CHINA VIOLENT
Sunday, November 22, THE CLEANERS @ ACE HOTEL

A rupturous evening of art, film, puppetry, books, food and drink by the China Urban Collective of Reed College. Also in celebration of the China Urban exhibition catalog published by the Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery.

No admission charge. Hors d'œuvres and cash bar.

6:00pm Cocktail party
7:30pm Puppet Show
8:30pm Screening of Johnnie To's masterpiece Chinese gangster film, Mad Detective

THE CLEANERS @ ACE HOTEL 1022 SW STARK ST

Another takeaway from the conversation with Freeman Lau earlier this month: the impact that the Beijing Olympics had on the Chinese design community is hard to overstate. With a unique combination of aesthetic challenge, nationalism and sheer scale, the Olympics employed literally thousands of working designers, and inspired tens of thousands more.

Beijing-based graphic designer Glen Gao had this to contribute to the Olympian design task: Beijing 2008 themed icons for Microsoft User Interfaces.

06 APR 2009: REPORT
China’s Grand Plans for
Eco-Cities Now Lie Abandoned

Mostly conceived by international architects, China’s eco-cities were intended to be models of green urban design. But the planning was done with little awareness of how local people lived, and the much-touted projects have largely been scrapped.

BY CHRISTINA LARSON

If all had gone as planned, “the world’s first eco-city,” as press releases billed it back in 2005, would now be well on its way to completion. The visionary project called for a grassy island near the crowded metropolis of Shanghai to be transformed from a marshy backwater into a gleaming community of energy-efficient buildings housing 50,000 people. Waste was to have been recycled as fuel and the waterfronts were to be lined with sleek micro-windmills. The original timetable called for the first phase of construction to be completed by the Shanghai Expo in 2010, enabling the city to showcase its commitment to building a green future. Within 30 years, the planned community, Dongtan, would grow to accommodate half a million people.

Today, almost nothing has been built. Some residents have been moved off the island, many of them becoming cab drivers in bustling Shanghai. Although the project was widely publicized internationally, most locals knew little about it. The political leaders who championed the project were ousted in a corruption scandal, and their successors have allowed construction permits to lapse.

For full article, see http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2138

To pick up the thread of conversation about cars, the UK program Top Gear wades in with a humorous assessment of Nanjing Automobile Corporation's remake of an ancient (relatively ancient) European model (January 23, 2009, URL: http://foreman.blogs.topgear.com/2009/01/23/wtf-car-awards-mg-tf-le-500/)

Winner of the Unwelcome Return Award…

The Nanjing MG TF LE 500 has been totally ‘re-engineered’ to bring it back up to date with the most modern of sportscars. No, really.
Just because a few geography teachers in Reading have a monthly meeting where they bang on relentlessly about their MGBs, it was deemed necessary to resurrect the aged TF. Which is a bit like bumping into a Page 3 girl and discovering that not only is she not as good as you remembered, but is significantly more baggy now.

They say that the engine isn’t a ‘K’ series Rover – it’s an ‘N’ series. But the ‘N’ is really just a ‘K’ with a metal headgasket and a few reliability tweaks. The suspension has been ‘redesigned’ by the simple expedient of changing the dampers and they’ve robbed the last of Woolworth’s old stock for the 99p stereo/radio with remote control.

Remote control? You can touch the other doorhandle without leaving the driver’s seat. And the final foot-long nail in the TFs cramped and desperate coffin? It costs £16.5k when a ‘last-generation’ TF can be had with low miles in A1 condition for £4k. Do they think we’re stupid? It’s like buying a black and white telly for the price of a flatscreen…

China's latest export -- rock 'n' roll -- hits the U.S.
By Jo Ling Kent, CNN November 13, 2009

Beijing, China (CNN) -- Two of China's hottest up-and-coming rock bands -- Carsick Cars and P.K. 14 -- are taking their first steps on a whirlwind American music tour to showcase the Asian giant's latest export: rock 'n' roll.

The bands, along with a gaggle of other musical outfits, will hit nine cities -- from New York to Chapel Hill, North Carolina -- as they embark on their first official tour of the United States.

CARSICK CARS! To continue the car theme.

For full article, see http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/11/12/china.rock/

Lisa's recent posting of Lu Hao's Ferrari design helped me recall one of the student's work at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit related to applying Chinese cultural direction to automobiles from about 2004. I was Chair of the product design program at that time at CCS.This was completed for the Michelin project which is a annual project at that school. I no longer have the student's name but will credit the creator if someone contacts me with the details.

The Vaino: It's like the Sony Vaio-P, only with a more powerful processor, and with no warranty

Ge ware, for comparison with Lu Hao's Ferrari design in the 3 posts below.

Ge ware bowl, 1426-1435
Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Xuande period
Porcelain
Gift of Miss Hester Bancroft, 1906
E9054, Peabody Essex Museum

Lu Hao's Ferrari design (see 2 posts below)

Lu Hao's Ferrari design (see post below)

Song dynasty-inspired Ferrari sold for $2m

For the full article from the China Daily (11-06-09), please see http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2009-11/06/content_8923919.htm

NEOCROSS is a dedicated User Interface Design and User Experience group based in Hangzhou, China.

Twinned with the industrial design agency TOOUT, NEOCROSS provides a consulting service covering computer, consumer, communication and medical equipment.

The core capabilities of NEOCROSS include User Research & Innovation Strategy, UI/UE/GUI Design and Animation services.

PROJECT: OEM Android UI for China Telecom

Launched at the 2009 Beijing telecom show, NEOCROSS heavily customised this Android based UI for China Telecom’s ‘CPhone’ and the domestic market.

The inspiration for this UI came from the expression of freedom of using the Smartphone and its widgets; thus the ‘graffiti board’ design evolved.

kingsun@neocross.cn

(+86) 571-86822801

PROJECT: MULTI-MEDIA UI FOR SAMSUNG i908

A project initiated by Arcsoft, the UI was developed by NEOCROSS and
customized for the Samsung SGH-i908 Smartphone.

Based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile system, the UI leveraged the
technology of full screen touch and the rotation sensing capabilities of
the handset.

kingsun@neocross.cn

(+86) 571-86822801

In 2006 TOOUT was approached by Joyoung, the leading domestic manufacturer of soybean milk machines, to redesign their then current soybean milk machine.

Further discussions showed that the client was looking for an entirely new product and brand image. From this, TOOUT went back to basics and carried out in depth market and user research. What resulted was a product designed with every process from manufacture to end retail considered. Targeting the 'fashionable and healthy culture of the younger generations', Joyoung found great success with the product and sold 2 million units in the first year alone. In 2008, there was a surge in the sale of soybean milk machines and to date the product has sold over 8 million units with the client struggling to meet market demand for their product.

In 2008, TOOUT was awarded 'Annual Best Design' by Fortune for the product.

TOOUT is a professional creative design agency based in Hangzhou, China. The TOOUT name originates from the understanding of the ancient Chinese philosophy of TaiChi where opposites equally balance...

Created in 2000, the company has a 25 strong team of Industrial designers and engineers. Partnership with NEOCROSS, a User Interface & Interaction provider.

The business scope includes planning and strategy integration, product design and design of post-support services. A successful joint body of work covers computer, communication, consumer and household goods.

anna@toout.net (+86) 571-8826 9406

Nokia researcher Jan Chipchase's remarkable article, "The Rise of the Super Fakes," from his Future Perfect blog, in September of this year. The trend, thoughtfully explored in detail from someone who knows it well, is both astounding and obvious:

In a country with exceptional manufacturing capabilities, lax IP control, and keen awareness of the latest technologies, it was only a matter of time before counterfeit products hit the streets that are actually more desirable than the originals they seek replace. The specifics are fascinating.

Freeman Lau, after his talk today at the Portland Art Museum, described one recent example, an "iPhone" that can hold two SIM chips simultaneously, responding to a common Chinese tactic of carrying one phone for domestic use and another for overseas travel. If the counterfeiters are better at responding to consumer needs than the "genuine" manufacturers, how long until they become legitimate themselves?

(Previously blogged on Core77)

NYTimes (October 26, 2009) "Salute All Cars, Kids. It’s a Rule in China."
A slightly belated response to Rob Curedale's post about electric cars below. See the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/asia/26salute.html

This post contributed by Becky Switzer, Reed '12

Until the 1980s, the voice of the modern Chinese furniture designer was nearly silent. During the Republican era (1912-49), interior design in Shanghai entered a phase of hybridism, where “Western” and traditional furniture where placed side by side in domestic and public spaces, but were largely kept distinct in their style as well as in their creation. In essence, Chinese furniture design referenced Ming and Qing styles of the 14th through 19th centuries; “Western” furniture was modeled from the crème de crème of European fashion, but with a slight stylistic delay. For the rest of China, the works that captured the ideal of modernity in Europe during 1920s (and later in the United States during the 1950s), wasn’t to be seen at all until the latter half of the 20th century. The Cultural Revolution (1966-76) stunted local design, limiting it to a strict set of stylistic confines. Other than the scarce pamphlet, outside influence was all but blocked. But with the early 80s came economic reforms for both the artists and for external multinational companies. Suddenly China was flooded with furniture manufacturers. Artists were confronted with a vast design repertoire that was as overwhelming as the social changes that were rapidly turning a very closed socialist society into a modern capitalist export-dominated economy. Unfortunately, neither of these visions were particularly accommodating to the historical soul of Chinese culture. To follow the socialist expression was to bind oneself to the rigid forms of social realism; to follow “Western” expressions was merely imitation, devoid of cultural roots. Designers and artists found refuge in the traditional aesthetics of “Old China,” dismantling and reassembling the classics to create a definition of modernity entirely separate from European and American visions of the modern. By nostaligically extracting pieces of the past, Chinese furniture designers create a conceptual platform from which to comment on the dichotomies within their society.

Initially, in the 1980s, there was little domestic need for Chinese designers. Manufactures did the bulk of their research and development in the States or in Europe; the demand was for cheap, unskilled laborers, not visionaries. But as China’s economy continued to grow in the 1990s, national design became more prominent. Encouraged both by the government and by multinational companies, and with the help of expos like 100% Design Shanghai, a number of Chinese designers have achieved international recognition. They have developed careers in the commercial sector but also in the art world. While the artists in the show are active in the larger commercial sphere, these pieces are not for the average household. They are art, more conceptual then practical, and entirely inaccessible to most citizens. This should be noted.

The most famous examples of reassembling classical designs (though not included in the CDN show) come from Ai Weiwei (see pictures below). While the other artists merely tweak the traditional compositions, Ai Weiwei actually uses discarded heirlooms of the Ming and Qing dynasty to create his furniture and installations. As stores like IKEA have cropped up thoughout China, many Chinese families have begun to replace their old furniture with mass-produced new pieces. Ai Weiwei retrieves discarded old furniture from garbage dumps and manipulates their forms to convey his feelings on the many changes in contemporary Chinese society. In “Two Joined Square Tables” and “Table and Pillar,” Ai Weiwei relates to his audience a certain cultural confusion and trauma by adopting a “tornado” style.

In comparison, the pieces in the CDN show are less overtly political. Ai Weiwei has always been a critic of the government, as evidenced by his many run-ins with state police. Shao Fan and Jiang Qiong Er, on the other hand, have been less militant, probably because they have each found commercial success. Jiang Qiong Er created a line for “Diamonds are Forever” (some of her jewelry also appears in the show) and has made some of her furniture available around the world (though mass produced, these are still luxury items. Her stools run for around 330 Euro.) Likewise, Shao Fan has had shows in Miami and has had his designs reproduced as well (his Ming stool that appears in the show has been casted in stainless steel and is available online.) But this is not to say that there is no subversion in their works. In Shao Fan’s “Ming Stool,” one can certainly speculate on the internal commentary encased in the form. He has stretched and then bent the form of a classic stool. What was formal rigid seating for a single person is now seating for two. This public display of affection would certainly have been frowned upon in both traditional society as well as during the communist years up through the 70s. Thus, this lovely piece packs a serious metaphor for bending the rules beyond confines of historical culture. The same could be said of his “Rely On Chair.” He has warped the paradigm of the classical chair into something that can’t even be used anymore. The chair becomes a railing, something to be leaned on, just as artists lean on traditional designs even as Chinese citizens throw away their old furniture. The old designs must be twisted in order to seem useful again.

A few weeks ago, one of the biggest furniture shows in the United States was held in Las Vegas. An annual event, the expo attracts designers and retailers from around the world to behold the newest and most modern innovations of interior décor. When I asked a friend who had just returned from the expo how her trip was, her reply was simple: “the French, the Italians, the Spanish, even the Americans were blown out of the water. The future belongs strictly to Asia. Their works is like nothing we have ever seen, and without a doubt, they are a force to be reckoned with.” The future does indeed belong to these artists, these designers that appear in the show, and we will be seeing a LOT more of them in the years to come.

Ai Weiwei. See Becky Switzer's blog post above.

Ai Weiwei. See Becky Swizter's blog entry above.