The Trough

I’ve been looking at places to live. Most new builds I’ve visited are being designed without defined eating spaces. Lounge and dinning room homogenized into a space for the sofa and the one way conversation of the television. The Table is the western tool used to catalyse communal eating, providing personal space, distance and a plinth for the daily feast. Of course no table is complete without chairs.

The kitchen table

It was hardly surprising that the humble table was mentioned in the introduction to a day of talks about food. I had got up at 6am to travel to Oxford, the title of the talks was instantly captivating, ‘Thought for Food: the Ethics of Eating’.
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It’s quite incredible the visual symbols we use to tell ourselves what something means on-line, how we connect it with the physical world. This wonderful, almost nostalgic, collection of images placed together by — Ro London . He collected them to ‘compare, contrast, and study used by other graphic artists‘. Just shows what shopping means to us – mainly a supermarket shopping trolley by the looks of things. Go see his site! http://www.intersmash.com/300images/

A law? What a way to get us thinking about the meat we eat.

I’m really interested to see how this project, by John O’Shea, will develop.  When I’ve bought it up in conversation it has initially sparked agreement, and then, on further consideration, worry of what that actually means for each of us.  I can’t help but think of of the scenes from ‘Our Daily Bread’ depicting mass production of animals for meat and how that would be changed if we took responsibility for even one.

Quoted from http://www.meatlicence.org.uk/?q=node/1

*DRAFT Meat Licencing Act*

It is against the law to purchase or consume meat, in the UK, without an appropriate licence.

Every citizen in the U.K., wishing to purchase or consume meat, is required, by law, to obtain an appropriate licence.

It is through a specific and supervised engagement in the act of killing an animal, that citizens will obtain their meat licence.

Licences are available in 3 categories:

1. Seafood & Fish, 2. Poultry and Game, 3. Quadrapeds

17.4.2009 (Beta Version 1.6)

Aside from the there are a great selection of videos and conversation going on. I’ve learnt about what a prokarytarian is, but struggle to believe it’s possible but… I like this video about automatic pizza.

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There will be a meeting to confirm the space we are going to use for the garden at Banister House, so I’ve done a few sketches of how the space could be laid out to start the conversation. I warn you now I am not a garden designer and these are the first sketches, I am pretty sure that some areas are not to scale…
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Found these pictures of food that I found very nice and thought i’d share. find more about her here.

Vegetables made from clothes by Sarah Illenberg

This looks ace. I will be going.

Here are some picks from Farmadelphia by Front studio. Dare I forget the importance of designers in visioning the future and giving people an idea of what’s in store (and how they can do it). Front Studio also share their daily diet here. Its good to reflect on what we consume and even better to take the time to consume and celebrate it.

Images by Front Studio

Main Gallery, 9 April – 30 May 200.

The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, off Tottenham Court Road.

Found this a while ago but thought it should be shared here. Ingenious.

The train trip down was filled rolling hills and terracotta roofs, skeletal sheds and autumnal shades.

Designer lighting amongst redundant uniforms

Of course as a design festival there was the odd chair a minimalist concrete buildings that shyly attended, but seeing displays that described how existing objects can be used in new systems appears to provide designers with a very worthy role. Capturing information, communicating ideas and keeping it going. Hope at last! After all these years of nasty slick, consuming design, and me thinking design had become redundant, I find it actually has an important role to play.

Saint Etienne its self has a history as an incredibly industrious place, ribbon making, coal mining, and arms manufacture. The slumps during the 70’s took their toll leaving only museums to show off the residence craftsmanship. Entering the old mining museum was incredibly haunting, frozen the day it shut down, leaving blackened uniforms hanging from the ceiling and headlamps ready to be charged up. Graduates rather poetically showed their virginal white ceramic pieces amongst the iron machinery. The arms factory, where Cite du Design is based, will be converted into a Design centre and school with great hope that the city will be transformed again.
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