The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum: exhibition themes and design analysis

21st Century Art Themes
The theme for the recently completed exhibition at The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City entitled Making/Breaking: New Arrivals, is innovation. Each of the pieces on display in this exhibit showcase novel concepts related to design, usage, and functionality of an assortment of objects. One of the best examples of this fact is found in Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google. There are many ways in which this object is aligned with the motifs of novelty, innovation, and progress which typify the design objects in the museum’s Process Galleries. The most salient of these has to do with its functionality.
This garment is an example of the concept that function can actually belie design. What is perhaps most notable about this notion is that many have been forecasting the impact of wearable clothing in the Internet of Things. Wearables are clothes that directly connect to the internet for the sort of continuous connectivity—and transmission of data—which is increasingly typifying reality in the 21st century via the IoT (Rokni and Ghasemzadeh 1). Thus, the very fabric which Google’s jacket was made from is aligned with this textile and technological progress. The medium for this piece of art is cotton and conductive yarn. The critical facet of this material is the latter. Conductive yarn is excellent for transmitting electricity, which is naturally a prerequisite for wearable devices part of the Internet of Things. Therefore, this garment is an example of a piece of art which provide dual functionality: that for communicative purposes as well as for clothing purposes. Traditionally, of course, clothing was designed for utilitarian purposes; later on it took on characteristics indicative of fashion and style. The true innovation of this jacket—indeed, the very reason it was selected for this museum display—is in its functionality.
Specifically, then, that functionality encompasses a wide array of options related to smart phone usage. The jacket contains a sensor and is able to connect to the wearer’s smart phone, which enables the ongoing connectivity for which the IoT is both known and revolutionary (Jacobson et al 46). Wearers can make calls, get messages, send them, and manipulate their phones (and the phone’s data) in a number of ways. They can also control other functionality such as starting, stopping, and selecting music. There are also navigation features which are easily accessible. All of this accessibility is enabled through gestures, which is the novelty.
The N-Bowl on display at the museum is noteworthy for a different type of innovation, yet one which is indelibly linked to an alternative technology. This bowl in itself is less than remarkable; it is only a brass bowl which might serve for any variety of functions. These include decorative purposes as well as more practical ones, such as an ash tray. However, the reason this bowl was included in the exhibition is because it was created by a robot. More specifically, it was engendered from the branch of Artificial Intelligence known as robotics.
Artificial Intelligence has substantially increased in popularity over the past couple of years. Robotics has conventionally been the most eminent manifestation of this technology which originally made strides during the midway point of the 20th century (Ingrand and Ghallab 63). It is significant because it heralds the next evolutionary wave of technology, one which is influencing an ever expanding number of spheres of life. The bowl in the exhibition was shaped by a robot. The robot used its arm to stretch the bowl and mold it into its present form. This innovation is important because it represents a novelty in the development of metal forming. Historically, this form of art was implemented with human hands. The N-Bowl, however, merges that relatively traditional form of art with a decidedly updated, digital perspective. This approach to creating art is noteworthy because it illustrates the potential of robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and digital processes in ways they were not previously used.
The most critical factor about the particular bowl displayed is the method with which it was created. That method is invaluable for one reason in particular. Notwithstanding the usage of robotics for creating this work, its creation is impressive because there are features of this bowl which are unique. The bowl contains concentric circles and specific line types that are impossible to duplicate. The fact that a unique work of art was rendered using a tool like robotics merely hints at the possibilities of this technology. This production was no mere assembly line replica—which is oftentimes the case when employing elements of automation and tools for works of creativity. What is memorable about this work is that the robot deployed was actually creative in and of itself by making something that is unique.
Another item which helps to represent the overall theme of innovation contained in Making/Breaking: New Arrivals is a snap tag, 2017. Although this object is a corollary to the aforementioned smart jacket, it is still a separate object on display as part of this exhibition. This particular snap tag was created by both Levi Strauss and Google, a fact which underscores its relationships to the Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard. This piece is comprised primarily of polyurethane and electronic equipment.
Perhaps the most distinguishing point of relevance for this object is its function. There is very little artistic about it, yet it is a component which enables the smart jacket to connect to the internet via smart phones. Therefore, this object illustrates exactly how pragmatic exhibition pieces can be. The ramifications of this pragmaticism are considerable. Art can serve very real, practical purposes—such as providing smart phone functionality for a smart jacket. Thus, there is much more to artwork than aesthetic value.
Another very vital point about the inclusion of the aforementioned smart tag in this exhibition is its cultural significance. The fact that it was placed in this exhibition indicates how culturally viable it is. In contemporary Westernized culture, connectivity and the power to communicate which it involves is an essential way of life. That connectivity is channeled from the phone to the jacket through the snap tag. Doing so represents one of the points of evolution of Western culture, attesting to the influence of the internet and both the ease of use and overarching importance it plays in the lives of people today.
It is also critical to denote the progress which this particular item reflects. One of the most eminent cultural markers of the 21 century is digital transformation, which is the onset of digitization in which data plays an ever greater role in the world. This snap tag represents that digital transformation in a meaningful way. It implies that even when wearing clothes, people are concerned about connectivity and the incessant communication the internet can facilitate. Thus, digital transformation is not only sweeping through various vertical industries, organizations, and business practices. It is also sweeping through textiles, fashion, and the very clothing which people wear in their daily lives—and most other facets of life too (Reddy and Reinartz 11). The snap tag displayed in this exhibit showcases how pervasive the commitment to digital transformation has become.
Another item on display at the exhibition which is demonstrative of how powerful and widespread digital transformation has become is the app screen image. Apps, of course, are abbreviations for the term applications. Although recently desktop computers have renamed their traditional programs as apps, the term application (and, by extension, apps) became ubiquitous due to their proliferation on smart phones. This particular object fits into the overall theme of innovation and progress of the Making/Breaking: New Arrivals exhibition because mobile technologies—and their apps—are well on their way to becoming the de facto means of communication. The internet helped to propel the communication mode of society forward; mobile technologies, in turn, helped to advance the internet in this same regard (Nisar et al 1). Mobile technologies were considerably revamped with the advent of the smart phone, which is best characterized by its sensors, sensor data, and the apps which make the other two characteristics meaningful.
The medium for this object is the user interface or screen on a smart phone. This object is not only emblematic of the increasing usage of smart phones, but also of the internet and the growing movement towards the Internet of Things. The actual image on this object indicates that it is a user interface for wearable clothing. In this respect it is another corollary to the smart jacket identified earlier in this document as on display at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The image on this app screen illustrates some of the different motions required to access the data through this smart jacket. It depicts brushing motions to move inside and outside of various apps, and specific motions for features such as turning lights off and on.
The overarching point of having an app screen image on display in this exhibit is that it shows how critical mobile computing has become to today’s society. Again, this reflection is actually a cultural marker of the mores and values of today’s Western society. People now have the power to compute through their mobile devices in ways that are substantial to their lifestyles. The jacket and the snap tags are a part of this movement, which is why they are displayed as well. But the kernel of this progressive motion is the apps that are developed to suit the individual needs of the consumer.
Perhaps the most affecting cultural representation alluded to in the thematic works of this exhibit is the consumerization of information technology (IT). There are a number of different ways, and divers items, which are indicative of this cultural meme. However, the one which unambiguously pinpoints this concept is the fabric sample, 2016. It is not simply because this fabric sample is the same material that is widely used in the smart jacket, quite literally tying together the elements of the jacket, the snap tag, and the app screen images. It is because the materials of which this fabric is comprised illustrate that the consumerization of IT transcends mere adoption rates for mobile technologies (which it involves) (Harris et al 99), including both the Bring Your Own Device and Choose Your Own Device phenomena.
This fabric consists of both cotton and conductive yarn. The latter material reveals how widespread the consumerization of technology has become, and hints at how this trend was merely a harbinger of the movement towards digital transformation. The true consumerization of IT is not in wanting to use phones for personal usage in professional settings. The true consumerization is found in making even things that are not related to work or communication relevant for these facets of life. This fact may very well be the most innovative and avant garde of all the thematic issues found in the Making/Breaking: New Arrivals exhibition. The propensity to consume IT has become important that it no longer simply means that people are buying their own IT devices. They are now wearing them.
The repercussions of this statement is staggering, which helps explain why this fabric sample is likely crowning piece of the exhibit in terms of its motifs of progression. People want to wear IT. They want to become cloaked within it. IT is shaping how people think, dress, act, and of course, communicate. This thread which conducts electricity and the IT electricity supports symbolizes this tendency more than any other item does. It is as far left as the liberalism goes; it personifies the very reason there was an exhibit for progressive art work. Art is a manifestation of culture. IT, its consumerization, and digital transformation all spotlight 21st century Western culture’s progress—which is the very theme of this art exhibition.
Works Cited
Harris, Jeanne; Ives, Blake; Junglas, Iris. “IT Consumerization: When Gadgets Turn Into Enterprise IT Tools.” Mis Quarterly Executive. 11(3), 99-112. 2012. Print.
This source considers how organizations can minimize the benefits of, while mitigating the risks associated with, the consumerization of Information Technology. The former involve autonomy whereas the latter involve issues of redundancy and risks for security.
Ingrand, Félix and Ghallab, Malik. “Robotics and artificial intelligence: A perspective on deliberation functions.” AI Communications. 27(1), 63-80. 2014.
This article denotes the inherent relationship between robotics and Artificial Intelligence, in which robotics involves AI but not all AI involves robotics. It discusses the ways in which a combination of these disciplines can facilitate autonomous behavior.
Jacobson, Ivar, Spence, Ian, Ng, Pan-Wei. “Is There a Single Method for the Internet of Things?” Communications of the ACM. 60(11), 46-53. 2017. Print.
This source explores the lack of standards in the Internet of Things and the variation of adoption modes which it encompasses. It posits a comprehensive method for software development known as Essence as a means of uniformity.
Nisar, Saima, Sheik, Osman, Wan, Rozaini. “BYOD Adoption Model Validation by Experts”. International Journal of Computer Science & Management Studies. (37)1, 1-6. 2017.
This paper details an adoption model for the Bring Your Own Device practice of Pakistani physicians. It presents the various factors necessary to validate this model. Those factors are in turn analyzed in regards to their merit.
Rokni, Seyed Ali and Ghasemzadeh, Hassan. “Plug-n-Learn: Automatic Learning of Computational Algorithms in Human-Centered Internet-of-Things Applications.” DAC: Annual ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference. 8(3), 821-826. 2016. Print.
This source evaluates the nature of the machine learning algorithms which are often found in wearable technology. It proposes a notion of expediting the recalibrating time of those algorithms under a variety of circumstances. It involves empirical evidence.
Reddy, Srinivas and Reinartz, Werner. “Digital Transformation and Value Creation: Sea Change Ahead.” GFK-Marketing Intelligence Review. 9(1), 11-17. 2017. Print.
This article focuses on the risks, costs and values of digital transformation. The risks are largely associated with the costs of overhauling a complete IT system for one embracing digital transformation. The value is derived from swifter customer and operational interactions.