roster of historians all present didactic disquisitions about the Miller House in Columbus, he would have two historians place the house in differing historical contexts, and then ask three practitioners to discuss their own perspectives on each of the major designers (Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard and Dan Kiley) who were involved in creating this significant contribution to residential architecture in Columbus, Indiana in 1959.

The presentations offered a varied and substantive range of approaches to appreciating the Miller House’s creators: Brad Dunning included four animated videos relating to Alexander Girard’s work, all of which were smashing. Deborah Berke talked about her long admiration of Saarinen’s architecture with an emphasis on his small output of designs for residential design. It was illuminating, particularly from her own perspective as an architect. Laurie Olin discussed his affinity to the landscape design of Dan Kiley by showing Kiley’s architectural orientation in his work. (Like Olin, Kiley studied architecture before turning to landscape design.)

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Filed under: Design, Guest Bloggers, Miller House, The Collection

As someone once said – as one door closes another opens.  The demise of the Design Center, on the first level of the museum, provided the perfect spot to create a brief introduction to the latest addition to our collection, the only one that does not reside on our 152-acre campus: the Miller House in Columbus, Indiana.

Put simply, we wanted to design a space to entice IMA visitors to make the effort to go to Columbus and visit the Miller House. To complicate things, each of us has had the experience of seeing the house in person, and we all admitted that none of us really appreciated what the Miller House is until we saw it for ourselves.

Once we visited, all the designers agreed it would be impossible to replicate the subtle magnificence of the Miller House.  But we also realized the danger of creating a space that implied we could.  So the task became – how to offer visitors a “taste” without satisfying them, or worse, convincing them that they had in fact experienced a masterpiece remotely.

What we settled on is a series of large-scale photos mounted on freestanding walls. These create a maze-like, (very) rough model of the house and grounds.  Walking through, one can easily pick up the general concept of the house – colors, materials, volume of space, etc.  The rear of the space is peppered with reproductions of blueprints, swatches, letters, permits, and other archival materials, which represent the colossal amount of work, and coordination that went into creating this landmark.  All of this is accompanied by an IMA-produced video piece, as well as information regarding directions and ticketing.

For over fifty years one of the nation’s greatest works of art has been enjoyed exclusively by those who created it, and now it is open to the public.  This space (which opens on May 20th) serves to celebrate that fact, and entice everyone who sees it that a trip to Columbus is in order.

Filed under: Design, The Collection

Designer Emily Pilloton is the most practical of prophets: her life’s work is to engage people with the transformative power of design.  First she founded Project H Design: “design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness.”  Then she worked in the developing world making products to improve the quality of life.  Now, having traversed the US evangelizing about design, given a TED talk, and written a book, Pilloton’s latest effort is no less than redesigning public education and thereby reviving a struggling southern community.

Pilloton speaks this Thursday as part of the IMA’s Planet Indy series.  Here, she muses on a few questions in advance of her visit:

Q: What have you learned about the relationship between thoughtful design and the solving of large social problems?

We have learned that thoughtful design can address large social problems, but works best on a small scale. Instead of saying “how can design solve homelessness?” we’ve found that the best design initiatives are actually micro-local, that they address things on a very small scale for a defined group of people in our own backyards, and these solutions can serve as models for others to do the same in their own backyards. One million people with one design solution each will always be better than one person’s solution for one million people.

Q: In 2010, you toured the country in an Airstream trailer engaging with people about design.  What did you learn from that experience?

We learned a lot about how misunderstood design is among the general public, and how disconnected that is from the desire of the next generation to do good. People viewed examples of brilliant humanitarian design as “inventions,” or “the next million dollar idea,” rather than the result of a human-centered process that really does have impact. Students, on the other hand, took to the road show naturally, seeing the power that creativity can have on everyday lives. On a more practical note, we learned that two people and a dog, for 75 days in a confined space with no water or kitchen, is not a fun way to live. But we definitely have some good stories.

Q: As a designer and educator, what are you up to right now in Bertie County, North Carolina?  And why did you choose to take your energy to a rural community?

My partner Matthew Miller and I both have resumes that say we’re designers/builders, and the day-to-day schedules of high school shop teachers. We teach our Studio H curriculum within the public high school, offering students one year (two semesters + summer build) intensive design and construction education, put towards big built community architecture projects. We love working in a rural place like Bertie County because the impact we can have is exponential. There is such a need to do things differently, and to break the instinct to do the same things done in the same ways since the 1800′s. Design is an opportunity to shift the ways in which we view the future of Bertie County, or any place labeled economically challenged or resource-poor.

Pilloton’s talk at the IMA is also part of the fascinating IndyTalks series.  The post-talk Q&A period will be focused on Indianapolis specifically: how can design thinking make this city a better place to work, learn and live?

Filed under: Design, Local, Public Programs

I saw everything in miniature first. The model held the new exhibition in exact scale. Upstairs in Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial, our patrons were perusing the galleries but down here, in the IMA’s Design and Installation Department, I was towering over the same rooms’ diminutive sisters. I didn’t know a physical model was made of each exhibition before it was installed but not only do they exist—they’re painstakingly accurate. The walls, floors and tiny art pieces are all perfectly portioned effigies. It’s pretty adorable.

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Filed under: Design, Thornton Dial

Chris Ware, self portrait.

I’ve loved comics my entire life. I remember “reading” Batman and X-Men long before I ever set foot in school. Beyond the super power fantasies and general escapism they provide, comics are a unique kind of dot-to-dot art form. They are participatory in that the reader is expected to fill in the narrative blanks between the panels to advance the story in a way that neither art nor literature could do on their own.

In the 1980s I became aware of a comics anthology called RAW. RAW appealed to me on many levels. It contained stories and art that were in turn challenging, thought-provoking and disturbing — adjectives I had not known could be applied to comics. It also appealed to my sense of design because it was either oversized or undersized and frequently contained special treats like small booklets bound into the center, day-glo inks to add a kind of punchy confusion or even hand-torn pages that looked like a bindery accident, but were actually carefully considered details. RAW was also where I first encountered the work of Chris Ware.

Ware’s work, most frequently seen in his ACME Novelty Library publication, explores themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression. The heaviness of the subject matter would be difficult to contend with were it not for the beauty and sensitivity he creates through a complex and unique style of geometric composition, earthy color and historically-based graphic imagery. As if that weren’t enough, Ware frequently includes extras that both enhance and distract from the primary text. These have included plans for toys that readers can craft in their spare time and imaginary ads for unavailable products and services that heighten the sense of his sardonic wit. Even reading the price listing or copyright page can yield unexpected or hilarious surprises. This combination of sadness, beauty and humor is what elevates Ware’s work and what separates him from his peers. It’s also what I suspect appeals to graphic designers, including his friend Chip Kidd.

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Filed under: Design, Public Programs