Reflection of Lecture4, 10.Design Activism

Setouchi International Art Festival in Japan (http://setouchi-artfest.jp)

  The Setouchi Triennale (also known as the Setouchi International Art Festival) is a contemporary art festival held every three years on a dozen islands in the Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai), the sea which separates Honshu and Shikoku, two of Japan's main islands. It was first held in 2010.

  Contemporary art has gained a prominent position in the region in recent decades thanks to various art projects by the Benesse Corporation on the island of Naoshima and more recently on the islands of Inujima and Teshima, all of which also serve as festival venues. The Setouchi Triennale is intended to further strengthen the region's position as a leading site for contemporary art and to spread the art to additional islands.

  Like many rural parts of Japan, the islands in the Seto Inland Sea have been suffering from massive depopulation in recent decades, while their remaining residents have been aging at a rapid pace, causing a wide range of problems. One of the festival's main goals is to counteract these trends and revitalize the region in a sustainable and creative way by bringing contemporary art and tourism onto the islands.

  Visitors to the region will be charmed not only by the intriguing art but also by the laid back, slow paced rural atmosphere of the islands' villages and the beauty of the island scenery. In many ways the festival resembles the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, a similar art festival, which is held every three years in a rural mountainous area of Niigata Prefecture.

(Kusama.Y, Pumpkin)

  During the festival, nearly 150 artworks by artists from Japan and overseas were exhibited on the twelve islands and around the ports of Takamatsu and Uno in addition to a considerable number of museums and art sites already in existence, including several permanent art installations from the 2010 festival. Much of the artwork will remain standing even after the end of the festival, justifying a visit to the area at any time of the year.

  The artworks are found across the islands. Some of them stand outdoors in the fields, along the coast or in villages. Others make use of the numerous old homes which have been left abandoned due to the depopulation. The buildings are employed as exhibition spaces or have been converted into artworks themselves. In addition, there are the established museums and art sites on Naoshima, Inujima and Teshima islands.

(Chityu Museum)

  I think this Setouchi International Art Festival could be said design activism, TED no.10 strategy. In fact, Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 brought about a beneficial economic effect on local economy. More specifically, according to the report of Kagawa prefecture in 2010, more than one million visitors came to Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 from home and abroad, and the festival brought more than 10 billion yen's economic effect. In this regard, the festival would be said one of the successful examples of local revitalization using art and design.

  

  The most important influence of Setouchi International Art Festival I consider is that the festival has changed negative impression of islands, the festival's main venues. For instance, the small island of Oshima off the coast of Takamatsu serves as a treatment center and community for sufferers of Hansen's Disease. Because of this history, Oshima had been considered negative legacy by Japanese people, and no one felt to want to visit there. However, in a collaboration project between artists, hospitals and residents, an old dormitory was transformed into a fantastic art gallery. Nowadays many people have visited Oshima to see the gallery and art works. I believe that changing people's impression is extremely difficult, especially in case of bad impression. Although Ohima had negative impression from people due to Hansen's Disease, art and design have altered people's impression on Oshima. 

Inujima

    Another example is Naoshima and Inujima which are used to be refineries. But most of refineries went bankrupt with the times. Now the Seirensho art project, built into the ruins of an old copper refinery in Inujima, is one of the festival's most noteworthy pieces. Eight smaller artworks can be found around the island's small village. And In the last few decades Naoshima has been transformed into an art island featuring the excellent Chichu Museum designed by Tadao Ando, Benesse Art House, Lee Ufan Museum and Art House Project. Actually I have been to Naoshima, when I was a university student in Japan. There were a significant number of art and design creations all over the island, however the creations coexisted with traditional culture of the island in harmony.

   Setouchi International Art Festival has proved that art and design have profound influence on people. I think the festival is the one of the shapes of ideal relationship between art and design, and communal society as design activism.

References
・Art Setouchi (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://setouchi-artfest.jp> [Accessed 17 November 2013].

・Kitagawa. F, (2013) Evolution of Art, Tokyo: Bijyutsu shuppansha.

Reflection of Lecture3, 5. Design that Explores Cleaner/ Better Technologies

5. Design that Explores Cleaner/ Better Technologies

  Nowadays, there are many kinds of innovative technology that we did not expect 20 years ago. The technology has given a lot of impact on fashion and textile industry. 

　But I am a student, so I do not have actual opportunities to see and use the latest technology. I therefore want to research about what sort of new technology there is in fashion and textile industry, and discuss whether using the latest technology is more ethical and eco-friendly than using previous technology.

3D Print

3D print could be said representative of innovative technology.
Continuum Fashion is a design lab. and a brand to consider future fashion, and they have created interesting products using the latest 3D printer.

① D. Dress ( http://continuumfashion.com/D.php )

(Continuum Fashion, D.dress)

   In short, the "D" collection is actually a piece of software. The D.dress app lets you draw a dress, turns it into a 3D model, and exports a cutting pattern to make the real dress, sized to your measurements. A laser cutter or plotter cuts the pattern out of fabric, which is then sewn into the dress. All the designs are unified around the theme of the little black dress, and the triangulation used in the software. This allows basically everyone to create their own innovative dress design.

Continuum Ddress UI from Mary Huang on Vimeo.

②CONSTRVCT(http://continuumfashion.com/constrvct.php)

(Continuum Fashion, CONSTRVCT)

CONSTRVCT is an ongoing endeavor, where we hope to add features to expand the freedom of design that people can achieve. We are striving to enable a pivotal innovation in design process, where the design interface seamlessly links up to pattern-making and materials. And where anyone in the world can make a design, share it across the web, and that design can be downloaded and made at any point on the globe. 

(Continuum Fashion, CONSTRVCT)

③N12 (http://continuumfashion.com/N12.php)

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

The N12 is named after Nylon 12 (WSF), the material in which the bikini is 3D printed.  Nylon 12 makes an ideal swimsuit material as it is innately waterproof. As well as being the first 3D printed bikini, it is also the first bikini that actually becomes more comfortable when it gets wet. 

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

The N12 was designed using Rhino 3D CAD software and specially written algorithmic script to create the structure of the 3D printed fabric. The algorithm uses a complex 'circle packing' equation on an arbitrarily doubly curved surface (the bikini). The size of the circles responds to curvature and edge conditions of the form, creating smooth edges and a responsive pattern. 

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

④ Strvct Shoes (http://continuumfashion.com/shoes.php)

(Continuum Fashion, Strvct Shoes)

3D-printed shoe collection,"strvct", uses innovative materials to create fantasy-inspired designs. 

strvct refers to structure. With 3D printed nylon, delicate looking forms are actually incredibly strong while also being impossibly lightweight. Continuum Fashion present a triangulated spin on the classic wedge pump, which brings to mind Cinderella's glass slipper in its transparency. Expanding on this idea, they created a sandal with a 3D printed base and origami tyvek butterflies. 

The strvct shoes are wearable. They are lined with a patent leather inner sole, and coated with a synthetic rubber on the bottom to provide traction.

Shoes Created Using 3D Printer

(Continuum Fashion, Strvct Shoes)

Advantages & Ethical Problems of 3D Print 

 the reason why 3D print can be said more eco-friendly than previous technology

・3D printer is easy to make small-scale production. It means that 3D printer can                    produce necessary things only in the needed amount when needed without no waste.

・If there is a 3D printer, we do not always need to order a far factory to make products. And some large scale factories have minimum order,  but 3D printer does not require it. That is helpful for young designers who do not have a large amount of budget to create their design.

・Using 3D printer can reduce usage of water, electricity, and amount of dye compared to using present factories.  

  

  Personally, I think that 3D printing technology is not only affordable and cost effective because it reduces waste of water, electricity, and dye during the manufacturing process, it also cuts production time of complex parts dramatically by speeding up or eliminating completely the need for traditional molding and casting techniques. In this regard, using 3D printer could be said more eco-friendly than previous technology.

  However, there are some ethical concerns regarding using 3D printer that must be taken into account. The main problem that has the potential to arise is very similar to the problem that the entertainment industry currently is struggling with, copyright laws. 

  For example, in the future, after it is not uncommon for 3D printers to be in the average household. A conventional factory using old technology produces a product. People purchase that product, decide it is a good product, and come to the conclusion they want to have two of said product. Now people are faced with an ethical and legal dilemma. Do we simply scan and print another copy or do we go to the store and buy one? In fact, that is a very difficult question to answer. 

  I think that Engineers of 3D printer need to take a step back and analyze every aspect of a technology in order to assess what impact it will have on our world: ethical, environmental, economical, and social. Also people should have a full understanding of the implications of a technology before it emerges into the public. 

References
・Continuum Fashion, Internet]. Available from :<http://continuumfashion.com> [Accessed 10 November 2013].

・Lipson. H, Kurman. M (2013) Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing, New York: John Wiley & Sons.