Tobias Wong’s Collective Works: A Sample Of Ashleigh Blakemore: 300187284
Tobias Wong is a critical designer whose work is labeled ‘paraconceptual’, a term made up by the designer himself. It means an object being related to or partially conceptual, with Wong believing that conceptual work “lacked an appreciation of beauty, aesthetics and a desire for consumption” (Wong, 2002). This belief is clearly displayed by Wong in all his work - particularly in the works Ballistic Rose and This is a Lamp.
His work the Ballistic Rose is a statement about protection from the uncertainties of our world. Wong appears be interested in youth subculture being heavily influenced by military, a sentiment reflected in youth fashion that was utilizing typically defensive fabrics, such as disruptive pattern material, to make the garments (Unknown, 2004). Wong capitalizes on this use of defensive material by using Kevlar for the Ballistic Rose as a way to point out the normalizing of these fabrics and military ideas in youth culture. The kevlar is strong and protective and in stark contrast to the rose which is fragile and delicate which creates an interesting result. The piece is strongly critical of the designs being produced at the time which Wong viewed as glamorizing war and violence. I think the piece could also be taken as being ridiculous, who would wear a rose brooch to stop a bullet? But I feel that this is the effect Wong wanted to have. He wanted to spark debate over the measures we take to protect ourselves and point out how we justify the use of military fabrics in our everyday wear by claiming fear of the uncertain. I believe the piece is also paraconceptual as it is pretty - the rose design is fluid and soft, functional - it will stop a bullet and ready for consumption by being mass produced and available for purchase from the Museum of Modern Art.
Wong is also highly critical of design promoting consumer culture. He felt that designers had come out of touch with originality because they were constantly designing things purely for consumption. Wong uses his piece This is a Lamp to show that consumption doesn’t have to mean replace, which is what most people do when they consume new objects, they replace their old ones (Wong, 2001). He did this by using the Bubble Club Chair designed by Philippe Starck, a design which is not very original, it looks just like a chair with no distinct changes or improvements. This lack of originality in the chair design made it perfect for Wong to hijack, turning it into a lamp. I think Wong was clever in how he consumed the chair, he did not alter the shape of the chair in order to suit the needs of the lamp, yet the design is still highly functional and aesthetically pleasing. The only noticeable difference is a nondescript on/off cord on one side. Its out of the way of the arm rest but close enough that in keeping with a chair theme, should the user of the chair need to turn it on or off it is easily accessible. Changing the function of the chair both made it an original product and demonstrated his critique that a consumption that was not just a replacement of an object.
Overall I view works by Tobias Wong as being paraconceptual whilst also clearly demonstrating critical design. This is because he uses his designs to create debate about issues he views as important and he challenges assumptions about both consumers and designers. In his words he wants to “challenge the design world the same way Duchamp challenged the art world” an idea which I believe that he consistently did across his work (Walker, 2008).
References:
Walker, R. (2008). Tobias Wong on Consuming Consumer Culture. Retrieved on March 20, 2012 from http://www.thememagazine.com/stories/tobias-wong/
Wong, T. (2002). Paraconceptual. Retrieved on March 15, 2012 from http://www.brokenoff.com/paraconceptual.html
Wong, T. (2001). This is a Lamp: Isn’t it Romantic?. Retrieved on March 22, 2012 from http://www.brokenoff.com/this.html
Unknown. (2004). Citizen: Ballistic Rose. Retrieved on March 15, 2012 from http://www.citizen-citizen.com/products/ballistic-rose
Unknown photographer. Ballistic Rose Image. Retrieved on March 25, 2012 from http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0016/6442/products/Ballistic_Rose_1_large.jpg?100001
Unknown Photographer. This is a lamp Image. Retrieved on March 25, 2012 from http://www.brokenoff.com/this.html
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