DISOBEDIENT OBJECTS

B:
hello, I'm here!
A:
16/01/2015 08:34
A:
me tooo
B:
16/01/2015 08:35
B:
cool!
A:
16/01/2015 08:35
A:
what we talking about today?
hows uni?
B:
16/01/2015 08:35
B:
it's good
we went to see a show at the V&A today
A:
16/01/2015 08:36
A:
want to tell me about that? Maybe I can tell you about a show I saw last night?
B:
16/01/2015 08:36
B:
it was called Disobedient Objects
it was about objects used for protest
A:
16/01/2015 08:37
A:
oh great!
B:
16/01/2015 08:37
B:
well not just objects, but mostly
A:
16/01/2015 08:37
A:
global or uk specific?
B:
16/01/2015 08:37
B:
global
A:
16/01/2015 08:37
A:
what did you think?
B:
16/01/2015 08:37
B:
one sec
I thought it was very interesting, first of all because of the location itself, the V&A
it was so different from everything else they have in there
the show was quite small, only two rooms
A:
16/01/2015 08:40
A:
although it is an object/design gallery, it would fall under the broader blanket?
B:
16/01/2015 08:41
B:
yes, but everything in that museum is so beautiful
A:
16/01/2015 08:42
A:
yeah, do you think it was an intentional contrast?
maybe highlighting the darker side of protest?
B:
16/01/2015 08:42
B:
yes I think so and that's why it was interesting
A:
16/01/2015 08:42
A:
or glorifying it?
B:
16/01/2015 08:42
B:
there was a corner of the exhibition space where people could write on the wall
A:
16/01/2015 08:43
A:
it was in support of protest?
B:
16/01/2015 08:43
B:
yes
I'll find a link
B:
16/01/2015 08:44
B:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/disobedient-objects/
A:
do you think the title "disobedient objects" sort of highlights the displacement of the objects in the V&A, or do you feel they have a sense of disobedience?
B:
16/01/2015 08:46
B:
I didn't think it in relation to the museum itself
I thought of it more in relation to whatever the cause of the protest was
A:
16/01/2015 08:47
A:
ah sure
makes sense then
B:
16/01/2015 08:47
B:
so what the object represented
A:
16/01/2015 08:47
A:
do you think the objects pushed design boundaries as a result of a social upheaval?
B:
16/01/2015 08:48
B:
yes, although to be honest I wasn't looking at any of the objects as design
A:
16/01/2015 08:48
A:
do you think that was part of the intention of putting it at the V&A though?
B:
16/01/2015 08:48
B:
I mean everything was made for reasons that went beyond the design factor...
A:
16/01/2015 08:49
A:
yes
B:
16/01/2015 08:49
B:
yes probably...it was maybe a way of showing that design can also be 'about something'
A:
16/01/2015 08:49
A:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jul/23/tools-of-protest-disobedient-objects-vanda

A:
16/01/2015 08:50
A:
yeah that makes sense
just gonna read this one
B:
16/01/2015 08:50
B:
also they were highlighting a lot the fact that many of these objects were made with cheap materials
A:
16/01/2015 08:50
A:
it becomes an aesthetic perhaps?
A:
16/01/2015 08:51
A:
"The teacup, which is stamped with what looks at first glance like a shonky counterfeit Starbucks logo, actually bears the emblem of the Women's Social and Political Union – it was designed by Sylvia Pankhurst and deployed as a way of bringing the suffragette campaign into the genteel heart of Edwardian drawing rooms." things like this are undeniably design I feel though?
B:
16/01/2015 08:51
B:
yes but the point I think is that they become design afterwards
but they weren't made with that intent
A:
16/01/2015 08:52
A:
yeah definitely
sometimes that's what design is, a result of function
B:
16/01/2015 08:53
B:
that was also one of the points that we discussed afterwards
whether this show should have been in this museum in the first place
A:
16/01/2015 08:53
A:
what ddid you think?
B:
16/01/2015 08:54
B:
I didn't mind it being there, but as I said I wasn't looking at anything that was displayed as a piece of design
I was interested in the story behind it
A:
16/01/2015 08:54
A:
hm it's hard
yeah I think it can go hand in hand
that's my opinion
i like stuff that's designed for design intention, but stuff designed for function can also change design movements- spark new ideas etc
B:
16/01/2015 08:55
B:
yes definitely, it's just that I found the actual subject of protest or activism interesting enough for me to focus on that alone
rather than having to think of these objects in relation to design
A:
16/01/2015 08:56
A:
that's a good show maybe then! layered
yeah totally
but the context of the museum might have you reflect on their design too
B:
16/01/2015 08:56
B:
especially because there were many things I didn't know about
A:
16/01/2015 08:56
A:
yeah
of course
B:
16/01/2015 08:57
B:
we criticised the way the show was set up, the way the objects were displayed
A:
16/01/2015 08:57
A:
ah thats a shame
how come?
B:
16/01/2015 08:58
B:
because everything was made of wood and cardboard, to give a feeling of 'rough' and 'hand made'
but one could tell that a lot of care and money had gone into the display
so it was kind of a contradiction
because it looked fake
A:
16/01/2015 08:59
A:
yeah
hypocritical
B:
16/01/2015 08:59
B:
yes
A:
16/01/2015 08:59
A:
too maybe
B:
16/01/2015 09:00
B:
another point we made that I thought was interesting, was that there seems to have been a strong selection of what went into the show...
A:
16/01/2015 09:00
A:
diverse?
B:
16/01/2015 09:01
B:
Michael actually pointed out that it seemed very weird that there was no mentioning at all of anything to do with Al qaeda
A:
16/01/2015 09:02
A:
Have people protested Al Qaeda directly or more just the war on Iraq?
B:
16/01/2015 09:02
B:
well there was nothing about iraq either
that was the point
it seemed like that whole area had been avoided
which, considering that it is the most prominent subject of protest at the moment...was kind of weird
A:
16/01/2015 09:03
A:
the whole east conflict?
B:
16/01/2015 09:04
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yes
A:
16/01/2015 09:04
A:
thats kind of disgraceful
it's our modern war
B:
16/01/2015 09:04
B:
yes but that's what we were talking about...it seems that they exhibited subjects of protest that were 'safe'
like, racism, homophobia, sexism, work and education related
A:
16/01/2015 09:06
A:
yeah very safe!
expected western problems
B:
16/01/2015 09:06
B:
yes exactly
A:
16/01/2015 09:06
A:
any protests not from the west?
anything from Egypt?
Syria?
B:
16/01/2015 09:07
B:
there were some knitted quilts made in Colombia if I remember well
A:
16/01/2015 09:07
A:
because those protests started revolutions/wars and are so recent
hmmm
sounds like some patron of the V&A commissioned this one
B:
16/01/2015 09:07
B:
yes there was some stuff...but there was definitely something missing
also there seemed to be slightly outdated versions of everything
A:
16/01/2015 09:08
A:
sounds like it
even the themes
B:
16/01/2015 09:08
B:
I mean I know that it's an exhibition so there was old stuff as well
one thing that I remember that was interesting was this Iphone app
that one could play with
a game
A:
16/01/2015 09:09
A:
yeah
what was the games intention?
B:
16/01/2015 09:10
B:
where to win you had to force African kids into labour, then you had to stop Chinese factory workers from committing suicide
and so on
it was very sarcastic
kind of horrible
A:
16/01/2015 09:10
A:
it would be quite poignant
B:
16/01/2015 09:11
B:
they actually released it but Apple banned it after 4 days of its release
A:
16/01/2015 09:11
A:
oh shit
that's really bad
B:
16/01/2015 09:12
B:
yes...I can't even remember what it's called now