Olafur Eliasson: Nuggets from The Art of Design (Netflix Design Series)
Here are some quotes from the show:
- Carol Becker, Professor of Arts and Dean of Faculty at Columbia University School of the Arts, about Olafur’s installation, The New York City Waterfalls: He must be so sure of his ideas to take that risk.
Her words made me think about my ideas. Am I confident about my vision? How confident am I or do I have to be about my designs before I take a creative project risk?
- Olafur talks about the importance of modeling his ideas to give them dimensionality.
To me this means not just talking about my ideas or envisioning them in my head. Build them, make them. “Turn thinking into doing.” I have several ideas that have been percolating but time is in short supply. I’ll have to decide on the priority projects to build.
- Creative process and the use of color
Exhibit A: When I first started as a designer, I wasn’t that fine-tuned in how I use color. As I evolved as a designer, I’ve learned to use color judiciously. Olafur says the absence of color can make viewers become more attentive. Ansel Adams shares the same perspective that color could be distracting, and could diffuse his focus and prevent the artist from reaching his full potential when taking a photograph.
Olafur encourages us not to be obsessed with the how until you forget the why.
Exhibit B: The Ice Watch drew attention to the impact industrialization and how our wasteful habits have impacted the environment.
“It’s so simple, but that simplicity is deceptive—that he could create something so beautiful that would conjure that unthinkable is the mark of a great artist.” – Carol Becker
Olafur: It’s important to design things that have a positive narrative.
Olafur developed the Little Sun project to design and deliver affordable clean energy solutions and inspire people to take climate action. Read about its first beginnings, “to create a small, portable, solar lamp for people living without electricity in Ethiopia.” That’s what I want to do with my skills and training, to have a social impact, to make a difference to the community.
- What is art?
Art is the worlds’s ability to investigate and have intimate relationships with itself. Art is the ability to see something and not take our surroundings for granted. For example, sunlight or daylight looks different in different parts of the world.
Olafur cites Galileo in the show:
Art is the highest form of hope.
Resources
Olafur’s website: https://olafureliasson.net/
Abstract: The Art of Design [Netflix documentary]
