I can’t say that i’ve been extremely excited by what i saw at Designmai this week (except the very nice UDK‘s Sacral Design exhibition on Karl Marx Allee – images). Actually maybe i should only blog about awful things i see in Berlin so designers and artists from other cities would stop writing me everyday to ask if i can help them find a job here. Just (half) joking of course, i love this place too much.
Today, i went to DesignMai Youngster in Kreuzberg and finally remembered why i find this festival so fresh and charming.
Just two examples of what i’ve discovered today:
Franziska Dierschke, student at the Bauhaus Academy in Weimar was letting people play with Aimat, some toy-like guns that hide a camera inside.
No display, no focus, no screen, no fuss with buttons, no restricted field of vision. Just look at what you want to photograph as if it were a target. What matters is not the quality of the picture but the simple, playful act of taking it. The images shooted were displayed on a big screen in the exhibition space.
There is also an impossible to ignore real-size inflatable tank with pink flowers sprouting from its barrel. Designed by Yuji Tokuda and Junya Ishikawa, it is part of the retired weapons project that uses graphic design, videos, badges and other items to spread a message of peace around the world. Whatever…
More images of the tank and the guns.