Ornament and Orientalism

In Susan’s lecture on Tuesday, she describes her travels to Istanbul as the beginnings for her perspective on ornament and orientalism. Susan began by saying that there are five theories to define ornament as a form of language; grammar, antigram, social speech, deceit, and ornament as a cross cultural conversation. First and foremost, to understand how ornamentation works, objects that have used some sort of ornament can be figurative, narrative, and abstract. Designers who have explored these possibilities have found a way to create or re-discover memories.

Susan’s first defines ornament as another approach to grammar. Grammar, the study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences, can be seen in the development of textiles and some decorative arts. For example, in this antique ottoman embroidery Turkish rug, the ornamentation works together to complete an entire image within the fabric. Each component of the rose design, along with the colors and techniques, work together to create a finished piece of art. The memory that it evokes is from the western European influence in its colors and naturalistic mode during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Turkish interiors during this time, started to switch gears from orient to occident. Silk embroideries were departing from the mainstream Islamic ornament in response to the power of the Ottoman Turkish Empire control over much of Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Her second theory is that ornament can also be referred to as an antigram.  This standpoint can most noticeably be seen in architecture.  An antigram, an anagram that means the opposite of the original word or phrase; such as restful is the antigram of fluster, can be seen in the ornamentation through the characteristics of playfully extravagant forms and humor found in buildings during the postmodern period.  The mixture of different ornamentations from different decades can be seen in Charles W. Moore’s Piazza d’Italia in New Orleans.  This building engages many audiences and combines together references from the Marine Theatre of Hadrian, triumphal gateways of Schinkel, archetypical piazzas and fountains, and an acknowledgement of skyscrapers and new technologies in materials.  All of these inspirations are re-worked to create new meanings and new memories for the viewer. It characterizes the various functions, symbolic and practical, with various styles, and takes cues for content and form from the local taste-culture, the Italian community.

The third theory, ornament as a social speech continually crosses race, class, and gender as a way of communicating itself to other cultures.  One example of cross gender   ornamentation can be seen in men’s fashion most recently.  In Paris in 2008, designers such as Dior Homme and Kenzo used masculine silhouettes with feminine details and fabrics to cross the boundaries between menswear and womenswear.  This form of social speech, is communicating that not all ornamentations on clothes should to be considered feminine.  These designers are creating brand new ideas and narratives for a men’s wardrobe.

Alper Boler, our special guest lecture, used ornament as a lie, the fourth theory, in his design, Heated Bench.  From first appearance, the bench appears to be a radiator through its classical ornamentation, but its deceiving characteristics also say that it is a bench to sit and give warmth to the person.  Boler also said that by using ornament as a function, memorize can than find and create new functions.  The everyday use of a radiator was re-worked into the designs of his bench in order to fulfill his creative sense of style.

The last theory, ornament as a cross-cultural conversation, can mostly be described in this weeks reading, “The Turkish ‘Case’”.  Ornament as a cross-cultural conversation can be seen in the designer’s intent and choice.  One example of this would self-orientalism.  In order to self-orientalize, one will focus mainly on the dominant perspectives and ideological biases apparently suited to the orient.  One example found in the reading is the popularity of tourism that started to develop in Turkey.  Turkey discovered that in order to keep tourism alive, image of a more western country would not thrive compared to “images and symbols associated with the Orient.”  “Ottoman and oriental motifs are more and more frequently used in practically every domain of decoration, from shop windows to urban furniture, and from bars and restaurants to interior decoration.”  In a way, this self-orientalism causes the country to focus on stereotypical forms of ornament in order to keep revenue inside the country.

Antique Ottoman Turkish Rug

Charles W. Moore’s Piazza d’Italia

Dior Homme 2008

Alper Boler “Heated Bench”

Turkish City Scape

Portable Light Textile

““Leapfrog” technology is a term used to describe an advance in technology that is so sudden and decisive that it appears to bypass or jump over historical patterns of gradual development.”

It is about designing a way forward, to imagine the future or where the frog is going to leap and what is going to happen and “form and understanding of it”. In this case it is about thinking ahead for the other 90% of people in the world who don’t have the same privileges.

Sheila Kennedy gives the example of the Portable Light. It was an “intersection between design research and social action.” As a result it was discovered that there was a need for a self-contained infrastructure that could give useful amount of light to a great number of people.

“It had to be independent or work on its own, and simple enough to be reliable.”

“One of the inspirations came from nature: the LED devices they are developing are inspired by the behaviour of fireflies, that cloud together to create a bright light source from many many small units.” (Pli)

The Portable Light Textile engaged the participation of women because women often perform the labor in rural communities.

Portable light technology provides enough light for this Huichol girl to do her homework at night, even though there is no electricity in her village.

Portable light, developed by University Michigan and Kennedy & Violich Architecture, is a series of prototypes which integrate flexible solar cells and super bright LEDs into lighting solutions for the large number of people (over 2 billions) who do not have access to electric light or power.

Portable light is adapted differently in each country in
United States/Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuelan and
Brazilian Amazonas, South Africa

Las Guyabas with hand bags
Africa with blankets.
Bangladesh with roof system
Soft houses: solar panel with curtains

A Portable Light weighs less than a pound and can withstand abuse because textiles are strong for their weight. Kennedy has dropped Portable Light units from as high as 30 feet off the ground without damaging them.