| jasper morrison. interview with the british designer, he is an antidote to excess ............................................................................................................. | |||
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| jasper morrison jasper morrison was born in london in 1959. he received his bachelor of design degree from kingston school of art in 1982, and his master's degree in design from the royal college of art in 1985. in 1984 he received a berlin scholarship to study in germany at the hochschule der künste. 1986, set up the office for design in london. reuters news centre installation included in the documenta 8 exhibition in kassel in 1987. began designing products for aram & SCP, for the german door handle producer FSB for cappellini, alias and vitra. 1988-1992: accepts offer of three months in berlin to take part in design werkstatt berlin. forms 'utilism international' with andreas brandolini and axel kufus which concerns itself with the improvement of public spaces. projects include design for the frankfurt art fair and town planning in vienna, graz and berlin. in 1994 began a consultancy with üstra, the hannover transportation authority, designing a bus stop for the city. in 1995 the office was awarded the contract to design the new hannover tram. further collaboration began around this time with the italian companies magis, alessi, flos and the german porcelain manufacturer rosenthal. recent projects/events include: teaching a unit of royal college of art students with michael marriot, a digital slide show installation of a 'world without words' at the design museum, london, a solo exhibition at the axis gallery in tokyo, furniture design for the new tate modern gallery in london, a solo exhibition for flos at yamagiwa centre in tokyo, a show in palermo for magis with marc newson and michael young. elected as a royal designer for industry, london 2001 morrison reduces things to essentials. he designs things that are so quietly functional that, to an untutored eye, they can look as if nobody designed them at all. there's one thing he likes doing above all: designing for mass production. he's a designer, not a craftsman... related links |
 jasper morrison © designboom  'thinking man's chair', 1986 for cappellini |
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| ------------------------------------------------------------ we met jasper morrison in milan on april 2002 ------------------------------ what is the best moment of the day? waking up and going to sleep. what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? pretty eclectic. everything except violins and church music. do you listen to the radio? yes. that's my main source. what books do you have on your bedside table? at the moment, a biography of enzo ferrari. do you read design magazines? not much. where do you get news from? newspapers, herald tribune. do you notice how women dress? do you have any preferences? I notice of course, I prefer the ones who look best. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? I like normal clothes, not too formal. I hate clothes with special detail, I think clothes should be normal. do you have any pets? no. where do you work on your designs and projects? the hard work is in the office and the easy work is travelling. I don't work much at home. who would you like to design something for? the work we get in the office is so varied, we don't think who we want to work for, its exciting enough.  [ see the quicktime clip, 612 kb ] did you always want to become an architect or designer? I think a mechanic was my first profession. when did you decide to become a designer? probably about 16. I had an older cousin who was beginning to design and it seemed like an appealing profession, and then I saw a great exhibition at the v&a museum in london and it seemed like something i could do. do you discuss your work with architects and designers? not much, aside from with the people in my office. describe your style like a good friend of yours would describe it. simple. which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction? I think its a cliched answer, but the one I'm working on at the moment. once the project is made, and it is in the shops it's a nice memory. I live with a lot of the products, and some of them give more satisfaction than other ones but its hard to pick one. what is your intent when teaching the young ? I try to say not to design things too special, just to concentrate on solving problems and I think the best advice I gave to students was to learn how to see everything around them. that was really my education. [ see the quicktime clip, 1333 kb ] is there any architect or designer from past you appreciate a lot? many many many... jean prouve', charles eames, franco albini, and then vico magistretti, achille castiglioni, enzo mari, dieter rams... and the youngs? are there any particular ones you appreciate? lots, like marc newson, stefano giovannoni, james irvine, konstantin grcic, many more... what are you afraid of regarding the future? I'm afraid of the americans, american politicians and that combination of arrogance and ignorance, and you could say that for the israelis too at the moment. its so painfully wrong what's going on.  |
 'sim', 1999 for vitra  'air chair', 2000 for magis  'low pad', 1999 for cappellini  doorhandle 'series 1144', 1990 for FSB |
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the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ....................................................................................................................................................... (in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings". seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire) in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement. for designboom jasper morrison has answered these 'old fashioned' questions. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ |
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the main traits of my character. I'm not sure. a quality I desire in a man. sensitivity. a quality I desire in a woman. sensibility. what I appreciate most among my friends. their company. my principal defect. I tend not to notice flowers in vases. my favourite occupation. eating and drinking. my dream of felicity. to have another me who could take care of all the boring stuff. what would for me be the biggest misfortune. death. whom I would like to be. It's taken me this long to get used to myself, I think it's too late to change. were I would like to live. I'd like to live almost everywhere. the colour I prefer. no real favourites, maybe white and green. the flower I love. clematis. the bird I prefer. all of them except crows and town pidgeons. my favourite authors. norman lewis, bruce chatwin, italo svevo. my favourite poets. used to be apollinaire. my heroes in fiction. mr. hulot. my heroines in fiction. barbarella. my favourite composers. - my favourite artists. - my heroes in real life. - my heroines in history. - my favourite names. haven't got any favourites. what I hate most. self obsession. the historic characters I dislike most. there are so many. the military enterprise I like the most. american indians. the reformation I appreciate the most. I don't like the idea of reformation, it implies that somebody knows what's good for everyone. nature’s gift I would like to have. long life, health and brain cells. how I would like to die. on a bicycle aged ninety-something. my soul's present condition. still in one piece despite some wear. the faults I can bear. most of them. my motto. try to put letters in the right letter boxes. ---  all images courtesy lars müller publisher, from the new book : 'jasper morrison everything but the walls' http://www.lars-muller-publishers.com |
 hannover tram, 1997, for üstra  'flower-pot table', 1984 for cappellini  'lima', 1996 for cappellini  chair for la tourette monastery, 1998 |
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