Art21 Extended Play

Andrea Zittel’s Desert Designs

Andrea Zittel at A-Z West in Joshua Tree, California. Production still from the series ART21 Exclusive. © ART21, Inc. 2015. Cinematography: Zach Voytas.

“You could say that design has power because it actually touches people in a much more concrete way, but I think that art has more wiggle room and more flexibility.” —Andrea Zittel

Today’s ART21 Exclusive features Andrea Zittel discussing her approach to design. “Every space that I’ve lived in I’ve turned into an art project,” she says. “And I think that everything in [my] house has really evolved with my life.” Zittel’s property in Joshua Tree, California is a site of experimentation, where she questions the distinction between the art and design disciplines by constantly renovating her interior space, and creating utilitarian yet conceptually significant objects. “I think that the ambiguity of how things are meant to be used is deliberate,” says Zittel, whose Aggregated Stacks (2010) and different weavings can serve everyday functions while also reflecting modernist concerns.

ART21 Exclusive is supported, in part, by 21c Museum Hotel, and by individual contributors.

CREDITS: Producer: Ian Forster. Consulting Producers: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Ian Forster. Camera: Zach Voytas. Sound: Ian Forster. Editor: Morgan Riles. Artwork Courtesy: Andrea Zittel. Special Thanks: Grant Earl Lavalley, Jennifer Morris, and Vanesa Zendejas. Theme Music: Peter Foley.