Curious Minds: New Approaches in Design

The Israel Museum presents “Curious Minds: New Approaches in Design.”

December 16, 2011-April 30, 2012

Location: Nathan Cummings Building for Modern and Contemporary ArtCurator: Alex WardMedia: Design

Since the 1990s, a new generation of designers has explored digital and interactive technologies to produce innovative works and, under the umbrella of critical design, used design to ask probing questions about human behavior and to address the social, cultural, and ethical consequences of emerging technologies. Through their work, these designers and artists stimulate our imagination and encourage a new discourse about the role design plays in shaping the world of tomorrow. Curious Minds focuses attention on designers who challenge mainstream design and consumer culture in different ways. Despite a rich diversity of design practice, the works reveal a shared sensibility to be curious about life, and often contain elements of playfulness. Today’s technology allows a new generation of designers to transcend previously conventional models of design practice and manufacture. Unlike their Modernist predecessors, these young designers do not reject the past in favor of future technologies, but occasionally draw inspiration from traditional craft or create reinterpretations combining old and new.Image:

Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, LondonPhoto: Studio DRIFT – Lonneke Gordijn & Ralph Nauta