MOMA: Rough Cut, design takes a sharp edge

MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art): Rough Cut, Design takes a sharp edge.

The exhibition showcased “objects in the museum’s collection whose impact is due not to their graceful surface qualities but to their designers’ radical engagement with form and emotion.” It was a really interesting look at a diverse range of design that contained a deeper purpose than aesthetic. Most of the pieces therefore took the form of ‘emotional’ design however some were ‘logical’, designed solely to perform a specific function. Kosuke Tsmura’s Final Home 44-pocket Parker is an example of this. It is a wearable shelter whose pockets have multi functional purposes- they are filled to insulate or create a ‘fit’ to any body size, whilst housing tools, food and medicine.

Most of the design featured, was 3D including furniture, clothes and lamps. I was particularly moved by Hill Jephson Robb’s Cries and Whispers, which he created after his sister died, leaving behind a 7 month old daughter. It is a spherical shaped purple felt enclosure which can be climbed in and whose entrance is simply carved out to enlarge as the child grows. Its design provides a restoration of a feeling of security and comfort both physically and emotionally. It was a beautiful example of using design in response to the world around you and the situation in which you find others.

A small amount of graphic work was also on display including Stephen Sagmeister’s series of posters for the American Institute of Graphic Arts. We had also seen Sagmeister in the Design Museum that week. His poster for Fresh Dialogue, a design lecture series, was my favourite! It showed two long and veiny cow tongues stretched out towards each other, with Sagmeister’s ‘signature scrawl’ all over it! Brilliantly obscure yet direct!