"Torcido" | exhibition How do you pronounce design in Portuguese?

"A exposição Como se pronuncia design em português? nasce e mantém-se como uma interrogação. O título faz também alusão aos diferentes modos de pronunciar o termo design na língua portuguesa, e ao que isso revela da sua origem, tradução, história e significados. Pretendemos compreender como as circunstâncias geográficas de Portugal, a herança histórica, a cultura, as tradições e a consciência coletiva influenciaram e/ou se refletiram no pensamento e na obra de cada autor. Procurámos também conhecer o modo como os conceitos de lugar, pertença, identidade e memória têm vindo a ser trabalhados ao nível do design, avaliando a eventual existência de valores e características em comum. Para tal, olhámos para o design de produto desenhado e produzido por autores nacionais durante os últimos sessenta anos, dando maior incidência para o período compreendido entre 1980 e 2014.

Entre Lisboa e Paredes, apresentam-se mais de 150 peças de 76 autores de diferentes gerações, percursos e formações, demonstrando o espaço inclusivo e plural que desde o início quisemos constituir, mostrando a vitalidade de percursos e propostas. Não querendo ser um levantamento exaustivo de todos os autores em exercício durante este período, a seleção recaiu sobre os objetos considerados mais representativos para as leituras propostas. Muito embora não tenha uma estrutura cronológica nem pretenda ser uma retrospetiva dos últimos sessenta anos, podemos encontrar uma série de peças que remetem para autores, iniciativas, entidades e exposições marcantes para a história do design.

A exposição parte de uma leitura formal das peças, propondo diálogos entre diferentes épocas, autores e linguagens, respeitando sempre e em primeiro lugar a singularidade de cada obra. Dando uma particular atenção aos setores de produção tradicionais, como a cortiça, madeira, vidro, cristal ou porcelana, desenham-se três eixos de leitura intercomunicantes: O Predomínio da Forma sobre o Ornamento ou A Procura pela Estrutura das Coisas; Inteligência Prática e Sensibilidade pela Matéria. A Excelência das Manufaturas e das Artes Aplicadas; Entre o Popular e o Erudito. Variações sobre o Tema da Tradição" por MUDE

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"The exhibition How do you pronounce design in Portuguese?  was created and it continues to fuel debate. The title also refers to the different ways of pronouncing the term design in the Portuguese language, and what this reveals about its origin, translation, history and meaning. Our aim is to understand how the geographical circumstances of Portugal, the historical heritage, culture, traditions, and collective consciousness influenced, and/or are reflected in, the thinking and work of each author. We have also sought to understand how the concepts of place, belonging, identity and memory have been crafted in terms of design, evaluating the possible existence of shared values and characteristics. In other words, what meaning and significance being Portuguese' have today in contemporary material culture? And to what extent does the development of domestic production pass through the work of our cultural matrix, without prejudice and with an awareness of who we are? It is these questions and issues that we also seek to open up for reflection. To do this, we looked at product design created and produced by Portuguese designers over the last sixty years, with greater emphasis on the period between 1980 and 2014.The diversity of proposals on display illustrates the impossibility of talking about a single national design. This was not our intention, nor did we consider it possible to do so in this day and age. We intended rather to seek out the most striking characteristics of Portuguese design.

In Portugal, the development of design almost always occurred with limited means and resources. The lack of a strategic policy of development, the insufficient industrialization of the country, the failure of industrial education, the belated institutionalization of design education and the difficulty of turning design into a profession, were some of the obstacles to practicing design in full. Also important was the lack of a museum dedicated to design, which would contribute to the awareness and understanding of the public, designers and industry, as had happened almost everywhere else in Europe since the second half of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, our history demonstrates how we are open and receptive to the other, and how we have incorporated, reinterpreted or reinvented multiple outside influences and examples. These may be French, English or Dutch, depending on the times and contexts, and most recently Italian or Scandinavian. In addition to these European influences, the Orient, Africa and Brazil have had a strong impact on the evolution and transformation of our Decorative Arts. These exchanges and influences have resulted in a great diversity of material production that ultimately spread the universalism, miscegenation and interculturality that mark our collective identity.

Between Lisbon and Paredes, more than 150 works are presented, by 76 designers from different generations, backgrounds and training, demonstrating the inclusive and plural space that we wanted to create from the beginning, and showing the vitality of their careers and projects. Without wanting to bean exhaustive survey of all the designers working during this period, these lection en compassed the objects considered most representative for the proposed interpretations. The exhibition is based on a formal reading of the pieces, and proposes dialogue between different eras, designers and languages, respecting, always and primarily, the uniqueness of each work. Paying particular attention to traditional production sectors, such as cork, wood, glass, crystal or porcelain, three strands of interconnecting interpretations are outlined: The Prevalence of Form over Ornament or The Search for the Structure of Things; Practical Intelligence and Sensibility to Materials. The Excellenceof Manufacturing and Applied Arts; Between the Popularand the Erudite. Variations on the Theme of Tradition.

Although not having a chronological structure or wanting to be a retrospective of the last sixty years, a number of pieces that refer to outstanding designers, initiatives, organizations and exhibitions in the history of design can be found. Pieces by Carmo Valente, António Sena da Silva, António Garcia and Carlos Galamba evoke the1st and 2nd Portuguese Design Exhibitions, in 1971 and 1973 respectively, promoted by the National Institute of Industrial Research. Moreover, the iconic Igor by Pedro Silva Dias, the Hailey sideboard by Filipe Alarcão or the cabinet by Francisco Rocha, bring to mind the activities of the Loja da Atalaia in the late 1980s and 1990s in promoting exhibitions and limited editions of designer pieces. The presence of various artists and architects, such as José Pedro Croft, Pedro Calapez, Manuel Graça Dias, Margarida Grácio Nunes and Fernando Sanchez Salvador reflects the intersections that have always existed between design and the arts, architecture and jewellery. For their part, the works by Tomás Taveira are call the New Transfigurations exhibition in the Galeria Cómicos by Luis Serpa in 1985. Indirectly, there is a reference to the role of the Portuguese Design Centre and the ICEP in the attempted link between design and industry, and in the dissemination of Portuguese design abroad. References can also be found to the latest initiatives and brands such as ProtoDesign, Sátira design, Mglass, Project01 by Atlantis and the editions by Experimenta Design/Designwise." by MUDE