SD2080 tutorial III 23.09.05

Kevin L. Stayton, Vital Form, 2001.

Vitalism:

- Vitalism is the doctrine that "vital forces" are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism. That element is often referred to as the "vital spark" or "energy" which some equate with the "soul". (Wikipedia)

- Belief in life force, essence, distinguished living things from non-living material / origins from Aristotle, the “psyche”(26)

- Heri bergson- faith in vitalism outside of science (26)

- Herbert Read: from the scientific to the poetic, release from materials

	Geometrical form	Vital Form
Historical context	- After WWI - Bauhaus- Europe	- After WWII - US - Influence from surrealism (26)
characteristics	- machine - hard-edged, international (29)	The aesthetics turn: -fluid, organic (24-25) -organic: resembled a living form; “concern to interrelation btw systems & components within larger systems”; biotic appearance to biotic functioning (27) - biomorphic: process & use determined the form~ “ergonmics” (fit to the body 27-28) -form more comforting and humanized
		Design turn: Era Zeisel: - the eautiful & functional - process”- intimacy with human body (lost of meaning in formal characteristics/ pattern of design philosophy Morris Lapidus: - organic forms become style, commercial , female customer (28-29) -popular, softer, vital forms
Political implications		Atomic Age (33-35) - Paul Boyer “schizophrenia of the postwar years”, its destruction and construction - Public perception: microscopic amoeba, life force invisible - The cold war ideology…