03/08/21

AMES, Iowa ー Wei Dong, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Audrey Rothermel Bascom Professor in the Department of Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will speak about design and feng shui culture in a virtual lecture hosted by the Iowa State University College of Design.

Event details

Dong will present “Harmonious Spaces: A Search for Balance and Feng Shui Culture” from noon–1 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, over Zoom. In his presentation, Dong will discuss an exhibition he designed for UW-Madison’s Ruth Davis Design Gallery in 2015, which invited visitors to explore and experience some of the core tenets of feng shui — the ancient Chinese philosophy of bringing humans into harmony with their environment by creating balance within interior spaces.

Register in advance to attend this free online event, part of the Spring 2021 College of Design Lecture Series.

Dong created watercolor paintings, ink drawings, wooden screens and gates, sculptures, “rocks” and a “pond” for the “Harmonious Spaces: Wei Dong and Feng Shui Culture” exhibition, which provided a multi-sensory experience through the use of three-dimensional space, paths of travel, layering vistas and diverse materials, textures and sounds. The tension created by the coexisting yet disparate aspects of the installation was resolved by placing elements to create a sense of harmony.

Through his work, Dong’s goal is for Eastern and Western audiences alike to find a common path to a sustainable balance with the earth and the universe, he says.

About the speaker

An artist, designer, scholar and teacher, Dong is fluent in the traditions of Eastern feng shui and Western concepts of space, environment and culture. He is a recognized leader in the integration of digital media into the environmental design process to stimulate creativity and improve visualization skills. He is internationally renowned for his study of cultural influences on the arts and design – particularly the application of traditional Chinese art/design principles and feng shui culture to Western architecture, interior design and sustainable environmental design.

Dong is the author of three books and has received numerous research grants and design awards. He has served as a consultant to world-renowned architecture and sustainability expert William McDonough. At UW-Madison, he teaches courses in design visualization, sketching and rendering, CAD for architecture and interior design, Chinese brush painting, and Western green design and Chinese feng shui culture.

Contacts

Angela Koppes, Design Lectures and Exhibitions Committee, akoppes@iastate.edu
Meg Grice, Design Communications, mgrice@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, hsauer@iastate.edu

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