RUMPLE_STILT_SKIN
GREGORY KATZ & NICO VAN LOGGERENBERG
Definitions:
Rumple: to make untidy, to disorder, to fold, crumple, crease, wrinkle, tumble, crush, crinkle.
Stilt: a set of posts or piles supporting a building, upright poles with supports for the feet enabling the user to walk at a distance above the ground.
Skin: the outermost layer of a structure such as a building or aircraft, a thin layer forming on the surface of certain hot liquids, the thin outer covering of a sausage.
Rumplestiltskin, the classic Brothers Grimm fairy-tale, is a story about alchemy and detective work. Both these themes are central to the Unit 17 methodology. The latent potential of materials has fascinated people throughout the centuries; we think that we know something until we do something different with it and then it is transformed. In order to unlock new possibilities, we must engage with our materials on a physical level – by making. Much like in the fairy-tale, the back-and-forth of trying to find the right answer to the questions we pose, requires investigative work, resilience and alertness. The process of making things is all about finding things out: what are the ingredients, where to source them, what are the ratios, how are things combined? And so, we become detectives, searching for clues and gathering information. But beware the red-herring and the rabbit-hole that are inherent in this process of discovery. Once upon a time . . .
Synopsis:
A King poses the impossible challenge = dream big
A Princess asks for help = collaborate
Rumplestiltskin is blinded by hubris = keep on questioning