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Object Lessons

Object Lesson: Maker Chair by Joris Laarman

Object Lessons

When chemists first successfully extracted aluminum from the earth in the 1850s, the raw element was as precious as gold. Today we take aluminum for granted, though it allows for nearly every facet of modern life through its use in architecture, industry, and transportation. From the nineteenth century until today, artists and designers have increasingly turned to aluminum because its unique properties–lightweight, strong, can be pressed thin, resistant to corrosion–allow for the exploration of new ideas through objects. Read More

Object Lesson: WATER by Edward Burtynsky

News, Object Lessons, Photography

To create the works in his project WATER, Edward Burtynsky (Canadian, born 1955) travelled around the globe, from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of the Ganges, weaving together an ambitious representation of water’s increasingly fragmented lifecycle. In enormous, color, aerial images, many bordering on the edge of complete abstraction, Burtynsky traces the various roles that water plays in modern life—as a source of healthy ecosystems and energy, as a key element in cultural and religious rituals, and as a rapidly depleting resource. Read More

Object Lesson: To guna Post

News, Object Lessons

The to guna literally translates to “house of words”—it is a men’s meeting house and considered to be the center of the community. A to guna is often sited in a high place overlooking the village. The roofs of the structures are constructed of layers of millet stalks, which can be over six feet deep and supported by wooden beams. Read More

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