Korver’s Korner

“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” so said Pablo Picasso; but he was an artist and he was original so I suppose he could say as such, my opinion on this however is as such, “If you are going to copy then you may as well steal.” Verner Panton was an original, he was an artist a creator a thinker – he was a master of fluid, futuristic style of 1960s – he had a truly distinctive style and he will be remembered, the cone chair brought to him attention of which the heart cone was derived from– it was his design, he was the original and with it he had a story – he will be remembered, right now he IS remembered but then you get @home living space, and they or the person or whomever - how can they be remembered; for designing a bad copy of the heart cone chair (amongst others), for taking someone’s story and their history and twisting it into a carnage of a copy!

@home Living Space do well don’t they – they are expanding, they seem to be more and more ubiquitous so I don’t understand, why don’t they design something local that is lekker, why don’t they invest money in students and their design, or do they not trust that something they invest in will do well – is it that they must ride on the tails of design such as the heart cone chair which has already proved successful?

As said the Heart Cone chair was designed after the Cone Chair – and it was this chair, the cone that gave fame to Verner Panton, and it was this chair that gave him his truly distinctive style, where he came into his own - it was this chair, the cone, that attracted controversy in New York, after the police ordered that it be removed from a shop window where large crowds had gathered to see it.

It seems as though local designs may have been influenced by the fact that our fragmented past has, perhaps, disallowed us the opportunity to create a unique visual language – but wait – isn’t it because of such a history, one so diverse, so full of “culture” that each South African should have their own sense of self.

Until recently it seemed that a wooden hippopotamus, elephant or lion were the best sellers, nothing wrong with them, I must add- but it is time now to express the diverse landscape and use archetypes, myths and traditions and create functional design one would like in their kitchen, lounge, on their patio – design unique, design South African but design that would suit any place; from Cape Town to Paris to Dubai and so on.

Realise that the reason Italy and France lead the way in certain creative industries is because of their long history of driving quality and investing in good design. For SA it is a history imbued with other things away from design, South Africans act ashamed and embarrassed of their past, but forget  - it sometimes seems – that the past is not only one of apartheid but much more.

This is a history full of culture, tradition, languages and ideas – what other country has so much to play with – and this is exactly what South African’s need to start doing, play with what you have, what you know and conjure up unique functional design.

Putting South African design on the world map will benefit this country tremendously from an economic, social and technological point of view. There needs to be a bigger platform for bringing producers and buyers together; whether this consists of manufacturers, larger retailers, universities and so on.

There are designers that have taken the leap forward with success; there is Haldane Martin with his Zulu Mama chair, the name itself expressing the inspiration - and it’s a gorgeous chair in its identity and aesthetics (see image); there is also Gregor Jenkins who has creatively refigured the Cape Regency turned leg in stinkwood and yellowwood tables into a stylish profile-cut steel table, the Van di Stel table!

Slowly South Africans are beginning to find confidence in themselves. All one needs is a little help, a little push. The inferiority complex means that one does not believe they are talented and equate to international standards until they are told so. When repeating the words Proudly South African don’t just say it – be it!

Copying! I think most that know me realise that what riles me is copying of design, I have written about it in our external newsletter quite a few times and of course a list of those that copy is on our website www.twiice.com! It would then be quite suspect, I would think, if I kept my rant of intense dislike of what copying stands for and what copying is and what copying does to the industry away from the blog!

Yes, ‘they’ say that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but think of the research, the labour, the passion that is put into design – when it is copied and someone makes a quick buck on a popular item, it is ridicule in my opinion. A design is something that is perfected over the years, it is a process of perfection. Copies cannot be made to the same specification because they are made with cheaper labour and materials but yet in some circumstances sell for only a fraction less than the real thing. It is a chair, yes, but this chair has to be light, strong, ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing.

A designer will not just sketch a pretty image and then down the line watch as their piece of creativity dawns to life – there is research involved, quality tests and so on. I cannot just rewrite Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and rename it Wonderful Prospects, but yet for some reason it is okay that a Verner Panton chair can have its name subtly changed and then it is all okay.

The argument: - we cannot all afford design and if the consumer wants to adorn their house with fakes it is because the “originals” are so expensive. Point taken, but if there were less copies there would surely be more room in the industry for “original” products and we would be able to spend more money and effort promoting local design.

Design is inspiration, our ideas are not completely ours and perhaps no design is 100% original but it is to evolve from what has inspired you, to keep going so that it is you that will be the next inspiration – and where are we going if we remain stagnant and continue producing and purchasing copies?