Redefining "Stolen" - Remix Culture

Remix Culture has become a growing epicentre for artists, designers and new generations alike to produce redefined contemporary works. Wether it's a copy, transformation or re-combination, artists have been have been using the concept of re-appropriation for years. Steve Jobs, Palo Picasso, Quentin Tarantino and many others all believed that there should be no shame in stealing from others, as it can be the source of new technology, art and innovation. Remix Culture can be perceived as a way to expand how we identify and observe original content through rethinking, rearranging, combining and quite frankly stealing other peoples ideas. 

An artist named Dan Cretu relies heavily on remix culture for his work. He plays on famous or historic art, pop culture and humour, which has inspired a lot of my pieces for this assignment.

A Fruit is President 

Legs for Fruit: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2102753

Banana: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:786570

Trump: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2465657

Donald Trump no matter how controversial, makes a great head for fruit. Personally I believe he is a fruit, so this mashup seemed fitting.

Clinton in the Round 

Hillary head: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1824156

Bodybuilder Figure: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:982173

Pedestal: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2385476

I was enthralled by the contrast of political mashups, so I thought I would keep the ball rolling with Hillary Clinton. This was a slight jab at the notion of "almost" surrounding Clinton, as I was creating this to be a monumental statue displayed somewhere of political importance.

Fries for Hair

Fries: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22767/#files

Bart: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28009/#files

Bart Simpson's hair has always reminded me of fries, so I took this opportunity to make it reality. Honestly it looks more accurate than I thought, which I enjoy the humour of.

"I cant talk right now, Keeping Up with the Kardashians is on"
Head: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:14565
Iphone: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:457767

This object was heavily inspired by Shawn Huckins. He is an artist well known for his replicas of famous or historical art pieces superimposed with text speak or acronyms that have become the "norm". Huckins draws attention to impact that contemporary technology is having on the way we communicate.  I believe that this mashup speaks to this concept in an interesting way.

Minion of Aphrodite
Minion: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:403110

"Minion of Aphrodite" portrays the culture craze surrounding certain modern entertainment figures. A historical looking statue contrasts the minion head in a way that makes us re-consider the concept of a god/goddess like figure, and how these have been replaced with reality stars, animated characters and social media influencers.

Stranger Poseidon
Eggo: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2235056
Poseidon: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1894099

In this object remix Poseidon's trident has been replaced with Eleven's famous eggo, shown frequently in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. This was a comment on how something so simple, such as an eggo, can become so culturally relevant and recognizable, as if almost important as the trident.

"Do I Look Fat in This?"
Kim: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:602407
Dress: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1789492

I originally wanted to combine Kim Jong Un with Kim Kardashians famous "Bubble Butt", however I couldn't find a model of Kim Kardashian. I settled on creating Kim Jong Un trying on a dress, titled "Do I Look Fat in This?". A spin on the idea of how looks are important when threatening world war.

Hannya Pokemon
 Charmander: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2545574/#files
Mask: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1557603
Ninja Star: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:86231

This mashup was a large reference to what's happening in our culture currently. I used Charmander as the body to speak to the "Pokemon Go" frenzy that took the world at it's feet recently. I also added a ninja star to signify the well known "Fidget Spinners". The face is a Hannya mask used in Noh theatre, which represents a jealous female demon. I wanted to touch on the exposure to certain behaviours involving relationships and social media. Blac Chyna went viral completely loosing her mind on her ex, Robert Kardashian, accusing him of cheating. I wanted this to express the way our media and culture is effecting communications, relationships and morals, and is contributing to the lack of social normalcy.

Friendly Thor
Frame: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1315449
Thor: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:591840

The yellow frame from the hit TV show, FRIENDS, was originally a mirror however, it smashed so the set designers used it to frame the peephole on the door instead. I added Thor in the middle of this same frame to emanate a sense of danger.  This mashup is a nice juxtaposition between two very different, and very popular pieces of cinema.

Undressing After a Long Day
Body: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2221359
Zipper: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1103082/#files
Devil: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1108269

Polly Norton is an illustrator popular for her depictions of demon and humanlike creatures, all which are created with heavy satire. Polly's work is wry, devilish and addresses inner demons in a fun-loving way. Most of her pieces are extremely relatable to the 21st century woman which is why her work influenced me. This mash up is my remix of her piece "Cba 2 Pretend No More." 

Rethinking Form

Growing up I always remember my dad licking the lip of his coffee cup every Sunday morning, "You know you look stupid doing that," I would retort. However, we all know this moment when you look down to two or three streams of hot coffee running down the outside of your cup, streamlining towards the paper it's sitting on. Turning into an avid coffee drinker myself, I began to realize how annoying this issue was.

In the documentary Objectified by Gary Hustwit, a Japanese toothpick was highlighted by Design Curator, Andrew Blauvelt. This toothpick was redesigned with grooves at the top, allowing a small piece of the toothpick to break away. Not only does this indicate it was used, but also provides a base for resting when not in use.

Japanese Toothpick. Everyday Science, http://vishayalu.com/everyday-science-toothpick-ridges/

I was influenced not only by the clever nature of the Japanese toothpick, but also Designer, Naoto Fukasawa's theory of "Design dissolving in behaviour." He suggests that design is closely linked with human interactions that are made subconsciously. As I was thinking of ideas for my design I noticed that my coffee mug, adorned with various coffee drips, had completely stained the sketchbook it was resting on. Aside from a twinge of annoyance I didn't give much thought to it.

Little day annoyances that are overlooked, such as picking up a used toothpick or messy coffee drips provide an opportunity for everyday objects to be redesigned. This inspired me to rethink the coffee cup. I changed the shape of the mug, adding an thin inset which allows drips to fall inside the mug instead of on the surface it's sitting on.

The very bottom of mug is removable, allowing you to clean the inner walls of the inset where the coffee is caught. The design allows for a mess free coffee experience while keeping the simplicity of a traditional style mug.