ARI LANKIN

There is nothing like bringing together great minds to form something truly amazing. The Bauhaus was a school in Germany that brought together creative people from all backgrounds. The result was a creative synergy that reverberated through art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography. Students and faculty worked together sharing their expertise eliminating any hierarchy in the arts.

That was a very minimal introduction to the Bauhaus. My point of writing this blog entry is to hear from the international community. Do you know of any modern day Bauhaus’ like situations? They do exist, but for the most part not at an institutional level. Please take a few minutes to share with us any places you may know around the world. Whether it be a university, a warehouse in New York, the streets of Berlin… let us know.

I think the structure of the Bauhaus would be an extremely fertile environment for creative professionals. Think of a school that crosses disciplines like architecture, fashion, new media, science/technology, and the arts.

Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues came together to form an ambitious collaboration called Ball-Nogues Studio. A group of people working together in art, architecture and industrial design. According to their website the studio consists of these ten individuals: Benjamin Ball, Martina Dolejsova, Benjamin Jenett, James Jones, Ayodh Kamath, Jonathan Kitchens, Alison Kung, Deborah Lehman, Gaston Nogues, Rachel Shillander. (Please excuse me if any of these links are to the wrong person, I did not have time to verify each link.)

The studio also collaborates with outside professionals to customize production and process for specific projects. Take a look at Feathered Edge, an installation exploring digital technology and craft at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Click on the title of the piece and explore the project with photographic stills, and a great 7 minute video.

Here is the amazing project description in their own words:

Feathered Edge was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. The project explores the convergence of digital technology and craft. It is one in a series of installations curated by Brooke Hodge and Alma Ruiz. Integrating complex digital computation, mechanization, and printing with traditional handcrafted production techniques, Feathered Edge explores our desire to alter a space with fluid architectural forms that require a minimal use of material while utilizing a new proprietary technique that yields the effect of three dimensional spatial constructs “printed” to resemble objects hovering in space.

Feathered Edge is comprised of 3604 individual lengths of twine, totaling 21 miles, that have been dyed, cut, and then suspended from mesh scrims installed on the walls and ceiling of the gallery. With the aid of the “Insta-llator 1 with the Variable-Information Atomizing Module,” a machine designed and manufactured by Ball-Nogues Studio especially for this installation, the strings were precisely saturated with solvent-based inks, created by a chemist for the project, using four digitally controlled airbrushes and then cut to varying lengths. Using specialized parametric software developed with a software programmer, we generated a map that was printed onto the scrim to establish the proper locations and lengths of the twine in the space. Each piece was attached to the mesh scrim, and then knotted by hand in a technique similar to that used to make latch-hook rugs. The weight of the string creates a complex system of overlapping catenary curves on which cyan, magenta, yellow, and black segments were “printed” to yield the effect of ghostly three dimensional objects. Sometimes the objects are visible, at other times they blur to resemble a fluid-like vapor that floats and hovers in the gallery space.

The software used to develop the parameters of the resulting ephemeral spatial condition can yield nearly infinite possible design configurations. While the environment is defined by the string formations and printed “objects,” it is also constructed from the negative space found within the array of catenaries, which allows sight to extend into and throughout the spatial structure. The space is activated by people, movement, and light, creating a continually changing experience.

Computers are great at quickly analyzing large amounts of information, then generating data used for fabrication, but they can’t yet produce fully realized works of architecture. At best they can produce highly accurate components and spatial mappings or systems, this is where hand craft comes in. We use our hands and our knowledge of material as a filter for the digital possibilities and to achieve the final “built” environment; in effect, we use the prowess of the computer to push the limits of the hand.

Feathered Edge is the third in a series of projects we refer to as “Suspensions.” Unseen Current (2008), exhibited at Extension Gallery for Architecture, Chicago, featured 2,500 suspended string catenaries, and Echoes Converge, exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2008 used string to create intricate patterns inspired by the baroque ceilings of the city’s buildings. These softly structural, open-air spaces encouraged social interaction, enveloping rather than obstructing viewers.

Principals in Charge: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues
Project Management: Andrew Lyon

Project Team: Chris Ball, Tatiana Barhar, Seda Brown, Patricia Burns, Paul Clemente, Sergio d’Almeida, Jesse Duclos, Matt Harmon, Karlie Harstad, Ayodh Kamath, Jonathan Kitchens, Andrew Lyon, Lina Park, Tim Peeters, Sarah Riedmann, Joem Elias Sanez, Geoff Sedillo, Norma Silva, Caroline Smogorzewski, Beverly Tang, Blaze Zewnicki, Sasha Zubieta, and the preparatory staff of MOCA.

Feathered Edge was on view July 26-November 15, 2009

Rigging: Kelly Jones of Jax Logistics

Custom Software Development: Pylon Technical

Live Video: Peter West