Cooper Hewitt Acquires Major Collection of Work by Groundbreaking Designer Tobias Wong

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian DesignMuseum has acquired a major
collection of work by the designer Tobias Wong 1974 to
2010. Often referred to as the enfant
terrible of the design world, Wong S influential body of work
merged conceptual art, performance and product design.

(00:21):
Through a gift of more than 50 objects from Wong S family,
friends and collaborators, including products, prototypes,
digital designs and ephemera, the collection provides a new
perspective on a critical voice in late 20 TH and early 21st
century design. Cooper Hewitt is planning a
monographic exhibition dedicatedto Wong for late 2027, organized

(00:46):
by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron,Curator of Contemporary Design
and HINT Secretarial scholar. Working across disciplines with
an emphasis on critique rather than form and function, Wong
defines a generation of designers responding to the
socio political disillusionment and techno optimism of their
time, said Maria Neconnor, director of the museum.

(01:10):
His is an essential voice to preserve in the Canon of design
as the field considers the broader impact of industry
consumption and the implicit role design plays in the
creation of our societal value systems.
When Toby moved away to New Yorkin his 20s, I knew he would
accomplish great things, said Phyllis Chan Wong as mother.

(01:33):
As a child, he always had a unique perspective on the world,
and the way he engaged with everyday objects in his work
reflects that. While Vancouver will always be
home for Toby, our family is so happy that his artistic legacy
will continue to flourish in a city he loved.
In the context of the early 2000s and it's increasingly

(01:56):
commercialized popular culture, Wang often designed objects that
both embraced and criticized social behaviors.
His irreverent and thought provoking work addressed a wide
range of contemporary issues such as conspicuous consumption
and an obsession with luxury goods, a pervasive culture of
violence, in particular gun violence, the desire to question

(02:19):
authorship and systems of power,and cultural taboos related to
health, Wellness, addiction and sexuality, as well as the
mainstreaming of queer culture. Wong worked across media from
furniture, jewelry, products, installation and digital
projects to realize his para conceptual design works.

(02:41):
He edited pieces by noted designers, appropriated luxury
brand identities, and transformed everyday objects to
give them new meaning. Although Wong S untimely death
in 2010 brought an abrupt end tothe creation of his provocative
work, his legacy continues to influence new generations of
designers. Highlights of the Tobias Wong

(03:03):
Collection include Ballistic Rose Broge 2004 a black corsage
created from ballistic proof nylon as a tragic reminder of
increasing gun violence in the United States.
Glass Chairs number One and No two 2002 highlight Wong S
practice of making ready designed objects his own

(03:26):
iteration of Marcel Duchamp S ready made's.
Through key physical and conceptual changes, Wong
subverted the recognizable form of Donald Judd S chair 841982
including by augmenting the scale and choosing glass rather
than wood as the material designed to be consumed.

(03:47):
Silver Pill. 1998. Was a playful critique on
disposability and decadence fromhis time as a student at Cooper
Union. Wong parroted the cultural
obsession with luxury. Unauthorized Berbera buttons.
1999. Featured the brand S signature

(04:07):
Plaid applied to basic pin back buttons, making elite fashion
accessible to the public. Wong frequently challenged
notions of authorship by remixing the work of well known
brands and designers, at times garnering cease and desist
orders. Business Card 2002 was part of a
series of cards through which Wong played with the

(04:29):
presentation of his identity. Taking a stencil format, this
iteration featured his name, telephone number, and newly
launched website amid symbols and logos to confuse and
complicate the role of the business card.
In response to the smoking ban inside restaurants and public
spaces in New York City, Wong customized a standard mitten for

(04:52):
those forced to smoke outside inthe cold.
Smoking Mittens 2003 feature warm fireproof material and a
metal grommet to hold a cigarette steady between the
wearer S fingers. For the killer ring from The
Diamond Project 2004, Wang reversed the setting on a

(05:13):
Tiffany and Co diamond ring, exposing the stone S pointed end
that would typically face towardthe finger.
Subverting a classic ring S associations with romance and
beauty, Wang turned jewelry intoa weapon, hence the name Killer.
Made in collaboration with CB Cook, The I Love You Virus

(05:33):
CD-ROM Souvenir 2004 reflected on the notorious computer virus
that caused billions of dollars of damage worldwide.
When it emerged in 2000, the virus, which circulated through
e-mail, looked like an innocuoustext file sent by one of the
recipient S contacts, but infected their computer,

(05:56):
overwriting their files with copies of itself.
The CD-ROM Souvenir contains a text by Cook and Wong, played
through interactive software with their own artwork and
musical score, as well as a copyof the virus itself.
Upon the release of the iPad in 2010, Wong and collaborator

(06:16):
Chelsea Brick Anti created a prototype case for the new
device in a historical format, aManila envelope.
The undercover iPad case prototype was a product caught
in a transitional moment in technology, as paper was
increasingly replaced by digitalcommunication in another ready
design work. View of View 1ER Lamp. 1996 to

(06:39):
1998. Wong turned a Philippe Stark
stool into a tabletop lighting device.
This example predates his breakout moment in 2001, when,
one day before the release of Stark S Bubble Club Cheer, Wong
showed his own version with an inserted light bulb, calling it
This is a Lamp. About Tobias Wong Born and

(07:01):
raised in Vancouver, BC, Canada,Wong studied architecture at the
University of Toronto and sculpture at Cooper Union, where
he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2000.
Wang used design as a means to impart objects with ideas that
were fresh and innovative while disrupting the status quo of the

(07:22):
art and design worlds. He described his practice as
para conceptual, suggesting thathe went beyond or around an idea
before turning to the object. A wide range of proposals
emerged from his studio, spanning product, graphic,
spatial and digital designs thatexpanded discourse around the

(07:43):
role of design in everyday life and the function of designer.
As social critic, Wong collaborated on products and
installations with forward thinking brands including
Colette in Paris and Come to Garcons in Tokyo, as well as on
short term installations with artists and designers in the
Terminal 5 exhibition 2004 and The Wrong Store 2007 that

(08:06):
experimented with new formats for retail and exhibition
display. He worked as a consultant,
product developer and design director for Capolini Site,
Prada Reflux Editions, Swarovskiand Troy in New York.
Wong was named Young Designer ofthe Year by Wallpaper magazine

(08:26):
in 2004 and by the Brooklyn Museum in 2006.
His work was exhibited around the world, including at the
Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Vancouver, San Francisco Museum
of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt.A recent exhibition of his work,
All We Want Is More, the Tobias Wong Project was on view at the

(08:50):
Museum of Vancouver, November 17th, 2022 to July 23rd, 2023.
Following this exhibition, the Museum of Vancouver collaborated
with Wong S family to increase access to his work in museum
collections, including Cooper Hewitt.
About Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt is

(09:15):
America S design museum inclusive, innovative, and
experimental. The museum S dynamic
exhibitions, education programs,master S program publications,
and online resources inspire, educate, and empower people
through design. An integral part of the

(09:35):
Smithsonian Institution, the world S largest museum,
education and research complex, Cooper Hewitt is located on New
York City S Museum Mile in the landmark Carnegie Mansion.
Steward of one of the world S most diverse and comprehensive
design collections. Over 215,000 objects that range

(09:56):
from an ancient Egyptian fiance cup dating to about 1100 BC to
contemporary 3D printed objects and digital code.
Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of
design and its power to change the world.
For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow

(10:17):
at Cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.