In his book Immortality, Milan Kundera made an incisive remark: “To be mortal is the most basic human experience, and yet man has never been able to accept it, grasp it, and behave accordingly. Man doesn't know how to be mortal. And when he dies, he doesn't even know how to be dead.” The exhibition and bookquestion clichéd responses, sayings, and ideas on death. The omnipresent – and yet remote – death.
Photos: Aleš Rosa
Exhibition and book:
Death in Design
20 September – October 25, 2017
Srečišče Gallery, Hostel Celica,
Metelkova 8, Ljubljana
Authors: Petra Černe Oven, Barbara Predan
Slovene copyediting by Katja Paladin
English translation by Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi
English translation edited by Boris Benko
Design: Studio Miklavc
Exhibition produced by Križaj design
Organized and produced by: Pekinpah Association and Institut of Design, Ljubljana.
The Death in Design exhibition is associated project of the 25th Biennial of Design.
The Death in Design project was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the City of Ljubljana.
Razstava in knjiga:
Smrt v oblikovanju
29. 9.–25. 10. 2017
Galerija Srečišče, Hostel Celica,
Metelkova 8, Ljubljana
Avtorici: Petra Černe Oven, Barbara Predan
Lektorirala: Katja Paladin
Prevod v angleščino: Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi
Urejanje angleščine: Boris Benko
Oblikovanje: Studio Miklavc
Izdelava razstavne konstrukcije: Križaj design
Organizacija in produkcija: Društvo Pekinpah in Inštitut za oblikovanje.
Razstava Smrt v oblikovanju je spremljevalni projekt 25. bienala oblikovanja.
Projekt Smrt v oblikovanju sta podprla Ministrstvo za kulturo RS in Mestna občina Ljubljana.
English edition
An introduction to a book Death in Design (pdf)
Price per item: 12 EUR
Postage: 4 EUR
TOTAL: 16 EUR
Slovenska edicija
Uvodnik iz slovenske različice knjige Smrt v oblikovanju (pdf)
Cena enega izvoda: 12 EUR
Poštnina: 2 EUR
SKUPAJ: 14 EUR
There’s no point in avoiding the subject. This is an exhibition and a book about death.
About death and about design. With design being a tool for dealing with a selection of questions related to death. The word selection is pivotal because the exhibition does not deal with all the important questions about death, but opens up those that interested us, and which we hope are important.
Seeing as how death is endless and consequently immeasurable, we decided to measure it – at least partially – in measurable life. We decided to observe, measure and interpret the results and experiences we acquired from the delivered lectures and workshops. In eight months, we carried out eight 4- to 6-hour workshops in Ljubljana, Graz, Zagreb, and Bihać.
The exhibition and the book examines the advantages and disadvantages of a world without death, and offers pointers on how to detect, depict, explain, kill, and survive death. The exhibition encourages you, the visitor, to refute, reflect, frown upon, remember, and be entertained. All the responses are correct. Or, as we repeatedly emphasized at the workshops: all thoughts are welcome. Including a crumpled sheet of paper in the bin.
Petra Černe Oven, Barbara Predan
Task: Epitaph
Nima smisla ovinkariti. To sta razstava in knjiga o smrti.
O smrti in o oblikovanju. Ob tem, da je oblikovanje orodje za obravnavo izbranih vprašanj, povezanih s smrtjo. Beseda izbranih je za razumevanje ključna, saj razstava ne obravnava vseh pomembnih vprašanj o smrti, temveč odpira tista, ki so zanimala naju in za katera upava, da so pomembna.
Odločili sva se, da v izmerljivem življenju vsaj deloma izmeriva smrt. Smrt, ki obstaja brez konca in je posledično neizmerljiva. Odločili sva se za opazovanje, merjenje in interpretiranje pridobljenih rezultatov in izkustev z opravljenih predavanj in delavnic. V osmih mesecih sva v Ljubljani, Gradcu, Zagrebu in Bihaću izvedli osem 4- do 6-urnih delavnic.
Razstava in knjiga se ukvarjata z vprašanjem, če bi bil svet brez smrti boljši, in ponujata uvid, kako zaznavati, upodabljati, razlagati, ubiti in preživeti smrt. Šest poti, ki vas – obiskovalca in bralca – spodbujajo k zavračanju, premišljevanju, zgražanju, zabavi in spominjanju. Vsi odzivi so pravi. Ali, kot sva večkrat poudarili na delavnicah: vsa razmišljanja so dobrodošla. Tudi zmečkan list v košu za smeti.
Petra Černe Oven, Barbara Predan
The exhibition and the book are the result of the following research, lectures and workshops/Razstava in knjiga sta rezultat naslednjih delavnic in predavanj:
Yowza! Yowza! Yowza! — Sprint to the last breath (four workshops/štiri delavnice)
University of Ljubljana, Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Industrial Design and Applied Arts and Department of Visual Communication Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia
24–25 October and 9 November 2016
A fact of life: Man doesn't know how to be mortal (lecture)
Življenjsko dejstvo: človek ne zna biti smrten (predavanje)
Let's go. — Sprint to the last breath (workshop/delavnica)
University of Applied Sciences, FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria
14 November 2016
Man reckons with immortality, and forgets to reckon with death (lecture)
Med spogledovanjem z nesmrtnostjo pozabimo na smrt (predavanje)
That, or anything else. — Sprint to the last breath(workshop/delavnica)
ZGRAF 12, International Exhibition of Graphic Design and Visual Communications, Lauba People and Art House, Lauba, Zagreb, Croatia
12 January 2017
Thinking toward a university of new ideas: Confronting everything that is (lecture)
Misliti univerzalnost novih idej: soočenje z vsem, kar je (lecture/predavanje)
Alice: Somebody screamed. Rocky: That was you, Alice. — Sprint to the last breath (workshop)
University of Bihać, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Textiles, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
19 May 2017
We would like to thank the 174 participants. We would also like to express our gratitude to the coordinators of the lectures and workshops, who kindly invited us to participate. They understood the link between death and design, and invited us without hesitation. We would particularly like to thank Josef Seppo Gruendler, Karl Stocker, Ursula Lagger (Graz), Mihaela Richter, Dejan Kršić (Zagreb), and Irfan Hošić (Bihać).
Poleg zahvale vsem 174 sodelujočim na delavnicah se zahvaljujeva tudi koordinatorjem predavanj in delavnic, ki so naju brez kančka dvoma, v razumevanju, da je smrt tema, ki je tesno vezana na oblikovanje, prijazno povabili k sodelovanju. To so: Josef Seppo Gruendler, Karl Stocker, Ursula Lagger (Gradec), Mihaela Richter, Dejan Kršić (Zagreb) in Irfan Hošić (Bihać).
Task: Would a world be better or worse without death?
List of participants in the workshops:
Seznam sodelujočih na delavnicah:
Thomas Ablasser
Natalija Lani Ambrožič
Luka Bassanese
Ana Bassin
Delila Bećirović
Neja Bervar
Sara Bezovšek
Dea Biličič
Daniela Bisail
Diana Bobb
Leonard Borovičkić
Paul Brauchart
Žan Brezec
Toni Buršić
Blaž Cencič
Roberta Cetina
Matija Cipurić
Bernarda Conič
Christina Cossee
Isabel Cutrona
Tina Červan
Antonia Ćibarić
Denise Danninger
Anastazija Debelli
Živa Eva Dobnik
Sara Dobrijević
Maruša Dolinar
Mia Dragičević
Teo Drempetić Čonkić
Anja Držanič
Ana Marie Duboković
Tino Duralija
Erik Emeršič
Florian Fasching
Paul Freiberger
Sabine Fruhmann
Lena Gattringer
Lin Gerkman
Tea Gerkman
Vesna Golob
Kristina Gorenc
Jure Goršič
Miha Goršin
Anže Grabeljšek
Jakob Gregorčič
Maja Grobler
Daniela Grüneis
Sonja Gstättner
Bianca Gyulai
Silke Haar
Admir Hadžić
Miha Hain
Natalie Hammerl
Marta Haraminčić
Deja Hauptman
Bettina Hoffellner
Matej Horvatič
Iris Huber
Nina Huber
Tara Jagodnik
Ena Jajalo
Teja Jalovec
Miha Jarm
Anže Jesenovec
Antonija Jurina
Jelka Kaker
Anja Lotte Kastelic
Hannes Kelz
Anja Kepert
Daria Kisenko
Metka Kladnik
Barbara Kocjančič
Deja Kofol
Jakob Koncut
Miriam Körösi
Ana Koruga
Natalija Kosmač
Rok Kostanjšek
Petra Kostevc
Alexander Kremser
Liza Križnar
Pija Krmavnar
Niki Kuhar
Azra Kurbegović
Sara Kuret
Evelyn Leiter
Xaver Lindlbauer
Tim Luznar
Gwendolyn Maierhofer
Gregor Makovec
Eva Margon
Silvia Marinčič
Katarina Marov
Eva Mathis
Katharina Mauthner
Natalie Mautner
Neža Medved
Ela Meseldžić
Marin Meštrovič
Sanja Mikac
Tilen Moder
Valentina Morianz
Maria Moschik
Aljaž Mrak
Andrej Mravlja
Adnan Mujadžić
Sajra Muslić
Tjaša Mužina
Neža Oblak
Sai Pan
Ana Pavičić
Žiga Pavlin
Leja Pelc
Neža Penca
Adelina Pervanje
Eva Pestotnik
Martina Petrić
Martin Pevec
Helena Pichler
Barbara Pieber
Jure Pogačnik
Jan Pogorelec
Luka Prijatelj
Peter Primožič
Karla Rakuljić
Gal Rančigaj
Florian Reithofer
Valeska Rimele
Lukas Robausch
Anja Rogelj
Stefanie Schafzahl
Jon Schwarzmann
Amra Sefić
Michaela Selmani
Erik Sinkovič
Blaž Skodlar
Lejla Spahić
Magdalena Spatt
Benjamin Starz
Viktorija Šebalj
Špela Šedivy
Petra Švajger
Fabian Tadić
Petra Tadić
Katarina Tadina
Christian Taferner
Anna-Theresa Taferner
Amadej Tauses
Manca Trampuš
Nejc Trampuž
Katja Tratar
Sara Unteregger
Žiga Urbajs
Gašper Uršič
Ana Valenko
Ana Marija Vipavc
Marcela Vrček
Andraž Rudi Vrhovšek
Sabina Vukalić
Karla Waldgoni
Kevin Wendler
Birgit Wilfling
Clemens Wipplinger
Markus Wohlkönig
Zala Zagoršek
Anja Zaletel
Julia Zott
Maria Zottler
Elma Zukanović
Johann Zuschnegg
Žiga Žalec
Hana Železnik
Katja Žist
Maša Žmitek Prošić