When I think ‘ARTIST’ I think: uncouth, experimental, eclectic, colorful, messy, idealist, dreamer, etc. For the ‘DESIGNER’ I think: minimalist, modern, forward-thinking, sharp, constructivist, proper, pro-active, solutionist, etc.

In my mind, these two people appear so different in style and manner, but in practice the two become harder to describe. I sat down with my friend and colleague Michael Gluzman to discuss the topic of art and design. As a practicing artist and designer, Gluzman disrupts my stereotype. On the outside his appearance might easily give away the fact that he is a designer- usually clean cut, minimalist, yet sharp; however, his outward appearance is just a facade to a more daring and colorful mind.

Michael Gluzman Designer + Filmmaker

Gluzman trained as an industrial designer at Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture, but has always been a filmmaker. He is the founder of 1.618 Films, which won two consecutive national Campus Movie Fest awards for his short films Fanya Kaplan (2006) and All That is Human (2007). Since graduating this past May, Gluzman has been working as a freelance designer under the auspices of lighting designer Christopher Moulder and companies Quo Vadis and Armchair Media.

I sat down with Michael to find out what he has been working on since graduation and his views on the world of art and design. Below is an annotated version of our interview. Never again will I attempt an hour long interview with an easy speaker!

Let’s start with you as a designer. What is your design philosophy?
Well in general, my design philosophy has been flux. I think my last year in school finally validated some of the things I believed coming into school, which was nice. I think I came to design school believing there was little difference between art and design. That blur between art and design is where I think I want my work to potentially live…

…When I consider creating objects, I think about making things that should have long term value for the people who interact with them, and I also think about the process of making – the craft. I believe very strongly in making right now. It’s not about just having ideas – not just coming up with concepts on paper, but really getting into the idiosyncrasies of prototyping and making things, considering the craft as part of the design. I don’t think you fully understand how something works or fully understand how it will affect people in the physical world until you build it, you experience it and discover more details about it. That is something I am really interested in doing right now, which I’ve seen a lot of industrial designers avoid- getting their hands dirty, understanding the manufacturing process, and prototyping.

So what have you been up to since graduation?
Well I’m trying to do a lot of stuff post graduation and in spite of the economy.

1) I am working with a lighting designer named Christopher Moulder and he’s really awesome, this guy should be showing in Milan! He’s incredibly smart and talented, he’s inspiring, and he is sort of a role model for me and someone I look towards as a mentor, and someone I just hope I can continue to learn from. He is more than just a maker of lights, what he does with light itself is much more mystical, magical, and his pieces make your eyes dance to their music.

2) I am freelancing and I am actually freelancing for him Moulder under a company I used to intern for, Quo Vadis. Not a very well known place, but I love the people that work there. The CEO, Rick Julian, has become a good friend of mine, a man I have a great deal of respect for. He and Chris have vibed really well; which is exciting because that work relationship now exists – hopefully it will also grow. I want to see more professional relationships develop here.

3) The last thing I’m doing is interning at Armchair Media. Armchair is packed full of some particularly talented people who are pushing me to experience many new things. I do more graphic design work and whatever else they can throw at me. I really love being able to contribute and learn in all these different places. I don’t like sitting on the same thing for too long. And more importantly, I learn a lot from all the various projects I engage with. The ideas and principles I amass from all these creative realms challenge me to constantly reconsider how to approach new projects. It’s very exciting to try new ways of doing.

What are all the different types of design? For example, I do interactive design.
Design is so broad, – there is experience design, engineering design, interior, there’s graphic, there’s user experience, there’s application design, it goes on. Design is very wide open, but a lot of the same principles exist across all types. My ultimate goal for right now is to learn from various media and seeing how all these specializations end up complimenting one another in strong partnerships and collaborations. For example: Moulder and Rick Julian. I like the idea of watching a branding agency and a lighting designer finding common ground and hopefully sparking future work as well as expanding their client lists through one another. It’s a benefits package based on trust.

For us, this trip to Milan was going to be a departure of what we know ordinarily to European design. What we were going to learn and see was meditating. We had three weeks to raise 24, 000 dollars so that twelve people could go. Somehow we did it. We had a lot of donations… very courteous donations…

For us, this trip to Milan was going to be a departure of what we thought we knew about design here in the states, and see the world’s stage for it. We had three weeks to raise 24, 000 dollars so that twelve people could go. Somehow we did it. We had a lot of donations… very courteous donations… We did everything we could from design work to odd jobs off Craigslist. It was awesome how the class all of a sudden had to refocus from designing individually to working together for a common goal.

What is it about films you are drawn to as a designer?
I don’t know what it was that drew me to film originally other than something about it is just so attractive. Maybe it’s how dynamic it can be. I came to realize I love film because I’m able to work with so many different creative people. And why I like to work in lots of different media is because it’s like working in a long film. I can work with a web designer, lighting designer, graphic designer and engineer. In film it requires the effort of so many creative people all collaborating and if you don’t work together you get a shit product. I am so moved by being surrounded by really talented, hardworking people. That’s why I love film. I suppose it’s the process.

Film has taught me how to collaborate with people. Film has taught me the importance of narrative. Film has taught me the importance of details. The things I have learned in design have influenced me in film. I have learned the importance of process in design, I’ve learned the importance of details, I’ve learned the importance of form making and how that gets influenced in film, my understanding of aesthetics and composition. I find one of the things I’m most interested in film has become production design, which is probably not too surprising. I really care about the details. Everyone thinks it’s your actor and sweeping camera moves, but a lot tend to forget, even filmmakers forget, the background. And a lot of successful films work because you think you are in the world the director is trying to create and it relies on all those things: performance and camera and scenery. And the people I work with and respect the most put all those aspects on the same plane. None of them are necessarily more important, they have to exist together. I care a lot about the supported details and the form of the objects and creating a fantasy world like in All that is Human. We had to imagine designs that people would have to live with in a fictitious world. It was a challenging design problem.

I asked you before this interview what you thought was the difference between art and design, but we never got to it. So enlighten us on your thoughts?
I was thinking about it after you mentioned it. What are you going to ask me. You are asking me about that. What I want to say is that it doesn’t matter, and the reason is because what matters is the work and not the definition. As long as I enjoy what I’m doing. As long as what I’m doing has value to others as well. As long as I’m learning, doing, loving what I’m doing, I think that’s what matters to me right now. If people want to call me an artist that is cool. If people want to call me a designer that’s cool. As long as I continue to get to do the work that I am doing. I don’t care if its art, if it’s design. If I keep getting the opportunities that I’m getting, that is the most important thing. It’s like the Romeo and Juliet thing. A Rose by any other name would be the same thing.

I think that I do both regularly. I probably do more design than art, but when I start blurring the line… like when I do film, is film design? I think when it comes down to, an old instructor I respect a lot said, “What if everything is design?” Well, what if everything is art. If everything is design, so be it. I’m a designer. or if everything is art, I’m an artist. I still apply the same processes to whatever work I do. Again I think its about the work. It’s truly about the results. Is the film good? Is it communicating my intent? Is the light good? The furniture good? The graphic design good? Animation good? By good I mean are they successful in communicating the intent or solving the problem? And sometimes the problem isn’t tangible, but art still has value.

I think I alluded to it with the amount of people I am working with and the my interest in establishing relationships with people. When I talk to people I listen to what they are interested in doing. i really have faith in Atlanta for some reason. People can call me naive if they want to. There are really talented people here. And I think there is something happening here that people aren’t noticing and if more of these talented people were crossing paths and working together, maybe we would be notice more. It’s like the difference in seeing a bunch of small fires and one massive forest fire. People notice forest fires, not campfires. I want to start a forest fire with all the creatives in Atlanta. I want everyone to know one another and work together. That is why Europe is so successful in design because people hang out together, work together, learn from each other, inspire one another. I’m always looking for opportunities for people to do that- establish new relationships… I want to see this place blow up, I want to see this place catch on fire and (jokingly) burn Atlanta down to the ground again! but seriously I think it can happen if people start communicating.

Futurista: You can see more of Michael’s work at:
michaelgluzman.com
I AM AN OPEN BOOK – GLUZMAN’S DESIGN INSPIRATION BLOG
Flickr
Vimeo

Michael Gluzman and I talking about Art & Design (The Ghetto Audio pseudo Video version) for your listening pleasure!?! Awkward fan, awkward light, and awkward coffee shop music!