Le Bol, La Mallette, La Danse

Le Bol, La Mallette & La Danseuse.

design studio 1 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Design Studio I 4 Studio Narrative 5-16 Part 1: Objects 17-24 Part 2: Container 25-39 Part 3: Space Chapters 5-12 Project 1 part A 13-16 Project 1 part B 17-24 Project 2 25-39 Project 3 1

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design studio 1 Design Studio I In the first of a six-course core studio sequence, students will be introduced to the basic vocabulary, skills and techniques, practices and contexts of interior design through a series of projects that increase in scale and complexity. Human scale, movement, circulation and the relationship of the built environment to human experience and wellbeing will be explored. Students will be working both individually and collaboratively in a studio environment and will use a variety of model making and drawing skills to develop a visceral understanding of space and place through rigorous, creative iteration. This process and the resulting design responses will be documented through visual media that is still, moving, analog, and/or digital. This course will introduce how interior design inhabits the city in a physical and theoretical context 3

design studio 1 Studio narrative Spanning the past 100 years, we will explore the rela- tionship of everyday objects to human culture, social rights, and the environment. With a focus on objects and interiors, projects will incrementally increase in scale: object, assemblage, kit, and live-work studio. An exploration of art movements will take us on a journey through time, covering Dada & Surrealism, Fluxus, and New York’s early Contemporary Art scene. The direct engagement of objects is central in all of the art- ist’s work. Project sites will reference critical events and locations in art history, allowing us to discuss past and present social conditions. We respond to our current situation and draw from the contents that fill it. The work will be instinctive, personal, and possess a DIY mentality. Since the early months of 2020, the ways we live, work, learn, and socialize have been far from “normal”. The immediacy of the pandemic has required us to devel- op new forms of resourcefulness to ensure our physical and mental well-being. The stay at home order fur- ther reinforced the reversal of major aspects of daily life: home vs work, indoors vs outdoors, social vs distance. The BLM movement has also re-emerged stronger than ever, continuing to act on issues of equal rights. The collision of these two realities offer us an opportunity to think deeply and critically on the agen- cy of the interior designer and the device of the everyday object. “... [Surrealism] was a revolution of ob- jects and a revolution through objects” André Breton. 4

design studio 1 Part 1: Form and Spatial Characteristics of Everyday Objects Project 1 - PART A: Readymade, Found Object 5

project 1A: objects 6

project 1A: objects Emile Le Bol, elevation, 2020 7

project 1A: objects Emile Le Bol, combined plan + section cut, 2020 8

project 1A: objects Date: 09/08/2020 Location: Blainville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France Interviewer: Ines Le Cannellier (ILC) Object Name: Emile Le Bol (ELB) ILC: A few days ago, I spoke with a longtime friend of mine whom I had unfortunately disconnected from because of logistical and time constraints. Being back in France has allowed me to reconnect with him to catch up on lost time. His name is Emile Le Bol. Emile has been in the home goods industry for generations, making a name for himself and his peers thanks to his traditional style and reliability. Ubiq- uitous as him and his family are, they surely stand out as one-of-a-kind emblems of a simple pleasurable way of life. I am so happy to introduce you to him today! This interview has been edited for context and clarity. ILC: Bonjour Émile! Comment ca va? ELB: Bonjour Inès! Je vais bien et toi? ILC: Oui, ca va très bien merci. Alors je te propose qu’on essaie de faire cet interview en Anglais étant donné notre audience d’anglophones. Je t’aiderai à traduire si tu as besoin. ELB: Oui, d’accord, parfait! Oh pardon je voulais dire, yes that sounds perfect! ILC (laughs): Now, tell me Émile can you explain to our audience what exactly you do for a living? ELB: Yes, well, I am a bowl you see, so I hold things. Most of the time it’s food or beverages, but sometimes people use me to hold other non-edible objects. It’s quite odd to me, but I just go with it. I try not to reveal my ... um ... my perplexi- ty. I am also used to decorate. Some people like me simply for display purposes, you know, or even as mementos, I think is the word yes? It’s really quite varied. ILC: Ah yes interesting, ok. What does an ideal day look like for you? ELB: This is an interesting question Ines, I have not really ... how do you say “contempler” . ILC: contemplated or pondered ELB: Ah yes yes, pondered this question because you see, I do not have much time to think about what could be or what I wish could have been. I am a bowl, so while my purpose is relatively straightforward, it changes everyday, depending on people’s moods and schedules. I like both the idle moments and the busier ones, too. I guess you could say an ideal day for me is a day when I can get some rest at the end! ILC: Oh yes, I surely agree with you. I think it is an interesting perspec- tive you take Emile. As humans, we are often caught up in our thoughts about the past or the future; either dwelling on and regretting the past, or planning and wishing for a certain future. So, too often we forget to be in the present! ELB: Oui, c’est exactement ça. Je l’ai remarqué, oh pardon... I have noticed this tendency in humans. It may not look like it, but I am a keen observer and I pick up all the details from my environment, even the grains of dust on the shelf. ILC: Ah yes, you are “detail-oriented”. ELB: Hmm.. detail-oriented...what an interesting way to put it! ILC: Oui, oui c’est quelqu’un qui paye attention aux détails. ELB: Tout a fait! Mais ca sous-entend que je me tourne, que je suis calibre vers les détails.... Cette denomination m’intrigue... ILC (chuckles): Let’s move on. Can you tell us a little about your background? Where are you from and how was your upbringing? ELB: Well, interestingly, I was born in Barcelona, Spain, but quickly emigrated to France, here in Normandy, so I do not remember much of Spain. And as you can 9

project 1A: objects tell from my accent, I, you know, I do not, do not have much ties to, to Spain, and I have been here ever since in Normandy, in this very old but lovely home! ILC: Interesting, I didn’t know you were born in Barcelona! It’s true we have ever seen each other here - and we always speak French so I had not realized this, but now that you say this, you do remind me a lit- tle of some bowls I have seen there. With which place do you connect more? ELB: Well, as I said, I do not remember much from Spain, and I really grew up here all my life, so I consider myself more French than Spanish. I have never forgotten my roots, though. I keep them with me all the time, actually, through this necklace I have around my neck. It represents flowers which were apparently native to my great aunt’s garden. ILC: How beautiful! Now tell me, do you like being an object? I mean from my perspective, being a bowl can be quite tedious work - having to carry various loads often - but it is also my understanding that it can be quite mundane too. ELB: Well, yes Ines you are absolutely right, being a bowl is more com- plex than most people realize. It isn’t so black and white. My ex- periences... hem, comment dit-on l’expression “couvrir la gamme”? ILC: Tu peux dire they “run the gamut”. ELB: Ah yes, merci Ines. So I was saying my experiences run the gamut from ex- tremely, extremely hard work and exhausting work, to absolutely no work at all and like you suggest, it can be quite boring. But my thoughts are...my perspective is that that’s what makes being a bowl so intriguing! The variedness and “spon- taneite” of my daily life creates this excitement that never seems to run out. (pause. Emile goes inside) Ah, I’m sorry Ines I had to go back inside. It was just too hot outside. So, I was saying I know because I am more than 50 years old, and I still love my job! I get this - how do you say “palpitant”? ILC: “palpitating” or “titillating” ELB: Ah, ah thank you. So, I get this palpitating feeling anytime I see the sun rise and seep through the cracks of the window from my spot on the shelf. You know back when I was a young bowl, un “adolescent” you know, I did not like this aspect of my job. It annoyed me and I hated the “imprévisible”, the unexpectedness. I would do everything I could to avoid doing the job. I would slip out of people’s hands, spill things, I even tried to break myself so I could become unusable. (That is where my scars come from.) But as I grew older and gained in maturité, my perspec- tive shifted. I began to see the value in the work of being a bowl, and I started to see the magic that surrounded me. My belief now is that everyday life - even the tedious and seemingly, hmm, what is the word (pause, clicks tongue) ah yes, mo-no- tonous tasks like waking up very early in the morning to carry tea or coffee - is inherently beautiful, for it is mysterious and provides a strange sense of comfort. I feel I am contributing to people’s well being, supporting them in their everyday, and that is enough to keep me going. I am the paperweight - this is the word yes? ILC: Yes paperweight is a word. ELB: Yes the paperweight that keeps people’s messy piles of paper togeth- er, metaphorically speaking, of course. I am the great, hmm “stabilisateur”. ILC: Wow Émile. I am not sure what to say, that was beautifully put! I think we will have to end here, I want to let our listeners digest your thoughts, and linger with them a little longer. ELB: Oh thank you, Ines. That is very kind of you! One last word, if I may. It is important to remember the scale at which you exist in the world, tu vois ce que je veux dire?, l’échelle. Au final, I mean, in the end we are very small, a very small, an infinitesimal part of a much larger and grander world. I am only a bowl, but, that is enough. 10

project 1A: objects 11

project 1A: objects 12

project 1B: assemblage Project 1 - PART B: Sculpture, Base, Assemblage 13

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project 1B: assemblage Emile Assemblage, elevation, 2020 15

project 1B: assemblage Part B of this project was about assembling and, in effect, staging our object to en- hance its personnality and create a narra- tive. I chose to display several “Emiles” to create a sculpture-like assemblage rem- iniscent of an hourglass body. The dark, “moody” atmosphere came about naturally as I was shooting at night with artificial light. Initially, it was just to test the setup, but I ended up really liking the effect - especially the shadow that the dim light cast on the tiled background. I limited the extra props to just a saucer, a knife, and a napkin because I felt those were enough to set the stage for Emile. All of these objects are related to the kitchen and the act of eating which is Emile’s natural habi- tat. The base of the scultpure - inspired by Brancusi - is a stack of small wooden cut- ting boards, again pertaining to the kitchen setting, that equally tie into to the simple rustic aesthetic. 16

project 2: container Part 2: Application of spatial concepts to human scale and habitable projects Project 2: Container, Fluxus 17

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project 2: container The main concept I wanted to explore and represent through this kit is thE duality that defines Emile: on one side he is a purely functional object, and on the other he is a person with emotions and memories. The box itself acts as vehicle for the memories Emile has accrued to be passed on to whomever uses it. The box becomes interactive and conducive to new memories. What makes a person a person? It is the ability to emote and feel, and by extent, to record and remember those experiences. Here, these experiences are recorded. I demonstrate that the sum is greater than the parts. Emile is so much more than just a bowl. Reduced down to just his individual components, Emile returns to the realm of the object, and reassumes his purpose as a functional piece of dishware. Where do dishes typically live? The dish rack seemed like the most obvious answer apart from a cupboard. I was interested in the material and struc- tural properties of the dish rack as something that was both open and enclosed. Also, despite appearances the dish rack can be a powerful tool to organize and pres- ent objects in such a way as to simultaneously emphasize their obejctness and offer possibility for a differ- ent life. The dish rack also signals Emile’s origins. The placement of Emile in a dish rack and the inclusion of objects such as the cutlery and saucer serve to remind the user of where Emile came from, which is to say the kitchen. Through the simple acts of assembly and disassembly the user can bring Emile to life and accordingly, reduce him to his material parts, in essence objectifyfing him. The box is a testament to the potential of what Emile can become while also being a poignant re- minder of what, in the end, he will only ever be. I wanted to translate this idea of the sum being greatar than the parts in the drawings by creating a collage of sorts, showing each individual drawing together as one, almost like a coordinated multi view architectural drawing. 24

project 3: space Part 3: Synthesis of prior studies and explorations in programmed space Project 3: Live & Work Studio Space (for Katherine Dunham) 25

project 3: space My project is about the relationship between ethnography and choreography as revealed and concealed by the movement of curtains. 26

project 3: space DESIGN BRIEF DECEMBER 2020 CLIENT: KATHERINE DUNHAM LOCATION: 57 GREAT JONES ST. NEW YORK, NY AREA: 1045 SQ FT Overview of project A multifunctional live and work space inspired by Dun- ham’s anthropoloigcal and ethnographic studies and her studio work. She would like a comfortable and clean space where she can easily move unencumbered, whether in everyday life or dancing. The space should allow her to think to think clearly and it must reflect her Afri- can and Caribbean heritage - aesthetically or in spir- it. The space must not be boring. Dunham is a busy and active woman, so the space should reflect her multilay- ered identity and multidimensionality. In essence, she would like a space that emulates and supports her work as both a thinker and academic and as ultimately as a dancer. Spatial Requirements an open plan studio space a private quiet study/work area a simple and modest kitchen outfitted with the necessi- ties (stove, oven, refrigerator, etc.) a simple bathroom with a shower, not a bathtub a stage where I can practice my choreography a storage area or furniture to keep costumes, gifts, and other objects closet space to store my dresses and headpieces Object Requirements a ballet barre several mirrors that can be displaced the Louis Vuitton shoecase gifted to Dunham a multifunctional desk that can be protracted or re- tracted for multifunctional use shelving unit or system to store papers and books a small portable television 27

floorplanproject 3: space combined 28

floorplanproject 3: space floorplanobject partition 29

planproject 3: space back elevation reflected ceiling 30

project 3: space Artwork Diagrams straight lines dots arcs combined 31

project 3: space Exploratory Sketches 32

project 3: space Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) - anthropologist dancer choreographer social activist educator 33

project 3: space born in the suburbs of Chicago her choreography has been began singing at a young age in described as smooth and flu- her church but never aimed to ent become a dancer The Katherine Dunham Cen- studied anthropology at the ters for Arts and Humanities University of Chicago and sub- writes about Dunham: \"By sequently went on a fellowship that time, she was consid- to study anthropology in the ered a living, breathing, Caribbean historical institution in and of herself.” became interested in the roots She found more satisfaction of dance, specifically its in the practice of dance \"ethnic\" origin (that is why she did not traveled to Jamaica, Trinidad, pursue anthropology formal- Brazil and Haiti ly). revolutionized modern dance was more interested in the world with her innovative in- fusion of arts and science terpretation of \"ethnic\" danc- investigation of dance --> es --> she wanted to show the specifically of the people beauty of black dance and un- who created dances in ad- cover its ethnic roots dition to the dances them- responsible for exposing the selves white-dominated European dance her work focused on the folk world to Caribbean and African and primitive dances influences influenced by Franco-Russian fused anthropology with dance ballet --> Ludmilla Sper- founded the Katherine Dun- anzeva was her first ballet ham Dance Company in the ear- teacher (from Vaudeville ly 1940s --> toured around the troupe Chauve-Souris) world and was mostly well re- combined aspects of European ceived because people had never ballet tradition with Amer- seen anything like it before; ican musical theater tech- exposed people to Caribbean and niques and what she learned African dance studying Caribbean and Afri- named the \"queen and matriarch can dance heritage of black dance\" first African American woman to choreograph for the Metropoli- tan Opera 34

project 3: live/work offstage (live) collage 35

project 3: live/work onstage (work) collage 36

project 3: live/work WORK OBJECT DIARY I don't really like to get attached to objects; I like to study them. Observe them, analyze them, understand them so that I may understand the culture they belong to. I do not simply refer to material static objects such as stat- uettes and masks which I have gathered from my travels abroad. The objects that most interest are objects only in the sense that they are experiencing an action that is directed toward them. This action is my observation. These objects I refer to are living breathing beings, mag- nificent bodies infused with such fervent energy that you start to feel a tingling, tantalizing sensation over- come you. You cannot help but be attracted to them, en- grossed by the way these bodies move. In essence, my ob- ject is movement, this intangible dynamism that keeps history and tradition alive, bubbling underneath the sur- face, sometimes spilling out like boiling water in a pot. I understand that not everyone can access this energy, let alone understand it. So this is where physical material ob- jects - objects that are fixed, that can be held in one's hands - are useful. In fact, they are sometimes more per- tinent to highlight in cases in which the dance is too elusive, too incomprehensible, at first watch, to appre- ciate. Here, I acknowledge the value of certain objects. The stage décor and costumes I put into play for my dances are examples of objects I believe hold a lot of value and not just for entertainment reasons. What is by nature im- mobile is not necessarily spiritless. These objects come to life because we, the dancers, infused them with ener- gy and vitality. My husband creates most of the pieces I use for my shows - I am always amazed at his talents, how he crafts these magnificent, wonderfully intricate pieces - dresses, headpieces, skirts, and of course the stage set itself. He is my partner in crime both onstage and off. He has a unique ability to translate the narrative I am trying to tell in my choreography, into objects. He is respect- ful of tradition but does not shy away from innovation. It is hard to chose one piece I like the most from him. To me it isn't so much about having \"favorites\"since they are all valuable in their own right. Having said this, there is one category of pieces that I cherish in particular and that I carry with me both in my personal and pubic life. The headpiec- es. These sometimes lavish but most of the time modest pieces of clothing that to me are more than just a mere accessory. They are the outfit. Whether it's in the studio or onstage, in the streets or at parties, headpieces make me feel more confident, as if I was wearing a crown, like an actual queen. 37

project 3: live/work LIFE OBJECT DIARY Sometimes people gift me objects during my travels as a sign of appreication or admiration. While I do not seek to accumulate objects in general, I always accept these presents graciously. They are an act of kindness. Someone took the time of think of me and think of something to give me. This is important to note. Objects are gatekeepers of history and culture, so when some- one gives me one, I take that as an act of extension of cul- ture. They are transmitting their culture through this mate- rial act of donation, which in turn keeps the culture alive. Of the many gifts I have been fortunate to receive, this rab- bit spirit mask stands out in particular. It comes from the Mumuye people in Nigeria; the figure is simple: it is a head with elongated ears, indented circular eyes, and triangular teeth. It is made of wood that exhibits these beautiful grain variations, full of texture and grit. It is one of those ob- jects that conveys so much more than what its looks suggest. Sometimes I stare at it and wonder what it is thinking, who it is showing its teeth to - a predator? An enemy? Misfortune? In my schools and with my dancers, I emphasize the importance of learning about and honoring history, and most importantly of keeping that history alive, so as to not lose the culture that came before us. If we do not make the effort of preserving and transmitting the knowledge, beliefs and traditions that precede us, no one else will, and these cultures will be lost. 38

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Fin.