Abc carpet & home has launched its latest campaign, “Inspire the Future,” featuring their exclusive Aura and Samoke silk rug collections. Shot at the Milwaukee Art Museum in the Quadracci Pavilion, a postmodern addition designed by Santiago Calatrava, this season’s campaign evokes a convergence of past, present, and future.
The campaign brings the future of design into perspective while illustrating that there is a place in the future for handcraftsmanship and technology to live together. Over the years, abc carpet & home has placed an increased emphasis on blending traditional artisanal methods of production with innovative design to create products like the rugs featured in the campaign.
“Our goal is to create a demand for slow design, reinventing the disposable consumption mindset that has been stimulated by accelerated production cycles and rapidly evolving technology,” said Angela Gruszka, the Director of Marketing & Communications. “We seek to inspire consumers to make conscious purchase decisions that support local and global artisans and communities, while investing in one-of-a-kind works of art that will last a lifetime.”
Captured by internationally renowned interior and portrait photographer Jason Madara, the campaign was shot in three different locations within the Quadracci Pavilion as well as the parking garage at the Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santigo Calatrava. Completed in 2001, the Quadracci Pavilion was hand-built from poured concrete into one-of-a-kind wooden forms, fusing cutting-edge technology and old-world craftsmanship. The space is best known for the Windhover Hall, the grand entrance to the Pavilion, which features a 90-foot high glass roof, shaped like a prow of a ship that overlooks Lake Michigan.
The rugs were strategically selected and positioned to complement the surrounding architecture. The juxtaposition of the pure white post-modern sculptural architecture against the tactile nature of the silk rugs brought their radiant color and multi-dimensional luminosity to life. Finding the delicate balance of light and shadow with the right exposure were the key goals in the creation of the images. An abundance of light within the Pavilion helped create a more dynamic, brighter set.
“It’s important to make the rugs feel like they live and belong in the space. They need to complement the area and the area needs to complement them. I look to art for inspiration and work to create pictures as paintings, capturing the subject in its most realistic form,” said Madara.
Handcrafted by artisans in India, the rugs featured in the campaign were created using centuries-old techniques that take 8-12 months to create. Each rug in the Aura collection is hand-knotted from recycled sari silk to form an illustrious composition of spontaneous color. Characterized by rainbow-like striations, the collection takes its inspiration from the ancient Indian art of color meditation. The Samoke collection reinvents traditional motifs into abstract contemporary compositions. Inspired by the Samode palaces of Jaipur, the collection embodies the exotic history of royal India in modern form.
The silk rug collection is available at abchome.com and at abc carpet & home, 888 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
