2011Gwangju Design Biennale - Press conference held at the Sejong-ro Korea Press Center on July 12^th

‘What is Design’

In search of a new paradigm of design in a rapidly changing world

Thematic, Named, Un-Named, Communities… The 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale dogadobisangdo (圖可圖非常圖) presents the changing concepts, practices and potential of contemporary design and provides a new platform for the significance of Asia.

Inspired by the first lines of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (道德經)--“the way that is the way is not always the way”--the title theme of the Biennale, dogadobisango -“design is design is not design,” adopts but replaces 道(do - the way) with 圖(do - the design) in an effort to re-examine and rename the fundamental issues of design today.

The Biennale will exhibit over 132 works by 129 designers and 74 corporations from more than 40 countries. The six main sections of the Biennale?Thematic, Named, Un-Named, Gwangju Follies, Communities, and Biennale City?will be exhibited in an integrated manner under the following organizational categories borrowed from newspaper headings: politics polpoliticspolitics , money, culture, body, environment, home, science, and sports.

At a recent press conference held at the Sejong-ro Korea Press Center on July 12^th, the Artistic Director of the Gwangju Design Biennale 2011, Seung H-Sang,  stated that “ this year’s Design Biennale will present a new vision of design that highlights the significance of Asia amidst contemporary transformations in world culture.” According to Seung, “21^st century design has moved beyond creating beautiful objects. The role of design has been expanded to the creation of new sites and the enhancement of livelihood through relationships between people and places. As the field of design continues to subdivide into more particular categories, the role of designers has become more diversified. Moreover, new concepts and fields of design have also begun to appear. In the face of a rapidly changing world, the 4th Gwangju Design Biennale explores the dynamic of design that is placed and un-placed, design that is named and un-named, and the communities that are woven through these relations. The exhibition is conceived as an ecology that reflects the complexity of contemporary conditions and allows for new and unexpected concepts, practices, and social relations.

Exhibition Outline

Presenting various artistic interpretations of the main theme of the 4^th Gwangju Design Biennale, dogadobisangdo--‘design is design is not design,’ the Thematic section will introduce the philosophical concept of the Biennale and shed light on the ways in which this concept can be applied to contemporary design.  The Thematic exhibition will present 8 works by 11 designers from 5 different countries.

Selections: The American artist and producer, Paul D. Miller a.k.a DJ Spooky, will exhibit Terra Nova/Sinfonia Antarctica and The Nauru Elegies: A/ Portrait in Sound and Hypsographic Architecture, which cautions against environmental destruction by humankind. Terra Nova/Sinfonia Antarctica urges awareness of the environment through his multimedia installation of image, sound, and performance. The Nauru Elegies: A/ Portrait in Sound and Hypsographic Architecture emphasizes the connection between design and environment by demonstrating the collapse of Nauru, the smallest and the richest independent republic, due to the egotism of people.

Two Korean landscape designers, Ahyeon Kim and Seung-Jin Park, will present the multimedia installation ‘Listening Forest.’ Providing a virtual experience of forest to the audience, designers rendered interactions of human and environment.

The Named section presents the work of contemporary designers in the established design disciplines such as art, architecture, fashion, graphics, and industrial design. The Named exhibition plans to exhibit 42 contemporary artists and 53 corporations from 16 countries around the world.

Selections: Manifesto, the Korean architecture group based in New York, propses to install Bike Hanger at the exhibition.  This work reflects artistic vision, which seeks to practically utilize the limited amount of space in cities with high population density.

In Urban Reformation, Sergio Fajardo will outline the progress of improvement projects in impoverished areas , using maps and pictures. By magnifying the positive outcome of the project, Fajardo voices the necessity of active governmental support for urban rehabilitation.

Lev Manovich will display a computer-analyzed video of the cover page of Times Magazine from 1923 to 2010. It offers a broad understanding of the moving trend in graphic art and printing culture.

The Un-named section questions the contemporary definition of design and expands the boundaries of design. 93 designers and corporations from 32 countries will participate with 73 works in the Un-named section.

Selections: Transcontinental Energy Grid by DESERTEC Foundation, a German non-profit foundation composed of an international network of scientists as well as committed private individuals, illustrates the production and supply of eco-friendly energy on an acrylic panel equipped with an LED screen.  Working with regional atmospheric conditions in various parts of the world, this work offers a solution to environmental destruction.

Eric Adjetey Anang from Ghana, seeking an understanding of death due to culture and the relationship of design, displays the traditional Ghanian process of designing a casket. At the Design Biennale, the artist is scheduled to present creative design based on Korean cultural practices.

The ‘Communities’ section asks “what is design?” in the context of the relations between place and non-place, consumption and production, and finally, participation and aesthetics. ‘Communities’ will present 10 projects by 38 designers and 56 firms from 14 different countries.

Selections: In an effort to introduce the audience to the various meanings of design throughout the duration of the Biennale, the German group, Noffice, will install an On-site Community with open workshops and lectures by international artists from various backgrounds.

Food community will proceed as a cooperation of 12 different food designers in the United States, Korea, Denmark, Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. Each designer will prepare creative ways to enjoy an array of cultural cuisine. Food community asserts food as a fundamental social resource and studies the creation of food-based communities.

The Biennale City will design the exhibition spaces of the Biennale as a city of communication and exchange. The Biennale city is not only interested in the outer appearance of design but is also concerned with how the construction and organization of space impacts real life, This section seeks to create an organic exhibition  layout that is productive of diverse and complex interconnections among the different sections of the Biennale rather than a space that emphasizes a harmonious unity.

The Gwangju Follies aims to build a foundation for both urban rehabilitation and world design city formation.  The Gwangju Follies had its groundbreaking ceremony on May 12^th and officially began construction. Gwangju Follies will hold its completion ceremony on the opening day of the Design Biennale, September 2^nd, and become vital icons of Gwangju.

The Biennale Academy is a series of workshops and conferences designed to stimulate, debate, and document the tasks and issues of the 4^th Gwangju Design Biennale. The Urban Follies Presentation in Gwangju (February 17), the Un-Named Academy in Beijing (April 8), the Thematic/Named Academy in New York (May 17), the Urban Follies Academy in Barcelona (May 31), and the Biennale City/Communities Academy in London (June 6) were a resounding success. Attended by a host of international designers and artists, the Biennale Academy series spurred lively discussions about new concepts of design between presenters, curators and audience members. These academies also made important contributions to the ongoing preparations for the upcoming Design Biennale.