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Place: Costantino gallery, New York City Date: May
2005-2006
13
Objects by Karen Chekerdjian
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‘The
Brass Collection’ is a series of contemporary home accessories
created in collaboration with traditional artisans from Northern
Lebanon. The line of lunch trays, strainers, bowls, platters and low
tables are 100% handmade following Chekerdjian’s design and direction,
and then adorned with novel graphic patterns. The result is a series of
sleek and sophisticated objects that embrace local materials and
traditions of the designer’s homeland while appealing to an
international audience.
For centuries, tinned brass has been widely used in the Middle East,
especially for food accessories because of its hygienic properties. But
today’s local craftsmen know that this important cultural tradition,
which has been passed down from father to son for hundreds of years,
now lies in a delicate balance between reverence for the old and the
desire to embrace and participate in the modern world.
Chekerdjian’s collection creates a meaningful bridge between the old
and the new. With this collection she looks inward to her local culture
while applying her knowledge and experience of the Italian design. Her
process breathes fresh life into a very old, local craft technology,
giving birth to new possibilities for sustaining an important cultural
tradition and thereby ensuring its life into the future.
SlowLab sponsored Chekerdjian’s exhibition of The Brass Collection in
New York during the 2006 furniture fair as a beautiful example of ‘slow
design.’ The collection of handcrafted objects provided a poignant
counterpoint to the majority of wares at the ICFF, where synthetic
materials and industrial manufacturing techniques promise to reign
supreme. In contrast, Chekerdjian’s designs reminded us of the beauty
and value intrinsic to old forms and ways of making. Within this
traditional technique, Chekerdjian has discovered a fount of
inspiration and an opportunity to re-enliven deep cultural knowledge in
a time when local traditions are disappearing around the world. Her
designs directly benefit the local artisans of Northern Lebanon,
sustaining their way of life, while adding creative spice to the
increasingly homogeneous palette of furniture and products on the
market today.
SlowLab is a New York nonprofit arts organization that serves as a
laboratory for ‘slow design’ thinking and practice. SlowLab is
dedicated to creative innovation that cultivates slower rhythms and
expressions to balance today’s fast flows of information, rate of
resource consumption and the increasing speed of daily encounters. As a
design laboratory, SlowLab calls for the evolution of design processes
and products to realize new scenarios for achieving sustainability and
renewal through individual and collective creative activism.
http://www.slowlab.net |
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