Brian Anderson presents at International House of Japan

Brain Anderson, UIC Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, is in Japan for the Fall 2019 semester on a grant from the Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUSFC) to explore the use of digital technologies in the context of traditional Japanese craft.

On September 17, Anderson presented on the topic of Matter and an Experimental Mindset at an event co-sponsored by the International House of Japan and the JUSFC. His talk focused on narratives around fabrication and production that reflect societal aspirations and fears. On the one hand, additive manufacturing and distributed manufacture promise to simplify logistics and localize production in empowering ways. On the other hand, we are reminded almost daily of the general wastefulness of inherited production practices and of our limited ability to re-circulate what we don’t or can’t use personally. 

It is increasingly prevalent that designers reconceive industrial waste as raw material, experiment with existing natural resources and less seemly biological and mineral byproducts, harness biology, and foster the production and sharing of knowledge and opportunities for co-creation. Today’s designers seek to change the relationships people have with materials. While many citizens may feel a lack of agency or the knowledge it requires to respond with such ethical impulses, designers and artists are uniquely positioned to respond optimistically, pragmatically, and experimentally.

IHJ Artists’ Forum/Artist Talk
Tuesday, September 17, 7:00pm
Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall
International House of Japan

Photograpy: Brian Anderson