Design and the Elastic Mind
Design and the Elastic Mind is the title of an exhibition taking place at MoMA in February 2008. It’s early days and there are not many details about the event, but my interest was piqued by the following statement”
[the exhibition] focuses on designers’ ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and social mores, changes which will demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior, and convert them into objects and systems that people can actually understand and use.
It’s an interesting assertion, and a bold claim to make for design, which perhaps plays a more integrated role amongst a broader network of industries, individuals and technologies. What the statement captures well, is that some kind of translation or normalisation takes place alongside technological change, and that design surely plays a role by contributing “thoughtful concepts that can provide guidance and ease as science and technology proceed in their evolution”. I’m looking forward to seeing how this exhibition develops.