Pentagram X 14-18 NOW: “Dazzle” at V&A Museum
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Design agency Pentagram in collaboration with 14-18 NOW is taking on the WW1 concept of “Dazzle” — where camouflage patterns were painted onto ships to confuse enemy vessels — and applying it to the Room 131A inside the V&A Museum throughout the nPentagram X 14-18 NOW: “Dazzle” at V&A Museum
Design agency Pentagram in collaboration with 14-18 NOW is taking on the WW1 concept of “Dazzle” — where camouflage patterns were painted onto ships to confuse enemy vessels — and applying it to the Room 131A inside the V&A Museum throughout the nine days of London Design Festival.“The idea of ‘dazzle,’ a camouflage painted on to the surface of ships, was pioneered by British artist Norman Wilkinson, who prepared numerous designs for vessels, including US merchant ships, targeted by enemy U-boats. Drawing on avant- garde artistic movements such as Cubism and Vorticism, as well as animal camouflage, these bewildering shapes and angles were designed to confuse the enemy as they struggled to make out the dazzle ships against shifting waves and clouds,” writes the museum.Pentagram’s approach was to reinterpret the construction of Dazzle camouflage from a purely graphic origin into a typographic exploration. Using the Wilfrid Wilson Gibson poem “Suspense” as its source, Pentagram’s design abstracts the letterforms and words into an immersive experience by placing the visitor inside the Dazzle room.Dazzle is the culmination of the Dazzle Ship series co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, theUK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, and Liverpool Biennial. “Since 2014 we have launched five hugely popular dazzle ships, in Liverpool, London, Edinburgh, and this year a dazzled fire boat in New York,” says Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW. “We are thrilled to be working with London Design Festival and Pentagram to give audiences the chance to reflect on a crucial moment when art and design contributed to saving lives in the First World War.”“Dazzle” is part of the Dazzle Ship series co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Liverpool Biennial and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.14-18 NOW is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more