In this conceptual article, our aim is to deconstruct the conceptualization of design framing and establish its essentially political nature. It demonstrates the positionality inherent within frames insofar as frames articulate subordinated or dominant status, or express normative understandings until challenged. In doing so, we build a conceptualization of the political foundations of design framing practices and their implications for those contexts within which design operates. Consequently, we argue for dissensual counter-framing design practices that unsettle institutionalized norms and ideologies played out within frames, and through which a form of political agency is sociomaterially enacted.
In 2017, a 25-metre-long blue whale skeleton was installed in the Central Hall of the Natural History Museum, London. ‘Hope’ became a symbol of the urgency of marine conservation, and of institutional relevance in the face of ecological devastation. However, the whale
is but the latest in a series of dramatic installations of formidable specimens since the museum first opened in 1881. Originally intended as an encyclopaedia of nature, or ‘Index Museum’, the Central Hall’s history charts the intersection of exhibitionary aura and concepts
of ecology. This article argues that the original Victorian framework, both institutional and ideological, continues to shape the museum’s ecological aesthetics, and therefore requires self-critical reassessment to be truly transformative.
IN SEARCH OF EXPO 67
Curated by Lesley Johnstone and Monika Kin Gagnon, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, 26 June – 1 November 2017
SARA BERMAN’S CLOSET
The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, 6 March – 26 November 2017
OFFSHORE: ARTISTS EXPLORE THE SEA
Ferens Art Gallery and Hull Maritime Museum, Hull, United Kingdom, 1 April – 28 August 2017
56 ARTILLERY LANE
Curated by Amy Budd and Naomi Pearce, Raven Row, London, 21 April – 11 June 2017
LEARNING FROM ATHENS
Documenta 14, curated by Adam Szymczyk (along with Pierre Bal-Blanc, Hendrik Folkerts, Candice Hopkins, Hila Peleg, Paul B. Preciado, Dieter Roelstaete, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and Monika Szewczyk), Athens, 8 April – 16 July 2017
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD: GET A LIFE!
Curated by Alex Krenn, chi K11 art space, K11 Art Mall, Shanghai, 20 December 2016 – 28 February 2017
The current ecological crisis and the call to decolonise museums can be catalysts for change, manifested both physically through exhibitions or redisplays of historical collections and conceptually through new curatorial approaches or interventions. This interview examines the strategies and considerations involved in a major redisplay at the Natural History Museum, London, in 2017. Here, 'Dippy' the Diplodocus was removed from the prime central hall location, causing a furore that soon gave way to celebration of its newly installed resident 'Hope' the blue whale, heralding a new paradigm of scientific display where an anthropogenic extinction narrative took centre stage in a world-renowned museum. Alongside the blue whale, a series of 'Wonder Bays' were installed which tell stories of evolution, biodiversity and sustainability. Curators Miranda Lowe and Richard Sabin discuss these recent displays in relation to extinction narratives, public ecological awareness, ideals of authenticity and the crossover of art and science. They reflect on how the politics of natural history display extend to broader global issues, including the illegal wildlife trade and decolonising the museum, focusing on presentations of marine life and ocean ecology to reflect their principal areas of expertise and the Natural History Museum's recent ocean-themed programming.
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