Paola Antonelli – författare

Workspheres is the catalogue of MoMA's Spring exhibition devoted to the way we work and the role of design in creating effective solutions for work tools and environments in the near future. The exhibition features nine concepts for work tools and environments designed to represent solutions to the specific needs of nine unique sets of work ambitions, problems, skills and requirements. Each has been assigned to individual teams of architects and designers and is based on extensive research in consultation with an international advisory group. This catalogue not only represents the exhibition, but also expands upon it. While the main body of the volume is devoted to the nine models, the history of workplace design and an analysis of offices, both national and global, will also be included in a series of six essays by internationally known designers. In addition to history and cultural differences, the publication also addresses such themes as individuality within a work organization, communication design, interface design, and the impact of digital technologies on different professions.

Extensive holdings of contemporary art produced from 1980 until now are showcased in this updated and revised edition. This edition provides an international spectrum of more than 580 works of key contemporary art in a variety of mediums, including 36 new works that have been added to the MoMA collection since 1999.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Talk to Me thrives on an important late 20th-century cultural development in design: a shift from the centrality of function to that of meaning. From this new perspective, objects contain information that goes well beyond their immediate use or appearance, providing access to complex systems and networks and acting as gateways and interpreters. Whether openly and actively, or in subtle, subliminal ways, things talk to us, and designers write the initial script that lets us develop and improvise the dialogue. Talk to Me focuses on objects that involve direct interaction, such as interfaces, information systems, communication devices, and projects that establish a practical, emotional or even sensual connection between their users and entities such as cities, companies, governmental institutions, as well as other people. The featured objects range in date from the early 1980s – beginning with the first Graphic User Interface, developed by Xerox Parc in 1981 – with particular attention given to projects from the last five years and to several ones currently in development. Included are a diverse array of examples, from computer and machine interfaces to websites, video games, devices and tools, and installations. Organized thematically, Talk to Me features essays by Paola Antonelli, Jamer Hunt, Alexandra Midel, Kevin Slavin, and Koi Vinh. By introducing design practices that are becoming increasingly crucial to our world, the book presents a highly distilled sample of today’s best design production that uses technology in creative and unexpected ways, showing how rich and deep design’s influence will be on our future.

Design has a history of violence. It can be an act of creative destruction and a double-edged sword, and yet professional discourse around design has been dominated by voices that only trumpet its commercial and aesthetic successes. Violence, defined here as the power to alter circumstances against the will of others and to their detriment, is ubiquitous in history and in contemporary society. In recent years, moreover, technology has introduced new threats and added dramatically to the many manifestations of violence. Design and Violence is an exploration of the relationship between the two that sheds light on the complex impact of design on the built environment and on everyday life, as well as on the manifestations of violence in contemporary society. Published to accompany an online experiment launched by The Museum of Modern Art in Autumn 2013, it brings together controversial, provocative, and compelling design projects with leading voices from a variety of fields. Each invited author responds to one object chosen by the curators – ranging from an AK-47 to a Euthanasia Rollercoaster, from plastic handcuffs to the Stuxnet digital virus – and invites dialogue, comments, reflection, and active, occasionally fierce, debate. Examples of questions posed include: Can we design a violent act to be more humane? How far can the state go to ‘protect’ its borders from immigration before it becomes an act of violence? Is violence ‘male’? These experimental and wide-ranging conversations bring together voices from the fields of art and design, science, law, criminal justice, ethics, finance, journalism, and social justice, making Design and Violence an invaluable resource for lively discussions and classroom curricula.

Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, two of the world’s most influential design figures, meet the visionary designers whose innovations and ingenuity give us hope for the future by redesigning and reconstructing our lives, enabling us to thriveDesign Emergency tells the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists, who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes - Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology - Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.