Tag Archives: The Curious World of Patent Models and the Future of Objects

At The Intersection of Design and Science

Williamson Gallery Director Stephen Nowlin discusses the interconnection between art, science, design and technology in a recent Pasadena Star-News article profiling Nowlin and the two current shows in the gallery, The Future of Objects and The Curious World of Patent Models.

From the article: “Nowlin sees the exhibit as a perfect fit for the gallery because Art Center students are learning product design and ‘every object that is made is conceived within the technology of its era.’ The Curious World of Patent Models shows how people were thinking at the time, but to make it more relevant, he looked to David Cawley, director of Rapid Prototyping and Model Shops at the school. The two came up with The Future of Objects, an exhibit focused on 3D printing.”

Read more: Old and new in science and design on display in Pasadena

Traffic Lights and Patent Drawings

Did you know that the traffic signal was invented in 1912 as a two-color, red-and-green light designed by a Detroit policeman? Yeah, neither did we.

Check out this fun and informative article at Design Observer on the history of the device, and check out the signal patent drawing as well—something we’re sure Williamson Gallery Director Stephen Nowlin will appreciate in conjunction with the gallery’s current shows, The Future of Objects and The Curious World of Patent Models.

Read more: Red Light, Green Light : The Invention of the Traffic Signal, and check out photos of the Williamson exhibit on the gallery’s Facebook page.

Exploring the Past and Future of Objects at the Williamson

Art Center’s Williamson Gallery is continuing its series of explorations into the intersecting domains of art, science, technology and design with side-by-side exhibitions exploring the interplay between the technologies used to fabricate objects and the thought-processes used to conceive them. The Curious World of Patent Models and The Future of Objects open Thursday, June 3, will be on display through August 15.

The relationship between technology and its influence over the process of conceptualizing objects, inventions and innovations is referenced overtly in The Curious World of Patent Models, an exhibit of more than 50 scale models representing ideas submitted for United States Patent protection between 1800 and 1880. A concurrent exhibit, The Future of Objects, displays new digital-age fabrication and prototyping techniques in which complex forms are created by 3D printers. As the exhibit reveals, technologies related to those used daily in households and offices to print 2D information on flat pieces of paper are now being used to create freestanding 3D objects using a variety of solid materials.

“As we celebrate Art Center’s 80th anniversary, it’s fitting to showcase advanced computer modeling and 3D printing techniques that will very soon become such a big part of the planet’s visual culture,” says Gallery Director Stephen Nowlin. “Exhibiting 19th-century fabrication alongside 21st-century technology opens an entirely new conversation about what is coming in the future, and where it came from.”

The Curious World of Patent Models and The Future of Objects On Exhibit
Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery
Hillside Campus
June 4—August 15
Opening Reception: June 3, 7- 9 pm

Williamson Gallery Gets Press, Readies for New Show

DeMarinis exhibit at the Williamson in 2001. Photo by Steven A. Heller.

The Williamson Gallery’s 2001 solo exhibition of media-art pioneer Paul DeMarinis— Resonant Messages: Media Installations by Paul DeMarinis—is included in the new book Interactive Art, written by Ryszard W. Kluszczynski and published in Poland. The book features artists and writers who have played a prominent role in the development of media and interactive art from the late 20th century to the present.

In addition to DeMarinis, many of those featured in the book have been included in Williamson Gallery solo or group exhibitions as part of its 15-year series bringing together the domains of art, science and technology. Artists in the book include Natalie Bookchin, Ken Goldberg, Lynn Hershman-Leeson, Erkki Huhtamo, Eduardo Kac, George Legrady, Bernie Lubell, Laurent Mignonneau, Christian Moeller, Simon Penny, Bill Seaman, Christa Sommerer, Victoria Vesna and Stephen Wilson.

In other Williamson news, they are hard at work readying the gallery for the next show, The Curious World of Patent Models and The Future of Objects, opening June 3. The show continues the exploration into the intersecting domains of art, science, technology and design with side-by-side exhibitions that look at the interplay between the technologies used to fabricate objects and the thought-processes used to conceive them. We’ll blog more on the show soon.