The Bee's Knees

With work from every corner of the world, The Elastic Mind exhibition currently at the MoMA contains some of the wildest designs I have ever seen. The exhibit progresses in size, beginning with the the smallest scale: the nanometer. Inspired by science and function, the works explore so many ubiquitous objects in an incredibly admirable and innovative way. In one piece, the artist creates a work depicting sperm carrying letters and each ejaculation would create a singular poem unique to each experience. In the collection by Noam Toran called Accesories for Lonely Men, the designer invented eight different pieces to fill the void left when being alone. Taking a humorous approach, the works include the Sheet Thief, a device which will take away all the covers in bed, and a Plate Thrower, in case you miss your significant other's wild outbursts. Ranging from serious to humorous, the collection offers something for everyone. The Million Dollar Blocks project uses clever design and color choices to represent the injustice in America's criminal system. With Brownsville, BK as an example, the maps indicate how much money was spent on each block to incarcerate individuals. Currently, 2 million Americans are in jail, and an outrageous amount of these prisoners come from a handful of neighborhoods. The contrast between the millions spent on jailing criminals in single city blocks and the much smaller amount dedicated to education and healthcare becomes shockingly apparent through this project. In an another piece I liked, the American designer Scott Wilson created a cross using iPod shuffles, a clever jab at what modern society now holds sacred. I also loved the BEE'S: New Organs of Perception. If this becomes commonplace, an animal as simple as a bumblebee could predict cancer, conduct health checkups, and monitor fertility simply with their extraordinary sense of smell.

The iBelieve:

If you happen to be in NYC, I would absolutely give this exhibit a good looking over. Or, just check out the site (which additionally shows some banging webdesign!). And DEFINATELY watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdGU1_1l-8

The interactive link at MoMA is
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/#

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. -Henry David Thoreau

-Carolinee