Alternate
exhibition
exhibition contribution, invitation, and poster
Alternate posed questions like “Are designers now creating ‘better’ products—or are they merely producing alternatives that fail to improve on traditional versions?” And: “What cultural and economic value may these ‘alternate’ products have?” Consumers see products as a form of self-expression. Designers, for their part, create products that reflect their personalities, their artistic vision. Both the buyers and makers of goods crave uniqueness. And products satisfy this craving.
design Our contribution analyses the car designs launched over a single season. Stripped of their detail, identified in one group by price and in another by name, the car silhouettes reveal how little one designer’s work differs from another’s. Together, the cars appear to be clones of each other, a collection of virtually lookalike products.
client Premsela, the Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion, was named after legendary designer Benno Premsela (1920–1997), an inspirational figure in Dutch culture. In 2013, the platform merged with the Netherlands Architecture Institute and Virtual Platform to form a single national design organization called Het Nieuwe Instituut.
collaborators
Dingeman Kuilman, curator
Gilian Schrofer, exhibition design
