Form and function and technology – Knight Foundation
Arts

Form and function and technology

Emmett Moore’s table at Gallery Diet.

The world of visual arts does not — and never should — stand still. For instance, in antiquity, stone was the ubiquitous material used to create sculptures; thousands of years later, bicycle parts, TV screens and LED lights might be the material of choice. The lines among disciplines have also blurred; visual art, fashion, music, design, architecture, film — artists often work in a combination of all these forms.

So it is with Miami native and Rhode Island School of Design grad Emmett Moore, whose works crosses over lines from design to sculpture. You could call him a furniture maker, maybe even in the tradition of a Bauhaus lineage, where the physical item remains a functional item made not just for decoration; one could call him an interior designer, working with facades and tactile coverings and architectural space; or one could simply call him a contemporary sculptor. Each individual description would be too limiting.

Prototype "Counter-Production"

Prototype of “Counter-Production.”

You could have seen some of this hybrid work at a solo show at Gallery Diet, at MAM’s recent New Work Miami exhibit, and when he opened up the Project Room at Locust Projects (a Knight Arts grantee), when it moved to its new space on North Miami Avenue.

Now, as part of the summer series at Diet — very short shows that run just a week or two and highlight just one piece of work from an artist — Moore has “Counter-Production.” That’s a clever title for a singular work that is a table (or counter?) whose initial design and prototype was crafted by the new technology called CNC, or computer numerical control. This is allows for “rapid” customization of piece of furniture. Through this technology, he has created a clean-lined, lovely table made from stainless and cherry wood. It “represents one iteration of an infinite number of possibilities but retains the potential for mass production.” Something new, something old and something eye-opening.

“Counter-Production” runs through Aug. 31 at Gallery Diet, 174 N.W. 23rd St., Miami; gallerydiet.com.