DesignMarch 2013: DesignTalks

This weekend is DesignMarch in Reykjavik. In 2008 a group of foreign journalists asked the question "what is Icelandic design?" and in 2009 DesignMarch was born, or so the story goes from my DesignMarch catalogue. Although the conceptualization of Icelandic design is young, fluid, and uncertain, artists and art appreciators alike flock to Reykjavik to share and inspire creativity from Iceland and beyond.

There are graphic, fashion, furniture, interior, artistic, abstract, music and jewelry designers showcasing their works all around the city in various shops, galleries and forums just ripe for the browsing. And on Thursday, it all opened with DesignTalks, a day of lectures about the magic of creativity. H, because of her infinite coolness, hosted these talks and generously put me on the guest list to attend.

Side Note: Thinking I'd be inside most of the day, I left home with only my Sony 5n. Although a good little camera, it didn't quite satisfy my needs of the day. I would have gotten better images with Markus the Third, but I'm still thankful to have brought it.

While I waited in the lobby for the doors to open at the National Theater, I was given a baked rock to warm my hands with. This made me gloriously nostalgic for childhood camping trips with hot rocks put in the bottom of sleeping bags for warming cold little toes with through the night. 

The first speaker was German designer Inge Druckrey. She discussed the art of seeing, and how learning the theoretical forms, compositions, etc, in books is not enough in an artistic education. We have to really and physically study it. We must see everyday things in terms of form and look for abstract in reality. Later on in her lecture she also mentioned the destructive nature of producing work based on deadlines and mass quantity because it might limit the resolve within the artist. I found that especially resonating and a interesting way to think about my discontent with being a commercial photographer.

Next was Maja Kuzmanovic and Nik Gaffney, the founders of FoAM (you can read more about it here). She spoke about invoking a feeling of freshness ("breath in... feel fresh... breath out... be here") in our every day lives, and also the importance of letting go of judgements and predications before starting a project as to better explore the present moments.

Talented curator Juliet Kinchin used a lot of fantastic visuals to explain her points which would be hard to describe in blog-form, but the overall message that stayed with me from her lecture was the magic gained from playing. Artists (and people in general) need to play.

Last was fashion design duo Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto of Eley Kishimoto (most famous for, but not limited to, the design "flash"). I really appreciated their down to earth look at the industry, something I wasn't expecting when I first saw them. They shied away from the pompous ideas of the fashion industry to embrace doing what they love. I always admire successful artists who choose not to play the games of the self-serving and self-indulgent industry.

After the lectures and Q&A session, I was kindly given the rest of the day off to explore the rest of what DesignMarch had to offer. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to feel supported to seek inspiration in my environment.

I walked through some of the exhibits, my brain digesting the feast this day was, and I felt compelled to take some photographs of abstract forms I found pleasing (among some other inspirations still growing which may blossom into other blog posts eventually). Sometimes the commercial wedding photographer in me feels digressive to look around for abstract forms of everyday objects, as if my time to do that was in high school with everyone else, but I figured if it's not my first impulse then it was especially important to do. So many things to unlearn, and so many habits to break...

As the air grew chilly, and the bottom of my maxi dress quite wet (again, wasn't planning on being outside that much when I prepared for the day), I stopped into the ever-touristy Cafe Paris for a hot chocolate. Definitely not the best Reykjavik has to offer, but good enough to warm up with.

After a rainy bus ride home, I met up with my dear and patient friends to study my Icelandic. While at their house, I had some berry soup with cream. There was something about the composition in the bowl before me that was quite lovely and needed to be photographed (probably to the confusion of my friends).

"Find the abstract forms in the everyday."

We are pretty lucky little mammals on this rock flinging around space to have such beautiful things all around us.