Hello Antonella..
At least were all talking about him and that is more free publicity for the hairy one. Libel is only incured when a statement is false and a persons reputation is compromised as a result, so i could say "in my opinion" and it would be just that, i could also say i dont like anything Newson has done ,as that is my opinion (not true, i do like a few of his designs)and that too is fine.So nowhere near libel, (yet ha ha ).Hes very sixties.
The manatee design is impressive 🙂
Did he do it? No? Well, then, Mr. Newsom has interesting ideas in furniture, but he could use a functionalist advisor.
Either those holes in the black hole table are a good place for things to fall down (as several noted already), or tip over when carelessly placed (which people commonly do), or he should supply extra long straws and use them as beverage reservoirs.
His narrrow-based, three-legged tables interest my eye, but would probably be tipped over shortly by any large dog, or small child. In Newsom's defense, however, I have heard it argued among three-wheeled car builders that there is a certain longish triangular dimension that is just about as stable as a rectangle in cars. Alas, a table is not a car. A table does not need to concern itself with forward motion and swerving. It has to concern itself with being bumped and tipped by dogs and children and drunken adults.
His Lockheed Lounge would look good work well any where in Lockheed headquarters that it was not supposed to be used--in one of those lobbies no one stops in.
Placed outdoors, it would get laser hot or flesh-sticking cold. Placed inside, there's just nothing quite as comfy as a cold metal/plastic chaise with a convex seat and a concave lumbar region with a back lacking upper shoulder and head support. Mr. Newsom had to be trying to design something uncomfortable with this piece. Randomness cannot explain it. Imagine trying to lounge on it beside a pool in Palm Springs when its 100+ degrees. Perhaps it is designed to contain coolant inside. If not, it should be called the Lockheed Human Grill.
The felt chair is a fascinating design to look at, but sitting saddle-style is pointless, unless you're riding a horse. And if you sit in a normal seated position, and if the felt were to deform to fit you, then why make it in this shape at all?
Part 2
The car is just 1970s-retro Dodge and Plymouth fascia cues forced on a Ford. If Ford pays for advice like this, is it any wonder they are circling the drain? Perhaps where Mr. Newsom grew up, Fords looked like this once, or he missed out on the Dodges and Plymouths of that era, but I doubt it. And, in any case, it conveys nothing about the appealing dynamics of a car, or the traditions of a Ford (at least any I recall).
His wireless device--a phone or ipod I presume--is at least simple and purposeful--though the buttons seem small enough and closely enough placed to require taping a toothpick to one's index finger in order to press only one key. Since I don't see a design date on it, I can't tell if he broke ground or just borrowed.
In a world where water-boarding can be interpreted with a straight face by attorneys general, as something less than torture, I suppose it is not surprising that these designs can win awards. We have truly entered the Quantum Age--the age where anything is possible in the cloud of alternatives.
Finally, that diamond-patterned coat-of-many-colors looks like parchute silk, or a bad tie, cut to the proportions of a coat. It could nevertheless keep other skiers from running into you.
I rarely find so little to embrace in a designer's work.
Mr. Newsom seems either incompetant, or a new kind of designer--a designer specializing in defunctioning functional things. I fear the latter. Incompetance is generally harmless and soon weeded out. A bad new design philosophy, like crab grass, has to follow a boom and bust cycle before it is jettisoned. I am not quite sure why functional things need to be defunctioned, but I suspect this is precisely what Mr. Newsom is doing. Perhaps he representds a new generation disillusioned with the mad functioning of corporate oligopolizing and state subbordination to central banks bent on building financially controlled empires. I can at least comprehend that sort of dissatisfaction. Perhaps defunctioning is a response to dysfunctioning of the great institutions of society. Perhaps it is the latest iteration of Dada, the The Taking Heads "Stop Making Sense." At least the Dadaists and later the estimable David Byrne had the curtesy to keep their defunctioning in the realm of painting and sculpture and music. But in industrial design, it just seems fundamentally unethical to design things that intentionally don't work well--at least without some kind of warning label. WARNING: THIS FURNITURE IS DEFUNCTIONED.
Ah, but then the warning label itself would have to be mispelled into defunction to be consistent; this is always the problem of the imitative fallacy in art and design, is it not?
in a word
I'm leaning toward the theory that he doesn't really expect anyone to USE his pieces. He's making a more profound commentary about the personal angst he feels, pulled in as many directions by the mutually exclusive needs/wants/desires of clients, critics and the improved human condition.
And I haven't even had a drink yet! An oversight I'm about to correct.
I think Newson is, among the ...
I think Newson is, among the superstars of design, along with Karim, one of the more overrated designers out there. All of his work seem to have the same plasticy, pop, juvenile aesthetic to them but never organic or refined. Also, I met him at an appearance he made in SF's Alessi store a couple of years ago and he came across as a bit arrogant to me in person.
Marc..
If you are reading this thread honey dont get too downhearted!, we are just ranting on. After all, without all you designers around our world would be rubbish wouldnt it?, and also the general concensus is that your hair is cool so thats something,(Ross is envious of that one im sure). We all love you really.
yeah, like wicked is cool
and shiznit is cool (urbanized slang) and 'shiznit derives from the urban slang term 'the shit' which itself actually comes from the hippie era, late 60's slang 'this is good shit' typically referring to marijuanna. Think Cheech & Chong saying "that's some good shit man!"
...and so we have come full circle right back where we started, with a little shit...
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com