Article written by Frances Joseph, published in ProDesign Magazine, 2001

The Second Saint-Etienne International Design Biennale was held in France in October 2000. It was the first time New Zealand has been represented in this extensive exhibition, which included the work of 2000 designers from over 100 countries.

Saint-Etienne is a city of 200,000 people, about an hours drive south west from Lyon. Once the centre of manufacture for ribbons, haberdashery, weapons and bicycles Saint-Etienne, like many nineteenth century French industrial centres, suffered a decline in the twentieth century. In recent years Saint-Etienne has sought to re-invent itself, firstly as a centre for sporting excellence ( the Tour de France passes through Saint-Etienne, the 1998 Soccer World Cup was held there) but also as 'Saint-Etienne, Capital of Design'.

This claim has been built on several factors:

• The industrial tradition and 'inventive energy' of the city itself (the first French railway line was built in Saint-Etienne, the first industrially produced mouse trap was designed and manufactured here)
• the Art and Industry Museum which was started in the 19th century
• The extensive 19th and 20th century design collection of the Musee D'arte Moderne de St Etienne
• the Proximity of the nearby 'L'Espace le Corbusier', (Le Corbusier Museum)
• The L'Ecole Regionale des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Etienne, which was founded in 1857 to 'satisfy the needs of manufacturers interest in the decorative diversification of production (ornate weaponry, trimmings etc)', and which is currently composed of an art department, a visual communication / multi media department, and a design department. It also has a 'design and creation' research centre and publishes the design magazine 'Azimuts'

The Biennale receives substantial municipal support as well as having a strong relationship with the Art School, the Museum and other local cultural institutions. The Biennale is seen as 'contributing to the transformation of the town for the 21st century, in a spirit of modernity and renewal'.

The approach taken by the organisers of this event is quite distinctive. They seek to provide a spotlight on the diversity of design in the world. The Biennale does not show graphics or digital design. Approaches range from objects made using traditional skills to mass produced consumer items; from the work of emerging designers to established design companies and exhibits of the work of historically significant designers; from countries where 'design is recognised as a cornerstone of their cultures', to those 'where design is just emerging'. It includes industrial, furniture, interior, architectural, fashion, textile and product design.

To walk around the exhibition is a remarkable experience, with manufactured objects displayed nearby individually crafted items, highly styled luxury consumer goods alongside environmental design; displays of historic significance beside the latest contemporary design, third world and first world, cheek by jowl. Through this eclecticism the organisers seek to 'decipher the mindset and the important issues of our times' and to promote an understanding of cultural diversity and connections. Surprisingly, this eclectic curatorial approach works well, encouraging the audience to make connections, leaps of imagination and understanding. It certainly promoted an awareness of cultural difference and of the richness and diversity of approaches to contemporary design.

Textiles from Aotearoa
During the Sydney Design Biennale 99, I was introduced to Joysane Franc, representative of the Saint-Etienne Biennale. She was interested in NZ involvement and encouraged me to submit a proposal for the 2000 exhibition. With a very tight time frame (the Sydney event was in October, the submission had to be in France by late November) the initial proposal was to include the work of some six Auckland based designers and design groups. Unable to get much financial or practical support due to the timing of applications and notifications, ways of approaching the show had to be reconsidered

The 'Patterns of Identity: Textiles in Aotearoa' research group, based at the School of Art and Design, Auckland University of Technology had proposed an exhibit of contemporary printed New Zealand textiles and had some independent research funding available. It was decided that we would take the textile display and 'Patterns of Identity' (POI) website to Saint-Etienne to establish a New Zealand presence and find out more about the Biennale and its potential for future exhibitors. Angela Fraser, the POI project web designer and a researcher (with Jean Clarkson, Barbara Joseph and Nora West), designed and curated the textiles exhibit. This presented the work of twelve New Zealand textile designers and was displayed alongside a presentation of the 'Patterns of Identity: Textiles in Aotearoa' website, a research project documenting contemporary New Zealand textile design under the umbrella of the New Zealand Design Archives. The display was composed of three triangular stands draped with textile lengths, juxtaposed with printed garments on mannequins. The website was presented on a shiny white Imac.

The POI exhibition presented the work of textile designers Adrienne Foote, Jean Clarkson, Roisin Kearny, Barbara Joseph, Nora West, Daphne Mitten, Patricia Edwards, Kay George, Susan Holmes, Sue Pearson, Angela Fraser and Sonia Drake.

The display was distinctive, with a strong Pacific feel. With the use of plinths and plenty of natural light its scale and vibrant colour worked well in the space. While there were a number of other displays that included textiles, including a daily programme of fashion parades, the POI display was the only specialised textiles exhibit in the show. The website provided information about the exhibitors and contemporary New Zealand textile design.

At the Exhibition Park
The POI display was located in the main exhibition area at the Saint-Etienne Exhibition Park. Given the number of exhibits it is impossible to review the Biennale in depth, but I will briefly describe some that I found to be of interest. In doing this I hope to provide a context for other New Zealand designers who might be interested in exhibiting in or attending the Biennale in the future.

Australia
The Australian exhibits were located alongside the New Zealand display. Unlike most other national representations (which included a range of institutional, professional and corporate displays) the Australian exhibitors were exclusively educational institutions. They included exhibits from The University of Tasmania, The University of New South Wales and The University of Sydney. In keeping with the inevitable Euro-centric perspective, the representatives from Asia, Oceania and the Middle East were grouped, 'out back' in Hall B, along with an ecological design area, some historical displays and workshop exhibits.

Australia was represented at the inaugural Biennale in 1998, so they had prior experience to draw upon. Each of the three art schools represented had taken a different approach to sending and presenting work from across the other side of the world. The Design Department of the School of Art, University of Tasmania, Hobart has a justifiably high reputation in the area of furniture design and manufacture. The display presenting a substantial exhibition of furniture utilising Tasmanian timber veneers and a variety of other materials including aluminium, plastic and stainless steel was outstanding and created considerable interest. Designers in this exhibit included Brendan Sharpe, Brodie Neill, Sean Gernetsky, Simon Ancher, Craig Harris, Byron Raleigh, Alisa Fergusson, David Roberts, Robert Bindon, Ole Windfeld-Petersen, Wendy Neale, Robby Forrester and Michael Power.

The Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, presented an intriguing exhibition of conceptually-based objects curated by design lecturer Paul Edgegoose. The exhibit included a shirt with graphite buttons by Elizabeth Bower which was literally 'marked' whenever it was worn; a traditional looking floral patterned tea set by Yir Gorgos which on closer inspection proved to be made up of digitally manipulated erotic images repeated to form flower patterns; and Natasha West's balancing ceramic vase, that shifted from standing to reclining pose depending on the level of water evaporation, along with works by Bridie Lander, Ian Hope, Ruth McMillian, Alex Sapford, Mark Edgegoose and Christine Collins. Historically, the SCA has been known for conceptually based fine art and a craft oriented approach to design. It was interesting to see how, in recent years, a more conceptual approach has been applied to contemporary designed objects.

The College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, in its second time around at Saint-Etienne, presented a modular display of photographic documentation of the design school and student work. It was certainly the most 'corporate' looking of the Australian exhibitions.

Italy
The exhibits by young Italian designers from Milan were intriguing, showing a new generation of designers working with humour and a distain for the highly styled approach of Milanese designers of the 1970's and 1980's exemplified by groups like Memphis.

Much of this contemporary work is distinguished by a sort of Arte Povera meets Surrealism approach, using everyday objects in other functional contexts. This was evident in the ingenious lighting by Paulo Ulan which used domestic objects like storage jars or lycra shapes stretched tight across wire frames in a series of lamps.

The influence of new technologies was another feature of the Italian work, for example in the 'Tappeti satelliteri et tessuti biologici' (Satellite carpets and biological textiles) by Diego Grande which utilised microscopic and macroscopic photographs as the basis for digital prints onto cloth and carpet. These produced a sort of televisual/out of body experience - when you walked on them you felt as if you were looking down from an orbit high above the earth.

Lighting
Lighting was a popular form with designers from across the world. There were brightly coloured, washable sponge lampshades from Switzerland; long inflatable lamps of spinnaker cloth which used the principal of hot air rising, from France; chandelier like shades made with recycled plastic spoons from the USA; 'tupperware' lights made from plastic kitchenware, also from the USA; split logs with coloured neon tubes from China and a fez lamp by Hichad Lalhou from Morocco.

Eco design
The diversity of cultural approaches to sustainable design was most dramatically demonstrated in an extensive display of furniture from Senegal. Made from animal horns, bones and gourds it looked, at first glance, like some sort of fetishistic 'voodoo furniture' - but was, in fact, based on an ecological approach to local furniture making - without the use of unsustainable African rainforest timber.

In a separate 'Eco design' section, highly styled battery free 'wind up' radios ('Freeplay Energy' UK) new fabrics made from recycled plastics and solar powered ovens ( from 'Soltac' USA) were highlights among the commercial exhibits in this area.

Some favourites

• A completely transparent washing machine (from France). All the mechanics were visible through the thick perspex casing. The washing itself could be seen through the drum. Quite beautiful and very relaxing - a bit like watching goldfish in a bowl.
• The funniest, 'blokiest' packaging design, a line of 'Caveman' inspired DIY hardware products for the French home handyman, complete with plastic 'bone' handles.
• The 'Realcase' heat sensitive chairs from Japan. Using a thermo-sensitive paint the surface of these chairs changed colour on exposure to body heat, leaving Yves Klein like 'body prints' slowly fading from the surface. This furniture encouraged a lot of interactivity and some interesting suggestions from the audience.

Historical Exhibits
The inclusion of research about design is another distinctive feature of the event. This included a number of historical exhibitions, which added a temporal dimension to the Biennale.

Munari
While the Biennale states that it does not include graphic design, the organisers seemed unconcerned about including a significant exhibition commemorating the lifework of Bruno Munari.

Set up in two long white tentlike structures that created clear, luminous spaces, distinguishing the display from the visual busyness of the rest of Exhibition Hall B, the exhibit included book, magazine and poster design, furniture, lighting, toys, clocks, posters, mobiles, branding and display design produced by Munari during his long, influential and productive working life from the 1930's through to the1990's.

Highlights included:

• Advertising and branding for 'La Rinnascente' department store, epitomising the elegance of post war Italian graphics
• the classic 'Faulkland tubular lamp' of 1964
• The 'Derby Armchair' of 1967
• Numerous book and magazine covers and layouts including examples from 'Domus', children's books, novels, and the wonderful 'Supplemento al Dizionario Italiano' produced in a special edition for Carpano in 1958. This book 'highlighted the Italian ability to communicate entirely through gestures'.

Judd
Another surprising historical exhibit (tucked away to one side of Hall A) was of minimalist furniture from the 1970's made by American artist Donald Judd. Just the thing for dÈcor matching with one's minimalist sculpture collection (as long as you weren't intending to move house too often). Made of Judd's signature steel beams and industrial grade plate, the weighty range included dining suites, lounge furniture and a robust bedroom suite. This childproof and definitely heirloom collection ( you'd need an oxy-torch to cause any damage to it) was a fascinating example of a fine art style applied (quite literally) to functional objects.

The Century of Design
The relationship between fine art and design was also explored in the Biennale's major historical exhibition held at the Musee D'Art Moderne. Titled "Le Siecle du Design" the show drew from the museum's permanent design collection combining items with historically related art works (also from its permanent collection) in a series of 17 installations, each dedicated to specific decades or design approaches. This was a fabulous exhibition which heightened awareness of the links and overlaps between art and design, not so much as aesthetic features, but as complex relationships of technology, politics, economics and philosophies expressed through material artifacts.

Each installation utilised different floor coverings to physically separate display objects from the audience and provide a visual unity and rhythm. Some materials like sand and river pebbles have almost become cliches in terms of contemporary fine art installation. Used within the earliest, most 'historic' exhibits they introduced the exhibition by undermining any sense of display as historical reconstruction or 'period' rooms. Others, using shattered terracotta tiles and broken ceramics, seemed to relate more to the spirit or the aesthetics of the work being presented, particularly in relation to the exhibits of post modern design and deconstruction.

Exhibits ranged from late nineteenth century design showing Viennese bentwood chairs produced by Gerdbruder Thonet, accompanied by fin de seicle paintings and objet d'arte, to a room of 1960's domestic appliances (Westinghouse mixer, Hollywood brand liquifier) accompanied by Claus Oldenberg food sculpture (Dessert on a plate, 1962, Roast Veal, 1962) and a Tom Wesselman relief painting of a roast chicken (Still Life no 45, 1962).

A 1970's room included Donald Judd wall sculptures (Stack 1972, Progression 1972, Sans titre 1966) and series of display cases containing items of domestic technology including an original Apple 'Lisa' personal computer, a Televia television, Braun record player and Nechi sewing machine, as well as lava lamps and early digital clocks. This exhibit was intriguing. The items on display made me think of Rosalind Krauss's analysis of the hollow forms of minimalist art in contrast to the accompanying appliances which, like the Apple computer, were also geometric boxes. However, unlike the signature minimalist cubes these were full of potential. The sculptures became like stage sets for a futuristic play of domestic technological objects.

As the displays moved into the later part of the twentieth century the room layouts became more experimental, looking like 'installations'. The stylistic relationships between art and design artifacts were stronger. This aspect was reinforced by the fact that many of the pre-1980's items were 'preloved' - ie they had a previous lifetime as functional objects in everyday life and showed marks of human usage. The more recent design work seemed to have been purchased new, and like the works of contemporary art, were pristine and unused. This added emphasis to their role as objects made to be looked at, signifiers of cultural status and 'design as lifestyle'. In these later displays the glittering carpets of windshield glass fragments, and gold painted carbonettes, seemed to reference window displays of consumer objects. This exhibition contained numerous original works of design by modern 'masters' eg Eames' chairs, a Jean Prouve bedroom suite, works by Marcel Breuer, Charlotte Perriand, Phillipe Stark, Ettore Sostass, De Lucci. However, rather than reinforcing predictable modernist design hierarchies, this show attempted to articulate relationships between material objects and the contexts they were produced in.

Presenting New Zealand Design
The Saint-Etienne Biennale presents an opportunity for New Zealand designers to gauge their work within a 'world' context that emphasises cultural diversity and local variation. The huge audience (down slightly last year from the 1988 record of 125,000 visitors due to inclement weather during the second week of the show) includes distributors and entrepreneurs as well as critics, educators, designers and the public. The interest in work from 'Nouvelle Zealande' was strong and the organisers expressed an interest in presenting more in 2002.

The process of designing and organising exhibits can be complex especially dealing with the French 'carnet' system (a customs process). However, many 'practiced' exhibitors seemed to get around this by bringing exhibits of smaller objects as 'samples' with their personal baggage. My flight from Milan to Lyon included Greek and Middle Eastern exhibitors with numerous cases and oddly shaped packages en route to Saint-Etienne. Several exhibitors showed considerable ingenuity in using the plinths provided by the Biennale organisation in highly original ways to get more height and impact into their displays. Other exhibitors used portable display structures to great effect. The vast exhibition hall, with its range of work is not the most sympathetic space and consideration needs to be given to how to gain maximum impact.

The organisers provide plinths - available in a range of three sizes, stands with security covers and national banners gratis, along with floor space. Catalogue entries in the all colour, bilingual 'Azimuts' publication are also covered by the Biennale organisation. Exhibitors are responsible for the costs of transporting work to St Etienne. Computers can be hired by exhibitors and this can be organised through the management committee. A highly competent group of student volunteers helps with the set up and overseeing of exhibits during the show. They will also organise packing down at the end if needs be.

A number of seminars and workshop sessions were held during the ten days of the exhibition. However, most of these were conducted in French.

There are also daily fashion parades and tours to the outlying venues. The idea of a design exhibition as a provocateur of economic recovery is one that less than thriving manufacturing cities like Auckland could consider. The local turn out was remarkable, as were the number of national and international visitors to the event, including both arts and tourist audiences. The wonderful Saint-Etienne public transport system with its frequent and pollution free trams is also one that might give some ideas and impetus to our City Council in the development of Auckland's public transport system.

The Biennale Internationale Design Saint Etienne can be contacted through the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Saint-Etienne, 15 Rue Henri Gonnard, 42000, Saint-Etienne, France.