Design 21: Social Design Network

Gift Shop in Met VS Gift Shop in Native Museum of the American Indian

Visited: Nov, 08, 08 & Nov, 09, 08

Click here to see picture of Gift Shop in Met

Click here to see picture of Gift Shop in Native Museum of the American Indian

It was really interesting to visit different gift shops and studied from them. It’s really interesting that both Museums sales culture related gifts; but the environment in Met is more like a gift shop; NMAI in the other hand is more like a Museum. What do I mean by that? In both Met and NMAI the gifts that are culture related all have a tag of information about the history or the region of the product. But in NMAI they also printed out cards for people who visit the gift shops to take with them. For example on top of where dream captures are display, there are descriptions and history cards of dream capture on top of it for visitors to take. The gift shops in NMAI contain a lot more information for people to learn about Native American’s culture. In Met, although the culture related products are representing one country, but it was not necessarily made in that country. In NMAI, all of the products are made by American Indians.

Native Museum of the American Indian Visited: Nov, 08, 08

The American Indian museum contained a lot of information about what kind of tools they use, cloths they have, toys they design, instruments they plays and constructs. I think a lot of the characteristics in the Native American Indian also strongly reflect to Taiwanese Native Tribes.

In the past the Native Americans spent a lot of times and cares to create parfleches, burden baskets, quill bags, and other containers. They often shaped and sized in the specific forms for different use. Native people could tell where you came from just by looking at the bags you are wearing.

In one of the description in the museum, I think it is really important for me to know is “Native Americans have demonstrated a distinguished ability to integrate new materials into their creations, yet make them uniquely and culturally identifiable. Pre-contact art forms were modified to incorporate materials introduced from Europe and Asia, and new art forms were conceived to reflect new realities. Native art continues to flourish, and today, as yesterday, beauty surrounds us.” I think it is important to know the American Native Americans does integrate new materials into their design.

In the museum, a lot of the illustrations are really clear presented, I can easily understand by looking at the illustrations they provided.

For example: The illustrations for Clothing

Click here to see the illustrations for clothing

One ...

NFP Interview

Date: Nov, 6th, 08 Sangay Choden – She’s a master weaver from the village of Khoma in northeastern Bhutan.

Click here to see a Bigger Picture

How many people still know how to weave the kira? (Traditional woman’s cloth, a 7 feet by 4 feet’s cloth)

All the girls from Khoma grown up learning how to weave the kira.

Are there any men can weave kira?

Only three men knows how to weave kira in the world. Recently one died, now only two men in the whole world know how to weave kira.

Where do you learn how to weave?

At home. Usually my grandmother, my mom and I would weave together.

When do you become a master in weaving?

I started when I was 7. I became a master in weaving when I was 14 years old.

How long does it take you to finish one piece of Kira?

Three months for one piece.

Do you sell the kira on the Internet?

No, but we sell it through the markets, buyers and the tourists who visit Bhutan would buy them.

I know the material of Kira is silk, are all the silk from Bhutan?

No, the silk are from India. I bought it and chose it by myself.

Where in India?

Saidpur.

Sangay Choden in her stay in the Rubin Museum of Art, created several pieces of kira. Each piece is $1000 dollars. The piece she’s currently working on will be finished before December 14th under the contract with Rubin Museum, and will be auctioned on December 14th, 08.

Nick Vujicic No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

Nick Vujicic is from Australia, he was born with out arms, legs, but his optimistic motivation keeps him alive. Optimistic..Inspiration..Motivation..

Redefine yourself Redefine what a Good Life is

Perspective, Vision, Choices

This might not related to thesis, but it does worth watching, these clips are something worth sharing.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Everyday life for Nick Vujicic

NFP Exercise

Click here to see bigger Picture

It is really hard to find a NFP that are welling to help with my project locally. Ad to Artisans is not welling to help, because they do not deal with anything in Taiwan. For my NFP, I’m going to take on a different path. I interviewed, and will keep interview and meet with people who are working on similar projects and ask for their opinions and further critique my work.

Cynthia Lawson – She’s currently working on the Guatemala Project with Pascale Gatzen. During the meeting, we not only learned about their project, but also got a lot of interesting ideas from the meeting. For their Guatemala Project, they took the path of learning from the Guatemalan and Guatemalan will learn from them. This up coming winter break, both Lawson and Gatzen will travel back to Guatemala to see how they are doing. This year’s goal for Lawson and Gatzen are to build a market for them in the US. Their goal is to enter the luxury market in the US. How can you market an art and design in a high end? It is a question they are asking themselves as well. Can the people in Guatemala make their living out of craftsmanship? Will the working condition become factory like?

Sangay Choden – she’s a master weaver from the village of Khoma in northeastern Bhutan. Currently she’s woving a kira; woman’s cloth, the dimension is seven feet by 4 feet. Woman wears it by “wound around the body, secured at the shoulders by silver clasps, and g...

Propose 3 different improvements

Click here to see Bigger Sketch

Schools in the indigenous tribes start the craftsmanship programs first and further developed the Design classes for some new ideas by applying the old techniques. This vision will need to collaborate with Schools that are near the indigenous tribes.

Traditional products that are used in the tribes, that will further become a subculture for a trend. This will create a business market for Traditional products. And further preserve the techniques. The material will varied depends on the products, but the process of production will all be made in the old ways. (The first sketch is called Inapir from Amis Tribe. This is when the teenager become adult they will get this scarf. The second sketch is a traditional glazed bead from Paiwan Tribe. This is originally for noblemen in tribes to show the power and strength; the chef also use it for the annual ceremony.)

Everyday products, which the tribe people carried around, redesign it into multi function objects that can serve multi purposes. The product will have to collaborate with the high tech companies in Taiwan, if the final product has some electronic parts. Everything will be made local and made in Taiwan.

Design Brief

My mission is to preserve the artisanal techniques of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes and strengthen their cultural heritage.

The indigenous tribes in Taiwan are the people originally lived in Taiwan before the Han people came into the soil in the year of 1949. Nowadays the population of indigenous people in Taiwan are 2% of Taiwan’s total populations, these includes fourteenth tribes with fourteenth different languages. (Originally Government only recognize nine tribes, now a lot of the tribes are fighting for their recognition) Each tribes have their own unique cultures and different rituals. One of the tribe called Thao (邵族) is the smallest population tribe in the world. Before they only have 283 people, now they have approximately 600 people. It is really important to pass on the tradition and the artisanal techniques, to help the indigenous people find their own cultural heritage and further strengthen it.

Through my research, I also found out every year approximately seven Typhoons would pass by Taiwan, through out the seven Typhoons normally half of them will be strong Typhoons. It will be strongly affect the communication between the tribes and the people from the outside. This is one of the possible opportunity point to help them by designing (with them together) an everyday life product that they use and will have multi function to help them get through the Typhoon seasons. The object will contain traditional craftsmanship and migh...

Propose 3 different improvements

Schools in the indigenous tribes start the craftsmanship programs first and further developed the Design classes for some new ideas by applying the old techniques

New products design by the tribes people that further applied some new design techniques or technology

Everyday products, which the people carried around, redesign it into multi function objects that can serve multi purposes.

Click here to see the Sketch

Thorough Mapping Exercise 2

This is a new Map, which has illustrations on it

Click here to look at the Map

Difang Duana and his wife Kuo Hsiu-Chu

A lot of the people are really familiar with the song Return to Innocence created by the Germany musical group Enigma. The main vocals are sing by Angel X, in the beginning of the song and the end of it. Most of the vocal besides the main vocal were sung by Difang Duana and his wife Kuo Hsiu-Chu; from Taiwanese aboriginal tribes of Amis. The song was the traditional drinking song. The band Enigma took the sound track with out any permission and made it into the song. In the year of 1996, the song further used as the promotion song for the Olympic of Atlanta. Not until the year of 1998, the argument between the illegal uses of sound track had been resolved with Virgin records.

Let’s together enjoying the song of Return to Innocence

The second Clip was a clip of Difang duana and his wife Kuo Hsiu-Chu sung together. Let’s grieve for the lost of great vocals Difang Duana (3/20/1921 – 3/29/2002)