Interview with MoMA Design Curator Paola Antonelli, pt. 1

Paola Antonelli (photo: Andrea Ciotti)

We first met Paola Antonelli in her early days at MoMA when we were working on the MoMA QNS project. As Design Curator at MoMA, Paola’s goal is to promote a public understanding of design, until its influence on society and on progress is fully acknowledged. Previously a professor of design history and theory at UCLA, Antonelli has lectured around the world, and written articles on design for such magazines as Metropolis, Harvard Design Review, I.D. magazine, Paper, Metropolitan Home, Harper’s Bazaar, and Nest. Her latest curatorial effort at MoMA, Design and the Elastic Mind, ran from February 24 through May 12, 2008, and drew huge crowds and much attention.

Base: When and how did you become interested in design?
Paola Antonelli: Ha, I wish I could pinpoint the exact moment for posterity. Truth is, I wanted to be an astronaut, then an astrophysicist, than a nuclear physicist, then an economist, then a journalist, then I studied architecture and became a curator, and then I was asked to focus on design, and I discovered that it had been my passion all along.

B: What was your design background prior to working at MoMA?
PA: I studied economics for two years and then, after failing miserably, I switched to architecture. That went very well. Before coming to MoMA, I was a critic and a curator of both architecture and design. And an architect, but only for two years.

B: Design is an almost limitless field. What areas are your specialties?
PA: I prefer to keep it limitless. Being a generalist is a big advantage today; there are so many special fields. If you have the gift of synthesis, better hold it dear. My specialty, though, is now, contemporary.

B: To some extent, trends in design have historically been geographic. What cities do you see as design hubs today, by sector?
PA: Creativity comes from all over the world and it is culled in particular cities because of the location of stimulating schools and eager industries. As far as schools are concerned, the best design schools today, in my opinion, are in London, in Eindhoven, in Lausanne, in Karlsruhe, in NY, in Cambridge… too many to mention. It really depends on the type of design. As far as the industry, Italy—Milan in particular—and then London and Japan for furniture and products; NY, London, and LA for interaction design. But all this seems superficial and limiting because there is a lot boiling in so many other cities, especially in this post-industrial era. Brussels, Taipei, and Minneapolis feature great examples of design, too.

Design and the Elastic Mind catalogue

B: Do you see developing nations having a greater role in the world of design, and if so, which ones?
PA: All of them, especially the ones that manage to get themselves heard. Both in terms of production and in terms of consumption, developing nations are very active interlocutors. I am not sure whether you are familiar with CK Prahalad’s theories about the relationship between businesses and the poor; they are very enlightening. The ongoing One Laptop Per Child project is a good example. In terms of professional designers, there are fewer students coming from developing countries, for a very simple reason: If you have found a way to elevate yourself above poverty and get a scholarship or other means to achieve middle-classdom, you’ll probably consider medicine and business before you consider design; they simply seem more efficient. Maybe this will change soon.

B: Have you been on the creative side of design in the past?
PA: I am all the time. Every time I conceive of an exhibition, an essay, a university course, I engage in a design process.

B: There’s a current trend in design for the masses. Do you see this continuing, design having greater presence in our everyday lives?
PA: I hope so. That is the way it should be, it should be normalcy, not a marketing slogan. People should very simply reject bad design, and good design should not cost more.

B: Are there any popular objects whose design infuriates you?
PA: Too many to mention, all those that cater to the lowest common denominator as opposed to the highest.

B: Describe three different, typical days out of your work year.
PA: I try to keep some days completely free in order to think and meet with my collaborators, and I pile everything in other days. So one day would be just easy, another would be: 6 a.m. wake up, 7 a.m. gym, 9:30 a.m. office, some computer time, and then meetings every hour or half hour (sometimes they last two hours when they are official MoMA briefings), on and on, plus drinks and dinner. The third typical day would be on the go for business trips.

B: With what fields do you see design having greater interaction in the future?
PA: Design is an octopus; it has to keep its tentacles everywhere because it has to reflect the real world. Scholarly relationship, I’d say anthropology, engineering, and architecture. Everyday life relationship, science, technology, economics, popular culture…

B: Within design, do you see an increased cross-pollination between disciplines?
PA: Yes, remember the octopus image.

B: What do you think will be the most significant areas for design innovation in the next century?
PA: All of those that refer directly to people’s needs and behaviors. Especially those that try to make people’s lives easier. Interface design, first and foremost.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview.