Design Meets Contemporary Art

Creativity, creative freedom, userorientation, the requirements of product development and contextual assessment are all part of both design and contemporary art. The Camouflage exhibition builds connections between these two disciplines.

The concept of the show is built around the dialogue and productive blending of contemporary art and design. The idea of camouflage serves as a metaphor for the overlapping of these two areas. The exhibition features some 15 invited artists, designers collectives from Finland and abroad.

The function of a camouflage pattern is to disguise things so that they blend into their surroundings. The concept is generally associated with military apparel, but is has its connections to contemporary art as well. Camouflage in art is associated with visual deception and the strategy of concealing by exposing.

Some of the things which both unite and separate design and contemporary art are visuality, inventiveness, critical attitude, conceptualisation, durability, sustainability, commercialism and commoditisation. These two areas of visual culture frequently come into contact in exhibitions, art magazines, web applications as well as auctions and art fairs. The Camouflage exhibition features people who by virtue of their training and professional profile feel equally comfortable in presenting their work as contemporary art or design.

Leevi Haapala

Camouflage 15.6.-7.10.2012
The exhibition is part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 programme.