There is definitely something special about wood.
Wood has a particular feel; its heft, pattern and color. It is a truly unique material. Wood isn’t just the antithesis of plastic – old but good, functional, solid, natural, abundant, strong, and diverse, it provides warmth, shelter and flexibility. Wood is a tactile, endlessly renewable resource that has served human culture well for millennia.
The present volume focuses on multiple readings of three major cultures that have developed a unique relationship with wood: the woodworking, design and architectural traditions of Japan, Western and Southern Africa, and the Shakers. Japan's geo-cultural circumstances produced a frugal woodworking culture infused with religious and philosophical meaning, in which wooden objects are designed, crafted and assembled with surgical precision. In contrast, the abundance of the African landscape encouraged craft and assembly techniques based around derogation with each social unit and grouping developing their own patterns, ornamentation, and craft techniques. Finally, the Shakers' approach to wood, mirrors their austerity and religious asceticism. Also minimalistic in nature, deriving from functionality and necessity, this approach had a profound influence on contemporary design.
As they go through this collection of wood-based design projects, the reader will achieve an excellent panoramic understanding of the practice as it stands today while also considering the broader, thought-provoking question of what constitutes a cultural object.
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Prof. Kenneth Segal is a leading industrial designer in the field of transportation and an Associate Professor at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem. Segal has founded, built, and headed two academic departments of Industrial Design in Israel, at Shenkar: Engineering. Design. Art. and at Hadassah Academic College. In doing so, he has been one of the leading figures in the definition, moulding, and improvement of Israel's design education discipline. A Visiting Lecturer at NID the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India, Segal focuses on teaching the history of design, design culture, and design methodology.
Prof. Jonathan Ventura (PhD) is a design anthropologist, teaching at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, and is Chair of The Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design and Technology at Shenkar: Engineering. Design. Art. Jonathan is also a Research Fellow at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, London. He specializes in design theory, design anthropology, and social and medical design. In the last few years, he has published dozens of papers, as well as entries for the Bloomsbury Design Library. His latest book, titled Design Theories and co-authored with Michelle Gal and Lee Weinberg, will be published in 2023 by Routledge.
על הספר
There is definitely something special about wood.
Wood has a particular feel; its heft, pattern and color. It is a truly unique material. Wood isn’t just the antithesis of plastic – old but good, functional, solid, natural, abundant, strong, and diverse, it provides warmth, shelter and flexibility. Wood is a tactile, endlessly renewable resource that has served human culture well for millennia.
The present volume focuses on multiple readings of three major cultures that have developed a unique relationship with wood: the woodworking, design and architectural traditions of Japan, Western and Southern Africa, and the Shakers. Japan's geo-cultural circumstances produced a frugal woodworking culture infused with religious and philosophical meaning, in which wooden objects are designed, crafted and assembled with surgical precision. In contrast, the abundance of the African landscape encouraged craft and assembly techniques based around derogation with each social unit and grouping developing their own patterns, ornamentation, and craft techniques. Finally, the Shakers' approach to wood, mirrors their austerity and religious asceticism. Also minimalistic in nature, deriving from functionality and necessity, this approach had a profound influence on contemporary design.
As they go through this collection of wood-based design projects, the reader will achieve an excellent panoramic understanding of the practice as it stands today while also considering the broader, thought-provoking question of what constitutes a cultural object.
- - - - - -
Prof. Kenneth Segal is a leading industrial designer in the field of transportation and an Associate Professor at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem. Segal has founded, built, and headed two academic departments of Industrial Design in Israel, at Shenkar: Engineering. Design. Art. and at Hadassah Academic College. In doing so, he has been one of the leading figures in the definition, moulding, and improvement of Israel's design education discipline. A Visiting Lecturer at NID the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India, Segal focuses on teaching the history of design, design culture, and design methodology.
Prof. Jonathan Ventura (PhD) is a design anthropologist, teaching at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, and is Chair of The Unit for History and Philosophy of Art, Design and Technology at Shenkar: Engineering. Design. Art. Jonathan is also a Research Fellow at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, London. He specializes in design theory, design anthropology, and social and medical design. In the last few years, he has published dozens of papers, as well as entries for the Bloomsbury Design Library. His latest book, titled Design Theories and co-authored with Michelle Gal and Lee Weinberg, will be published in 2023 by Routledge.