Festival in India offers Morag Myerscough "unequivocal apology" for copying her work

Sulafest music festival in India has apologised to British designer Morag Myerscough for copying her colourful pavilion design, promising to commission original work in future.

Myerscough credited the "power of Instagram" for alerting her to the issue and supporting her campaign to get images of the copied work removed and the theft acknowledged.

A representative of Sula Vineyards, which runs the festival, has offered the designer an "unequivocal apology".

"This was an inadvertent oversight on our part and we take responsibility for it not happening in the future and ensuring that original artworks are put up and the artists get their due," they said.

Artists should be paid to do new work not copies

The designer, who had just returned from India where she delivered a talk at a symposium for women in design, told Dezeen that she hopes Sulafest champion original work from Indian artists and designs in future.

Morag Myerscough's Temple of Agape was built in London in 2014

"I want them to spend money on an artist to actually do new work," Myerscough told Dezeeen.

"People from India who've been in contact with me said this is a big thing they want to change," she added.

"That this [copying] is a thing that happens and it's sort of okay, in people's minds. But actually, as a young, burgeoning arts and design scene, they don't want this to happen. They don't want to take work from other people, you know, they want it to have integrity."

An entrance gate at the two-day event, held by India's largest winemaker Sula Vineyards, was an almost exact copy of Myerscough's 2014 design for the Temple of Agape. Together with Luke Morgan, Myerscrough designed the architectural installation for the Festival of Love, a cultural at London's Southbank Centre.

"There were too many similarities"

She was alerted to the copy when people sent her screenshots of pictures shared by Sulafest on Instagram pointing out the similarities.

Myerscough posted a side-by-side comparison of her Temple of Agape next to the picture from Sulafest on her own account.

Myerscough was alerted to the copy when people sent her screenshots

"It was blatant," said Myerscough. "You know, there were too many similarities."

The comparison clearly shows how many elements are the same, including the brightly painted boards with words above a name spelled out over a logo in a halo effect, and patterns of colourful shapes either side.

Sulafest was held at the Sula Vineyards winery in Nashak, western India over the weekend of 1 and 2 February. Sula Vineyards is India's largest winery, employing over 800 people and owned by Rajeev Suresh Samant.

Saying inspired by is not "okay"

A representative of Sula Vineyards reached out to Myerscough to apologise and initially offered to credit her work as an inspiration for the piece, but the designer refused out of principle.

"I said, look, I want you to take down every post and I don't want my name connected to this work. Because there is also that thing that if somebody writes the words 'inspired by' that's okay," Myerscough said.

"I think that's all right if you're a dead artist, but not if you're alive and doing things."

Sulafest has promised to commission original artworks from now on

Sula Vineyards have now removed all of the images of the plagiarised work and promised Myerscough to donate to an arts charity of her choice. Myerscough says she is happy with this positive ending to the story.

Positive resolution demonstrates "power of people"

She has published parts of her email exchange in a follow-up post on Instagram, asking her followers to suggest good causes for the £2,000 donation promised by Sula Vineyards.

"India is such an amazing, vibrant place and the people are so fantastic," said Myerscough.

"They want to do amazing things, you know, so they're very passionate. So then they're very hurt that there's been [an incident] like this. That's why there was this amazing support," she added,

"The most important thing is the power of Instagram and the power of people."

Photos of Temple of Agape, 2014, by Gareth Gardiner.

The post Festival in India offers Morag Myerscough "unequivocal apology" for copying her work appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2Oz53aS

Competition: win tickets to the Turncoats' Lost in Space debate

Competition: alternative architecture event Turncoats has returned for a final season, and Dezeen is giving away five pairs of tickets for its debate on space in the next 24 hours.

Following a sold-out first debate last month on nuclear housing, Lost in Space will be held at St John's Hoxton on 7 February.

Enter below in the next 34 hours to win tickets

Each night takes a provocative question and invites its panellists to argue for or against it with both barrels – before switching sides.

Theatrical opening acts set the tone for an unconventional night, which host Phineas Harper. said is like "stabbing a syringe of adrenaline into the fleshy tissue of architectural discourse and pressing down hard".

Everything is off the record and the audience's phones are sealed in bags before it starts.

"Turncoats is an experiment, a test, a shot in the dark, a hunch that most panel debates are too dry, too polite and ultimately too dull to cut through the noise in this critical time," said Harper, who is also a Turncoats co-founder and Dezeen columnist.

"We've all sat in painfully dreary lecture theatres watching panels of similar people with similar ideas gently buffing each other's egos while jamming biros into our legs just to stay awake," he added.

"Turncoats is for anyone who craves public debate with some kick, humour and the occasional dram of vodka – to grapple with really serious ideas, sometimes you need to lighten up."

After a ritual roasting by Harper, the panel of experts will take turns to argue the pros and cons of humankind's continued exploration of space.

Will missions to Mars see people building homes on alien planets, or should design focus on solving issues here on earth?

Arguing to ditch the rockets to the moon are Tosin Thompson and Imani Jacqueline Brown. Thompson is an actor and writer for the New Humanist, the Guardian and the New Statesman. Jacqueline Brown is an artist, activist, researcher, and writer from New Orleans.

In the pro-Space corner are Xavier De Kestelier and Steve Austen-Brown. De Kestelier is head of design technology and innovation at Hassell and has led several Foster + Partners projects on space exploration. Austen-Brown is creative director of Avantgarde UK and is working on the space-themed UK pavilion at the 2020 Dubai Expo.

Rory Hyde, curator of contemporary architecture and urbanism at the V&A, will chair the debate. Comedian Darren Walsh will open the event.

Harper, who is the Architecture Foundation deputy director, established Turncoats with the former director of Studio Weave Maria Smith and architecture professor Robert Mull.

Competition closes 7 February 2020. Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email.

The post Competition: win tickets to the Turncoats' Lost in Space debate appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2S5ClQQ

A Digital Conversion Miraculously Clarifies a Classic 1896 Film to Look Like It Was Shot Yesterday

The left image is from the original film, and the right is from Denis Shiryaev’s remaking

Denis Shiryaev has found a way to clarify the world’s earliest films and their signature grainy textures. He transformed the classic 1896 The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station into a 50-second film that suddenly reveals distinct faces of the passengers scrambling to get on the train, in addition to details on the locomotive that otherwise were undistinguishable in the original version. According to Peta Pixel, Shiryaev first used Topaz Lab’s Gigapixel AI to upgrade the film’s resolution to 4K, followed by Google’s DAIN, which he used to create and add frames to the original file, bringing it to 60 frames per second.

Made in France, the 35 mm historic film bears a legend stating that the first viewers of the silent production were so frightened by the moving train that they all ran out of the room. It was created with an all-in-one camera that served as a printer and projector. Watch the original black-and-white video shown below, and then Shiryaev’s remaking underneath.

 

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/2OxpW6e

Montalba Architects incorporates meditation areas into Headspace office

Employees are encouraged to take a breather at the expanded, Santa Monica headquarters for meditation company Headspace, which was designed by American firm Montalba Architects.

The office is located in the Bergamot Station Arts Center, a former trolley stop and industrial campus that has been converted into galleries, design studios and offices.

Headspace – which was founded in 2010 in London and offers various meditation services, including a popular app – has been based at the Santa Monica complex since 2016.

Due to its rapid growth, the company needed more space. It turned to Montalba Architects, which is also located in Bergamot Station, to renovate and expand its headquarters. The overall aim was to create an environment that aligned with the company's mission to "improve the health and happiness of the world".

"It was important that the office's design reflect the company's values of mindfulness, innovation and dedicated purpose," the team said in a description.

The project entailed extending the company's office into an adjacent, two-storey building and creating an outdoor courtyard. The full project totalled 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres).

The team also upgraded structural components and building systems, such as electrical, plumbing and drainage.

To give the building a clean look, walls, ceilings and other surfaces were painted white. Concrete floors were paired with white oak finishes and contemporary decor, including whimsical spinning chairs from Herman Miller. Rubber and felt were used in select areas, such as pinup spaces, for acoustical purposes.

On the ground floor, the team placed a variety of workspaces, several conference rooms and a spacious kitchen. The upper level houses an executive suite, additional meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace.

The office is configured in a way that allows employees to work and socialise as a group, or to have moments of solitude.

"To honour the core values of the company, we created small spaces where employees could find a moment of personal solace that wouldn't deter from the surrounding communal environment," said firm principal David Montalba.

"Freestanding meditation pods and quiet meditation areas are available throughout the space to allow employees additional moments of solitude whenever necessary."

One of the key features in the office is a wide stairway that provides access to the second floor while also serving as a seating area. A large screen rolls down in the front of the stairs, allowing for presentations.

A glass, bi-fold garage door separates the stairs from the courtyard, where employees can take in sunlight and fresh air. The outdoor space also helps brighten up interior rooms.

"The open-air enclosure filters light and greenery into previously dark, isolated spaces and offers a necessary moment of reprieve within the buzzing office environment," the team said.

Started in 2004, Montalba Architects is based in Santa Monica and has a satellite office in Lausanne, Switzerland. Other projects by the studio include an Equinox gym in Vancouver that features earthy materials paired with concrete, and the conversion of a trailer into a mobile dental clinic.

Photography is by Kevin Scott.

The post Montalba Architects incorporates meditation areas into Headspace office appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2v8H2AE

Note Design Studio's Natural Bond installation is built to be broken down

An installation created by Note Design Studio for Swedish flooring manufacturer Tarkett is formed of stacked geometric shapes held together by lashing straps.

The straps are a visual representation of the fact that, after its stint at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, it will be easily disassembled into its constituent parts, which will then be recycled or reused.

The installation, called Natural Bond, doubles up as Tarkett's stand at the fair and features a sculptural room divider at its centre, placed in front of a table and benches.

Everything from the furniture to the towering columns around the perimeter is made up of smaller building blocks of cubes, cylinders and arches.

These shapes are clad in Tarkett's vinyl flooring called iQ, which can be recycled indefinitely.

The Natural Bond installation also features the newly launched iQ Natural, which is made not with fossil fuels but with a biomass derived from forestry offcuts, such as roots and branches.

Once the installation is concluded, the material will be industrially washed, ground down and re-bonded in Tarkett’s facilities in southern Sweden. It then be turned into new flooring of the same quality.

Natural Bond follows on from Note's previous collaboration with the brand for Milan design week in 2019, which saw the original iQ material turned into a series of decorative totem poles.

"There, the focus was on exploring different ways to use the material and the visual possibilities," said interior architect at Note Design Studio Daniel Heckscher.

"But this year we wanted the form of the installation to follow the function, to actually show how the material works from a sustainability perspective," he added.

"The straps, in a way, communicate the idea behind recycling that if you can bond something together, you can also de-bond it again."

Natural Bond also takes another step closer to circularity by designating entire sections of the installation for re-use.

These will be incorporated in installations in the years ahead – potentially at this year's Milan design week, where Note is designing the Swedish exhibition, or at the Swedish Institute in Paris.

"In the coming years, there will be more Tarkett installations not less," Heckscher told Dezeen. "So we needed to start thinking about not just how to create an installation but how to give it a second life."

Crucially, however, the key was also to figure out when the environmental strain associated with repurposing materials might outweigh the possible gains.

The large, surrounding pillars for example were originally meant to be reused, but a lifecycle analysis found that their transport and storage would entail a higher carbon expense than simply recycling the material.

Another carbon cost benefit calculation was also made for the parquet flooring on which the installation stands. It is made from the disused floor of a sports hall that was brought in from Norway, cleaned and cut into a new pattern.

"The alternative to using this recycled material is to plant an oak seed, wait 140 years for it to grow, water it, chop it down and then transport it," explained Tarkett's sustainability manager Dug Duberg.

"A log is basically 50 per cent water so you need to dry that water out until you have only about eight per cent left and then you have to cut it into pieces. There's a lot of effort involved in getting oak to this state, so I think it's worth the carbon expense of transporting it."

This is also justified by the fact that, after its time at the fair, the flooring will be re-used once again in Tarkett's office in northern Stockholm.

By decking out the installation in columns, arches and other shapes often associated with Ancient Greece, the team at Note hopes to visualise its intended role as a meeting place and forum to exchange ideas about the importance of creating sustainability by design.

"The idea of bonding, which is in the name, really works on three levels," said Heckscher.

"There is the visual bonding of objects with the straps, there is the actual material they are made from which can be taken apart and there is the bonding, the conversation we hope to encourage between suppliers, manufacturers, designers around this issue."

A series of products on show at this year's Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair also strived for circularity – from an outdoor sofa made of aluminium that was recycled from drinks cans, to a series of seats made from disused tables.

The post Note Design Studio's Natural Bond installation is built to be broken down appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/3bfyh8r