THE INSTITUTE october 1997 / planet of the arts 35 Ambassador Izdebski Returns From Europe The Global To by Harald Gravelsins vents of international significance tend to follow on Roman Izdebski’s heels. Three years since Izdebski’s last sojourn to his native Poland, the country has joined the European Union and NATO. Its economy is booming. : And sixteen years ago, Izdebski applied for a visiting faculty posi- tion in Canada; leaving barely a month before the clamp down on Solidarity and almost three years of martial law. Now, one year after departing on sabbatical, the Program Director of Industrial Design at Emily Carr Institute returned to find that his home institution had undergone its most significant restructuring since it relocated to Granville Island. “People are really energized here these days,” he notes, attributing the renewed level of initiative to the changes at the Institute. So what does an industrial design instructor with “a global per- spective and a European sensibility” do on sabbatical? Answer: teach industrial design! To understand how teaching recharges this instructor’s intellectual and imaginative batteries requires knowing more about the nature of industrial design, more about Izdebski, and more about Poland. Industrial design today integrates ideas from a broad range of dis- ciplines in order to formulate efficient and attractive product designs. The successful industrial designer is nimble, team-oriented, and able to synthesize information from diverse sources. The opportunity to go on a teaching sabbatical brings into play ele- ments crucial to the design process: mobility, forging new partnerships and exchanging ideas across geographic and cultural borders. The same sorts of benefits arise from student exchanges between Emily Carr Institute and schools throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Industrial design is also about the challenge of putting current thinking to the test. The traditional parameters in product design — input costs and output volumes — are giving way to qualitative con- cerns. In Izdebski’s view, “While people are experiencing the world through products which expand their senses, they have also scaled down their needs and are very careful in choosing what they buy.” Industrial design has been compelled by market forces to embrace the criterion of sustainability as this pertains, for example, to the choice of product materials. The significant economic changes in Poland during the last five years include an effort to move away from old-style production meth- ods which have involved over-reliance on fossil fuels. The opportunity to teach in Poland presented Izdebski with the opportunity to take on the issue of energy efficient lighting and to test in a foreign setting his pedagogical strategy of linking classroom learning with “live” case studies. Both faculty and students in the industrial design division at Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts gained practical knowledge in evaluat- ing partnerships with industry, and in negotiating agreements that respect pedagogical criteria and intellectual property rights. Through arrangements made by Izdebski, they also participated in the develop- ment of a number of successful lighting designs in collaboration with a major manufacturer. The firm provided the bulbs and the product intelligence, as well as technical support. They also paid for field trips and appropriate company officials were available to attend briefings and presentations in the classroom. Izdebski’s stay in Europe was not restricted to Poland. His teaching post in Warsaw was a base from which to travel throughout the conti- nent (including Britain), making professional contacts, signing student exchange agreements, giving talks at conferences and debating the direction of industrial design practice and education. In one telling discussion that took place in Berlin, the question at hand was whether students stand to gain more from taking apart and trying to improve upon the cheapest toaster or working with an upscale model. Izdebski used to come down on the side of the cheap toaster. No more. The most pedagogically valuable toaster incorporates the most advanced design principles and strategies when judged in relation to several qualitative benchmarks, including durability, choice of mate- rials and elegance. These are the thresholds that each new crop of industrial design students today must aim to surpass. The next time Roman Izdebski’s students at Emily Carr Institute place an order for a continental breakfast, whether they know it or not they will be paying tribute to their teacher’s sabbatical year spent teach- ing in Europe. The first summer residency of the Roundhouse Community Centre is a unique multi-layered community art project Traveling three hours from the Roundhouse to Sims Creek artists will participate in a tradi- tional Coast Salish Witness Ceremony and spend a weekend in the Sims Creek wilderness area. The juried exhibition of work resulting from these trips will be shown at the Roundhouse including work by First Nations artists, commuity participants, proffesional artists and children. All forms of media are encour- aged. The jury will include Members of the Squamish Nation, Roundhouse, community and arts organization representatives, and artist in residence Nancy Bleck. Artists are encouraged to participate and submit work based on their experiences. Submit work on December 12, 9:30 am to 9:30 pm at the Roundhouse located at Davie and Pacific (Yaletown) For more info call the Roundhouse at 713-1800 Ambassador Izdebski Crossing The Alps ILLUSTRATION COLLAGE BY HARALD GRAVELSINS AND JONATHAN LANDER exhibition December to January 97/98 i THE INSTITUTE october 1997 / planet of the orts 35 Ambassador Izdebski Returns From Europe The Global Touch by Harald Gravelsins See ce Be Bed Teyana jour oi ative Poland, the country has joined the European Union and NATO. Its economy is booming ‘And sixteen years ago, debs applied fo a visting faculty pos tion in Canada, leaving barely a month before the clamp down on Solidarity and almost thee years of martial a. ows one year after departing on sabbatical the Program Ditector ‘of Industrial Design at Emily Care Institute retuned o find that his home institution had undergone its most significant restructuring since it relocate to Granville Island. “People ae relly energized here these dys” he notes, atrbutng the renewed level of initiative to the changes the Institute, So what does an industrial design instructor with “a global per. spective and a European sensibility” do on sabbatical? “Answer: teach industrial design! “To understand how teaching recharges this instructor’ intelectual and imaginative batteries requires knowing more about the nature of stil design, more about Indbski, and more about Poland, Industral design today integrates ideas from a broad range of dis iplines in order to formulate efficent and attractive product designs. 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