Couches or Underwear, It’s all About Design…

Posted by Barbara Kane on February 7th 2011 | 0 Comments

I’m sure you can agree, when design works we love it, when it doesn’t, it’s annoying.

I have a couch that I’m very fond of. It’s easily 25 years old and has been with me through one reupholstering, two marriages, two kids and a dog who thinks it’s her own. I’ve thought plenty of times about replacing it, but the fact is, I love that couch. Actually, I love the design of it. It’s the comfy spot where I sit, cradled in one corner by the armrest that perfectly balances my elbow and a cup of coffee. I’ve sat on other couches before but none feels as right as this one.

Ellen Lupton and her twin sister Julia have written an entire book on just this topic, Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things. It’s all about design and how it impacts our daily lives, from the way we cook to the way we parent. Here’s a snippet from the book…”Underwear Architecture”

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

“On New York City’s Upper East Side there is a fancy lingerie shop with a big poster in the window explaining that most women are wearing the wrong bra.” “Come inside,” the sign beckons, “for a professional fitting.” Why? The wrong bra could damage your breasts. The wrong bra could make you look ten years older. The wrong bra could lower your credit rating.”

"Nice Lady, Scary Underwear"

“When I was growing up, my maternal grandmother always wore a girdle–a horrid rubbery thing with as many gills and gussets as a primeval shark…Today, a new generation of body-shapers are being marketed to style-conscious women of every age…These flesh-bruising modern garments offer various degrees of coverage; conflict erupts where lycra meets unbridled flab.”

Join us in the auditorium this Thursday at 4 p.m. for Ellen Lupton’s lecture, Look for Meaning: Design and the Stuff Around Us. It’s sure to be a fun, tongue-in-cheek view of the lives we create for ourselves and how we deal with the design of “stuff.” Following the lecture Ms. Lupton will sign copies of her book, which are available to purchase at the Gift Gallery.

Ellen Lupton is curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and director of the graphic design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art.

All artwork by Ellen Lupton.