ron arad. interview with the israeli artist, designer and architect, a central figure in contemporary design ........................................................................................................


ron arad


born in tel aviv in 1951, studied at the jerusalem academy of art (1971-73), moved to
london and studied at the architectural association in london (1974-79),
1981 with caroline thorman established 'one off ltd', a design studio, workshops and
showroom in covent garden.
1989 (with caroline thorman) founded 'ron arad associates', an architecture and design
pratice in chalk farm.
in 1994 he established the 'ron arad studio', design and production unit in como, italy.
his london studio has increasingly produced individual pieces made of sheet steel,
and he always mischievously exploits their formal and functional possibilities to the
fullest. the sculptural forms often have an unexpected impact which first emerges
during use, and are just as much a result of graphic design as the experimental work
that goes on in the workshop.
ron arad was a guest professor at the hochschule in vienna from 1994 to 1997
and is currently the professor of industrial and furniture design at the rca in london.
arad was guest editor of the 1994 'international design yearbook' .
his work has been widely featured in many design/architectural books and magazines
world-wide. he has exhibited at many major museums and galleries throughout the
world and his work is in many public collections including, among others,
the centre georges pompidou, paris,
the metropolitan museum of art, n.y.,
the victoria & albert museum, london,
the vitra design museum, germany.
arad’s architectural projects include the tel aviv opera in israel, the 'belgo restaurants'
in london, the development of a concept of sport cafes for adidas and the new flagship adidas stadium, paris.
among his major exhibitions are:
1996 /1997/1998 'ron arad and ingo maurer', spazio krizia, milan
2000 'not made by hand, not made in china' galleria gio marconi milan
2000 'before and after now", victoria and albert museum, london
http://www.ronarad.com





ron arad
© designboom





ron arad associates studios
chalk farm, london,

---
we met ron arad at his studio on the 5th of october 2000, in london.
---

what is the best moment of the day?
I like driving my real children to school, and driving in a traffic jam,
listening to radio 4, and its fantastic walking in this door here,
being very optimistic about what I can do today… and then people start calling and
arriving, everyone wants something…and a lot of the day is wasted, but somehow I
manage to do quite a lot, and that’s very good, and then its time to go home and that’s
fantastic, and then it’s time to have dinner and that’s great, and then to read or do
things or to go out, and its all good, so I don’t think there’s a best..

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
it depends.
at the studio I’m a passive listener to what everyone else is listening to.
I listen to lots of classical music and music from the 60’s which I’m very fond of —
dylan, velvet underground, also computer music…

do you listen to the radio?
yes, every morning, it makes a traffic jam enjoyable.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
made of paper, soft cover books.
the last book I read was called the book of revelations by rupert thompson .

do you read design magazines?
no one reads design magazines, you look at them.

where do you get news from?
radio in the mornings, I watch the news at night, or go on line.
its amazing to see the difference of how the same atrocities are reported.

do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences?
I do notice people and women, how they look, what they wear, that’s the primary
information about someone.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
women’s clothes. (laughs)

do you have any pets?
the family has a pet.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
sometimes at home, because here its difficult to work with people walking in and out.

who would you like to design something for?
I want to design for the things themselves. there’s no one who I’d love to design for.

when you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues?
all the time, I talk as I work, and I talk about design with colleagues.
some people are more intimate, and closer, but you work from within.

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
a good friend of mine would say what sort of question is this? (laughs)
there are all sorts of different discussions and interests going on at the same time,
interests shift from one day to the next, when you look back you can see there
is a single thread.

is there any architect or designer from past you appreciate a lot?
of course, the list is too long.
my favorite changes from day to day, it depends. kiesler for example.

and among those still working?
I appreciate all of them. they are all fantastic.

do you believe in sharing knowledge via internet?
or do you think that the internet has more negative effects on us,
as the 'big brother is watching you'?
for some people, it’s a real pleasure, others don’t deserve it.
I like being generous because its uplifting.
I don’t see the negative effects of Internet.
it is a tool like a telephone or stamp.

on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality
and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future?
I’m afraid of boredom, fundamentalists, philistines.
I’m afraid of the dark, and of death.
I try to avoid all these things.


'new orleans' limited version of the 'big easy'
produced by ron arad associates/
gallery mourmans, 1999



'un-cut', limited editions, 1997


'tom vack' stackable chair for vitra, 1999



victoria & albert collection, for moroso, 2000




'b.o.o.p.' inflated aluminium vases,
cavity forming without moulds produced by
ron arad associates/gallery mourmans, 1998

the soundtrack cd storage for alessi, 1998
'fpe', for kartell, 1998
'rtw' storage-wheel for hidden, 2000








keep up to date with recent articles and upcoming events
by subscribing to our free monthly newsletter









© copyrights designboom, all rights reserved. all material published remains the exclusive copyright of designboom.
no contents, including text, photographs, videos, etc. may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of designboom. in addition,
no material or contents may be reproduced on the world wide web by techniques of mirroring, framing, posting, etc. without the written consent of designboom.