Manners and Objects

Project Description

“My Master’s thesis project ‘Manieren + Design’ is about the relationship between our manners and the physical objects that surround us, as well as the common conceptions of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour that lie between. This work exists alongside the cultural studies of my own design objects, which are assigned to cultural hacking. Staged depictions of four fictional yet common articles are used to invite the observer to reflect on and define one’s own behaviour. This pertains to identifying oneself within a given cultural subsection, something that is consistently prominent in daily life yet hardly given conscious consideration.

The selected objects serve as an alternative draft to our dominant view of culture. They address three fundamental fields: clothing, table manner and hygiene. A single-use tie was generated, high -lighting and questioning its function by reducing it to its essence. The cake plate with the single slice of cake not only symbolises but also intensifies the awkwardness felt when there is only one piece left; its title, “Anstandsstück,” is a German term for the last piece of food one does not take without asking. The nose-picker, the Pituita, envisions picking one’s nose in the light of normality.”

HGK/ Masterstudio Design at the Academy of Art and Design of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwest Switzerland in Basel

HGK stands for the Academy of Art and Design. The HGK can also be designated as the Academy for Contemporary Culture. In our research and our teaching — as in our practice, our reflections and our social discourse — the Academy endeavours to make significant contributions to contemporary culture.

Developed from the College of Arts and Crafts and its traditions, The HGK is open and modern; it is organised pluralistically, in line with our globalised era; and it is networked with other universities, both within Switzerland and abroad. It encourages creativity and innovation through
approaches that are process-driven, progressive, project-oriented, practical and productive.

The Masterstudio Design projects focus on integrative design — i.e. holistic design activities, which integrate knowledge from various disciplines into design practice and design culture, together with the arts and sciences, in a productive process. The aim of this synthesis is to create innovative solutions in projects involving art or design, while taking into consideration current social, economic and ecological conditions. From this point of view, the Masterstudio Design is a laboratory in which design is understood and experienced as an integrative process.