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Willem de Kooning Academy Piet Zwart Institute
Initiative of WdkA
Renée
Spanjer

Movement as the Language Between User and Object

Nominee Bachelor Research Award and Drempelprijs Commercial Practices

www.reneespanjer.com

Project details

Year
2020
Programme
product-design
Practices
Commercial
Minor
New Frontiers
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My graduation project is a sequel to the book “The Beauty Of Object Gestures” that I made earlier this year. This book is an archive of objects that are categorized based on gestures, such as push, pull, rotate, and roll.

The symbiosis between object and user, performed in gesture. The work frames an iterative process where the language between object and user becomes the choreography. The work shows possible movements of the folding chair and how the body moves within that movement.

To graduate from art school, I wanted to create something I never did before.

Researching movements of objects is a continuation of this earlier work and has been an iterative process. It brought me unexpected and new outcomes. I investigated the relationship between user and object ranging from historical aspects to modern society. During the project, I tried to frame the ‘unseen’ beauty of movements and gestures. What if object-related movements would be the central stage in the ideation of new products (or in the interpretation of existing ones) in industrial design?

I Investigated a wide variety of different professional fields with their main professionals like Pina Bausch (café Muller), Anne Teresa DeKeersmaeker and Martha Rosler (semiotics in the kitchen). During this iterative process, I saw movement as the language between user and object. I divided the research into three categories: object, user, and symbiosis (where they come together) and started a collaboration with two professional dancers who graduated from ArtEZ Bachelor of Dance. Choreography became the ideation of the final work.

Working together with professional dancers added a new layer to the project, especially for me as a product designer.

A symbiosis between user and object, when both parties need each other.

The Symbiosis Shows an intimate interaction between a dancer and a folding chair. It displays a close physical play, where the dancer not only pushes her own limits but also stretches the qualities of the chair.
My work often relates to historical impacts ranging from manufacturing processes to innovative pioneers in the field of art en design. The work applies different perspectives on the relationship between human and object. I search for relevant issues and trends through the eyes of a product designer. So far, the projects have been implemented in various ways: from choreography to functional products, one-off pieces, books, videos, and drawings.

Colofon

Rowy Tebeest
Dancer
Danielle Huyghe
Dancer