I've just confirmed that the new course within the Furniture program at CCA is going to start this Fall. It's been exciting to pull my ideas together for this, and I'm looking forward to working the faculty and students there.
More info below.
FURNT 416.01 Studio: PRODUCTION 2
Furniture/Object production—from concept to market
Adjunct professor Philip Wood
This project-based course has its emphasis on the practical steps involved in taking your ideas to market. It will be underpinned by an exploration into the value of objects in our culture. From the idea to the object, from the factory to the warehouse, we will explore what players are involved and how fluid the movement is between artist, producers, distributors, agents and retailers.
The production components will include concept, costing, prototyping, manufacturing, marketing, packaging and sales. We will discover how this seemingly linear production process is, in fact, much more inter-related and conditional. We will also explore how we, as makers, work within the various fields of design, craft and art and how we can produce relevant and compelling work in a contemporary age. This will all be framed by the two cultural themes of our time—sustainability and the rise of the virtual. We will focus specifically on how these themes are affecting our understanding of objects in our world.
Whilst Production II's main component will be a practical exercise in mapping the topology of production, we will also explore and locate some of the current boundaries between art, design, craft and consumer goods. These boundaries are more to be observed and pushed rather than blurred and smudged. The criteria for judging the success of the work will be that of its adherence to the brief, quality of execution, creativity and cultural value as opposed to form type or adherence to various histories.
