Jyoti Vennix (b. 1967) studied and worked as a clown and street-theater
performer in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scotland before studying ceramics
in Brussels between 1994 and 1998. She went on to study ceramics and other
media at the Academie voor Kunst en Vormgeving, in 's-Hertogenbosch, the
Netherlands, where she graduated in July 2000. Since 1997 Vennix's work
has been exhibited in Belgium and the Netherlands. She is currently working
on designs for tableware and utensils.
Offsite:
Jyoti Vennix's KomKom bowls can be purchased from the MoMA Design Store
at 44 West 53rd Street (212) 767-1050 and 81 Spring Street (646) 613-1367,
in New York, or online at
www.momastore.org.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York pioneered the concept of Good
Design back in 1950, when Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Edgar
Kaufmann Jr. organized a competition of products that embodied functionality,
endurance, and beauty. For years the MoMA Design Store has made its reputation
selling a wide array of classic and contemporary design products, from the
Eames Lounge Chair to a Philippe Starck digital wristwatch. On a visit to
the museum's recently opened Soho store, I was drawn immediately to Jyoti
Vennix's KomKom bowl ensemble, which at first looks like a ringed vase
but is really four stacked serving bowls. When separated, the bowls reveal
their bright interior colors. Vennix talked to Metropolis about her intriguing
design, from her studio in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.
Kom is the Dutch word for "bowl." I heard of a language
(Indonesian, I think) in which they repeat a word to pluralize it. So instead
of saying "bowls," they say "bowl bowl." So I called
it KomKom, because it is a stack of bowls. KomKom is also Dutch slang
meaning, "Come on! Don't exaggerate." Other names I considered
included Kom2, Kom in the Kwadraat (Kom squared), Ceci n'est pas une vase,
and Komkommer (Dutch for "cucumber")--but I decided on KomKom
because it sounded just right.
Throwing plaster on a wheel is like using wood on a lathe. You put the plaster
on in a mold with a pin coming out and form the basic shape when it has
the consistency of clay. When it becomes harder, you work it using a knife
like a chisel. It was a good learning experience.
The idea for these stackable bowls came from looking at the work of the
Belgian porcelain designer Piet Stockmans. His work is very finished and
has great lines, whereas my work tends to be more organic. Last January
one of my teachers saw one of the many sketches I made and said that I should
make this design.
I had several stacking ideas--such as a bowl shape or stacking plates. I
tried to take an archetypal one, and I was looking for a shape that was
recognizable on its own. At the same time, I was thinking of Magritte: "Ceci
n'est pas une vase."
To make the prototype, I had to throw plaster on a potter's wheel, which
I had never worked with before. When I finished the mold, my teacher suggested
I contact a ceramic factory in my town, Cor Unum. I asked them if I could
intern at the factory and make a proper finished prototype. They agreed,
and after the internship ended, they asked if they could put it into production.
One of the biggest challenges in making the prototype was that I had to
draw the line of the vase into the computer and work it until the bowls
could be stacked without the line breaking. There are four bowls that make
up one vase. If you have two vases, you can take the three top ones and
put them on top--and the lines continue smoothly.
I wanted the outside of the bowls to be one color, with the top bowl interior
the same color as the outside--we settled on white. The other three have
different colors inside: green, yellow, and blue. The idea is that the top
color will always be white.
Dimensions
Height:
[Stacked] 12.25 in.
[Individual] 3 in.
Diameter: approximately 6 in.
