LIKE EVERY YEAR, DAE STIMULATES TALENTED STUDENTS THROUGH AWARDS AND GRANTS, FUNDED BY DIFFERENT FUNDS AND PARTNERS. THIS GRADUATION SHOW (OPEN 17 – 25TH OCTOBER 2015) THE 4 WINNERS OF THE KEEP AN EYE GRANT WILL BE ANNOUNCED.
KEEP AN EYE GRANT:
Keep an Eye Grant is awarded to develop talent in the creative field to students with a vision for their talent and future career. The grant is an initiative by the Keep an Eye Foundation, www.keepaneye.nl.
WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO MEET THE NOMINATED STUDENTS:
This week: the bachelor students nominated for the Keep an Eye Grant as well as the Milky Way Prize. For the full list of nominees and more information about the grants and awards, see awards 2015
Bachelors nominated for the Keep an Eye Grant & René Smeets Award* and/or Milky Way Prize** 2015
*/** Vera de Pont | Pop-Up – Cut out your coat & Floaters of the Waterplanet – Wet fashion fun
“Pop-Up
This colourful piece of textile easily transforms into a coat of your choosing. All you need is a pair of scissors. Vera de Pont has eliminated the time-consuming sewing process with five designs that pop into shape when you put them on – no seams needed. Simply cut out the pattern of your favourite design and your coat is ready to wear. The use of melting yarn prevents the fabric from fraying. There’s a silkscreened and a woven version, the latter even has double-sided patterns. Take your pick, cut out your coat and make a new fashion statement!
Floaters from the Waterplanet
What would we wear if our planet were covered with water? Vera de Pont has let her imagination run wild in a trendforecast for the fashion industry. The Waterplanet is a fictitious world of play, its inhabitants finding ways to stay adrift. A soft, bouncy layer covering the body; strong knits and cords enclosing the skin, to prevent water from entering. Flippered feet, surreal shapes; materials and accessories become voluminous, lightweight, foamy and colourful. Patterns and colours are diluted, layered and translucent. Just go with the flow and imagine the beauty of this wavy world.”
**Olivier van Herpt | Functional 3D Printed Ceramics
“Man has always used machines to put their thoughts, into things. This captivating thought made Olivier van Herpt explore new ways of creating. Oliver grew up watching his grandfather constructing, working and creating using machines to form shape and function from a block of steel.
Van Herpt himself uses his 3D printer and extruder as his tools; a different way to make and manufacture. The printer and extruder enable the making of internal structures, textures and shapes that could not be made by traditional means. Nevertheless, the process is still open to much direct human intervention. Not only the outcome of the machine was a matter of design, the technology itself had to be redesigned too – in order to create new output, the machine had to evolve as well. The form of the 3D printer and extruder are completely dictated by function. There is no final shape for either device, they are constantly improving with new ceramic-techniques.
“The vases exist to demonstrate the technology. Hopefully they are interesting and new objects will emerge from them. Maybe the vases will lead to bricks, lamps or a new type of object. For the vases function follows form because their shapes are dictated by the capabilities of the machine. They are made specifically to illustrate the possibilities and their shapes are made to demonstrate this. I add imperfections to the design or process to make each final object unique. The reason I make machines is so that interesting objects can be made not only by me but others as well. I want to collaborate with others and let other people make and design. To me the final output of the work is the increase in some small way of the sum total of things that can be made. Its not about me making a thing, its about making a machine that lets many people make things that were not able to be made previously. I see no dichotomy between technology and craft. If you work with digital manufacturing, 3D printing, software or machines you always collaborate with the tool. It is a dance between you and the machine.””
**Jason Page | DPBLSHD / RPLBLSHD
“After studying the graduation books of our school since 1976, I was fascinated by how the students’ work from different years relates to one another and what the various design typologies communicate within one school. With the books as the base, I worked on setting a framework to republish the work both digitally and physically in their various qualities. For example: by their visual characteristics, conceptual thought, or the editorial representation of their time. My project, DPBLSHD / RPBLSHD, is a digital space to create new perspectives and publications from an archive. The graduation chairs of the DAE (300+) are the first iconic test subjects of the system. I’ve researched how these chairs form groups of thought and can be reordered by others to bring new information into to the collection. For example: it’s interesting to see that 21 graduates have made chairs that directly comment on design classics. Through curated groups like this, one can better view the relations between students’ personal interests, design departments, or historical backgrounds. As the initial curator I’ve started organizing the work but also set to make the content accessible for others to interact with and impart their own associations into the archive. i.e. Growing the archive and studying it simultaneously. The multiple curations of the work and a wide range of published forms explore the role of archiving in the modern age.”
Manon van Hoeckel | In Limbo Embassy
“In Limbo Embassy is a traveling embassy for and by asylum seekers ‘in limbo’: those who are caught between two stools. These refugees, acting as ambassadors, invite visitors to talk about their situation. Refugees often do not feel represented by their own embassy or by the media. In Limbo Embassy is a neutral meeting place that travels to people, creating direct contact between citizens and asylum seekers. The mobile embassy provides the opportunity for dialogue, debate and cultural exchange on an equal footing.
Printed Matters, part of In Limbo Embassy, questions the way in which way refugees can contribute to society. Refugees “in limbo” are not permitted to work. Yet the right of freedom of press does allow them to carry out work in the shape of printed matter, which they can sell in the public sphere. The vague boundary between art and what can be defined as labour provides an opening for the asylum seekers to work, thanks to to the freedom of expression. Printed Matters, a series of silkscreened official portraits and an orchestrated screen-printing scene, shows how the gray zones in the legal system create opportunities for refugees to contribute to society.”
Bastiaan de Nennie | The Digital Virtuosity – Idea generating for the computer age
“Bastiaan de Nennie proposes a new set of principles for the design process, which is fast digitalising. His method takes physical objects, often with a distinctively nostalgic feel, deconstructs them in the computer and puts the different parts from different objects back together. With suggestions for surfaces and colours, his ‘sketches’ generate ideas for completely new objects. In a world where craftsmanship is becoming synonymous with digital fluency, developing a signature style is essential to distinguish one designer from the next. The Digital Virtuosity, with its man-made choices and computer-generated distortions, leads the way.”
Jos Klarenbeek | Veenhuizen’s Cowtarium (Koetarium) – From cow to consumer
“Jos Klarenbeek has analysed the dairy production from cow to consumer. To show how it actually works and to open up the debate about mass production he designed a ‘Cowtarium’: an installation built around a single cow that represents a down-sized production cycle. He found a perfect location for his Cowtarium at Veenhuizen’s old brewery. The process starts with the cow, feeding on brewers’ grain. To produce milk she has a calf, which is slaughtered after a few months, providing meat and bones for the veal stock which is made at the end of the line. At the same time the milk is turned into butter, cheese and whey drinks, offering refreshments during the discussion.”
Archibald Godts | Man’s Best Friend – The dog days aren’t over!
“To solve the problems of an ageing population as funding for healthcare dwindles, Archibald Godts has thought of ways to let dogs help people. Our oldest companions, dogs have shown their ability to complement our weaknesses and can do more than sit with you or join you for a walk. Archibald’s online platform shares this knowledge and points out the canine potential for assisting the elderly. A guard dog can protect its owner from muggers by carrying her valuables. With a pill box around its collar, a retriever may be the nicest of reminders. When carrying groceries becomes a burden, a set of saddlebags across a shepherd's back offers a solution. And for those whose legs have worn out, there’s the dog cart for greater mobility.”