Discussion Prompt Evian Minghan Li Xiner Ridima Tomy Haiwen Tanu Mundra Hanwen Mei Clovis Ogilvie Linda
nghan Li Xiner
Open Board! I've always been very interested in learning
about things in cross-cultural contexts
Post on whatever you would like related to
and what the readings & lectures covered
the readings from M3.
was so inspiring.
Don't forget to reply.
First and foremost, everything reminds us
that a globalized world exists way longer
than we often perceive it to be. I
particularly like what Ajmar-Wollheim and
Molà addressed in their research, which
aims to reshape the understanding that
renaissance is predominantly an Italian, or
Western European movement. Influences
from Asia, Africa, and the New World
played underlying yet significant roles in
the creation of new things and this aspect
of cultural contribution has long been
diminished in the accounts of Western
histories. At the same time the
paragraphs on global commodities such
as glass beads and silk fabrics made me
very curious. While they were important
source materials for European
productions, how were the source
materials used and understood in their
respective local economies? Did the
goods/materials have a target market,
domestic or overseas, when they were
made? It would be interesting to compare
and contrast how the same materials were
used differently in different cultures.
The readings also reminded me some
museum exhibitions and I would love to
share two of them. The first one was titled
Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide
Textile Trade, 1500-1800, staged at the
Metropolitan Museum several years ago.
The website contains a huge amount of
information, especially the dazzling
images, that showcase how textile
production was truly global during the
early modern period.
Since our lecture touches on the socio-
cultural history of sugar, another
exhibition that I thought of is called Like
Sugar, which was put up in the museum at
my undergraduate college. This
interdisciplinary exhibition juxtaposes
historical artifacts and contemporary
artworks to explore the multilayered
narratives behind and around sugar. I find
this curatorial way of thinking very
inspiring in relation to industrial design, as
we may start to consider even one taste,
or one simple kind of feeling, can deliver
numerous experiences.
Tanu 9 hours ago
When you look at sugar production in the
context of industrial revolution, do you
also feel it greatly democratized these
noble commodities, and in a way is
responsible for making them everyday
essentials?
Someone 5 hours ago
•••
That's very insightful and I would put a
yes to your question. The increase of
labor indeed lower the cost of sugar
production and made it an affordable
commodity. But then I wonder, if every
commodity has to go through this route
of "lowering the class," be it used by the
elites first then widely by normal people,
would "democratizing" be too light a
word for this whole process? Also makes
me wonder if some daily essential
commodities had gone upward in the
social hierarchy, what might they be.
Ridima
Through the first article, we can clearly
understand that products are closely
related to politics, economy and culture
since ancient times. The reason why
byōbu is loved by the world is not only its
function and unique aesthetics, but also its
additional value of symbolizing power and
status.
If we look through all the products with a
long history, nearly all of them have
become the symbol of a certain culture.
Nowadays, when we discuss products, we
prefer to pay more attention to its
functionality and often ignore the cultural
and spiritual connotation behind the
products. But function is not the only
criterion for valuing products. A product
may be rapidly popularized by virtue of its
excellent practicability, but with the
development of technology and
technology, it will be replaced by more
functional products one day. And the
products that can be inherited
continuously must have cultural imprints
beyond the products themselves. Just as
for byōbu, its original function is no longer
important for modern life. The
fundamental reason why it can be
inherited and still widely spread in modern
society lies in the cultural nature behind it.
I feel this work is a good example of the
process of the early cultural integration
between Mexico and Japan. The
combination of Mexico's paintings and
Japan's altor looks very harmonious.
••• Someone 10 hours ago
I think the purpose of the screen is
the reason why the theme of the
screen different. Screens are used in
furniture in China or Japan, mainly for
partition and decoration, while Spanish
in Mexico regard screens as
decorations. This is because there are
different understandings of screens in
essence, so screens have different
themes.
••• Someone 2 hours ago
Yeah, I agree. What they valued was
the power and status represented by
the screen rather than its function at
that time. So the screen naturally
became a kind of ornament.
With the popularity of byōbu in the local
area, some Mexicans began to craft it by
themselves and even made a new version
by translating certain formal qualities into
a local language.
This case is a good proof to show that
the wonderful chemical reactions
produced by the exchange of different
cultures are the best booster for the
development of industry. Although
people always say that human potential is
infinite, we have to admit that human
imagination is limited. Our thinking will be
limited in the scope of existing cognition,
and it is difficult to really jump out of it.
Even though there are many methods and
theories to help people get rid of the
stereotype, these methods can only help
us enrich the direction of thinking and
perfect the existing ideas. It is almost
impossible to create new things out of
thin air that people have never
understood. So people always need to
find inspiration through new things.
Tomy
The author shows us the globalization
and localization of products under the
economic globalization through the
Biombo. This reminds me of the
globalization and localization of industrial
design.
The Biombo originated in China, spread to
Japan and reached its peak, and then
spread to Mexico by global trade. As a
product, the Biombo provided a way of
lifestyle and artistic expression for people
in different countries. This new concept
was bound to conflict with the original
native way of life and artistic expression,
resulting in cultural integration and a new
form of expression that adapted to the
local situation.The Biombo of the
following three countries are different in
terms of materials, themes, forms and
artistic techniques, but they all
correspond to the social resources and
needs of their respective countries.
T he re f ore , t he globalizat ion of
t rade brings about t he globalizat ion
of cult ure and art , but cult ure and
art st ill have t he charact e rist ic of
individuat ion. De sign re quire s a
global vision and adapt at ion t o local
condit ions.
a Chinese Biombo
Someone 10 hours ago
•••
Chinese screens have an interesting
influence on Japanese screens, which
is the “Chinese lion. ”Japan has been
advocating Chinese culture.
Therefore, for the Japanese, the lion
in Tang Dynasty is a symbol of ruling
power.
But the ancient Japanese did not see
a real lion, So the Tang lion in Japan is
a fantasy. The Tang lions in Japan are
like legendary beasts, these lions with
unique shapes can be seen on
Japanese screens.
Someone 5 hours ago
•••
I really like what you're saying about
building products which are flexible
enough to be adaptable to different
contexts. It makes alot of sense
specially now that we have additive
manufacturing so accessible.
a Japanese Biombo
a Mexico Biombo
The global vision is the international
vision that designers should have. It
makes the design from the local to the
global, from the traditional to
contemporary. On the one hand, we
should improve the level and quality of
design when we design for various
markets, so that our design can also be
excellent in the world. On the other hand,
we should take into account the trend of
globalization in our design to provide
more possibilities for our products to
enter other parts of the world.
Therefore, as a designer, it is very
necessary for me to treat globalization
correctly and keep a clear understanding
of it. This will help me deal with the
dialectic relation between globalization
and localization correctly.
••• Someone 5 hours ago
Yes! Its a really tricky balance to
maintain. Do you target a niche
audience while designing or have a
more universal / global outlook to
increase your product's reach? I
guess it depends on the context. What
do you think?
••• Someone 2 hours ago
I agree! Teasing out what kind of
positions we hold with globalization is
very important. It almost felt like each
segment of product production, from
research, conceptualization,
experiment, modeling, labor sourcing,
to the final fruition of products,
requires thorough exploration on a
global scale.
Haiwen
‘Global patterns of trade which fostered the
recycling of cultural fantasies, the creation
of hybrid wares, and the emergence of a
common visual language’. The Global
Renaissance, 17
For some reason, while reading this
paragraph I was reminded of Virgil Abloh's
Collab with Nike for the Nike Mercurial Vapor
360. This might be completely unrelated but I
think this hybridisation of visual languages
exists today - very literally in the form of
brand collabs. And although the means to do
this are different, interestingly enough the
intention remains the same - increasing the
marketability of the product.
••• Someone 1 hour ago
This is a very successful case of
cross-border collaboration. As a
fashion designer graduated from
architecture, Virgil reinterprets
fashion with the design language and
design thinking from industrial
products, which makes us see the
greater possibility of fashion. We can
compare and expand the concept of
globalization and cross-border
cooperation from here. Nowadays,
cross-border cooperation is prevalent
in the world. In addition to the success
in marketing, cooperation between
different fields has indeed brought
new thinking into design. Cooperation
in different fields is like the
communication between different
cultures at the beginning of
globalization. When two completely
different things meet for the first
time, they always bring surprise to
each other.
Displays of wealth were important to the elite
of viceregal society, and the acquisition of
goods was a barometer of social prestige.
The Transformation of the Japanese Folding
Screen in Colonial Mexico, 783
Throughout the texts that we have read till
now, from the Chinese Ritual Bronzes to the
Japanese Byobus, one point that really
stands out to me is that these objects were
an indicator of social status and wealth -
they were a connotation of rank. When
looking at the bigger picture, this proved to
be a good thing because the monarchy
facilitated the evolution of art and design by
providing finances.
When you draw a parallel of this mentality to
today's world, the ritual bronzes and Byobus
are replaced by the Hermes Birkin bag or the
stacking of Cartier bracelets becoming the
signifier of wealth. Another parallel that
stands out to me is the extraordinary
craftsmanship and exotic materials that go
into the manufacture of these objects,
making them one of a kind and desirable.
The major difference is that the bronzes and
Byobus originated with some form of
religious and cultural connotations attached
to them as opposed to the Birkin which is
more of a fashion statement. Another
differentiating factor is that today, the
exclusivity of these objects becomes
questionable because of the widespread
availability of duplicates.
••• Someone 9 hours ago
Luxury products come to my mind as
well !!! hhh, as these product deisgn is
focusing on "symbol".
1
Tanu 9 hours ago
The Elite puchasing these products in
todays' time and day, also prefer
personalizing it, possibly to mark the
originality and authenticity of each
piece.
You can see this as a mechanism to
counter the duplicacy or
counterfeiting.
1
••• Someone 9 hours ago
Yes! But I still feel that today,
personalised products are not a rare
commodity anymore (when compared
to even 20 years ago) - and now with
the advancement of additive
manufacturing techniques, it will only
become more and more widespread.
Tanu 9 hours ago
Oh yeah definitely, also its funny how
the technology that once made it
really easy to produce exact replicas,
is now striving to make it even easier
to produce customised objects!
••• Someone 9 hours ago
Hahhaha exactly!
••• Someone 3 hours ago
I really love this take. The (brand) X
(brand) collaborations result in the
fusion of two distinct brand identities
that the consumer desires to be a
part of. The implications of wealth that
the Byobu communicate, mixed with
the Christian iconography is really not
so different from a collab piece.
Tanu Mundra Hanwen Mei
According to the article, we know how the
Japanese screen was transformed into a
Mexican screen. But I want to focus on this
question:
why can Me xican scre e ns be
t ransf orme d so succe ssf ully?
"Art ist s and pat rons adapt e d and
re int e rpre t e d t he Japane se scre e n,
..., and Japane se locale s wit h
f amiliar Me xican sit e s. "
(ransformationJapaneseScreenInMexico,
785)
• Replacing the use of paper as the
painting surface with canvas.
• Replacing the mineral pigments with
oil paints.
• Replacing the rich Japanese silk panel
borders with painted versions of
Asian and European textiles.
• Replacing the Japanese locales with
familiar Mexican sites.
There are many factors in culture, times
and geography.Craftsmen in every place
have different understanding of materials,
technology and art, and the equipment,
technology and materials used are also
adapted to local conditions. So the
alternative method listed above can be
said to be a very smart performance.
Like the successful transformation
process of Japanese screen in Mexico,
porce lain in Europe also experienced a
series of characteristic successful
changes.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a
large number of Chinese export porcelain
were imported into Europe, and some of
them would be transformed and re
de corat e d in Europe to become a kind
of composite ware.
A chinese porcelain.
A redecorated porcelain in Europe.
Inlaying me t al accessories is one of the
most common means, which is a special
process of inserting metal accessories into
Chinese porcelain.
As an exotic element, the remolding of
Chinese porcelain in Europe was closely
related to t he Europe an social
f ashion, de corat ive st yle and
Orie nt al imaginat ion at that time. So
the European porcelain is not only a
combination of Chinese porcelain and
European metal accessories, but also a
typical sample of observing and
discussing "cross-cultural communication"
Today, when we design, or when we want
to introduce designs from different
regions, we should always remember
these successful “transforms". We should
consider the user's environment, cultural
background. At the same time, we should
also improve the material of the product,
so as to better meet the needs of users.
Someone 5 hours ago
•••
Using materials that are locally
available for products that are
required globally could be a really
smart step towards sustainability.
Clovis Ogilvie
People's actions inspire the creation of
artworks. During the age of Navigation,
people's trading, missionary and
diplomatic activities led to the collision
and fusion of Oriental and Western art and
culture. These new stylish has politic and
economic purpose, focusing on
decoration, instead of improving products'
functions.
Someone 5 hours ago
•••
I find it really interesting that even
when the skilled craftsmen was
creating objects that didnt necessarily
have a function, but more of an
aesthetic purpose - those were the
objects that attracted investments by
the monarchs for advancements in
design and innovation. This shows the
importance of emotion in product
design.
In ancient West, clocks were indispensable
daily items, but in China's Ming and Qing
Dynasties, they were luxurious items that
only the relatives of the emperor could
own.
As a result, clocks also have diplomatic
purpose, just like Byobu to Mexico.
In Chinese emperor's palace, there are
hundreds of west-introduced clocks
stored. Some of them are decorated
intended to please the powerful man. For
example, below large clock can write
Chinese couplet.
Made by Williamson, London, specially for
Chinese emperor.
A clock inserted into a lotus bonsai.
A Pingfeng (Byobu) made in Macau by
Chinese workers, but portraied Western style
paintings.
These paintings were referred from a book
named "Chengshi Moyuan", which is a
Chinese copy of "Maarten de Vos"
(preaching activity).
Reflection:
Today, how high is the integration of
worldwide products? The appearance of
big world companies like IKEA is good for
us or not? Or shall we think more of
localisation?
••• Someone 5 hours ago
This is exactly what I was thinking! Is
localised production and consumption
the best method for a more
sustainable future?
Linda Kim Ary
As we chart the journey of various crafted I found it really interesting that the T his re ading about Japane se f olding It's interesting to me how the Japanese
objects, in the realm of global trade, relationship between Japan and New scre e ns is a t ime ly one f or me , as I'm were and always have been so ahead of
striking dissimilarities emerge. Spain seemed to be such a good one. It curre nt ly working on prot ot ype s f or their time. The text talks about how they
appears that the initial contact between my own ve rsion of a f olding scre e n would have merchants and members of
Taking few examples from the shared text,
these cultures was trade, followed closely f or an assignme nt in my ID Te ch the royal administrations travel around to
let us discuss four main crafts, namely:
by missionaries. Considering the relations class. T he scre e n I'm de signing is t o promote/sell their work. And the response
•
Byobu to Biombo that occurred between the Spanish Empire be a backdrop f or t e le me dicine they received was fascination and respect.
• Carpets and the native inhabitants of Central calls, and is int e nde d f or my sist e r, There's even a portion that says 'the
America, I do find it surprising that, from who is a psychiat ry re side nt at NYU, Mexicans/ Spanish artists and creators
• Metal craft
the text, there doesn't seem to be any of and has had t o conduct t he rapy had no idea how the byobus were made'.
• Porcelain the racial-superiority-mindset from the se ssions f rom he r be droom e ve r It seemed to take them a couple years
Spanish side, or necessarily interest in since t he pande mic f orce d he r t o before they were able to replicate and
conquest. Just a genuine interest and work f rom home . T he scre e n will be come up with the biombo.
reverence for the goods they produced. primarily f unct ional, as t radit ional
This also resonates with the last reading
Japane se scre e ns have always
about the invention of flip-flops. They
be e n:
always seem to have a unique way of
• "This essay considers the introduction
Someone 2 hours ago "...f olding scre e ns doing things that inevitably, or silently
of the Japane se byobu to New Spain
•••
That's what I was thinking! Also when provide d...part it ions t o cre at e commands respect. And if you were to
(colonial Mexico) as a portable luxury
the author mentioned that Japanese e nclosure s wit hin int e rior space s. think about it in the Modern context,
object that moved within both
merchants wanted to bypass Spanish T he y also se rve d t o block unsight ly Japan is one of the most desirable
commercial and diplomatic spheres, and
authority to enter the Mexican t hings f rom vie w…. Inherently portable, countries to visit. All because everyone
its transformation into the Mexican market. It sounded like there was
painted folding screens were else is so amazed by how advanced they
vernacular. nearly no obstacle/interference from
manufactured to be mobile, to be are in every field.
the Spanish side, which was a little
It finally considers how Japanese surprising to me. displayed anywhe re a t e mporary wall
I also find it quite interesting how they
was ne e de d f or de corat ive or
byobu became Mexican biombos and how were able to transform the idea of
didact ic purpose s" (Sanabrais 780)
local artisans translated them into a paintings and (religious) imagery to a
local language. The article gave me some new insights slightly different medium. It wasn't just
into the traditional construction of these something that stayed on walls but
screens, (such as the use of paper helped create and dismantle space, it
• On the whole, although Carpe t s
butterfly hinges) and gave me ideas for acted as a form of shelter and also
enjoyed a remarkable popularity during
different forms my design could privacy. So incredible.
the Renaissance, the geographical and potentially take. I also found it interesting
cultural disconnection between
to hear how the design of the folding
production and consumption meant that
screen was adopted by different cultures,
as a commodity they remained an object
with changes made to the materials used
of unilateral exchange situated at the and the themes depicted on the screens.
periphery of European Renaissance
material culture, generating neither
indigenous imitations nor other material
responses.
• The process of interconnection becomes
more dynamic with another type of
global commodity that was highly
appreciated by European consumers in
the fifteenth century: Islamic
damasce ne d me t alwork.
The network of production responsible
for the manufacture of these objects is
remarkably cross-cultural.
We are thus looking at an object whose
production and consumption is the
direct result of an interconnected
network of manufacture, trade and
supply operating on a truly international
scale.
• It is with Ce ramics, however, that the
evidence for global matrixes at work in
the early modern period is striking.
Genoese maiolica obviously claimed a
connection with its superior Chinese
prototype. However, it was also rooted
in the local production and often
consumed in situ.
One reason that stands out to me, for some
crafts to be more popular more than others
could be the ease of personalising them,
marking them with a symbol of family coat
of arms, especially seen in the case of Italian
Elite.
Another important reason could be the
intrinsic usefulness of any commodity.
The more functional it is, easier to adapt !
Perhaps why the screens, metalwork utensils
and ceramics got so popular, but Carpets
didn't find much use or even symbolic
relevance.