Ron Arad
Attempting to define or classifyRon Arad as solely an artist, designer, or architect is a mammoth violation, as he is all and none of the above. Ron Arad’s work walks the line between mass-produced and “one-off” designed objects as well as the avant-garde. Arad’s creations are boundless, constrained only by the physical laws of nature. Often in reference to past artistic movements, Arad’s work alludes to more thenphysical form, by way of questioning the nature of materials as well as function. Arad is a technological innovator who explores and exploits all the possibilities of material and manufacturing processes. Arad’s artistic genius is unveiled in his many design mediums, whether it be a chair or a building interior. Defining Arad’s work undertakes the impossible; as he has time and time again challenged the normality of the design world. Inspired by recycled and found objects, technological advances, and the pressures of the fast paced ever changing digital age, Arad’s creative response has varied extensively over the years bouncing between mass production and one of a kind art.
In 1981Ron Arad opened his One Off showroom in Covent Garden. London. The showroomwas originally intended to be a means of exhibiting Arad’s furniture as well as the work of designers Danny Lane and Tom Dixon. Through the incorporation of studio and workshop under one roof, the One-Off showroom became a sort of forum that facilitated new theories in design paving the way for future designers (Fiell 150).Arad among other avant-garde designers,began to experiment with ideas of “one-off” and limited edition furniture as a means to free themselves from the constraints of mass production. The idea of producing limited designs helped Ron Arad to develop an individualistic quality and dynamism rampant throughout hiswork. The hand made quality and eccentric designs created by Arad provide a quality and value that is lost in the mass production of designed goods.
One of Ron Arad’s most recognizable designs, the Rover chair, was created while working at the One Off Showroom. The chair was created in 1981 from Rover 2 L V8 car seats mounted to one inch tubing. The tubing is connected with forged scaffolding clamps, used predominantly in the 1930s.This iconic chair is often viewed as an art piece as a result of Arad’s use of mismatched and found everyday materials. With the use of “ready made” objects, the chair becomes a reflection of the time and the philosophy of the designer. Inspired by the Dada movement and more specifically Duchamp, Arad transformed a found material into an art form. However, rather then rendering the found object useless, Arad transforms the material use of the object into a beautiful and functional work, while maintaining material viability.The chair employs a hand made quality and reflects the weathered life of the materials. The car seats worn read leather and obsolete clamps provides a recollection of the past and prior use while providing an individualistic quality incapable of being reproduced. Through exploitation of the tactile and visual qualities of the materials Arad appeals to human emotion, making the Rover Chair and much of his work more then just designed goods but an expressive entity (Fiell 173).
With his architectural background, Arad’s early designs tended to be conceived more as environmental elements, rather then as isolated objects. Arad created his artifacts using ready-made components and materials by putting them to unexpected uses such as his crasher- or welder formed from sheet steel and tortured into flamboyant, expressive shapes. Arad was prepared to accommodate altogether rougher and ready quality that chimed well with the grittiness of British youth styles of the time, from the graphic design of album covers to fashion trends (Sudjic29).
However, although Arad’s genius has continually evolved beyond his earlier work of the 1980s, he has maintained the architectural and sculptural qualities that helped make his designs so famous. Arad has continually challenged the roles of functional objects, questioning their utility and purpose by over developing form and aesthetic to a sculptural level. Beyond the development of everyday objects into sculptural works of art, Arad pushes forward challenging the use of materials.
Ron Arad’s work, although functional, is often barely reminiscent of rational and utility as the sculptural aesthetics and beauty of his designs dominate. Through the manipulation of material Arad is often able to convey distinctive biomorphic forms and shapes in unlikely mediums. One such example of Arad’s sculptural and highly aesthetic works is his more recent design entitled Thumbprint. Thumbprint is a hemispherical chair composed of thousands of stainless steel rods wrapped in various directions around an interior frame. The organic and fluid motion of the chair gently cups the human form by cradling the sitter. The organic form and motion of Thumbprint counteracts the heaviness of the steel and overall proportion of the piece. Arad’s Thumbprint is a work not bound by function and finds beauty in the use and manipulation of materials. The hand made qualities of the chair denote originality, while the limited production ensures uniqueness and value. Working off the concept of limited production, Arad is able to thoroughly explore the possibilities of various materials.The costly and labor intensive techniques used to create the thumbprint chair resound throughout Arad’s many other designs, creating a value nonexistent in mass produced goods. While much of Arad’s design employs costly hand crafted labor, he is able to offset the expense of hand made quality by maintaining limited production numbers.Furthermore, by rejecting the constraints of mass production Arad is capable of exploring unconventional processes, allowing the beauty of form and material to unveil itself.
Although Arad’s rejection of conventional industrial processes and classifications are apparent in all his work, his 1983 Concrete Stereobreaks all the rules. The stereo was cast in concrete and includes two speakers, a turntable, and amplifier. The stereo seems to almost materialize Arad’s nomadic style that drifts between artistic disciplines. Arad’s use of crumbling concrete defiantly rejects mass produced stereos made of smooth metal and plastics. However, the functionality of the stereo was never forgotten, as Arad understood the concrete to containacoustic benefits complimenting the speakers. Arad’s stereo is once again reminiscent of Duchamp’s art and the Dada, yet rather then being rendered a useless object, Arad has transformed the ready made allowing the original function to shine through in its own beauty (Fiell 150).
By composing the stereo of crumbling concrete and rebar, it becomes a literal deconstruction of previous design processes focused on rationality and function. Arad’s work much like the stereo, boldly rejects the acceptable and questions the true nature and defining characteristics that compose everyday objects.
Arad’s work began as a rejection of the rigidity of mass production exploring the material world without limitation. Arad’s work during the 1980s and 90s reflects a rugged individualism and non-conformist attitude quite possibly fuelled by the nuclear defense politics and growing environmental awareness of the time (Aldersey- Williams 41).
However, during the 80s and up into the 90s growing public interest in designed products skyrocketed. Provoked by interior and lifestyle magazines, consumers sought out avant-garde design, as it reflected an individualism characteristic of the time. The spontaneity and handcrafted quality of Arad’s work, created outside the industrial process, was infused with value beyond the scope of the mass produced that fed the exclusive needs consumers or rather collectors were looking for.
More recently Ron Arad has began venturing deeper into the world of the mass produced. Although much evolved, Ron Arad stillmaintains his unique one of a kind ideal,pushing the envelope of modern computer aided design by questioning the basis of manufacturing and designing on a mass scale. Experimenting with the latest technologies, Arad has found new ways to maintain the one off imperfection of his earlier work by manipulating the manufacturing process. Whether it is due to the slowing economic time, increased environmental awareness, or the advent of IKEA and other mass consumer outlets, the “one off trend” may have dissolved slightly. However, the desire for designed products seems to have been elevated in light of the aforementioned factors. Though needless to say, Ron Arad has heavily impacted the way design is perceived and will continue to evolve with the times.
In an interview done by Art Review called No Limits, Arad was asked, “Do you think the way you look at design has changed over the years?” Arad’s response was, “Everything changes, the way I look at things changes. If I go and see an exhibition of Rodchenko works at the Tate, it changes the way I look at things. Not necessarily because it’s great and fantastic but because it brings home to you how everyone is trapped by where they are and what’s around them”. Arad seems to have an astute awareness of the world around him that is fully interpreted within his design work. Furthermore, his innate ability to understand the world and react with creative genius are the key qualities that keepArad a continued figure of influence and subject within the art and design world. Arad’s uncanny ability to evolve with the times has infused his work current social concerns over the years adding an undeniable depth to his masterpieces. Whether it be the naturalistic and organic thermoformed chairs or the raw and rough beauty of a sheet metal chair, one cannot deny the emotional qualities of Arad’s creations.
Whether in reference to art, design, or architecture, Arad’s “no discipline” attitude and desire for quality, dynamism, and beauty will continue to affect the world by influencing and shaping future creators. With his daredevil approach to form, structure, technology, and materials, Arad has more then solidified his position among the most influential designers of the twenty first century.Ron Arad has fused the artistic disciplines, rewriting and destroying the rules that define art, design, and architecture, all the while encouraging the rejection and interrogation of artistic edict.
Works Cited
Aldersey-Williams, Hugh. “Professor of cool.” New Statesman 129.4491 (2000): 41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. .
Fiell, Charlotte, and Peter Fiell. Modern Furniture Classics since 1945. Washington D.C.: The American Institute of Architects, 1991. Print.
“Ron Arad.” Designboom. Designboom. Web. 17 Oct. 2009.
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Sudjic, Deyan. Ron Arad: Restless Furniture. New York: Rizzoli, 1989.