Disobedient Objects

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The objects on display are not part of the world of commercial design, but I think there’s a lot here for designers to learn from. That’s also been the case for us as curators. We had to recognise that the people who made these materials were the experts – there weren’t any professors or critics we could consult – so we had to go to them and let them lead on how their stories that were told. DIY drones, subversive textiles from Chile and shields that look like books are just some of the objects on display at an exhibition that examines the role of design in political activism. We interviewed the show’s curator Gavin Grindon. You can read our review of the exhibition here This banner opposes the idea of a mere financial crisis, identifying capitalism as the source of climate chaos and ongoing inequality and injustice Painted banners and placards featuring humorous or evocative slogans have also been selected. Chilean Arpilleras wall hanging: Dónde están nuestros hijos, Chile Roberta Bacic's collection. Photograph by Martin Melaugh In other news, two striking commissions: the designers Barber Osgerby are to design the inside and outside of the new Crossrail trains, which, after decades of British trains having been less beautifully designed than the average vacuum cleaner, is a step forward. And Goldsmiths, University of London, incubator of much of BritArt, has chosen the young architectural collective Assemble to design a public gallery on their New Cross campus to show the work of international artists, students and staff.

And that is what Disobedient Objects ultimately presents -- a sensitively and intriguingly crafted story of protest. The eclectic mosaic car might take centre stage and a giant inflatable silver cobblestone hangs from the ceiling, along with a small drone -- but these are interspersed with badges, placards and leaflets. That disparity tells the story of a protest history. The people behind the objects might not always have the ability to be as loud or brash as a mosaic car or silver balloon, but they will find a way to tell their story. And all 99 objects are proof of that. What we'd like people to take away from the exhibition is the idea that design isn't always about professional practice - it's something that people can get involved in themselves," said Grindon. "The actors changing the world are doing so using something that they have in their hands already." Occupy George overprinted dollar bill. Image courtesy of Andy Dao and Ivan Cash Handmade gas masks were an essential response to police actions during the 2013 mass protests in Istanbul. These events saw the Turkish government release a record amount of tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Protesters devised a way to protect themselves with basic materials like plastic bottles, elastic, and strips of insulation foam. The most recent output of the Guerrilla Girls touches on the music industry: ‘Do Women Have to be Naked to Get into Music Videos While 99% of the Guys are Dressed?’, 2014. This poster is a ‘remix’ of the 1989 Metropolitan Museum or Met. work. The candid, humorous nature of the Met. Museum poster proves a successful format almost 30 years later. The Guerrilla Girls refrain to comment on the careers of living female artists. In my personal with communication the Guerrilla Girls, they cited an admiration for the creative and confrontational costumes of Lady Gaga. The Guerrilla Girls continue to be reliable participants in current feminist protest. Guerrilla Girls member representing the cause at the V&A Friday Late event, August 2014 Grindon, who is an academic specialising in the history of activist art and current research fellow at the V&A, participated in activist movements and organised workshops with protesters to find out which objects would be most suitable for the exhibition. Banner for UNITE the union at the march in support of the NHS in Manchester. Photography by Ed HallA talking head on a large TV screen at the end of the gallery remarks that “When we look at history, it’s all too often written from the perspective of the victors.” And this is key to why this exhibition is so surprising, especially at the V&A. Like most of the institutions of South Kensington, the V&A is a product ofthe Great Exhibition, a rather unquestioning celebration of the world the Victorians builtus, with little sense that life could be different, and little reflection of the various groups and alternative ideas for society that were steamrollered over – sometimes literally –to get there. Spanning a period from the 1970s to the present day, the exhibition will include newspaper cuttings, how-to guides and film content to provide additional levels of context. Quotations inserted between the steps represent the voices of activists and political thinkers, from 19th-century anarchist Emma Goldman to an anonymous slogan on a 1970s badge. On either side of the entrance, two ‘ceramic posters’ collage images of protest in Britain, past and present. They intentionally cover over an inscription commemorating the inauguration of the building by the ‘Empress and Emperor of India’ (Victoria and Albert). The contemporary scenes are autobiographical, and represent actions that Reichardt, her friends and family were involved in. After this photograph was taken, each mount was then taken off to be lacquered and left to dry for 24 hours. I then threaded shrinkable tubing onto the wire and moulded these evenly into place using a heat gun, which was done to avoid any metal snagging against the fabric of the doll. Testing out the mount in the museum workshop. It would be good to know more about what worked and how well. Some of the movements represented were spectacularly successful, such as the suffragettes, gay rights, Solidarnosc and the anti-apartheid campaigns, whereas protests against what is now called neoliberalism, their themes remarkably consistent over the decades, don't seem to have got very far. You wonder to what degree design played a role in both successes and failures. There is, finally, an unintended consequence of the proximity of artistic and political radicalism – it's possible to blur one with the other and be too easily satisfied with something that looks as if it is changing the world, when it's not.

Objects and imagery will be displayed alongside a text from the curators as well as explanations from the activists about how they came up with the ideas and how they were used. Bone china with transfers printed in green, bearing the emblem of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Image courtesy of V&A Museum Graffiti Writer” is a robot for writing street graffiti, designed by the Institute for Applied Autonomy, USA, 1998. (Photo courtesy Institute for Applied Autonomy) The raw anger, energy and wit of protest comes to genteel South Kensington. Alice Bell finds it most refreshingTesting an inflatable hammer made by Eclectic Electric Collective at the Berlin Mauer Park, 2010. Photo: Jakub Simcik The 1989 Met. Museum poster has been periodically updated by the Guerrilla Girls. The subtitle for the 2012 reworking now reads: ‘Less that 4% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 76% of the nudes are female’. The iconic Met. Museum poster is accompanied by correspondences and gorilla masks in the Disobedient Objects exhibition. The presence of their work is attracting the attention of a diverse audience. The costumed mannequins have proved to be a source of fascination for young girls in particular; the monumental forms are symbols of strength and ambition. The Guerrilla Girls have supported the exhibition with a late-night visit to the V&A. They retrospectively described the exhibition Disobedient Objects as ‘really outside the box’. They continue to wear the notorious gorilla masks as the ‘conscience of the art world’. A 'revolution of dwarves hat', as worn by 10,000 protesters at a 1988 march against communism in Poland. Photograph: V&A Often, the most simple of ideas prove to be the most effective, so I’ll talk through the process of making a mount for one of the Bust cards featured in the exhibition. Daily updates on the latest design and architecture vacancies advertised on Dezeen Jobs. Plus occasional news. Dezeen Jobs Weekly