When you don’t know about something and want to find out, do you do what I do?...jump on to your Apple or PC and Google it.  Do you realize how weird that sounds to the population of about 1/2 of today’s planet?  These developments didn’t exist when I was a kid, because, hard to believe, they had just invented TV and it was in black and white! There were three national stations: ABC, NBC and CBS. Everyone in the country watched the same shows at the same time and everyone knew the commercials, which lasted a few minutes each hourly program. If you ask older people (60 and above) about a show, they know what you are talking about because TV watching in the U.S. was a universally shared experience. Now shows are in the hundreds on many many channels, your interests are being mapped and advertising is tailored to those interests.

Do you know where you are not mapped: when you go into a library full of books and just start lifting them off the shelves, thumbing through them. There is a lot of knowledge in the world that is not on the internet and is below radar.  Really good stuff. Especially in the world of decorative arts, there are books that tell the story of people who discovered the secrets of ceramics, metals, fabric, and furniture.  But they are to be found in old bookstores and places off-the beaten-path. I find them fascinating.  I want to make things and want to know how.  Not on DIY or on YouTube. (Though that is a pretty good way to learn things).
So back to EXOTIC. I Googled it. The Merriam Dictionary says, “originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.”  That sounds so ho hum. Sure, our grapes come from Chile and our sneakers come from China and we pick them both up at a store that is 15 minutes away. But definition #3 I liked a lot: “strikingly, excitingly or mysteriously different”.
When we are first junior youth, we are trying so hard to be like everyone else, it is sometimes painful. Do you remember an age when you wanted to be strikingly, excitingly or mysteriously different.” Boy, I did.Could you do this in a way where people drawn to this difference and not repelled by it?
 

Our library of decorative arts. There are ten more bays.

A book that has my attention recently is called Hit Makers, by Derek Thompson. It presents the idea that what people like, that becomes a success, is something that is familiar. We feel comfortable with it, yet it is different enough that we are intrigued by it and want to experience it more. Different but not so different that it scares us.
So the exotic in our lives is changing as we are being pressed together through internet, interests, images and contact with people from foreign lands. The meaning of exotic is changing with every passing day. If every person you had ever seen had brown or black hair and suddenly a yellow haired person showed up, would you be staring or touching that  person or consider him an alien?
(I love the song by Sting called “Englishman in New York.” The refrain is “Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien. I’m an Englishman in New York.” He meant an Englishman but these days it would probably mean someone from another planet.)
Englishman in New York
Sting (link)
“I don't take coffee, I take tea, my dear
I like my toast done on one side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York
See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
I'm an Englishman in New York
Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
If "manners maketh man" as someone said
He's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety
You could end up as the only one
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society
At night a candle's brighter than the sun
Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run
If "manners maketh man" as someone said
He's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
Be yourself no matter what they say
Be yourself no matter what they say”
 
                                                                This man has a sense of style. African style.

One of those books on the shelf is “Thai Classic Design” and that is certainly exotic for us North Americans.  It shows the style that has evolved in Thailand over many generations; interiors and architecture. It focuses on beautiful unpainted teak wood and intricate carving. There is also contemporary Thai style that takes inspiration from the past and re-invents it. It is itself.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 





Choosing a style and understanding what make it “itself” is the job of a designer. You are striving to understand its essence through its characteristics. This is not copying. This is understanding and appreciating and then molding a form that will be understandable, familiar, and yet intriguing and exciting.

There style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Calibri Light'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" are many well developed styles in all parts of the world.  So what is a style? Dictionary says:  it is “a distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed.” It is recognizableas expressing characteristics of a place, a people or a time. In order to understand the style, you need to understand the person’s mindset who made it. My thought about Thai architecture is that it is soaring, reminiscent of a bird, and usually incredibly detailed.

As we expose ourselves to the world, things will become less exotic to us, or perhaps we will take on some of their intrigue. A classic is the best of a style. It is recognizable in any time because we share the human experience and know instinctively when something is beautiful.

My suggestion for the month: Read a book. Go spend some personal and exploratory time in a library or bookstore and discover something wonderful. Next, go to another country, if you can, and take a look around.


Wendy Kvalheim