The Power of Making
September 6 '11 - January 2 '12
V&A
London
The V&A are working together with The Crafts Council to present ‘The power of Making’; an exhibition which aims to highlight the importance and resurgence of craft and making skills in contemporary design, art and beyond.
The show will feature a diverse array of over 100 objects, including; a spun metal rotating chair by Thomas Heatherwick, individual handcrafted puppets from the 2009 film Fantastic Mr Fox. a six-necked guitar, bio-implant embroidering to aid surgical implants, a lion-shaped Ghanaian coffin and objects embracing new technologies such as 3D printing.
The exhibition aims to celebrate the skill of makers while also examining their relationship to contemporary creative practice and the commercial arena, as the organizers say:
“Power of Making comes at a time when the loss of skill is threatening cultural practice and impacting on commercial industries. However, there is also a resurgence of making currently taking place as a means of self expression, social participation and cultural definition. The exhibition will examine and celebrate the expertise, knowledge and innovation demonstrated in objects, supporting the importance of traditional making skills and the drive towards new ways of working.”
The organizers also say they hope the exhibition will “encourage visitors to consider the process of making, not just the results.” To support this aim, V&A and Crafts Council have put out an open call for designers, makers and artisans from all fields, to submit short films of their own making processes. A selection of the best entries will be shown in the exhibition itself. See below for some of the entries so far.
Image above: 'Crochetdermy bear', Shauna Richardson
'Pixel Casting Machine' by Julian Bond
'Foam Panorama' by Yoav Reches
'Wind Knitting Machine' by Merel Karhof
'The Farrier' by Kevin Griffin
'The making of sonic fabric; a textile woven from cassette tape' by Alyce Santoro
