Research
Karl Aspelund has recently graduated from Boston Univeristy with a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Material Culture. His research interests lie in the area of the role apparel plays in the creation of ethnic and national identity. He is currently involved in a cross-disciplinary research project with scholars at the University of Iceland on culture creation in 19th century Iceland.
Teacher
Karl teaches Apparel Design (TMD 327) (from '96), and Portfolios and Presentations (TMD 427) (from '98). In the school year of 2010-2011, he will also lecture on the Development of Contemporary Fashion (TMD 240) and chair the Textiles and Clothing Seminar (TMD 402) on the theme of "Future Vision."
Karl has taught art, design theory, apparel design, and CAD since 1991 In 1994, he was commissioned to create, and head for its initial year, a Department of Industrial Design at The Reykjavik Technical College in Iceland, where he taught a number of design related courses from '91-'96. He has also taught Apparel Design ('96-'00) and An Introduction to Illustration and Design for Apparel ('04) at RISD's Department of Continuing Education in Providence.
Art, Design and Computing
Karl worked as an artist and designer for over 20 years after graduating from the Wimbledon School of Art in London in 1986, with a degree in 3d design for theater. Credits include over 40 theatrical productions, 4 films, 2 public artworks, and numerous commissions for sets and costumes, couture, exhibitions, graphic design, murals, lighting, installations, art direction, and production design. Karl also designed for the artist Brower Hatcher of Mid-Ocean Studio from 2001-2007, creating CAD models and collaborating on the development of biomimetic sculpture. These efforts also involved researching cellular automata and natural morphology to develop algorithms and computerized methods for the auto-generation of structural forms obeying organic principles. The project required collaboration with Brown University’s SHAPE Lab, a multidisciplinary project supported by Brown and the National Science Foundation.
Publications
Books:
Aspelund, K. Fashioning Society, New York: Fairchild Publications, 2009
Aspelund, K. The Design Process (2nd ed.), New York: Fairchild Publications, 2010 (2006)
Papers and articles:
Aspelund, K. "Ferdabók S.S. Howlands frá 1873" ("S.S. Howland's Journal of Travel to Iceland in 1873.") Saga (Journal of the Icelandic Historians' Society) XLVIII:1 2010
Aspelund, K. "Hallbar Design Behover Slöjden." ("Green Design Needs the Crafts.") Hemsljöden (Journal of the Swedish Handcraft Society) 2009/1: 16-17
Aspelund, K. "Handverkshefdin: Fyrirmynd ad Kennslu í Visthæfri Hönnun." ("Craft Traditions: Models for Teaching Sustainable Design.") Hugur og Hönd (Journal of the Icelandic Handcraft Society) 2008: 36-37
Willis, A., Aspelund, K., et. al., "Computational Schemes for Biomimetic Sculpture", In Proceedings of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), 5th Intl. Conference on Creativity and Cognition (C&C), pp.22-31, London, April 2005.
Presentations
Conference Presentations:
Aspelund, K. “Yet another Iceland: What a recently discovered travel journal by S.S. Howland from 1873 reveals about Icelanders, travelers, and the formation of national identity”100th Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, April 2010.
Aspelund, K. “Who are these Folk? What is their Dress? – Problems of Definition in the Study of Women’s National Dress in Iceland.” 2009 Meeting of the Nordic Councils for National Dress, (Nordiskt Dräktseminarium, 2009) Orbaden, Sweden. August 2009.
- Updated and delivered in Icelandic to a public audience at the National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavík, in November of 2009 (see below).
Aspelund,K., G. H. Rosenkjær, O. Kristjánsdóttir: “The birth of a national costume: The making of a distinct Icelandic identity, 1857-1874.” 2009 Meeting of the Nordic Councils for National Dress, (Nordiskt Dräktseminarium, 2009) Orbaden, Sweden. August 2009.
Aspelund, K. “Defining National Culture by Stealth and Design: How a 19th Century Artist and a Secret Society Defined 20th Century Icelandic Culture.” Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 2009.
- * 1st prize, Society of Historians of Scandinavia's Award for best graduate student paper in history, 2009.
Aspelund, K. “Craft Traditions as Teachable Models for Sustainable Design.” Nordic Handcrafts Association Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, September 2007
Aspelund, K. “The Internet as Theater.” New England Theatre Conference, Providence, R.I. 1996
Invited Presentations:
"Siggi séní, Coco Chanel og Iggy Pop: Hátískuöldin og átökin um ímynd vestræns þjóðfélags.“ (Siggi the Genius, Chanel, and Iggy Pop: The Hundred Years‘ Fashion and the struggle for he image of Western Society.“) Lecture at a symposium “Fashion: Design, Commerce, and Theory.” Hosted by the Icelandic Textile Center in Blönduós, and Hólar University College, Iceland. June 2010.
“Why Worth? Why Paris?” Lecture hosted by: The Association of Icelandic Master-Tailors and Dressmakers. Reykjavík, January 2010
“Who are these Folk? What is their Dress? – Problems of Definition in the Study of Women’s National Dress in Iceland.” National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavík. November 2009.
* A previous version was delivered in English at the 2009 Meeting of the Nordic Councils for National Dress, (Nordiskt Dräktseminarium, 2009) Orbaden, Sweden. August 2009 (see above.
“Designing and Dressing Sustainably: What Must We Teach, What Must We Learn?” Nordic Fashion Biennale, Nordic House, Reykjavik Iceland, March 2009
“On an ‘Icelandic’ Design Process: Craft Traditions as Models for Sustainable Design Practices.” Lecture and Workshop, Reykjavik Technical College, Reykjavik Iceland, March 2009
"The Design Process: Inspiration is Key.” Guest Lecture, Reykjavik Technical College, Reykjavik Iceland, March 2009
“Innovation and the Importance of Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration” Lecture at Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik Iceland, March 2009
“On Women’s National Dress in the Early Years of the 21st Century.” Lecture, Icelandic Handcrafts Association, Reykjavik Iceland, January 2009
“Are Ideas Like Shirts? Innovation and Creative Thinking in Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design.”Guest lecturer in "Innovation" seminar (TMD 402 I), University of Rhode Island, Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, February, 2009
“Art, Environment, and Social Experience.” Lecture with artist Brower Hatcher. Sponsored by Brown University's Div. of Engineering, the Creative Arts Council, and the Cogut Center for the Humanities. Brown University, April 2006
“Extensions of Self: Media, History, and the Perception of Style.” Guest lecturer in "The Art and Science of Fashion" (TMD 402 K) seminar, University of Rhode Island, Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, April 2005