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Arts & Entertainment

Modular Art Catches On

DIY home décor that won't look like you've done it yourself

A sort of Legoland for adults, gallery and pop-up shop features a fascinating collection of modular home décor. For those irregular New York living spaces, modular art is the perfect solution because you can assemble it to fill an oddly proportioned wall or complement a tiny room. If you're renting, no problem. Modular art is quite moveable. On a tight budget? Start small.

Modular art is a "co-creative process" between the designer and the consumer. The decorator is not left completely to their own artistic devices, but they also do not relinquish complete control to the designer over the final product. Modular art fits perfectly into the current DIY trend that has gained popularity with online how-to's and a need to cut costs in the recession.

A.R.T. | Module R founder and Brooklyn Heights resident Donald Rattner is an architect who worked for 14 years with Ferguson Murray Architects, later Ferguson Shamamian Rattner Architects, before leaving to start Studio for Civil Architecture in 2002. His interest in modular design was peaked when he and his wife were remodeling their mid-century home in Connecticut.

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After a search for décor that left them wanting more, they shifted their focus from contemporary and vintage to modular pieces.

"Henry Ford's Model-Ts are the perfect example of mass production," says Rattner, "and today, technology makes it possible to customize mass-produced objects at affordable prices."

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Eye-catching examples of "mass-customization" are everywhere in his pop-up shop, from coat racks to wall sculptures to photo frames, clocks and candlesticks. Designers have designed the components or "modules" and buyers arrange them in any way they please to create a personalized work of art or one-of-a-kind functional piece for the home.

The results are MoMA-esque; contemporary, abstract and guaranteed to inspire questions from viewers. As a visitor in the pop-up store, an hour easily sped by as I moved from one display to the next, motivated by curiosity and intrigue to read each description.

The idea for the shop originated from Rattner's journey into the modular art world and his subsequent discovery that there was no centralized hub for designers and aficionados. In March 2010, he launched an online store that brings together many different artists' work for display and sale in one place.

"I wanted to take modular design to the marketplace, make it more accessible," he explains.

Brooklynites have been responding well to the pop-up shop, which is only open until January 9.

"I chose Atlantic Ave because it is a destination for people looking to decorate their homes," Rattner said, adding that he has introduced many Brooklynites to the concept of customizable and transformable home décor and received an overwhelmingly positive response. 

The majority of the shop's local customers are young families with a thirst to be purposively involved in the design of their home's decoration, he said. They are enthusiastically committed to Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens and taking part in the improvement of both their home and neighborhood.

Rattner characterizes his customers as having "sophisticated, but fun design tastes" and a "DIY ethic." He recalls one visitor who exclaimed "this store is fun! It's really about fun!" 

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Editors Note: Normally, Home Works runs every other Tuesday. Yesterday's snow coverage forced us to hold Whitney's most recent column until today.

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