The Design MMoCA 2008 exhibit continues today and Sunday with lectures and gallery talks. The exhibit features 15 living spaces, each created by a local designer and each directly inspired by a work of art from the museum’s permanent collection. The 15 spaces are all vastly different. Some designers chose to literally interpret the painting, and some chose to use it as a jumping-off point. The more successful and interesting designs managed to keep a firm grasp on the featured piece, but reinterpreted it with a smart and imaginative point of view.

Tania S. May’s interpretation of James Rosenquist’s 1978 lithograph Terrarium is more literal, the living space mirroring the clear turquoise and red of the piece. The spherical light fixture in the center reflects and distorts images, much like the glass bottles in the artwork. The sense of humor in this design was clearly evident. On a first pass by, I wondered why there was a round fishbowl full of bed-frame wheels on the dark-wood dresser. On a second look, I realized that there is a mattress and wheeled bed frame featured in the lithograph. May cleverly mixes literal reflections and abstract allusions, keeping intact the coherence of a comfortable living space.

Linville Architects created an entirely different world based on John Buck’s 1982 woodcut Untitled (Les Grand Eclipse). Part voodoo hut, part tricked-out WWII-era South Pacific outpost, this space was concealed by a paint-spattered canvas. Inside, Buck’s woodcut of a Dia de los Muertos-style skeleton greets visitors. A vintage table fan buzzes on a chest next to a frying pan, and a canvas cot floats in the center. However, the focus of the room rests on a psychedelic rosemal chest. Bumpy and multicolored, it rests irresistibly in the background like the door in a horror movie you’re not supposed to open.

Some interpretations were much more obvious than others, some were a little flat or pretentious, but in all cases Design MMoCA offers a unique glimpse into the artistic decision-making process. With an art as underrepresented as interior design, it was surprisingly easy and rewarding to wonder, “Why this chair instead of a sofa?” or “Is that vase of dried flowers really necessary?”

Lectures begin today with “Climate Change and Residential Design” at 11:00 am and “Creating an Artful Home” at 2:00 pm. A gallery talk about Feng Shui begins at 1:00 pm and a designer-led tour of the exhibit, “Designers on Design” begins at 4:00 pm. Sunday features a lecture on “Design Trends: Moda Italiana” at 11:00 am and “The Art of Lighting Art” at 2:00 pm. Gallery talk “Full Circle: A Green Retro-Fit” begins at 1:00 pm. Weekend passes are $15 ($10 for MMoCA, ASID or IIDA members). This information and more is available at MMoCA.org.