Disonancia Mexicana
Design and the search for an identity that is constantly metamorphosing.
Design, like many other creative manifestations, is a reflection of a country’s culture. As Culture gives inherent values and meaning to objects, these can become evidence of a culture personality. We see it in the humorous dryness of Dutch Design, the careful sophistication of Italian Design or the industrialist attitude of American Modernism.
However, could Design help define a culture that is constantly seeking its own meaning?
Originated from post-colonialism, contemporary Mexican culture is shaped with a constant dilemma of national identity and the ambiguity of being Mestizo (the racial mixture between European and indigenous descent).
There have been some attempts of using Design as a way to reflect Mexican culture. From the modernist approach of vernacular furniture of Clara Porset, the abstraction of Pre Columbian visual archetypes by Lance Wyman for the 68 Olympics, and more recently, the colloquial narrative of everyday objects by Ariel Rojo. Today, Mexican Design is displayed by countless contemporary Mexican designers using craft as a way to seek and define a real Mexican Identity.
However, we feel that these attempts are just superficial aesthetic manifestations of local phenomena covered with an occidentalized makeup that simplifies all the complexity into a digestible blob that a westernized audience can understand better. In the end, this approach just functions as a way to absolve our culture as part of contemporary design trends to make them fit into a global discourse. In our opinion, this practice is doing the opposite of finding ways to self-understanding.
If our goal as Mexican Designers is to understand our identity through design, maybe it is time for Mexican Design to start experimenting not only through aesthetics but reaching all the way through a complete interactive experience. What if, instead of being satisfied with using our stories, aesthetics or whatever we fiscally find on the streets as mere inspiration for form and shape, we go a bit beyond and take the Mexican attitude as a starting point to design interactions? For this project, we want to focus on functionality as the main vessel for our ideas by adding friction and challenging user-friendliness as provocation.
About the Franz Mayer Museum:
It is a cultural trust managed by the Bank of Mexico, with a Board of Trustees established by the German-born philanthropist and collector Franz Mayer.
It is a non-profit institution that for 35 years has been dedicated to conserving, researching, and presenting the extensive collections of books, paintings, and decorative arts that constitute the legacy of Franz Mayer, as well as other important collections, highlighting the Collection of Ruth Lechuga's Popular Art and William Spratling's. The museum is located in a unique building from the 16th century in the Historic Center of Mexico City, which belonged to the order of San Juan de Dios and functioned as a hospital until 1966.
The Franz Mayer Museum encourages innovation and creativity in society by conserving, researching, and disseminating art and design through its permanent collections and temporary programs. It seeks to be an institution of excellence that provides experiences of knowledge, enjoyment, and learning to all audiences, contributing to the training and development of the human being.
CREDITS
Art Direction and Curation: José de la O
Exhibition Design Team: delaO design studio and Museo Franz Mayer
delaO design studio team: Adriana Gutiérrez, Sofía Mendoza, Fernanda Ordorica, Karina Pérez, Andrea de la Peña, José de la O
Franz Mayer Museum
Acknowledgments:
Adriana Gutiérrez, Aldo Arillo, Alejandra de la Paz, Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Alfredo Roman, Ana Elena Mallet, Ana María Sánchez, Andrea de la Peña, Christina de León, Craig Bremner, Eduardo Altamirano, Enrique Hinojosa, Fernanda Ordorica, Gabriel Garduño, Giovanni Innella, Joel Escalona, Jorge Diego Etienne, Julia de la O, Karina Pérez, Mariana Achach, Marisol Centeno, Marta Turok, Paola Gómez, Paul Rodgers, Ramiro Estrada Sainz, Roberto Iñiguez, Sofía Mendoza, and all participating designers.
Participating Designers:
Ana Guerrero, Ana Holschneider, Ana Korkidi, Andrés Gutiérrez, Andrés Souto, Ariel Rojo, Armadillo de Oro, Caralarga, Carlos García, Carlos Ordoñez, Claudia Barriga, Colectivo 1050, delaO design studio, Denisse Salmerón, Diego Camacho, Domienica Verduga, Dorian Ulises López Macías, Eduardo Altamirano, Elba Rodríguez, Familia Orozco, Gabriel López, Gerardo Osio, Gustavo Pacheco, Innovando la Tradición, Jesús Martines, Joel Escalona, Jorge Diego Etienne, José de la O, Karina Pérez, Kythzia Barrera, Laura Noriega, Liliana Ovalle, Liliana Radilla, Luis Vega, Maite Alarcón, Marco Ibarra, Marisol Centeno, Matteo Guarnaccia, Miriam Benites, Moisés Hernández, Mónica Arriaga, Montserrat Antuñano, mUcho Studio, Natalia Prieto, Oscar Hagerman, Patricia Callejas, Pedro y Juana, Samantha Sarmiento, Sandra Luz Pérez, Sara Castro, Tania Zaldivar, Tonatiuh Prieto, and Victor Romo.