I am excited to launch the seminar Tel-Aviv-Holland, which I’ll open tomorrow, as a part of my lecture tour in Tel Aviv. It comes to highlight the contribution of the Dutch Conceptual Design Movement to 21st-century design. Born in the 90s, this key Movement was founded upon the intellectual and ideological roots formulated by the Italian Design and Anti-Design Movements of the 60s and 70s. Design, the Italian proponents of Postmodernism claimed, was not just a way to make functional objects, but a cultural force on its own right. This approach as brought to the marriage between art and design, craft and industry. While conceptual design is everywhere today, it was emerged in the Netherlands, with a strong contribution by Droog Design and the Design Academy Eindhoven. Concept, rather than function has been the focus of Dutch design, and thus it carries multiple layered meanings. Here are some of the objects of the 90s which have since entered the pantheon of 20th century design, capturing the essence of the Dutch Conceptual Design Movement.
