Design Miami 07: Studio Job present new pieces from their Robber Baron series at Moss during Design Miami.
The five monumental pieces, cast in bronze, combine stylized elements from famous landmarks around the world and represent industrial power, wealth and corruption.
Details from Moss follow:
Robber Baron~tales of power, corruption, art, and industry, cast in bronze,by Studio Job
Conceived in 2006, Robber Baron is an important suite of five cast-bronze furnishings, consisting of a Cabinet, Mantel Clock, Table, Standing Lamp, and Jewel Safe, each to be offered in a limited edition of five, exclusive to Moss.
Magnificent in scale, exceptionally finely modeled, detailed, and cast, with precision mechanical movements where required, incorporating deeply carved iconographic reliefs, with areas highly polished, gilded, or patinated, these works are guild-like in their master craftsmanship.
Their mirror finish reflecting the outrageous excesses of America’s 19th century tycoons and Russia’s new oligarchs, these surreal, highly-expressive furnishings, each a complex composition of multiple visual elements depicting a narrative - much like a cathedral’s stained glass windows or its majestic bronze front doors - represent an interior belonging to a powerful industrial leader or his heirs. With clouds of pollution belching from towering smoke stacks, and missiles, falcons, gas masks, warplanes, and wrenches adorning golden surfaces, Robber Baron celebrates and shames both Art and Industry.
Cabinet
A polished bronze cabinet with black patinated “bomb crater” and gilded reliefs, inspired by a 17th century armoire by André-Charles Boulle, in the Wallace Collection, London. The heavy doors are fully functional because of a ball bearing mechanism.
Polished, patinated and gilded cast bronze
approximate dimensions: 46” x 20”, height 69”
approximate weight: 2,200 lbs.
Jewel Safe
A patined bronze ‘safe’ with a ‘Jack-in-the-Box’ popping up out of the craggy top. The polished bronze head is colored with oil-based pigments, highlighting the collar, nose and other features. The lock mechanism is operated by turning the clown’s nose, and the door hinge employs a ball bearing mechanism.
Polished, patinated and painted cast bronze
approximate dimensions: 20” x 20”; height 48”
approximate weight: 550 lbs.
Mantel Clock
A patinated bronze pedestal clock supported by gilded oil barrels atop a model of the Florentine Galleria degli Uffizi, with Robber Baron reliefs. The dial of the clock is inspired by London’s Big Ben, circled by a futile railway running endless circles on a rocky land-scape. The clock face can be shut with cast bronze stable doors. On top of the clock sits a Neo-Classical ‘dream house’, partially shrouded by a cloud.
Polished, patinated and gilded cast bronze; mechanical clockwork
approximate dimensions: 26” x 20”, height 42”
approximate weight: 550 lbs.
Standing Lamp
A patinated bronze floor lamp in which three important icons of architecture – the Parthenon, the Empire State Building and Saint Peter’s Basilica - merge into one. The Zeppelin docked at the pinnacle symbolizes technological failure, and references the Empire State Building, whose top spire was originally intended as a mooring for Zeppelin airships. When illuminated, the hundreds of windows glow, diffused by a hand-blown frosted glass interior. The light bulbs can be changed by lifting the polished bronze ‘cloud’.
polished and patinated cast bronze; glass; electrical components
approximate dimensions: 24” x 20”, height 63”
approximate weight: 990 lbs
Table
A patinated bronze “factory”, whose architecture is derived from interpretations of various early 20th century works, including the AEG factory of Peter Behrens and the Battersea Power Station in London. The four chimneys produce a “polluted cloud” of polished bronze, which becomes the open-work tabletop.
polished and patinated cast bronze
approximate dimensions: 72” x 36”, height 30”
approximate weight: 770 lbs
Relevant Links:
Moss
Design Miami
Studio Job
A rugged and sturdy sport watch, this is the timepiece one would wish to have during an offshore passage at sea or a helicopter flight over the Alps. The unique and highly technical dial is the result of calculated and deliberate design. This wristwatch is a visual tour de force; never has so much information fit onto a watch dial without clutter, the result is a perfect balance of function and design.
Conceived by revolutionary industrial designer Marc Newson, the IKEPOD wristwatch banishes all that is unnecessary in order to reunite man and machine with the design authority and organic power of the ultimate surfboard, a classic sport car, or a racing multi-hull. IKEPOD combines economy of gesture, pinnacle technology, and sensuality of materials in ways that challenge connoisseurs to embrace not only a singular timepiece but also a bold set of values.
Foremost among these is independence from the conventions of traditional wristwatch design. Hewing to the great modernist principles of ‘truth to materials,’ and unity of form and function, IKEPOD rejects gratuitous ornamentation in order to highlight simplicity of form. It transforms what has previously been a strictly two-dimensional object into an organic, sculptural volume that functions in all three dimensions. By deliberately blurring old distinctions between front and back, it achieves a new level of harmony with the body of its wearer. Thus, while traditional watches employ “lugs” to attach a watchband to a case, the IKEPOD case and band join together in a single uninterrupted whole. By forgoing clasps and cumbersome articulated buckles in favor of a single discreet nipple, IKEPOD offers intimate fit, fluidity, and ideal balance on the wrist. Nothing superfluous comes between wearer and watch.
The IKEPOD approach is weighted with integrity. When the design process strips away all excess, what remains? Unrivaled quality and purpose. And so IKEPOD employs only inspectiongrade platinum, red gold, and titanium, sculpted to the highest standards possible by Swiss craftsmen. The dials provide information without pretension or conceit. And the IKEPOD band, unlike any other, is molded from a soft and flexible scented rubber, thereby defying the traditional definitions of sport and dress watch. In its startling difference, IKEPOD demands intelligence and daring from its wearer, and declares individuality the most exclusive form of luxury.
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