D A S B O O T | R E A D E R ' S C O M M E N T S | C A L E N D A R | F E A T U R E D A R T I S T S | C O M P E T I T I O N S - G R A N T S
January 2000, das boot presents
JOSH OWEN
Industrial designer
r e s u m e | o w e n ' s m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t | e x h i b i t s | p u b l i c a t i o n s | b i o g r a p h y
c l i c k o n i n d i v i d u a l i m a g e f o r d e s c r i p t i o n This provocative Industrial Designer from Philadelphia creates a diverse range of products and objects that evoke a thought/user response. His pieces often ask straightforward questions of our norm by creating a play between perceiver and material. Apparently obvious objects get transformed through their interaction with one's body and one's reaction. Switches, textures, finishes and seats generally taken for granted get made into reactive objects, they respond as you perceive them. There is always a sense of surprise and humor. In some sense the small scale of the pieces brings this out as well. Yet his objects are in some sense "obvious" as Owen's capacity is really to simplify into a forthright concept. For instance, The Umbra Knob lamp is both a light and a knob. To turn it on actually requires rotating the light. The idea may seem to plain but is in fact an excellent vehicle to stimulate a direct user to object interaction. The Plane Bench needs a few simple folding maneuvers to either exist or slip into a compact planar format. And Owen's gliding tables record one's physical body as the object surface responds to temperature, while the ease of moving the tables becomes a direct user response. Many of these objects allude to the ephemeral but yet somehow manage to exceed it. Owen's works change our expectations as we come into contact with them ; He reconfigures our reading of the given, he restructures our perception, he brings in a bit of Midas into industrial design. A RISD graduate, he established his company owenlogikdesign in 1997. He has worked with many high profile individuals and companies and had his works exhibited through various galleries and publications. |