This month, we will be featuring Bharti Kodnani and her work within design. She is a groundbreaking multi-disciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York, making a difference by being unique with her vision. She has a unique experience in robotics, and her one and true passion is exploring new technologies that apply to design. She is currently part of HLW’s technology startup called “Next.” There, she is a Technology and Design Specialist, where she takes on many roles. She is currently working on a few visualization projects, and we are very happy to speak to her.
NY Art Life: Thank you for speaking with us! We are very excited to have you with us, answering our questions about your career and experience with design. We’re in awe of your work and everything you do. Can you tell us how you define yourself as an artist or designer?
Bharti Kodnani: Thank you, I’m very happy to be here and talk to you about my work. I’m a multi-disciplinary designer. I design across multitudes, touching on the different fields with my own vision. Because I’m very interested in various fields and I’m multi-faceted, I’ve been able to be active enough to create actual bodies of work as well as art objects that are simultaneously practical.
NY Art Life: That’s a great way to put it. We see that you’ve created a gorgeous shoe model. Please tell us more about that experience and your choices when it came to shoe design.
Bharti Kodnani: I appreciate your interest in my work. I admire the process of creating an object that is both artistic and wearable. I chose shoes because I think there is so much that can be done with them, and how much I can express myself within the many layers of shoemaking. I began making a shoe of Mary Janes, and that was when I dived into the process of designing and then executing my idea. It began with designing the actual shoe, making it workable and possible to produce, and then I began making decisions about the product. I really liked choosing the color, the hue, the strap design, the material, and all details a person would experience when they would wear it.
NY Art Life: Wow, that is incredible! Speaking of art objects and model products, what else have you produced and how does that influence your continuous journey in design?
Bharti Kodnani: Thank you for your question. I have made many models and art objects that may count as small-scale architectural visualization (in comparison to my larger-scale architectural visualization projects). For instance, I made a vase that was very complex in design, as it has vessels and gaps that intertwined across the body of the vase. I made a model of a 3D knot, a suit, and a crystal, all with three-dimensional design-making software. These many do not turn into art objects or products immediately, but they help me with the design-making process as they push me to make important decisions about practical and aesthetic objects. There are some sectional models I created for programs that were small-scale, and those projects helped me become a better decision-maker when it came to executing the design and turning it into a real object. For example, in March 2020, I created a small model with plastic and wood, with carved
designs and multiple layers. I made the model in a way that looked like it was cut in half so that the viewer could see the infrastructure of the insides of the product and the way I designed it.
NY Art Life: That’s a great way of letting us look through your lens. We’d also love to hear the way you created your large-scale designs of Architectural Visualization. What was that experience like?
Bharti Kodnani: Thank you. It was a very intriguing experience; in that, it was life-sized. I designed systems that would be installed on the water; half of it operating underwater and the rest within the sky and air. It really helped me look at things with a broader lens a wider view that helped me understand important things happening in the world. That will also influence my small-scale projects, as every object exists in relation with bigger and more influential objects and designs operating in the world.
NY Art Life: Thank you for sharing your experience. What advice do you give to designers?
Bharti Kodnani: I will tell designers to trust their vision, and to keep moving forward with technology. Technology is a big asset to every designer who believes in sustainability, as well as modern solutions to both modern and historical issues and problems.
