Photo by Jason Wierzbicki, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
If you find yourself in Philadelphia, PA between now and June 13, 2010 make sure you check out “Marcel Wanders: Daydreams” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s a multimedia installation filled with objects hand-picked by the designer in the Perelman building right across the street from the main museum. The entrance to the gallery is draped in a curtain featuring Wanders: hair slicked back and a gold ball for a nose. It’s an image you’ve seen before, on his website (www.marcelwanders.com) and at the entrance to the Mondrian South Beach (which he designed), but this time it’s featured as a color negative. It’s a little wonky and so is what’s behind it – in a good way.
“Daydreams” feels more like a trip down the rabbit hole than a peak into a wandering mind. Entering through what’s essentially Wanders’ face, it’s as if we’ve entered the designer’s brain. And it’s a place I could stay (and play) for a while. In the corner is his iconic Knotted chair, rigged to a big white balloon that has a video of soaring blue skies projected onto it. It’s like a hot air balloon and the Knotted chair is the basket. Next to that is a glass cabinet filled with tableware designs and vases by Wanders, including his b.l.o. light from FLOS with a sign below it that said “Blow hard.” I did and it flickered but stayed on. I blew harder and it went out. Clever.
In another corner of the room is a video projection of Wanders musing on his design process and inspirations. Smack dab in the middle of the room is his giant, white floor lamp (which can be seen poolside at the Mondrian in South Beach, as well) that plays tricks on the eyes as you walk round it. Also tricky on the eyes was a video installation of Wanders’ patchwork plates. Sounds rebound off his Soapbath tub onto his Crochet chair. Tinkling noises can be heard from overhead. Intricate, ornate surprises can be found in the underside of a lampshade.
It’s nice to see a design show that takes objects and furniture away from the white elevated platform we see so often. Putting furniture in even a more home-like setting, giving them some context, letting chairs face each other as if in a den would be appreciated once in awhile. Given the whimsical and playful nature of Wanders work, it was great to see it in a setting beyond the gallery and the home, in a fantastical wonderland-meets-Twilight Zone setting.
Photo by Jason Wierzbicki, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
