Abstraction

Work by Erik Hoedemakers
www.atelier4d.nl

Erik Hoedemakers Sideboard S

Abstraction

Abstract paintings suffer from people trying to perceive images in them. It seems to be a natural reflex to want to understand what a picture is about through looking for similarities with paintings and images we have seen before. No doubt it is some subsystem in our brains that allows us to learn to recognise things from our infancy, that gets in our way, in this particular instance.

On the wall

Strangely, with interior design people are generally not so quick to tag an image. It is as though a table is already a table and a chair is a chair. No one asks, what is this rug about? What is this mirror trying to say? Well, there are always fairy-tale exceptions.

The decoration or shape of interior design does not automatically alert the comparison sensor. Yes people make comparisons, but this is after they have decided whether or not they like it.

Hiding in plain sight

So furniture and interior design are great places in which to explore abstraction that will be taken more readily at face value and appreciated for its own worth. Fashion designers enjoy a large degree of undercover abstraction too. And this is a good thing, because to be able to think out of the box you need to embrace out-of-the-box manifestations. That is not easy, because we are programmed to identify and compare in order to comprehend the world around us. So relax and enjoy the positive uncertainty that good interior design can furnish you with.

Cabinets of Curiosity

We are curious makers of things, things we dream up ourselves. Remarkable, useful, beautiful and original things. Sometimes they are made entirely by hand, sometimes partly by machine, in the future perhaps by robots. May be not robots. Always with an eye for detail and with an element of fun.

If you care to follow this blog and join our journey, we’ll share our successes and (occasional) failures with you and hopefully you’ll become a frequent visitor. Suppose that depends on us keeping you entertained. So let’s get on with the words and pictures.

Work in progress

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