Ted Noten (born 1956) is one of today’s most original, radical designers. His transparent acrylic bags—which contain objects ranging from animals, jewels and cocaine to pistols—have seduced collectors and confused the establishment. Beauty and violence, perfection and decay: these are the themes that have defined Noten’s oeuvre since he made his famous pendant featuring a mouse wearing a pearl necklace. In his projects, Noten demonstrates a mastery of both the commercial arena and the art scene, blending the streets with the catwalk in a way that simultaneously highlights the appeal and exposes the hypocrisy of museums, the world of fashion and bourgeois morality. Ted Noten: Ubiquist documents the immense playing field in which Noten operates, following him to international museums and gloomy villas, symposia and ateliers, leading newspapers and video clips, academies and brothels, while photographs by Johannes Schwartz provide intimate glimpses of his studio.
