maHKUzine #4

4 Editorial

the poltics of design Dutch Artistic Research Event # 2 ANNETTE W. BALKEMA , GUUS BEUMER,

PETRA BLAISSE, HEIN EBERSON, HELLA JONGERIUS,

FIONA PARRY, FIONA RABY, ROEMER VAN TOORN

research essays Between Nostalgia And Expectation GABRIELA HERNANDEZ

Design As Empowerment LUIS IGNACIO CARMONA

Fashion And The Passing Of Time MAAIKE STAAL

research reports South-Korean report Academy A Certain Ma-Ness

M mahkuzine journal of artistic research

WINTER 2008

– 1 – mahkuzine 4, winter 2008

Contents

Editorial

the politics of design

DutchArtisticResearchEvent#2 ANNETTE W. BALKEMA , GUUS BEUMER,

PETRA BLAISSE, HEIN EBERSON, HELLA JONGERIUS,

FIONA PARRY, FIONA RABY, ROEMER VAN TOORN

research essays

BetweenNostalgiaAndExpectation GABRIELA HERNANDEZ

DesignAsAToolForTheEmpowermentOfProducers FromUnderexposedCulturesToParticipateInAGlobal WorldThroughTheInternet LUIS IGNACIO CARMONA

FashionAndThePassingOfTime MAAIKE STAAL

research reports South-Koreanreport Academy ACertainMa-Ness

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– 4 –

– 14 –

– 24 –

– 35–

– 44 –

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Editorial

TheconceptofthepoliticsofdesignpermeatestheentireissueofMaHKUzine#4.Tobesure,thepoliticsofdesigndonotrefertointriguesandmachinationsinthedesignworldcreatingwickedplotsandsce-narios.Rather,thepoliticsofdesignconnectswithcurrentdesignfas-cinationsevokedbyglobalizationandsustainabilitycreatingnoveldesignperspectivesanddesigntrajectorieswithanundercurrentofmakingourworldabetterplace.

TheResearchEssaysreflectthatdesignattitude.InDesign as a Tool for the Empowerment of Producers from Underexposed Cultures to Participate in a Global World through the Internet,LuisIgnacioCarmonaintroducestheconceptofInternetCooperativeswhereconsumersandproducers“willbepartnersinthedevelopmentofsustainable,ecologicalanduniqueproducts.”Fashion and the Passing of TimeseesMaaikeStaalsuggest“thetermTrash-Worshipfordesignerswhousediscardedmaterialsintheircreations;theyemploytheremnantsofourconsumersocietyasabasefornewdesignsforthatsamesociety.Infact,theyrevalueourowngarbage.”InBetween Nostalgia and Expectation,GabrielaHernándezar-guesthat“publicspaceiswhereaculturereflectsitspastanditsaspi-rations.”Deploying“Baudrillard’ssimulacraandsimulationtheoryasbackground”Hernándezdevelopsaspecificlineofthoughtinorder“toillustrateandunderstandnostalgiaandexpectationindifferentpublicplacesfromdifferentpoles.”

IntheDare #2 symposiumThe Politics of Design-asatelliteprojectofUtrechtManifest’s2ndBiennialforSocialDesign-variousspeakersaddressasimilardesignattitude.Casco’sFionaParryreportsonpositionstaken.SpeakerPetraBlaisse“usesthecurtainasaquietlypoliticaltool”thatis“capableofalteringandsubsequentlyquestioningthefixednessofar-chitecturalspace.”BothHellaJongeriusandFionaRaby,encirclingthesymposiumasfirstandlastspeakerrespectively,discuss“howdesign-erscanaffectthewaypeoplethinkaboutchoice,includingchoosingtothinkaboutthefuture.”GuusBeumerfocusesonfashiondesignandthefashionindustryand“showshowdesignhasaffectedhowweeventhinkaboutwhatthefutureis.”HeinEberson’sSecond Life lecturevoic-es“concernsforadesignerinrelationtotheincreasingprominenceofonlineactivityanditsimpactonformsofcommunication,privacyandsecurity.”OneoftheconceptsRoemervanToornintroducesistheSocietyoftheAndwhere“ideasonceheldatadistancebybinaryop-positioncanbejoinedtogether”creatinga“contextinwhichdesignersandarchitectsmustnowwork”inordertoproduce“sociallyrespon-sibledesign.”InMahkuzine#4,VanToornandmoderatorAnnetteW.BalkemafurtherdiscussthevalidityoftheSocietyoftheAnd.

Lastbutnotleast,theResearchReportspointoutthat“artnolongerusestraditionalcontexts,butappearstocreateitsownplatformsabletocontinuouslyproducenovel,interdisciplinarycontexts.Thatrecontex-tualizingturnalsoimpliesthattheartistalwaysneedstoreflectontheconnectionofart,public,andpublicdomain.”WimMarseillediscussesthe“rhetoricaloppositionofa‘why-’anda‘whynot-’attitudeinthede-signprocesswhilereportingonaseriesofresearchlecturesinSouthKoreaaddressingtheissueofglobaldesign.(AWB)


the politics of design

A second Dutch Artistic Research Event - DARE - has been organized by the Utrecht Graduate School of Visual Art and Design, in coopera-tion with Casco. The event has been realized in collaboration with the Dutch Aesthetics Federation ( DAF ) and the Utrecht art institu-tions Aorta, Expodium, Central Museum and the Academiegalerie.

In the first edition of DARE ( 2006 ), a curator mixed the disciplines of Fashion, Editorial Design, Interior Design, Urban Design, and Fine Art in the various exhibition spaces. Conversely, for the second DARE edition in 2007, the research projects have been mounted under the guidance of five commissioners in discipline-specific exhibitions. That exhibition methodology was informed by a sharp-er vision of interdisciplinarity; the Graduate School does not focus so much on educating interdisciplinary practitioners as it aims to foster opportunities for interdisciplinary encounters that could generate novel visions of the boundaries of the vari-ous disciplines, while exploring possible transformations. Thus, the discipline-specific presentations - Fashion in Casco, Interior Design in Expodium, Urban Design in Aorta, Editorial Design in Central Museum, and Fine Art in Academiegalerie - in combination with related research screenings, have concentrated particularly on the discussion surrounding medium-specific and discipline-specific perspectives. The second DARE symposium that took place in Utrecht Central Museum on September 9th was colored by simi-lar attitudes and perspectives. Six prominent designers - Hella Jongerius, Petra Blaisse, Roemer van Toorn, Guus Beumer, Hein Eberson, and Fiona Raby - delved into questions such as: How can we define the role of a designer? Is design able to contribute to solving important ( environmental, social, political ) problems in the world? Does a designer have to contend with both artistic and social responsibilities, and how could we define those responsibilities?

Fiona Parry from Casco reported on the positions taken. As a follow-up, a discussion between Roemer van Toorn and moderator Annette W. Balkema emerged. The symposium “The Politics of Design” was a satellite program of Utrecht Manifest 2007, the Biennial for Social Design.

Symposium

FIONA PARRY

ThetopicofthesecondDaresymposiumwasThePoliticsofDesign.

Designers,architectsandtheoristswereinvitedtospeakabouttheroleofthedesignerinrelationtocontemporaryissues:globalization,con-sumerism,theenvironment,andthegapbetweentheindustrializednationandthedevelopingworld.Onequestionrevisitedbyanumberofthespeakerswas:inordertobesociallyresponsibleasadesigner,isitpossibleoreveneffectivetooperateoutsideofapervasiveconsumerculture,fromwhichthedesignprofessionissoinextricableandcontrib-utessignificantly?Oristhebetter,orsole,optiontofindmethodologiesfornavigatingasociallyresponsiblepaththroughtheinsideofthiscul-ture?Theconversationalsoaddressedvariedideasonwhatitmeanstobeeitherinsideoroutside.

Architectandtheorist,RoemervanToornaddressedthisquestion,describ-ingthecurrentcontextinwhichdesignersandarchitectsmustnowworkas‘thesocietyoftheAnd’.Ideasonceheldatadistancebybinary

FIONA PARRY ANNETTE W. BALKEMA ROEMER VAN TOORN

design solutions research essays research reports


oppositioncanbejoinedtogether,theexcessofdifferentmediaandtheover-designofoursurroundingscannolongerbedividedfromourexperience,and‘ourimaginationsaresuburbanized’.VanToornas-sertedthatitisnotpossiblefordesignersandarchitectstoescapeorig-noretheseconditionsiftheywanttomakesociallyresponsibledesign.Healsopointedatthepoliticsarisingpreciselyoutofthesimultaneousboundariesandlackofboundariesbetweenthings,inparticularbe-tweendesignorarchitecture,andeverydaylife.Thedesignerneedstoembracethesecontradictions,toprovokepoliticaldebateandopinion,toenablepeoplealsotonavigatetheirrelationshipstotheirsurround-ingsandtheobjectstheyuse.Intheseconditionshebelievesitisneces-saryfordesignerstothinkintermsofwhathecallsa‘quasi-object’,anobjectcontinuallyunderstoodinrelationtopeople,use,otherobjects,environments,theoriesetc.Thoughofcoursethisrelationalapproachdoesnotnecessarilyresultinsociallyresponsibledesign,oftenitfallsintowhathecalls‘freshconservatism’:theobjectfunctionsasanovel‘gizmo’,orcollateselementstogetherinarelationshipwithnodirec-tion,orcreatestheappearanceofahiddenmeaning,whichstopsatap-pearance.

PetraBlaissedescribedamorepragmaticapproachtotherelationalquali-tyofdesign,explaininghowsheapproachesacommission,thecontextoftheinstitutionorplacesheisinvitedtowork,thecomplexneedsofanewdevelopmentoracitypark;thedifferentfactorstotakeintoconsideration:use,history,access,environmentalimpactetc.Blaissedesignscurtainsandgardens,oftenonalargescale.Sheworkscon-ceptuallywiththeintrinsicallyrelationalqualitiesoftheseaspectsofarchitecturalspace;theiradaptabilityforusersofaspaceandtheirresponsivenesstoexternalconditionssuchasweatherandlight.Herapproachtakesthealreadyveryrelationalnatureofthedesignproc-essfurther:negotiatingaprecariousandintenselyinterdependentre-lationshipwithaparticulararchitecturalandpoliticalspace.Blaisseusesthecurtainasaquietlypoliticaltool–inrelationtoourhabitualexperienceofspace–capableofalteringandsubsequentlyquestioningthefixednessofarchitecturalspace,abletoaffecthowpublicorprivateaspaceisinaninstant.Forexample,attheHausderKunstinMunich,shedesignedawhitecurtain,ShiftedRoom,renderingthespaceirreg-ular,asapoliticalstatement,‘givingthespaceanewmeaning’.

Manyofthespeakersrecognizedthatinordertobemoresociallyresponsi-ble,designersneedtothinkabouthowtheycanactivatemorecritical,sustainableanddemocraticrelationshipstoobjects,spacesandmedia.Theneedtolookforwardtoapossiblefutureinordertoattempttore-formulatetheserelationshipswasalsoaddressedinanumberofways,boththroughtheimplicationsofourpresentwayoflivingandhowtoconceiveofalternatives.Aspartofhispresentation,GuusBeumershowedhowdesign,thefashionindustryinparticular,hasaffectedhowweeventhinkaboutwhatthefutureis.Whenhautecouturebe-cameindustrializedinthe1940s,toallowthetimetoproduceacol-lectionandforconsumerstofamiliarizethemselveswiththisnewcollection,whathadupuntilthenbeenproducedinthepresentwastransformedintoafuture.Thisfabricatedfuture–nothingmorethanaforwardtimelag–feelslikesomethingthatyoucaninvestin,thoughactuallykeepsyouthinkingcontinuallyaboutthepresent.

Incontrasttothisexampleofhowdesignindustriescanpresentchoicescontinuallyreplacingoneanotherinastaticrelationshiptosupportacommercialmarket,thefirstandlastspeakers,HellaJongeriusandFionaRabysuggesthowdesignerscanaffectthewaypeoplethinkaboutchoice,includingchoosingtothinkaboutthefuture,andhowwemightchangeourrelationshiptooursurroundings.



• GuusBeumer

•


HellaJongeriusseemstoconceiveofaveryparticularrelationshipbe-tweentheobjectsshedesignsandthepeoplewhousethem,whichiscompletelyembeddedinthemakingprocess.Shetriestotellstorieswithandcontainthepastintheobjectsshedesigns.Theoverridingstatementshemadewasthatshebelieves,asadesigner,ingivingpeo-plechoices.Onewaysheachievesthisisthroughdevisingindustrialprocessesforlarge-scaleceramicproductionresultinginimperfectionsora“specialcharacter”foreachobjectorupholsterydesign,withapatternrepeatingeverythreemetersratherthaneverythirtycentim-eters.Theseobjectsarenotobviouslymoresociallyresponsiblealterna-tivestootherceramicsorsofafabrics.ThoughJongeriusdoessuggestotherordersofchoice,withthepotentialtomakepeopleawareoftheexistenceofunheard-ofchoices;questioninganunderstandingofmass-producedobjectsthroughtheintroductionoftraditionalcrafttechniquesintoindustrialprocesses,anddrawingmemoriesandacol-lectivesocialhistoryoutofobjects,notjustasfinishedproductsbutasmaterialsandcreativeprocesses.

Thelastspeaker,FionaRaby,tookthisideaofchoicefurther,presentinganumberofspeculativedesignsolutionsforthefuture.Future,inthesensethatmanyofthemcouldnotbeputtousenow,astheyrequireashiftinbehavior,givingsomeofthemanalmostold-fashionedsci-fifeel,althoughaddressingrisingconcernsrangingfromclimatechangetoincreasinglyfragilepersonalities.Thesesolutionsopenedupwaysofthinkingcreativelyabouthowwecanchangeourbehavior,inpar-ticular,byadvocatingtheuseofexistingtechnologiesindifferentways,ratherthanassumingthatwenecessarilyneednewtechnologiestoconfrontnewproblems.Someofthedesignsalsomakeyouwonderaboutthephysiologicaltemperamentofasocietywheresolutionsaredesignedforeveryconceivableproblem,againshowingtheimpactourmaterialsurroundingshaveuponus.ItispossiblethatTheHideawayFurniture,whichblendsintoitssurroundings,forpeoplewhofearbeingabducted,couldendupcausingmorephysiologicalneurosisthanalleviationoffear,providingaphysicalspaceasaconstantreminderofthisfear.

HeinEbersonunifiedmanyoftheideasraisedbytheotherspeakers,speakingabouthisparticipationintheonlinevirtualworld,SecondLife,aworldbuiltandactivatedbyitsusers,intheformofvirtualbe-ingsorAvatars.Ebersonraisedconcernsforadesignerinrelationtotheincreasingprominenceofonlineactivityanditsimpactonformsofcommunication,privacyandsecurity.TheWorldWideWeb,stillintheinfantstagesofdevelopment,presentsinterestingchallengesforthosewhowishtodesignthisvirtualrealm.Howcanweunderstandvirtualspacewithoutsimplysuperimposingourconceptionsofrealspaceontoit?WhatdodigitalbeingsorAvatarswant,howdotheyre-latetoobjects,theirsurroundingsandeachother’sactions?EbersonmadethepointthatSecondLifeisnotover-designedliketherealworld;peoplebuildbasicstructures,andneitherdoesawebsite’ssuc-cessnecessarilydependonitsvisualdesign,butonthewayitmediatescommunication.EbersonseemstoalsosuggestcommunicationisthemainobjectofdesigninSecondLife.Avatarsareinthemselvesdigitallivesdesignedtonavigatethisworld,enablingnovelandmultifariousformsofexchangeandcommunication.Forinstance,youcantransfermoney(Lindendollars)instantlyfromyouraccounttosomeoneelse’sbyshootingitatthemfromagunoryoucangotoabankandsitonapaymentinformationchair.

EbersonalsospokeaboutasinisterfutureforSecondLifeanditsinhabit-ants,andbyimplicationinhabitantsoftherealworld.AsVanToornsaidinhistalk,wenowliveinasocietywherethingscannotbeheldseparatefromoneanother,andtheboundariesandlackofboundariesbetweenarealpersonandthedigitalbeingtheyhavecreatedandcan



• ••


continuallyre-createarecomplex,problematicandinteresting.Avir-tualworldthatallowsyoueachdaytobewhatyouwant,todowhatyouwant,tolookhowyouwant,inevitablyreachespointswhererealbehaviorandvirtualbehaviorco-mingleinrespectswhichcannotbetolerated,forinstancevirtualpedophilia.Thisraisesotherquestions,suchashowdoesoneattempttoregulatebehaviorinthisrelativelynascentvirtualterritory?OneexampleEbersongavewasthecensor-shipoftheliteraryword‘Lolita’,whichparadoxicallywouldnotbetol-eratedintherealworld.TheoverridingissuethatEbersonpointsoutisthatyourdigitallife,andallintellectualandmaterialpropertyyoucreateinthisworldisownedbyacompany,LindenLabs,soyoucanbesoldatanymoment.Attheendofthetalkheplaysarecordedspeechbyhisavatar,whourgestheaudiencetocreateasmanydigitalidenti-tiesastheycan,tothinkaboutthefuture.

Thespeakersdemonstratedvaryingideasofwhatapoliticsofdesigncouldbe:fromanintuitivematerialengagementwithsociety,toapoliticallyawareapproachtoaparticularcontext,toanattempttocompletelyre-formulateourrelationshiptoobjects.Inasensetheypresenteddiffer-entareasanddegreesofconsciousnessoftheframeworkinwhichtheywork,maybeeven(not)choosingtobeawareofcertainproblemsanddynamicsthatcomeoutofthedesignprocess.BeumerandVanToornbothrecognizedthatanover-awarenessoftherelationshipsatworkbetweenpeople,objects,spacesanddesigndoesnotnecessarilyresultinsomethingmoresociallyethicalthanamoreintuitiveapproach.Beumerpointedoutthatifyoudowanttostepoutofthesysteminwhichdesignersdevelopandmarketproducts,yourisklosing‘theclas-sicrelationshipofintimacy’,creatingmeta-design,commentingonde-signtoapointthatyoubecomesoawareoftherelationshipsbetweenthingsthatyouhavenothing.Howeveritwasevidentthatitisincreas-inglyimportantfordesignerstofindways,nomatterhowconsciousorformulated,ofrecognizingthecomplexitiesofarapidlychangingworldinwhichtheyareheavilyimplicated,inordertodeterminewaystodealmoreresponsiblywiththesechangesandtheproblemstheypresent.



• HellaJongerius

•• PetraBlaisse

••• Fromlefttoright:RoemervanToorn,HenkOosterling,

FionaRaby&HeinEberson

•• •••


Discussion

TheNecessityofHydraulization

ANNETTE W. BALKEMA

InRoemervanToorn’sDare#3lecture,entitled“TheQuasi-ObjectFormationsofDissensus”,avarietyofconceptsgenerateatextualtis-sueofstatements,ideas,andtopics.TheSocietyoftheAnd,theQuasi-Object,andtheGizmoWorldarethreestrikingconceptsVanToornintroduces.NotonlydotheseconceptsinviteonetothinkalongwithVanToorn,theyalsogiverisetocriticalcommentsonthetext.Anex-plorationofthosethreeconceptsandhowtheyareinterrelatedmightrevealwhethertheyfulfilltheirpromiseofanovelmodeofthoughtde-signedforourdigitalage.

VanToorn’sSocietyoftheAndexpressesadesirefortransformationofwhathecalls“thedialecticlogicofobjectivityversussubjectivity,ofthenearversusthefar,offactversusvalue,ofcultureversustheeveryday,ofthecityversusthecountryside(…)”(VanToorn2007:3).WeneedthenewparadigmoftheSocietyoftheAndinorderto“understandrealityasbeingbothrealANDvirtual,humanANDnon-human,utopianANDdystopian,localANDglobal,heterogeneousANDhomogeneous,cultur-alANDindustrial”,VanToornclaims(VanToorn2007:3).

ThesortoflogicVanToornintendstoeraseislabeledasdialectic,althoughhisdualoppositionssuchasobjectivityversussubjectivity,culturever-suscountryside,realversusvirtual,andsoonratherdemonstratethelogicofdichotomy.So,IwillassumethenthatbothdialecticlogicanddichotomouslogicneedtomakeroomforthelogicoftheSocietyoftheAnd,astepprovokedbyour21stcenturydigitalagewhere“oldmaps,instruments,andcategories(…)nolongerwork.”(VanToorn2007:3).Obviously,weallwillagreewiththat.Inthedigitalage,wealllongforfluidandstreamingformsofthoughtfreedfromtherigidchainsofop-positionseitherconstitutedbystiff,non-moveablebinarymodelsorbythewooden,triadicmovementsofdialecticgeneralities.Therefore,curiosityaboutthoughtanditsformsofmovementandlogicintheSocietyoftheAndisthemaindriveofthiscommentarytext.

Surprisinglyenough,intheSocietyoftheAnd,thoughtanditspossibleformofmovementarenotcharacterizedbyfluidityandflexibility,butrathercoloredbyone-dimensionalcementationsorunitiesproducingflat,compressed,conjunctionalchains.Inthatlineofthought,Life-(And)-StylebecomecementedintoLifeStyle.Similarly,thenotionsofRealityTV,WorldMusic,MuseumStore,FoodCourt,andCultureIndustryemerge.HowcouldVanToornhavecomeupwithsuchflat,one-dimen-sionalcementation-styleunities?Couldhisfascinatingnotionofthequasi-object,orbetterputperhapsQuasiObject,beblamedforthat?OrisVanToorn’sstatementaboutthe“one”,i.e.,“whatinthepastwasin-compatibleisnowone”,astatementintroducinghiscementations,bethekeytounderstandinghisSocietyoftheAndandrelatedcementa-tions(VanToorn2007:4)?

Beforedelvingintothosequestions,someinvestigationintotheDeleuzianLogicoftheANDandDeleuzianreflectionsontheOnemightshedsomelightontheproblematicsofone-dimensionalityandthenonflex-iblecementationsVanToornseemstoproduce.Afterall,theDeleuzianmultiplicitymodeofthoughthasbeenspecificallycreatedtocon-querboththelogicofdichotomyandthe“falsetheaterofdialectics”(Deleuze1994:8,10).




InA Thousand Plateaus,theFrenchphilosopherGillesDeleuze-andhisco-authorpsycho-analystFélixGuattari-speakof“alogicoftheAND”,alogicconnectedwithhowto“movebetweenthings”,howto“over-throwontology”,howto“doawaywithfoundations”,andhowto“nul-lifyendingsandbeginning.”(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:25).InA Thousand Plateaus,DeleuzeandGuattaricreateamultiplicitymodeofthoughtfilledwithmultilayered,multidimensionalinterconnectivi-tiesandinspiredbyallkindsoflinesandconnections,suchasthoseadvancedbymathematicianGeorgRiemann,withhiswormholesanddiscreteandcontinuousmultiplicities;bygrassanditsbifurcatingroots;andbytheflowsofswirlingparticlesinquantummechanics.Themultiplicitymodeofthoughtisfilledwithcontinuousmovementsofdeterritorializationandreterritorialization,ofstratificationanddes-tratification,ofcombattingplanesofconsistencyandplanesofdevelop-ment,ofsmoothspaceandstriatedspaceandtheirmotionsofmixing,eveloping,dissolving.Indeed,intheDeleuzianmultiplicitymodeofthoughtanditscontinuousmovementnothingcouldbecemented,be-causeitwillimmediatelybreaklooseandescapetheboundariesofim-prisonment.Evenpointsandsegmentationsarealwayscharacterizedbynonlocalizability,withHeisenberg’sUncertaintyPrincipleasoneofthemainprinciplesofquantummechanicshoveringintheback-ground.Thus,differentlyfromVanToorn’slogicoftheAndanditsim-plicatedcementationsofRealityTVandFoodCourt,theDeleuzianLogicoftheAndisconnectedwithacontinuousmovementbetweenthingsandthenullificationofthebeginningsandendingssocharacteristicofdualistthought.

Obviously,thecontinuousmovementofthemultiplicitymodeofthoughtfascinatesusinour21stcenturydigitalage,sincethedigitalworldandits“lightofspeed”and“electronicperspectives”appeartoflowalongwithDeleuzianstreamsoffluidconcepts,whileproducingtransvers-ingandglidingstreamsofnotionssuchasincompatible-excompat-ible,intensive-extensive,intension-extension(Virilio1998:35-45).Inotherwords,themultiplicitymodeofthoughtstillisanimmensesourceofinspirationinthe21stcentury;itscontinuouschallengeandfascinationmakesithardtobeatbyanynovelmodeofthought.VanToorn’smodeoflogicintheSocietyoftheAnd,creatingcementationsintotheone-“whatinthepastwasincompatibleisnowone”-doesnotseemtosucceedinthatattempteither.Atthesametime,VanToorndesiresanovelformofthoughtforourdigitalage,andindeedintendstosurpassformsofthoughtfromapastera.AnothernotionpreventingVanToorn’smovetoafluidandflexiblemodeofthoughtseemstobehisconceptionoftheone.Inthemultiplicitymodeofthought,theOneemergesaswell,butinamannerclearlyincompatiblewithhowVanToorndeployshisnotionoftheone.

InaDeleuzianmodeofthought,theOneandtheMultiplebelongtotherealmofdichotomy,togetherwithbinaryoppositionssuchassubjec-tivityandobjectivity.Thatinstantlydemonstratestheclaimedincom-patibilityabove,sinceinonecase,theVanToorncase,the“one”seemsanovelcementationorunityinconqueringthelogicofdialecticsanddichotomy,whereasintheothercase,theDeleuzianone,theOnespecificallybelongstotherealmofdichotomousthought.HowdoesDeleuzeescapetheOne?DeleuzeandGuattariarguethat“itisonlywhenthemultipleiseffectivelytreatedasasubstantive,`multiplic-ity,’thatitceasestohaveanyrelationtotheOneassubjectorobject,naturalandspiritual,andworldandimage”(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:8).DeleuzeandGuattaripurposefullystresshowintheirmodeofthought,connectedtothemultiplicity,“Thereisnounitytoserveasapivotintheobject,ortodivideinthesubject.Thereisnoteventheunitytoabortintheobjector`return’inthesubject.”(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:8).Inotherwords,therearenocementedunities.




Conversely,amultiplicityisfilledwith“determinations,magnitudes,anddimensionsthatcannotincreaseinnumberwithoutthemultiplic-itychanginginnature(thelawsofcombinationthereforeincreaseinnumberasthemultiplicitygrows”(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:8).

Thus,VanToorn’sflat,one-dimensionalcementation-styleunitiescelebrat-ingthe“one”seemtobeatoddswithhisattempttobeatthelogicofdialecticanddichotomousmodesofthought.VanToorn’sconceptoftheQuasiObjecthasbeensuggestedaspossiblytoblameforthereali-zationoftheoneanditscementations.AGooglesearchrevealsthataQuasiObjectisatermadoptedfromScienceandTechnologyStudies,whereitsignifiesaconceptualintersticeorindicatesasourceofagencywiththecapacitytobypassdualisticoppositions(www.rit.edu/~emsgsh/quasi-object.htm).TheQuasiObjectasanagencytodissolvedualisticoppositionscouldindeedhaveledVanToorntocreatethe“one”anditsrelatedflatconcepts,suchasRealityTVandFoodCourt.However,thepreviouslineofargumentmighthavesufficientlydemonstratedthattheQuasiObjectasagencyproducingthelogicoftheSocietyoftheAnddidnotturnanyformofrigidlogicintoafluidandflexibleone.Inmyview,asourceofagencymightbypassdualisticoppositionsifandonlyifsuchagencycouldfunctionasasourceofcompactification,i.e.,aformofcurling-upproducingcompactifiedformsofdepthandmultidi-mensionalities(Balkema2006:14).

DuringhisDarelecture,VanToornmentionedMichelSerres,whodeployedtheconceptofquasi-objectinbookssuchasThe ParasiteandStatues,whereheanalysesentwinedseriesofdisplacementandtransforma-tions(…)(www.rit.edu/~emsgsh/quasi-object.htm).MichelSerresalsoappearsasasourceofinspirationinA Thousand Plateaus,wherehepur-portedlyunderstandsphysicsasanentwinedseriesof“ageneraltheoryofroutesandaglobaltheoryofwaves”,andheconnects“hydraulics,orageneralizedtheoryofswellandflows”withvorticesandturbulences.(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:372,489,519,n13).Theroutesandwaves,theswells,flowsandturbulencesshowtheformofflexibilityandmove-menttheSocietyoftheAndlacks,butsodesperatelymustcrave,inordertobeabletoescapeitscompressedcementationspreventingitfromenteringthedigitalage.

However,ahintofmovementcanbeperceivedintheSocietyoftheAndwhen“asuburbanizationofimagination”islinkedtoapivoting“sub-urb-neither-city-nor-country”image(VanToorn2007:5).Inaddition,VanToornarguesthat“thequasiobjectestablishesrelations(…)andalso“createsassemblages(VanToorn2007:10)–althoughVanToorn’sassemblagesdonotseemtoconnectwithDeleuzianassemblagesasin-tersectingconnectionsanddimensions(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:9).Still,VanToornassociatesthesuburbanizedimaginationwiththeDeleuzian“in-between”,andclaimsthatthesuburbanizedimagina-tion“createshybrids,blendsandmongrels”,whereasatthesametimeheurgesusto“startthinkinginrelationsandlinkageswhenwewanttounderstandandproduceourcontemporaryreality”(VanToorn2007:7,8).Buthowcouldoneperformsuchcriss-crossing,multilayeredactsintherigid,flatandcompressedSocietyoftheAnd?Onceagain,theSocietyoftheAnd’slackofanydimensionalityonlymaintainsdualistbeginningsincementedthings,whilestillkeepingthemimprisonedinthelogicofdichotomyanddialectics.Indeed,VanToorn’sconceptualframeworknecessitatestheintroductionofSerres’liquidhydraulizationasamachinetotransformhismodeofthoughtintoalogicoffluidityandflexibility,whileproducingswellsandflowsandturbulencesandvortices,inongoingmovementsandformsofmultidimensionality.

OneconceptVanToornimplicates,theGizmoWorld,seemstopromisethatmodeofliquidthought-butonlyforamoment.InVanToorn’sview,“unstable”and“multifeatured”Gizmo’sareaformofQuasiObject,pro-ducingaGizmoWorldcharacterizedby“asuddenexplosionofinfor-




mation”(VanToorn2007:10,11).TherearealsoDeleuzianexplosions.TheDeleuzianlineofflightintolerantofanyform,segmentorterri-tory,explodestwosegmentarylineswherebythelineofflightflasheslike“atraininmotion.”Suchexplosionsheraldanincreaseindimen-sionsandaprocessofmetamorphosis.(DeleuzeandGuattari1996:197,98).Conversely,theexplosionofinformationintheGizmoWorlddoesnotseemtohaveanyarenainwhichsuchanexplosionmightoccur.Therefore,itjustexplodeswithoutprovokinganytransformation.UnlesstheGizmoWorldimplicatesliquidhydraulics,creatingfluidandmultidimensionalspacesformovementsofintertwiningflows,turbu-lence,andvorticalintersections,theGizmoWorldwillcontinuetobeapseudo-informationalworldwithoutthestreaminginformationthatmakesourdigitalage“sodifferent,soappealing.”(1)

1)cf.RichardHamilton’spaintingJustWhatIsItThatMakesToday’sHomesSo

Different,SoAppealing?

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Balkema,AnnetteW.,2006,“PerceptionandtheLinesofLight”,inMahkuzine#1,

Utrecht:UtrechtSchoolofVisualArtandDesign.Digitaledition:

www.mahku.nl

Deleuze,GillesandFélixGuattari,1996,AThousandPlateaus,London:theAthlone

Press.

Deleuze,Gilles,1994,Difference&Repetition,NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress.

VirilioPaul,1998,OpenSky,NewYork:Verso.

ResponseRoemervanToorn

Unfortunately,Idonothavetimetowriteafully-fledgedreactiontoyourlectureonmytextbeforeMahkuzine’sdeadline.However,ashortreac-tioncouldperhapselucidatesomepoints.

Foucaultremarkedthatthe21stcenturymightbeaDeleuziancentury.WhatdidFoucaultmeanbythat?CynicorSevere?Heneverelaboratedfurther.However,Ibelievethatlate-capitalismindeedfunctionscon-formtoDeleuzianprinciples.DigitalCapitalismhasbecomeDeleuzian–cf.SlavojZizek’sandAlainBadiou’sworkonDeleuze.Whatinitiallyseemedtobeanalternative-afterallDeleuzeandGuattarisearchedforalternativesfortheliberationoflate-capitalism-hasdecayedintoarefinedprincipleofcontrol.Ashappenssooften,capitalismseemstobeeminentlycapableofincorporatingvariousideas;wearebeingconfrontedwithrevolutionaryconservatism.Again,whatDeleuzeandGuattarimeanttobealternativehasdegeneratedintorefinedmecha-nismsofcontrol.

IusetheAndprincipleofDeleuzeandvariousothertheoristsasamethodtounderstandreality.ThejokeoftheMuseumShopisonlyarapidin-dicationtogivethepublicasenseofwhatishappening.UlrichBeck,ManualCastells,ScottLash,andNegriandHardt,forexample,haveexplicatedinoutstandingwayswhattheproblemsare.Nowthatthemultitude(And)andthenotionofheterogeneityhavebeenadoptedbydigitalcapitalism,itbecomescomplicatedforcommittedartandarchi-tecturetoproceedonthesamepathasthemultitude.Apleafordiffer-ences,diversityandmovementisnotenoughtoarriveatliberation;forthat,oneneedsmore–cf.whatNaomiKleincallstheshocktherapyofdisastercapitalism.Ourmodelsofdifferencehavetochooseadirec-tion,knowwhotheenemyis,stickupforvictimsandthenewsnottoldtousbythemedia.




Conceptually,IsupportDeleuze.However,whatdirectionshisopensys-temsofbecomingswilltakeisextremelyvague.Deleuzedoesnottalkaboutsocialurgencies,enemiesorvictims(theoppressed)andhowonecouldactprogressivelyfromtheperspectiveoftheusefulnessofthings.Apleafordifferenceandmovementisnotenough,nomatterhowcomplexthatis.Thequestionishowwecoulddevelopheteroge-neousconceptsthatcouldworkprogressively;thatquestionhasnotbecomeeasierinourAndsociety.Thebeautifulthingis,though,thatclassicmodelscanbebrushedasideonceandforallinourSocietyoftheAnd,becauseboththeprogressiveandconservativemovementsimplynolongerwork,asevidentinthedescriptionDeleuzeandmanyothershavegivenofoursociety.

MysocietyoftheAndandtheideaofthequasiobjectarenothingbutamoreaccurateaccountofarealitywithinwhichwecoulddevelopal-ternatives.Withintheimpossibilityofexistence,theworldofthepos-siblemightbefound.Thisonlymattersifwealsounderstandhowobjectsfunction.Thebeautyofitis-incontrasttothedoom-mongersandnegativecriticswhocanonlyfleefromthesystem-thattherearealsoalternativeswithinthesystemoftheAnd,butthatrequiresmorethanmerelygeneratingdifference,openness,assemblagesandtheuseofsubversivity.Thosealternativesalsodemandasocialagenda,know-ingwhoyourenemiesareandwithwhomyouscalethebarricades.Therefore,IfrequentlyrefertothenotionofRadicalDemocracy.



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– 13 – mahkuzine 4, winter 2008design solutions research essays research reports

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• RoemervanToorn

•• MAFineArt,ClaraKerkstra

••• MAFineArt,AnneliesBloemendaal

•••• MAUrbanDesign,NatalyGorodetskyEngel

••••• MAInteriorDesign,JonnekeAartsen■• MAFashionDesign,‘NegenConceptstore’■•• MAFineArt,MikevanBuiten■••• MAInteriorDesign,LottedeGraaf■•••• MAFineArt,AlejandraNavarrete■ ■ MAEditorialDesign,ThomasClever


research essay

BetweenNostalgiaandExpectation

GABRIELA HERNÁNDEZ

A novelty today, tomorrow a ruin from the past, buried and resurrected every day, … the city that dreams us all, that all of us build and un-build and rebuild as we

dream, the city we all dream, that restlessly changes while we dream it, the city that wakes every hundred years and looks at itself in the mirror of a word

and doesn’t recognize itself and goes back to sleep, the city that sprouts from the eyelids of the woman who sleeps at my side, and is

transformed, with its monuments and statues, its histories and legends, into a fountain made of countless eyes, and each eye reflects the same landscape,

frozen in time,

… we are in the city, we cannot leave except to fall into another city, different yet identical,

I speak of the city, shepherdess of the centuries, mother that gives birth to us and devours us, that creates us and forgets. – Octavio Paz ( 1998 )

Tospeakofthecityistoseeandexperienceitsdevelopment,itstrans-formationasaresultofwhatwebelievein,whatweexperienceandwherewewanttogo.Butwhathappenswhenallcitiesarebecomingdifferent,yetultimatelyidentical,whenfollowingtheurgetobelongtotheglobalmonoculture?(Tung2001:186).Howcanacityberecog-nizedwhenthepastisbeingsweptaway?Mostimportantly,areweawarethatwhatwebuildtodaywillfallintoruintomorrow?Itseemsaviciouscirclewhere“everythingthathasbeenandisnolongerwhatwecallhistorical,inaccordancewiththemodernnotionthatwhathasbeencanneverbeagain,andthateverythingthathasbeenconsti-tutesanirreplaceableandirremovablelinkinachainofdevelopment”(Riegl1982:21).

Identityreliesnotonlyonhistoricalassetsbutalsoontheabilitytofindmeanstoadaptthesetothecontemporaryneedsofchangingcities.JustastheAustrianarchitectandurbanplannerCamilloSitte(1843-1903)statesinhisbookCity Planning According to Artistic Principles(1889),wherehenotonlycommentsontheunfortunatepurelytechnicalin-tentionofcityplanning,lackinginanyartisticapproach,butalsoontheuncertainfutureofarchitecturallandmarksunderthesecircum-stances.TheartisticapproachSittementionsreferstotheabilityofma-nipulatingordealingwiththedifferentelementsinthecityinsuchawaythattheycouldeasilybeperceivedorberecognizedbytheviewerasawhole.Planningstreetssothatarchitectureisperceivedanden-joyed,publicspaceenhancedandthereforepubliclifeencouraged(e.g.LangeVoorhoutinTheHagueandCopenhagen’snetworkofpedestrianstreets).Sittereferstotherelationshipbetweenbuildings,monumentsandsquaresthattodaycouldbetranslatedtoarchitecture,artandthepublicdomain.Theaimwasandstillistomakeartavailableinthepublicrealmwhereitwouldsurelyinfluence“everydayandeveryhourthegreatmassofpopulation”andprobablyofferbetteropportu-nitiesforoldcityscapesandcharacteristicneighborhoodstosurviveintheconstantlychangingurbanmaze(e.g.Chelsea,NewYorkCity)(Sitte1991:118).

GABRIELA HERNÁNDEZ LUIS IGNACIO CARMONA MAAIKE STAAL

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Todaylikeintheeighteenthcentury,formostarchitectsandcityplanners,cityplanningisusuallyjustanarrangementofparts,whichshouldre-sultinthemostefficientcommunicationssolutionsortheopportunityfordisplayingdesigncreativity.Numerousurbanelements,suchaspublicartworksbutmainlyarchitecturalforms,areoftenalientotheirsurroundings,isolated,forgottenorerasedfromthecomplexurbanmaze,leavingbehindlittletotracehistory.Notsurprisingly,inseverallecturesduringtheBarcelonaForum2004,thisalienationwasidenti-fiedasaconsequenceofnotperceivingandunderstandingthecityasalivingorganism,asawholemadeupofmultipleparts,differentbutal-waysrelated.Inthatunderstanding,thecityisaphenomenonwhereifoneexistingpartchangesoranewoneisadded,itinevitablychangestherest.Thecontemporaryapproachofthecitydoesnotalwaysoffervisiblelinkstothepast,whichmightbeduetothefactthattodayeve-rythingisthoughtofasshort-term,andtherelevanceofplacesseemstorelymainlyontemporalevents(e.g.Paris-plage)ratherthanonper-manenthistoricalassets(ForumBarcelona2004:website).

Inthiscontextofcontemporarypublicplaceslackinglinkstotheirpast,totheircomingintobeing,myresearchattemptstounderstandtheneedfor(identifiable)evolvingpublicspaces.Iwilltrytodiscoverifthereisaneedtosomehowexperienceoldfamiliarenvironmentsafterexperi-encingnewdaringones.Observeifthereisaneedtofindarealplaceinrealtimeandconsiderpossibilitiesofbringingbacknostalgiaintimesofexpectation.

NOSTALGIAANDEXPECTATION :TWOWORLDS

IncitiesthroughoutLatinAmerica,thepublicdomainderivesfromplacesthatarenotnecessarilycomfortable,butsuitableforsocialcontactandofrecentconcern,aboveall,safe.Inthelastdecadespecialattentionhasbeenplacedinrecoveringtheoldcolonialatmospherenotjustasanincentivefortourismbutmainlyasanincentiveforlocalstore-latetoandvaluetheirheritage.Thedifferentprojectsfocusonsavingthecolonialtowns,rehabilitatingtheoldcitycentersand,atthesametime,bringingbackthatsafeandtrustedatmosphereLatinAmericansunconsciouslylongfor.ForLatinAmericansitisnecessarytoliterallyseeplacesbecomewhattheyare,perceivewiththesensesandestab-lishasequencetofinallyunderstandandfeelpartoftheenvironmentthatsurroundsthem(e.g.PlazadeArmas,Santiago,Chile).Itisaboutexperiencingidentityandterritory…aboutbelonging.

ParadoxicallyintheWesternworld,atfirstglance,everyplaceseemstobesafe.Peopleenjoythepublicrealmeveryday,whentheweatherallowsit,atanytime.Designersstrivefornewenvironmentsandhopeinthatwaytooffernewworldsthatwouldgeneratenewexperiencesintheusers,clearlydemonstratingthatthefeelingofexpectationrulesoverthefeelingoflonging(e.g.SchouwburgpleininRotterdam,MillenniumParkinChicago).Placesappearbuilt,manufacturedratherthansim-plytheoutcomeofalongdevelopingprocess.Itthenseemsthatthespeedwithwhichspaceandwhatisfoundinitisexperiencedmodi-fiesanypreconception.Thepublicissuddenlyconfrontedwithmulti-pleformsofrepresentationinarchitectureaswellasinart(e.g.FrankGehry’sMarquésdeRiscalhotelinLaRioja,SpainandDougAitken’sfilmprojectionsinNewYork),thatapparentlydominatetheideaofre-ality.Newfantasyenvironments,nobetterthanDisneycreations,arebasedonrealones-thoughmodifiedtosatisfycontemporarycomfortdemands.

Thesimulatedhyperexperienceinnewenvironmentsthreatenstoerasetherealexperienceofrealplaces.Newexperiencesmay“colonizetheimagination”(Cypher&Higgs:website)andmodifyhowpeopleinter-pretreality.Itseemslike“theworldisreconfiguredvirtually,reality



• DeOmval,etching1645,RembrandtvanRijn

•• TheOmvalalongtheKeulsevaart1899

••• TheOmvaltodaywiththefirsthigh-risebuildings

ofAmsterdam

••••PlazadeArmasinSantiago,Chili

•••••AnishKapoor’sCloudgateispartoftheinnovative

MillenniumParkinChicago

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itself,inwhatBaudrillardcallsamoveinto‘simulation’(Baudrillard,2003:foreword).

InWesternculture,today’ssocietyimpliesshiftingfromasharedpubliclifetoamoreindividualist,nomadiconewherecommunicationoc-cursmainlythroughthemedia,sometimesrelyingmoreonimagesthanontext.Sociallifebecomesconfinedtocommunicationsmediaratherthanoccurringinthearenaofrealpublicplaces.Itisnotunu-sualtodaytoknowpeoplewhosupplementtheirunsatisfactoryrealitybymeansofavirtualSecondLife(Innis,2007).OntheotherhanditseemsasifLatinAmericaistryingtoclingtoitssedentary,communalpubliclife,toitsnostalgia,whileslowlystrivingtokeeppacewiththeWesternworld.PeopleingrowingLatinAmericancitiesaimforafastchange,wantingtobecomepartoftheglobalmonocultureandwithittakingtheriskofdiminishinganyvaluabletiewithanostalgicherit-agethatmaystillremain(Tung,2001:186).Bothsocieties,WesternandLatin,seemtobedevelopinginthesamedirection.

Publiclifealsoseemstoweakenasaresultofthedevelopingnatureofcities(mainlyintheWesternworld)regardingtheirphysicalgrowthcausedbymigrationandurbansprawl.Urbansprawl,withitssuburbs(e.g.VINEXlocations)andexurbs,spawnsnewlifestylesattractivetoyoungfamiliesandwealthyonesrespectively.Aspeoplearepulledtotheperipheralareas,citycenterslosetheirvitality.Intryingtostemthetideofthisemigration,popularorpotentialpublicplacesarepro-motedaskeylocationsforurbaninfillprojects.Examplesofsuchinfillprojectsarehousingandsmallcommercialbuildingsthatendeavortoenticepeoplebackintothecities,sometimessucceeding,butatthesametimereducingavailablespacesforpublicgathering(e.g.SamuelPaleyPark,NewYorkCity).

Newculturalconditions,suchassprawlandurbaninfillprojects,mainlyintheWesternworld,donotprovideactualspacestobeappropri-atedbythepublic,withpublicvalue.Thismightbeaconsequenceofneitherpeoplenorplacehavingthechancetogrowtogetherhandinhand.Peopleseemnottobeabletodeeplyrelatetotheirsurroundingsbecausetechnically“whatprevailsisaninstrumentalistattitudebasedonconsiderationsofusefulnessandefficiency,fromwhichcautious-nessandcherishingarefarremoved”(Heynen,1999:15).Emotionally,therelikewiseseemstobenourgeforattachment.ItcouldbeagreedthatthepublicrealminWesterncitiestoday,andmaybeofdevelopingLatinAmericancitiesinthenearfuture,hasbecome“…moreaplacetogothroughthantostayin”(Prak,1977:53).

Thegoalinthepublicexperienceseemstobetoacceleratethelifeexpect-ancyofanyexistingenvironmentandconvincetheusersthatthereisaneedfornewplacesofferingnewexperiencesbeforetheexistingoneshaveexpired.Suchan“accelerated”approachblursordistortsanyexistingconnectionbetweenoriginalandfinalormanufacturedproducts.Atthesametime,withextensiveurbanization,thisapproachmanagestodissolveanyrelationshipwiththenaturallandscape,mak-ingusbelievethatthecityscapeisthereferenceforanyotherland-scape(Felluga:website).Natureseemsincompatiblewithculture,thenaturalandthebuiltenvironment;theydonotalwaysseemtoarticu-latewithoneanother.Thiscausespeopletofallintoa“simulated”worldthroughasimulatedhistory.Therefore,differencesbetweenwhatisrealandwhatwenowbelievearedifficulttodiscern.

ThinkingaboutthecolonialplazasortownsquaresinLatinAmericancit-iesandthedaringandinnovativecontemporarypublicspacesmainlyintheWesternworld,itseemspeopleareconfrontedwithnostalgiaandexpectation,withwhatisperceivedthroughthesensesandwithautopianexistence,withatruerealityandwithsimulation.



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A SIMULATED WORLD

FrenchphilosopherJeanBaudrillard(1929-2007)extensivelyexplainsinhistheoryofsimulacraandsimulation,howsimulatedworldssub-sumereality.Thisunavoidablephenomenonisbasedontheinabilitytoperceivethedifferencebetweenwhatisnaturalandartificial,whatisoriginalandareproduction;betweenatruerealworldandasimulatedenvironment.

ThewritingsofBaudrillardaremainlyappliedtotheeffectsofmedia(e.g.technology,advertisement,consumption),butanyotherformsofrepresentationandcommunicationcouldbeframedwithinhisphi-losophy.Architectureandpublicspacedesign,likeart,arecommuni-cationsmedia;theyallportraysomeone’sideas,someone’srealitythatinevitablyaffectstheperceptionandexperienceofothersinthepub-licdomain.ThedifferentconceptsusedbyBaudrillardinhistheorycouldeasilybetranslatedwithinthecontextofpublicspace.Nostalgiasurvivesthroughtheneedtoholdontofamiliarenvironments,whileexpectationcomesasaconsequenceofnewexperimentaldesigns,orsimulations,aimingtocrossovernewbordersandinsodoingtodriftfurtherfromreality.Asthislatterexperimentalapproachprogresses,anylinktothepast,tooriginalenvironments,whichcouldgener-ateasenseofanchorageonthepartoftheusers,couldbelost.Peopletendtobelievethatpublicspaceoffersnewandexcitingexperiences.Consequently,theydonoteasilyrelatetopastenvironmentsastheseslowlyvanishfromthepublicrealm.

Simulacra,justlikeimagesandicons,canbeunderstoodasstaticrepresen-tationsandcansomehowbedifferentiatedfromtheobjectstheyimi-tate.Neverthelesssimulacrasometimesconfuseourperception,sincetheymanagetoimpeccablyreproducetheoriginal.Thisabilityinflu-encesoursensesandblursthecleardistinctionbetweenrealandun-real.Simulation,ontheotherhand,referstoanactiverepresentation,animitationofbehavior,enactment,itreferstofeelingsandexperi-ences.Itisimportantistonotethat“tosimulateisnotsimplytofeign…simulationthreatensthedifferencebetween‘true’and‘false’,between‘real’and‘imaginary’”(Baudrillard,1983:5).

Baudrillardexplainstheevolutionofsimulacraandsimulation,andtheirassumptionofrealityinthree“ordersofsimulacra”.Thefirstorderisautopianstage;thesimulacrumispurelyarepresentationofthereal.Thesimulacrumisreferentialandcaneasilybedifferentiatedfromtheoriginal.Representationsdonotpossesspowerthemselvesasthisresidesintheoriginal(e.g.religiousicons).Inthisfirststagethesimu-lacra“…isthereflectionofaprofoundreality”.Thesecondorderofsimulacrarelatestotheintroductionofmassproductionanditsexcel-lenceinreproducingtheoriginalwithmaximumdetail.Thereproduc-tion“…masksanddenaturesaprofoundreality”.Itreferstocreatinganimaginaryworldwiththeavailabletoolsofthetime.Whenallpos-sibilitieshavebeenexploredandthereisnootherbordertocrossoverordiscover,thethirdorderofsimulacraemerges.Inthisthirdstage,thecopyorreproductionsucceedsinimitatingtheoriginalsowellthatitpredominatesovertheoriginal( precession of simulacra ).Theimitationthatusedtobeasignorduplicateoftherealororiginalitselfbecomestherealororiginal.Whenenteringthisstagethereisnopossibilityofartificiality,duetothefactthatthereisnoreality-backgroundtodrawacomparison,andanyconfidenceinwhatisbasedintraditionalrealityisusuallylost(e.g.citiesintheUnitedStateslivesolelyinthepresent).Thesimulacra“…maskstheabsenceofaprofoundreality;ithasnorelationtoanyrealitywhatsoever;itisitsownpuresimulacrum”(Baudrillard,1994:website).Thisisthemomentwherethesimulationisasimulationoftheother;realandartificialfinallycoalesceinhyper-reality.Hyperreality,asimulationwithnooriginal,“animagewithno



hyperreality

?

simulacra

originalcopy

detailedreproduction

• LeidscheRiijn,aVINEXlocation,emergestoalleviate

thelackofhousinginUtrecht

•• Optionforurban-infillarepocketparkslikethe

privatelyownedSamuelPaleyParkinNewYorkCity

••• Apersonalinterpretationoftheordersofsimulacra,

howtherealseemstoinevitablyfallintohyperreality

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resemblance”,notonlytakesoveranddisconnectsitselffromanyprecedingrealitybutalsofeedstheneedformoresimulacra,fosteringexpectationwithinwhomeverexperiencesit(Deleuze,1990:257).

AccordingtotheMexicanpoetOctavioPaz(1914-1998),modernityisthepropertyofWesterncultures.Modernityendangerstraditionandthereforerelatestotheconceptoftime.TimeisseeninWesterncul-turesasalinearandprogressiveprocess,changing,evolvingbutneverlookingback.Inotherculturesalinearprocessisdifficulttounder-stand.Thepastisseenasarolemodelforthepresentandthefuture;theconceptoftimeissomehowcyclicalorreferential(Heynen,1999:9).UnderstandingthenatureofWesterncultureandconsideringthefactthatanyhopeofrealitysurvivingreliesoncreatingorstimulatingintimateinvolvementofpeoplewithit,shouldn’ttheapparentlinearprocessbecomesuddenlycyclical?Shouldn’tsimulationsnowaimfortheoncefamiliarreferential,somehowworkingbackwardstowheretherealbecomestheutopia,andaimforpeopletoonceagainrelatetothereal?

Employingartastheircommunicationsmedium,artistsanddesignersinWesterncountriesclearlytrytomanipulatethepublicspacewiththeirworks.Theyintendtoreachtheiraudiencewithhopesthelat-terwouldexperienceandreact(maybeevenagreewith)theartist’sinterpretationof“reality”,withtheartist’ssimulations.Artistscreate,designmodifyandfinallymakesimulationsoftheirownorofothers’previousrealitiesgeneratingexpectationswithinthepublic.Withsuchevolvingrepresentationsofideasaboutaparticularreality,itbecomesdifficulttoframeadesigner’swork,sinceitcannotbecataloguedasanimitation,acopyoranoriginalworkduetothefactthatthereisnoclearstartingpointofreference(e.g.JeffKoons).Nooneseemstorelyonorclearlyrefertooldartisticprinciples,tonostalgicideas,sincewhatmattersisthinkingaheadofanytrendornoticeablecurrentofthought.Maybetheaimofartistsistointroducemoreformsofexpres-sionor,conversely,toexcludecommonpeoplefromunderstandinganynewformofart.Clearly,though,artistsanddesignersfocusonsensa-tions,oncreatingandgeneratingnewexperiences,onstimulatingex-pectation,whichwouldhopefullyrevealcollectivespacesandwithitfacilitatetheforgottenpubliclife.Whoeverunderstandsandidentifieswithanewapproachandbelievesinit,believesinthesimulatedreal-ityitoffers,andprobablywaitsinanticipation.

Howeveringeneral,architecture,notlimitedbyformsbutprobablybytechnologyandmaterials,ismoredifficulttomanipulateasacommu-nicationtool.Architecturenotjustonlyunderliestheidealsofitscrea-tor,abouthowuserscouldrelatetothespacetheyoccupy,butmainlyfocusesonfulfillingneedsofspace(functionalism),ofprivatespace.Nevertheless,architectureshouldalwaysconsiderslightlyblendingwithitscontexttoallowtheperceptionofpubliclifearoundit.Atthesametimearchitectureshouldtryand“…holdasymbolicandcol-lectivefunctionandthereforemeansomethingforthecommunity”(Baudrillard,2003:143).Architecturalassets,orlandmarks,donotmerelyofferthechanceof“structuringandidentifyingtheenviron-ment…vitalamongallmobileanimals”necessarytorecognizeandnavigatebutalsotogeneratementalanchorstoaspecificplace(Lynch,1960:3).Thesevaluabletiesbetweeninhabitantsandtheurbanen-vironmentdependnotonlyontheaccidentalpresenceoflandmarkswithinthepublicrealm,butalsoonthegeniustoadaptthemtoon-goingchangesintheurbanlandscape.Landmarksusuallyundergoaprocessofdeclineovertime.Thereforetheyendeavortoreenactthemselvesbymodifyingorconsideringnewvaluestoavoidbeingleftbehind.Consideringthatlineofthought,designersshouldprobablystriveforsomekindofvisiblesequenceofwhatismemorized(original)andwhatisperceived(manufactured)tobeenacted,withhopesforthe



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spectatorstounderstandandrelate.Accordingly,newdesignpropos-alsshouldprobablyallowsomekindofnostalgiatobeincorporatedinnewpublicenvironments.Justlikeoldwatertowersareadaptedforhousingpurposes,oldrailwaystructuresaretransformedintoleafypromenades(e.g.PromenadePlantéeinParisandtheHighLineinNewYorkCity).

Consideringtheconsequencesnostalgiaandexpectationintroduceintopubliclife,summarizedrespectivelyinnewanonymousandoldfamil-iarenvironments;andseeingasmostofthetimethereseemstobenowaytocompromisebothextremes;thequestionarisesastowhetherthepublicdomainshouldkeepevolvingintoanothersimulacrum,fall-ingintothehyperreal,dissociatingfurtherfromtheoriginal,ortrytoholdonorredirectitselfbacktoatruereality?

FROM EXPECTATION TO NOSTALGIA , WORKING BACKWARDS?

“This moves forward!” shouted the engineer when, over the new railway built only the day before, the second train filled with people, coal, tools and supplies arrived.

… ( they ) observed how in the desolate region work, confusion and disorder started, how over the green land stains of coal and ashes emerged, of paper and tinplate.

“This moves forward!” shouted a woodpecker, which pecked on a trunk, and watched satisfied how the growing woods and the splendid green development took over the land. – Hermann Hesse

Artandarchitecturearekeycommunicationstoolsforholdingontonos-talgiaorgeneratingexpectationindifferentwaysindifferentcultures.Oldchurches,governmentbuildings,trainstations,bridges,andurbanelementssuchaspublicart,fountains,lampposts,benches-whyaretheyrelevant?Maybebecausethebuiltenvironmentreflectsthewaysocietieswishtorelatetotheworld,organizingnotjustthematerialworld(objects)butalsoinfluencingactionsandthoughts(e.g.parlia-mentbuildingCórdoba,Argentina).Thepublicspaceiswhereaculturereflectsitspastanditsaspirations.Inthislineofthought,publicspacedesignaimstoachieveoneobjective:toengagethepublicinpubliclifewhetherthroughevokingnostalgia,expectationoracompromiseofboth.Herearesomeexamples.

AnostalgicinterventionhastakenplaceinComayagua,Honduras,oneofthemanycolonialcitiesinLatinAmericaundergoingarevitaliza-tionprocessnotjusttostimulateeconomicdevelopment,butsothatfuturegenerationsmayidentifywiththeirheritage.Theproject,“RevitalizationofthehistoricalcenterofComayagua”,sponsoredbytheSpanishgovernmentworkingtogetherwithlocalarchitects,hasrevealednotjustaforgottenopenspaceintheheartofthecity,withitscharacteristicfountainandkiosk,buthasilluminateditscolonialheritage.Thedifferentinterventionsthroughoutthecityarenotaston-ishingorinnovative,butsmallandfamiliarjustlikelocalsareusedtoseeing.Forexample,theCathedral,datingfromtheearly18thcentury,hasbeenrestored,themainsquareredesigned,streetfacadesrepairedandthestreetswithinthehistoricalcenterrenewed.Theprojectevenincludesaworkshop-school(EscuelaTaller)whereyoungstersaregivenachancetolearntraditionalcraftsmanshipasameansofin-come,andtoensurethecontinuityinthecolonialstyleofthearea.Thenewrefurbishedsquareattractsinhabitantsandvisitors,succeed-inginstrengtheningalocalidentityandgeneratingeconomicgrowththroughtourism.

ProjectsinmostLatinAmericancolonialcitiesarenotinnovativebutre-vealing,astheymustfitintotheculture.Projectsfocusedonthepublicspacedonotlooktooffernewexperiencestotheirusersthroughthe



• JeffKoon’sPuppyLoveatBilbao’sGuggenheim

Museum

•• HighLineprojectinNewYorkCitywhichwill

transformtheoldrailway,runningthroughthewest

partoftheManhattan,intoanexcitingpromenade

••• HighLineproject,NewYork

••••Duringsunnydayspeoplelookforshelterunder

thetreesinComayagua’srevitalizedPlazaCentral

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introductionofnewobjects;theysimplytrytofamiliarizethemwiththeirownrichness.Inthisculture,wearenotalwaysabletounder-standandappreciateunfamiliarenvironments;wedaretoexperiencewhatweknow.

LatinAmericansfeelnostalgiaforapast,atimeandplacelikelyaroundthelate19thcentury,whereEuropeaninfluenceplayedanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofthesociety.PublicspaceinLatinAmericancitieswasrarelycreatedforthepublicbutbecamepublicthroughappropria-tion.Sincethattime,theregionhasstruggledtobuildupitsowniden-tity(basedon19th-centuryideals).WithoutbeingabletocompletelysuppressthepowerfulinfluenceofanddependenceontheWesternculture,neverthelesspublicspaceinLatinAmericastilldiffersfromtheoneinWesterncities.Peopleidentifybetterwithsmall-scaleenvi-ronmentsprobablybecauseofthepossibilitiesofferedwhenitcomestodailyoroccasionalappropriationbyvendorsandrituals.Atthesametime,surroundingsrichinhistoricalreminiscences(churches,foun-tains,markets,ruins,etc.)seemmoreattractivetoinhabitantsbecauseofmemory’simportantroleingeneratingidentity.Thepublicspaceseemsquitedynamic,keepingapedestrianscale,andeventhoughindisorder,suchplaceshavegreaterpotentialtosomehowbeenjoyable.Nevertheless,rehabilitatingtheseenvironmentsmightnotalwaysdrawapositiveinfluence.Inhabitantsseemtoholdontowhatisknown,fear-ingorbeingdeniedtheopportunityofanotherfuture.Inunderstand-ingnostalgiaasanaffectionatefeelingforapast,itthenbecomesanescapefromreality,justlikeasimulation,tryingtocreateaperfectpresentbasedonanidealpast.

Westernculture,asmentionedbefore,ischaracterizedbycrossingbordersandstimulatingnewexperiences.Projectsexperimentingwithscale,colors,ornaments,etc.takeplaceconstantlyandseemwelcomedwithopenarmsbytheusers.Inthisoutgoingculture,architectureaimstodelivericons(e.g.TurningTorsoinMalmö),andartnewformsofex-pression.Designstatementsarecreated,drawingspectatorsawayfromreality,butmaybeofferingnewelementswherepeoplecoulddevelopsomeanchors-ornot.

Toillustratethisthought,theSchouwburgpleininRotterdam,designedbyWest8,alocalarchitectureoffice,seemsanappropriateexample.TheSchouwburgpleinwasconceivedasavoidwithintheurbanmazeneededtoappreciatetheRotterdamskyline.Atthesametime,itwastobeaplaceenlivenedandtoacertainextentmanipulatedbythepub-lic.Withthisinmind,thesquarewassettobecomeastage,anout-doorpodium,relatingitselfinthatwaytotheneighboringCityTheater(Pathé)andtheCityConcertHall(Schouwburg).Recallingtheatmos-phereoftheportofRotterdam,thesquareisanindustriallandscapewhichoffersnotintimacybutexposure.Theindustrialcharacterisac-centuatedbytheuseofdifferentlightingtechniques,materialssuchasepoxy,metalpanels,woodandrubberandbylarge-scaleverticalelements.Fourhydraulicarmsfunctioningaslightingtowersmanipu-latedbytheusersprovideanever-changingenvironment.Peoplereactdifferentlytowardsthedesign.Somefinditinterestingand,atnight,astonishing;othersjustviewitasinconvenient,coldandunfriendly.Functionally,pedestriansavoidwalkingonthestagenotjustbecausetheyconsiderthemetalsurfaceuncomfortablebutalsobecausetheplatformendsabruptlywithoutsteps;thewoodendeckisslipperyonrainydaysandtherestingareadoesnotoffershadeorintimacytotheusers.Inperception,thescaleofthisurbanvoidseemsalien,althoughthebiglightingarmsareattractive-forawhile.Withallitsinnovation,theSchouwburgpleinsucceedsasadesignstatement,andmightattracttouristsandyoungstersbutnotpeoplelookingforshelter.

Surprisingly,thedesigner,landscapearchitectAdriaanGeuze,hasjustcompletedatemporaryinstallationonthesquare,aflowersculpture


•

••


calledCityonFire,CityinBloom,commemoratingthe67thanniversa-ryofthebombingofRotterdam.Itwillbeinterestingtoseehowlocalsreacttosuchacolorfulinterventionontheasepticsquare.

Nevertheless,nostalgiaandexpectationdonotonlyexistindistantworldslikeLatinAmericaandWesterncountries;theycanalsoappearinasin-gleenvironment,oneasthecauseoftheother.

In1979,anartpiecetobeinstalledinthenewFederalPlaza,alsoknownasJacobJavitsPlaza,inNewYorkwascommissionedfromtheAmericanartistRichardSerra(1939).Serra’sminimalistartpiece,TiltedArc,justlikehisothersite-specificartinstallations,wasabigmonumentalmetalstructureclearlycontrastingwithitscontext.Theintentionsoftheartistwerethatwhilecrossingtheplaza,alongthe36.6meter-longtiltedwall,theaudiencecouldbecomeawareofmovementthroughthechangingsculpture,andthereforeofachangingenvironment.ThestructureattheFederalPlazawenttoofarbeyondwhatcommonpeoplecouldgraspwiththeirsenses.Art,inthiscase,triedtobemorethanadecorativeelementinattemptingtohelpdefinethespace,generat-inganewexperienceregardingtheperceptionofthesurroundings.UnfortunatelyforSerra,thesculpturegeneratedmorecontroversythanadmirationafteritsinstallation.TiltedArc,withitssimplecharacter,appearedgrotesque,disruptive,physicallyinconvenientandrequiredpeopletothinkpastthephysicalattributesoftheplacetounderstandtheartist’sintention.Duringapublichearingin1985andasaresultofalonglegalprocess,itwasdecidedthatthesculptureshouldbere-moved(Wikipedia:website).

Tracesoftheoverlyambitiousartpieceremainedontheplazafrom1989until1992.Initsplace,MarthaSchwartz,anAmericanlandscapear-chitect,offeredalivelyproposal.Thedesignconsiderednotjusttheshapeandlocationofdifferentelementsinthesquarebutalsotheirnatureinordertoattractandmaketheusersengageinsocialcontact.Nexttothis,theuseofbrightcolorsandgreengrasselementscontrib-utetocreatinganoticeableplacewithinthegreyurbanlandscape.ItisinterestingtonoticehowtheproposaltakesfamiliarelementsfromthetraditionalstreetfurniturecharacteristicofNewYorkCity’sparksandadaptsthemtonewforms(e.g.benchesandhandrails),inthiswaygeneratingnoveltyinwhatisknown.Theresultisfarfrombeinganab-


• Schouwbrugplein.Rotterdam

•• SantiagoCalatrava’snoticeabletwistingstructure,

TurningTorso,aniconforthecityofMalmo,Sweden

••• Graciousmetalhandrails

••••RichardSera’sTiltedArc

•••••Thecolourfulbencheskeepthetraditionalelements

butwiththeirnewcurvedpathallowdifferentseating

possibilities

•••

••••

•••••


stractartisticexpressionbut,ontheotherhand,managestobepercep-tibletoanyone’ssenses.

Stewart’sdesignimplementsnewdaringshapes,contrastingmaterialsandcolorswithoutmakingthepublicfeelalientoit.ThenewJacobJavitsPlazaseekstobeintegratedintoeverydaylifewithfeaturesitsusercanrecognizeandfeelcomfortableexploring.Thiskindofinterven-tiondoesnotthreatenanycreativepotentialofthedesignerbuthelpsvalueaculturalpast,inthisparticularcasethegreatinfluentialideasofAmericanlandscapearchitectFrederikLawOlmsted(1822-1903),de-signerofCentralParkandProspectParkinNewYorkCityamongoth-ers(Schwartz,2004:170).

Nostalgiatranslatedintocontemporarytermsseemedtofitbetterinto-day’surbanlandscape,intoday’spublicspace.Expectation,ontheotherhand,didnotreallyofferpeopleaplacetoengage.

IN CONJUNCTION…

I am not sure whether this unexpected historical lesson has been learnt by all: between tradition and modernity there is a bridge. When they are mutually isolated, tradition stagnates and modernity vaporizes; when in conjunction, modernity breathes life into tradition, while the latter replies with depth and gravity. – Octavio Paz ( 1990 )

ThroughthepreviousdesigninterventionsandusingBaudrillard’ssimu-lacraandsimulationtheoryasabackground,Itriedtopictureandunderstandnostalgiaandexpectationindifferentpublicplacesfromdifferentpoles.Iassumefromitthataninterventioninthepublicdo-mainseemstodependontheculture,onthenatureofthespectator.Arepeopleopentonewsuggestions,ordotheyfeartakingarisk?Nomatteritsnature,aninterventionisalwaysasimulation:anescapefromapresenttothepastortothefuture.Driftingawayfromrealityintoaknownorunknowntime.

Ithinkweshouldtrytosomehowreflectthepastintheurbanlandscapeoftoday;oftomorrow;withoutlosingthenotionandadvantagesofourtimes.Ithinkweneedtocherishourorigins,ourpreviousandcurrentrelationshipswithnature.Torevalueandadaptthemtochangesbutnotusethemasbordersorlimitations.Weshouldtakeadvantageofnostalgiatogetabettergriponexpectation.



•


REFERENCES

Baudrillard,Jean,(1983),Simulations.Semiotext(e).

Baudrillard,Jean,(1994),SimulacraandSimulation,AnnArbor:TheUniversityof

MichiganPress.

http://webpages.ursinus.edu/rrichter/baudrillardone.html

Baudrillard,Jean,(2003),FrancescoProto(ed.),Mass,Identity,Architecture.

ArchitectureWritingsofJeanBaudrillard.WestSussex:Wiley-Academy.

Cypher,Jennifer,andEricHiggs,ColonizingtheImagination:Disney’sWilderness

Lodge.UniversityofAlberta.

http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/papers/invited/cypher-higgs.html

Deleuze,Gilles,(1990),TheLogicofSense,NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress.

Felluga,Dino,ModulesonBaudrillard:OnSimulation’IntroductoryGuidetoCritical

Theory.

http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/postmodernism/modules/baudrillards

imulation.html

ForumBarcelona,(2004),SessionSummaries:CollectiveSpaceasForminArtand

Architecture.Barcelona.

http://www.barcelona2004.org/eng/banco_del_conocimiento/documentos/ficha.

cfm?IdDoc=2459

Hesse,Hermann,(1985),WalterSchmögner(ill.)LaCiudad,Madrid:OmniaS.A.

Heynen,Hilde,(1999),ArchitectureandModernity:ACritique.Massachusetts:

TheMITPress.

Innis,Inez,(2007).“LeefjeDroom”,in:Intermediairnummer06.Haarlem:VNU

BusinessPublications.

Lynch,Kevin,(1960),TheImageoftheCity,Massachusetts:TheMITPress.

Paz,Octavio,(1988),ElliotWeinberger(ed.)HablodeCiudad.TheCollectedPoems

1957-1987,510-516,Manchester:CarcanetPressLimited.

Paz,Octavio,(1990),ToreFrängsmyr(ed.),TheNobelPrizes1990,Stockholm:

Almqvist&Wiksell.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1990/paz-lecture-s.html

Prak,NielsL.,(1977),TheVisualPerceptionoftheBuiltEnvironment,Delft:Delft

UniversityPress.

Riegl,Alois,(1982),KurtFoster(ed.),TheModernCultofMonuments:itsEssenceand

itsDevelopment,NewYork:Rizzoli.

Sitte,Camillo,(1991),DeStedebouwvolgenszijnArtistiekeGrondbeginselen,

Rotterdam:Uitgeverij010.

Schwartz,Martha,(2004),TimRichardson(ed.),TheVanguardLandscapesand

GardensofMarthaSchwartz,London:Thames&HudsonLtd.

Tung,AnthonyM.,(2001),PreservingtheWorld’sGreatestCities.TheDestruction

andRenewaloftheHistoricMetropolis,NewYork:ThreeRiversPress.

WikipediaTheFreeEncyclopedia,www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilted_Arc



• AnishKapoor’sCloudgateispartoftheinnovative

MillenniumParkinChicago.Thesculpturewithits

unusualshapeandmaterialachievesmakingvisitors

wanttoexploreit


DesignasaToolfortheEmpower-

mentofProducersfromUnderex-

posedCulturestoParticipateina

GlobalWorldthroughtheInternet

LUIS IGNACIO CARMONA

In recent decades, the growth and influence of the Western world and the multinationals ( globalization ) have led to their over-ex-posure in the media and communication systems. Information has become a tool of power and control. This has created a situa-tion where cultures with less wealth have barely any access to the media and communication systems and, therefore, have become under-exposed. This research is both a reflection on that phenom-enon in the media and a proposal to develop a counterpart for the underexposed cultures. My aim is to get the underexposed to start confronting globalization by using their strong culture as well as their background.

I began to reflect on the inequality of the media and communication systems when I was working in Mexico with small coffee produc-ers. In my research, I have focused mainly on examples from the coffee context. Coffee is a global product developed and consumed in different cultures ( in both rich and poor countries ). Lately, small coffee producers have made several proposals in their search for sustainability.

In the future, consumers should become more active and less passive. By becoming more active and involved in buying products from small producers, they can contribute directly to the development and sustainability of the underexposed cultures. This will benefit small producers as well as the consumers themselves because they will be able to buy unique products.

TERMINOLOGY

Termsusedmighthavemultiplemeanings.Inthistext,however,thedefi-nitionsareinterlinkedwithcultureandcommunicationsmedia.

UNDEREXPOSED :Theuseoftheterm“underexposed”isnotspecificallyrelatedtounderexposedcountriesbuttoanygroupofpeopleinanycountrysuchasindigenouspeople,farmers,cooperatives,andruralvillageswithoutsufficienteconomicopportunitiesorknowledgeforpublicizingandexpressingtheirculture,needs,anddemandsintheactualsystemsofcommunicationsmediasuchastheInternet,televi-sion,newspapers,andmagazines.

SMALLPRODUCER :Families,orgroupsoffarmers/craftsmen,developingproductsorservicestosellinalocalmarketusingtheirownresourcesandtechniques.Usuallyagroupofsmallproducersisalsosmallinnumber(nomorethan50people)andlocatedoutsideofbigurbancenters.




PASSIVECULTURES :Cultureswhichonlyreceiveandconsumeinthecontextofglobalization.Theycannotsharetheircultureoropinionstoimprovetheirculturalcontext,sincetheyareinclinedtoacceptandabsorbthenew,globalsymbolsofbothcultureandmarket.Therefore,passiveculturesdonotcreatenewproposalsthemselves.

UNIQUEPRODUCTS :Productsdevelopedinthetraditionalwaybysmallproducers,whousetheirknowledgeandtechniquesforeachindividualitem.Usually,theydonothaveawidedistributionandtheirmarketislocalandinformal.

SUSTAINABLE:“Sustainabledevelopmentisdefinedasbalancingthefulfillmentofhumanneedswiththeprotectionofthenaturalenviron-mentsothattheseneedscanbemetnotonlyinthepresent,butintheindefinitefuture.”ThisisthedefinitionasdevelopedfortheWorldCommissiononEnvironmentandDevelopment(WCED).

PROTAGONISM :Toactivelysupportanideaorcause,tobeinvolvedinpleadingandadvocatingforthisideaorcause.

1 THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA POLARIZATION

1.1 THE CONTEXT AND ITS PROBLEMS

Inthecolonialera,theSpanishconquistadorsreplacedthesocialandma-terialculturefromthepre-Columbiancivilizations,initiallybyimpo-sition.Gradually,thenewcolonialcitizenscametoadoptthesenewcodesas“civilizationsicons”.Throughtime,thematerialculturehasbecomeintertwinedwiththeconceptofbeingmore“modern”or“cul-tivated”,andatpresentthistendencyisalsodevelopinginsideofthecommunicationsmediasystems.

Inthecurrentsituation,peoplelistentomusicindifferentlanguages,dressinmulticulturalclothingand,ofcourse,watchnewsfromallovertheworld.Butwhenvariousculturesmeet,generallyonlythepassivecultureswillchangeandahegemonicculturewillarise.Thisimpliesthat,presently,thecontextofeachculturemusthaveaverystrongrel-evance,becausethatistheonlywaytobecomeintegratedinaglobalcontextwithoutbeingabsorbed.Themediamadetheideaoflifeinaglobalcontexttangible,andnowtheyarethemostimportanttoolforpublishingandpreservingthesymbolsofajointpatrimony.“Oursoci-etyisconstructedaroundflowsofcapital,flowsoftechnology,flowsoforganizationalinteraction,flowsofimages,soundsandsymbols.Flowsarenotjustoneelementofthesocialorganization;theyaretheexpres-sionofprocessesdominatingoureconomic,politicalandsymboliclife”(Castells1996:412).Infact,themeaningof“society”isdevelopedbycultureswithastronginfluenceontheimagesandsymbolsofthecom-municationsmediasystems.Inthatcontext,theminoritysocietieswiththeirage-oldtraditionsareassociatedwithfolkloreor“pre-hispanicrit-uals”.So,thereisanimmenseculturalcontrast,andthequestionarisesastohowwemayintegratethesecontrastingcultures.

Theproblembeginswheninformationstreamsareone-sided,i.e.,comefromthesideofthestrongcultures,whereasthepassiveculturesdonothavethenecessaryinfrastructuretoformacommunicationsys-temthat,overtime,mightofferastrongcounterbalance.Today,im-agesandconceptsfromtheunderexposedculturesaretakenfromandadaptedwithinthemediaofthedominantculturestofittheconsum-ers’preconceptions,withouttakingtheinterestsandperspectivesofthesmallproducerintoconsideration.Forinstance,NesspressosellsgoodorganiccoffeefromtheLatinAmericacoffeemakersinanewsealed-servingsystemwherethedistributionandpackingisdeveloped




bypeopleotherthantheproducer.Thatmeanstheconsumerneverre-allyknowswheretheproductisfromnortowhomthemoneywillgo.Theconsumeronlytruststhebrand.Also,Nespresso,asa“new”cof-feeproduct,isbrandedthroughmarketing,supportedbyalltheiconsofcivilization,technology,andinthelatestadvertisingcampaign,aninternationallyfamousactor.“Whatelse?”(http://www.nespresso.com/theboutique/)

Whenstrongcultures(andofcoursebrands)usethecommunicationsmediatotheiradvantageanddevelopevermorenewcodesforlifeinaglobalcontext,theymaketheinformationintheglobalworldincreas-inglycomplex,sincenobodywantstobeexcluded.Youwillseethou-sandsofbrandsmarketingandbrandinginallpossiblefields.Thatisdifficultforthepassivecultures,becausetimeandagaintheyneedtoadoptnewconceptsandtransformtheiridentityandenvironmentalongwiththoseconcepts-oftenwithoutanyrequirementtodoso.“Itistheprofileofourculturesitselfthatisindangerofbeingerased,notonlythroughtheirreparablelossoftheuniqueobjectsthatthepastleftus,but–moreimportantandmoreirreparable–throughthecon-tinuouserosionofourownculture,i.e.,ourcapacitytodothingsourway,accordingtoourownobjectivesandmakinguseofthevastandmulti-layeredrepertoryofallsortsofelements–knowledge,materialmeans,organizationandcommunicationstructures,symbols,emo-tionsandvalues–thatconstitutestheculturalheritageofeachandeverypeopleinLatinAmerica”(Batalla1999:152).

Theprocessofadoptingthenewcodesfromthemediaandlosingtheca-pacitytobeaprotagonistdependsonthesaturationofinformationandthewaythedreamaroundtheproductissold,aswellasonthebackgroundandknowledgethateachpersonhasinthepassivecul-tures.

1.2 BRAND CONTROL

Marketopportunitiesforthesmallproducersarelimitedbecauseingener-altheydonotcontrolthedistributionoftheirproductsandhavenoac-cesstovaluablemarketinginformation.Smallproducersarenotawareoftheopportunitiesoradvantagesoftheirownproducts.Whenanewmarketingconceptemergesandisrepeatedconstantlyinallmedia,thenewconceptbecomesthoughtofasbeinganecessityforallpeople.Similarly,theproductsareadvertisedandbranded.However,“brandsarenotproductsbutideas,attitudes,valuesandexperiences,whycan’ttheybeculturetoo?”(Klein2005:5).“Theyhadtochangethewaypeo-plelivedtheirlives.Addshadtoinformconsumersabouttheexistenceofsomenewinvention,thenconvincethemthattheirliveswouldbebetteriftheyused,forexample,carsinsteadofwagons,telephonesin-steadofmailandelectriclightsinsteadofoillights”(Klein2005:30).

Passivecultureswithoutastrongsenseofsocialidentityareindangerofbecoming“multibrands”themselveswhenconfrontedwiththesenewinventionsandsystems.Insomevillagesindevelopingcoun-tries,youngpeoplewearclothesandsportsshoesfrommajorbrandlabels,becausetheyhavetheideathatthisis“cool”and“modern”,thoughtheyeattheirtraditionalfoodanddancetothetypicalmusicfromtheirculture.Butwhentheycomparetheirlifestylewithwhatthemediaportrays,problemsemerge.Then,changingtheirclothesturnsoutnot“cool”enough,andtheybegintodistancethemselvesfromtheirtraditionalhabits.Theybegintodissociatethemselvesfromtheirbackgroundandstartbecoming“multibrands”.Iftheirfamilyisasmallcoffeeproducerwithaccessonlytolife’sbasicnecessities,theywillstarttothinkthatsomethingiswrongandwonderwhy.Theyseenofutureinthefamilybusinessandasubsequentproblem,migration,begins.




Thisconfrontationshowsthelimitationsofthecommunicationsmediaforthesmallproducers.Ifthemediarepresenta“globalcontext”solelythroughhugebrandnamesand/orbigcompanies,smallproducersofcoffeewillremainunderexposedand,assuch,theywilllosethecom-petitionofgrowingincreasinglybigger,ofbrandlabelling,andoffastdesigninthemarkets.Thefewertoolsthesmallproducershavetosup-porttheirculturalbackgroundandproductivelife,themoreeasilytheyareabsorbedbythemultinationalcorporations.StarbucksbuysorganiccoffeefromOaxacainMexicoandsellsonecupofthatcoffeeinMexicocityforthepriceof450gramsofthesamecoffeeinalocalmarket.Thesmallproducer(andconsumer)shouldbemadeawareofthishugecontrastanddevelopdistributionandinformationsystemsinlocalandglobalmarkets.Surely,whencoffeeproducerswouldgototownandvisitoneofthemodernStarbuckscoffeeshops,theyknowthatsomethingiswrong.Butwhatisit?

Thelocalproducersdonothaveaccesstothebigmediabecausetheyusu-allydonothaveabrand,aconcepttosell,accesstoadvertisingdesign,ormoneytopayfor10secondsontelevisioneachweekoracolumninchinamagazine.ButwhocareswhenStarbucksandotherdistribu-torsbuytheunroastedgreencoffeebeansinbulkandpaycashineurosordollars?Onecanimaginewhereprofitandthebusinessoppor-tunitieslieformultinationalcorporations.

Threeyearsagoanew,big,localbrandofcoffeeemergedfromthreeco-operativeslocatedinsoutherMexico.Theyreceivedgovernmentsup-portandmoney,stampsfromFairtradeMexico,andhadhighhopes.Theydevelopeddesign,packaging,advertising,awebsite,andengagedinmanypublicrelationsefforts.Theexpectationwasthattheywouldenterthelocalmarketandbethefirstbigbrandoforganiccoffeecom-ingdirectlyfromindigenous,smallproducers.

Unfortunately,NestléisMexico’stopcoffeesellerwithitsinstant“Nescafe”brand.AlsoNestléspendsenormousamountsofmoneyonmerchandisinginsidesupermarkets,ontelevision,andurbanbill-boards.Nomajormediacompanydaredriskhelpingthenewlocalcoffeebrand,becausenobodywantedtoloseabigsponsor.Anylargecorporationhasenoughmoneyandpowertoselldreamsandbuyper-ceptions.Andthatisanimmenseproblemfortheunderexposed,smallproducersofcoffee:tryingtochangeaperceptionthemarkethasaboutcoffeefromapositionoutsideofthemedia‘ssphereofinfluence.

2 DEVELOPING ANSWERS

2.1 THE LISTENING PROCESS

Themessagesairedinthemediahaveaverydifferentrhythmfromthepaceoflifeinsmalltownsindevelopingcountries.However,onesea-sonofatelevisionseriescanchangedecadesoftraditionandculture.Forexample,inmostsoapoperastheactorsandactressesareblond,withamiddle-classincomeandacosmopolitanlifestyle.Thesetelevi-sionserieshardlyeverincludeanindigenouspersonorsomebodyfromanotherunderexposedculture.Iftheydo,itisintheroleoftheserv-antorbeggar.Fortheyoungergenerationthisleadstoasenseofal-ienation:theywouldratherbeassociatedwiththeglobalculturethanwiththeirown,andsotraditionsandculturesbecomeendangered.

Complexsituationsalsoarisewhen,say,afarmerfromadevelopingcoun-tryreturnshomeafterhavingworkedinanurbanenvironment(beitinhisowncountryoranother):heisregardedasaniconoftheex-ternalcivilizationthatcanimprovealltheothers.Hewilloftenbringwithhimpresents,“superlativeobjects”,andobjectsare“thebestmes-sengerofaworldabovethatofnature:onecaneasilyseeinanobjectatonceaperfectionandanabsenceoforigin,aclosureandabrilliance,a




transformationoflifeintomatter(matterismuchmoremagicalthanlife)”(Barthes1980:88).Thustheobjectsoftheoverexposedworldbe-comedesirableandarecomparedtotheobjectsofthelocalculture.

Theviewoftheexternalworldislinkedwithitsunderexposureinthecommunicationsmedia.Whentheruralcommunitydiscovers,withinthedifferentmeansofcommunication,therearenolocalimagesorobjects,theyhavenoframeofreference,andsotheruraluserofthecommunicationsystemremainsanoutsider,viewingsomethingalien,faroutsidehisorherownworld.Oneopportunitytochangethiswillarrivewhenthesmallproducerscanpreservetheiridentityintheirproductsandwiththisdevelopapropersystemofdistributionandmarketing.Betteraccessandpresenceinthemediacommunicationsystemscouldhelptheunderexposedtocreatemoreinstitutionalnet-works(government,NGO s,othersmallproducers)andbyusingthesenetworkstheycancreatemorecapacityandcorrectlyidentify(andcre-atenew)marketopportunities.

In1994,theNorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement(NAFTA)cameintoeffectandtheprocessofglobalizationinSouthAmericastartedwithstrongmarketconceptsspreadthroughthemedia.Alsothe“Zapatista”insurgencydrewalotofattentionintheinternationalmedia.Infewmonths,the“movimientoZapatista”summonedtheidealsofcoun-triesandpersons.The“movimiento”had(andinsomeplacesstillhas)astrongpositioninginthemedia;the“Zapatistas”developeddocu-ments,fax,files,websites,localmagazines,radioandabigmarchthatwascoveredbyallthecommunicationsmedia.TheyinitiatedanewperspectiveontheindigenousdemandsandrightsinMèxico.

Thatwebofcommunicationgrewthankstointeractionwiththeglobalmedia,butwhatwasparticularlynewwasthatthe“zapatismo”pre-senteditselfasanewformoforganization,asastronggroupstem-mingfromtheindigenouspeoplethemselves.Asanorganization,theydealtprofessionallywiththeinformationaldomain,where“informa-tiontransfermaynotbethemostimportantpartofcommunication,buttheamountandlevelofdetailofthedatatransferreddoesdeter-minehoweffectivelyitcangenerateanenvironmentandwhatthenatureofthatenvironment[is]”(Mulder2004:35).The“zapatismo”werethefirsttocreateanewsenseofpridefortheindigenousculturethroughthecommunicationsmedia.Thisfunctionedasastartingpointforchangeandanattitudeofbelievinginoneselfandpresent-ingoneselftotheworld.Communicationsmediasystemshavebecomeimportantforthemasatoolforbroadcastingtheirdemandsandcon-cepts.

Inrecentdecades,productswithatraceableoriginhavebecomemorepop-ular,andthemarketfortheseproductsisgrowing.Theproblemisthattheopportunitiesforsurvivalwhiledevelopingthesetypesofuniqueproductsareminimalandshort-lived.Thisisbecausetheglobalecon-omydemandsotherquantitativeandqualitativeproductionprocesses.Thesmallproducersneedtodiscoverthatintheirdifferencealsoliestheirstrength.Theycancreatenewconceptsinmarketsanddevelopnewstrategiesforsustainableproductionthatwillhelptoprotecttheirsocio-economicalsurvival,whilestayingincharge.Thisiswherenet-worksliketheInternetbecomemoreimportant,becausenolongeraresmallproducersdependentononesourceofinformation;theycande-velopalocalnetworkwhereeverylinkispartofthetotalglobalnet-workofinformation.

2.2 MEDIA FOR THE UNDEREXPOSED

Thecommunicationandeducationsystemsarethemeanstointegratetheconcepts,codesandsignsoftheunderexposedculturesintotheglo-balcontext.Itisreallyofvitalimportancetocreatestrongconcepts




indesignandcommunicationthatwillhelptoexposethesecultures,becauseonlythen,throughusingthemediacommunicationsystems,cantheybecomemoreindependentandhavemoreopportunities.Newconceptualizationsneedtobedevelopedinallviabletypesofmediaforthem.PublishingoutletsandtheInternetarethemostviablebecausetheyareeasilyaccessibleandreproductionischeaperthaninothercommunicationsystems.

Likewise,theInternetprovidestheopportunitytodisplaypictures,color,sound,textandvideo,allatthesametime.Thereforeitisnecessarytocreatenewmeaningsandgraphicdesigninordertoboosttheinterac-tionwithothersocialagents.Notonlyiswhattheunderexposedcul-turehastoofferimportant;thepeopleshouldalsointeractwiththeexposedculture.Thecommunicationsmediacouldbeastrongtoolinbringingaboutintegrationbetweenruralvillagesandcities,smallproducersandconsumers,consumersandtheenvironmentofthepro-ducer.“Peopleunderstandeachotherwhentheythinkthesameway,andtheythinkthesamewaywhentheyusethesamemedia”(Mulder2004:35).

Botheditorialandgraphicdesignhavearelevantparttoplayinmakingobjectivedescriptionsofthevarioussymbols,languagesandculturalbackgroundofthevariousunderexposedculturesinordertocometoalogicalwayofexposingtheseculturesinthemediacommunicationsystems.Forthesmallproducers,socialsustainabilitymeanstheabilitytodeveloptheirowncooperativesystems,sotheycanimproveproductquality,distributionsystemsandproductconceptswithinthemarkets.Theyneedtotrustthemselvesinordertowinthetrustoftheirsocialcontext.Thistrustworthinessistheconcepttheyneedtotransmitinthecommunicationsmedia.

InOaxacaMéxico,agroupofcooperativescalledUCIRI,haveastronghis-toryinunitingsmallcoffeeproducers.Theyhavefoundedauniver-sityoforganicagriculture,buttheyalsoestablishedhealthservicesandprovideallthetechnologynecessarytotransformthe“cereza”ofthecoffeeplantintogreencoffeebeanstosell.Fiveyearsagotheydevelopedabrandoforganiccoffee.Yettheylackastrongstructurefordistribution,packaging,designandbranddiffusion.Theywanttosellgoodcoffeeforthelocalmarketbutremainoutsiderstothelocalcommunicationsmedia.Nooneishelpingthembyspendingtimeormoneyforanewmarketingstrategy.Thismeansthattheunder-exposedneedtodevelopnewalternativesystemsofpromotingtheirproductsandcultureonthelocalandglobalmarketsinordertobein-volvedand,atthesametime,involvetheconsumer.

Anotherissueisthattheconsumerisnotinvolvedintheproductionproc-ess.Forexample,onecanbuyapplesorcoffeefromdifferentcountrieswithoutexactknowledgeoftheproducts’originorlaborconditionsforitsgrower.Whenwebuyproductswetrustthebrand(overexposed)thatoffersustheproducts,anddonotconsideritsproducer(underex-posed).Therefore,itisdifficulttoknowwherethemoneyyoupayforyouaproductactuallygoes.Ibelievethatinthefuturetheconsumershavetobeinvolvedintheproductionoftheirproductsandservices.

HOW TO INVOLVE THE CONSUMERS IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS?

2.3 “WE ARE WHAT WE SELL”Aspreviouslystated,manyconsumersareunawareoftheoriginofthe

productstheyconsume.Thisisnotalwaysduetoalackofinterestbutveryoftensimplybecausetheinformationisnotoffered.Theproductdoesnotmotivatetheconsumertobecomefurtherinvolved.Atthesametime,mostsmallproducershavenoregardforthequalityofthefinalproductand,therefore,usetechnologiesandprocessesnecessi-




tatedbyamarketthatprefersquantityandsizeratherthanbiologicalqualitiesofproduction.Thecraftsmenandagriculturalproducersarenottheownersofthepatents,brandnames,andthemarketingcam-paignfortheirownproducts.Thiscreatesdependenceonthecompa-niesthatmarketandpromotetheirproducts.“Nearlythreeyearsago,Ethiopia’scoffeesectorlaunchedaplantotakebetteradvantageofitsintellectualproperty.Thecountryappliedforthetrademarkregistra-tionsofitsspecialtycoffeebrandsintheUnitedStates,Canada,andothercountries….InJune2007,Starbuckshashonoreditscommit-mentstoEthiopiancoffeefarmers.TheagreementallowsStarbuckstouseandpromotethesecoffeebrandsinmarketswheretrademarksexistforthebrandsaswellaswheretheymaynot,inaccordancewithagreedtermsandconditionsnegotiatedwithEthiopia.”(OxfamPressRelease–21June2007.Oxfamcelebrateswin-winoutcomeforEthiopiancoffeefarmersandStarbucks

http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/2007/pr070621_win-win-outcome -for-ethiopian-coffee-farmers-and-starbucks.html?set_language=en).Ofcoursethesmallproducerscansellthefirstpartoftheproduction

chain.Theycanselltheircoffeebeanstothehighestbidderandthatisall.However,itwillbemuchbetterwhentheycanexecuteallthestepsintheproductionchain,andwhenthesmallproducersarealsoinvolvedinthedistributionandmarketingoftheirproducts.

Anotherproblemtheunderexposedstillfaceisthatcontemporaryprod-uctsandserviceshavetohaveastandardqualityandquantity.Theunderexposedsmallproducersworkwiththeirtraditionalknowledgeandcraftsmanshipandusuallydonothavetheexperiencetodevelopproductsonamacrolevel.HerethelocalNGOshaveanimportantroletoplay.Throughstandardizingsystems,communityworkandserv-icesNGOs(preferablywithhelpfromthelocalgovernment)canworktogetherwiththeunderexposedcreatingstandardizedqualitywhichwillhelpinthemarketingoftheirproducts/services.Iftheunder-exposedcanshowthattheirproductsareofconsistentquality,theirproductscanbesoldonaneverydayconsumptionbasis;theconsumerwillbegintotrustintheirproductionandproductspreventingtheproductsfromendingupingiftshops.Thus,thepositionofconsumerscouldchange,iftheirpurchasegoesfrombeingabouthelpingafor-gottenfarmer,tobeinginvolvedindevelopingorganic,hand-craftedproducts.Bothproducerandconsumershouldbecomepartnersinthedevelopmentofsustainableproductsindifferentpartsoftheworld.Tobeinvolvedintheprocessofproductionisalsotobepartoftheprod-uct.

ArelevanteconomictheorywasdesignedbytheChileanMax-Neef(win-nerofthealternativeNobelprize1983).HedesignedtheHumanDevelopmentScalethatis“focusedandbasedonthesatisfactionoffundamentalhumanneeds,onthegenerationofgrowinglevelsofself-reliance,andontheconstructionoforganicarticulationsofpeoplewithnatureandtechnology,ofglobalprocesseswithlocalactivity,ofthepersonalwiththesocial,ofplanningwithautonomy,andofcivilsocietywiththestate.”(Max-Neefetal1987:12.http://www.rain

forestinfo.org.au/background/maxneef.html)Thistheorystressestheideathatproducersandconsumershavetocre-

ateaconnectionandinteractinthedevelopmentandimprovementofproductsandservicesservingtheirmutualneeds.Inamarketingcon-ceptbasedondirectcontactbetweenthepersonbuyingandthepersonselling,theneedsofbothpartiesaresatisfiedandglobalprocessescanbelinkedtolocalactivity.

Directcommunicationwillcreatetheideaofunityandbelongingtothesameorganization,whatisproduced,andultimatelywhatissold.Thisistheadvantagetheproducershaveoverthemultinationals.Untilnow,nobrand(besidesFairtradebrands)offerstheconsumerdirect




contactwiththeproducersoftheirproductandviceversa.Withthatmotiveinmind,communicationsystemsliketheInternethaveanim-portantdutytoperform.Theymustfosterpro-activeattitudesandself-reliancetofuelthisdevelopmentproposalandleadtotheconclusionofthisresearchproject.

3 CONNECTING THE UNDEREXPOSED SMALL PRODUCERS

3.1 CONCLUSION

Thepassivecultureswiththeirsmallproducersneedtobemorethanthespectatorintheeraofglobalization;theyneedtoestablishapresenceinthelocalandglobalmediaandmarkets.Theconclusionofthisre-searchisthatitisessentialtostartcreatingcommunicationbetweenconsumersandproducers,byinformingandinvolvingtheconsum-ersintheproductionprocess.Insodoing,thequalitiesandadvantag-esofproductsfromsmallproducerswillbeexposed.Theadvantagefortheproduceristhatamediapresence,particularlyonline(web-site,webshop),providesatooltocreateeconomicalviabilityandtheirownsustainabledevelopment.Thevariousmeansofcommunication,suchastheInternet,haveengenderedtheideaofaglobalcommunity.Therefore,itisrelevantandpossibletoalsodeveloptheideaofthelocalcommunity,andtoinvolvelocalproducerswithglobalconsum-ers;forexample,smallcoffeeproducerswithwebshopusersworld-wide.

Producer-consumercommunicationnecessitatesthecreationofauniqueconceptofmutualcooperation.Thatistosay,thattheyhavetosharethesameexpectationsforthedevelopmentanddiffusionoftheprod-uctwhilebeingpartnersofacooperativethroughtheInternet.Thiswillcreateroomforparticipationbycivilinstitutions,non-governmen-talorganizations,andsuppliersandconsumers.

Allofthatcancometogetherinprojectstoenhancesocialandeconomicsustainability.Thisconceptisnotbasedonaid;itisbasedonmutualparticipationthatwillenablethedevelopmentandempowermentofthesmallproducerand,atthesametime,enabletheconsumertorec-ognizetheoriginoftheproductsandservices.“Theimportanceoflinkingsmall-scaleruralproducerswithgrowthmarketsiscurrentlyrecognizedinviewofglobalizationandtheexpandingworldeconomy,whichforcessmall-scalefarmersandprocessorstobemorecompeti-tive,totakeadvantageofmarketopportunitiesandtoconfrontthreatsfromimportedproductswithgreatereconomiesofscale”(www.ciat.cgiar.org/agroempresas/pdf/manual2_marketopportunity.pdf)

WhenproducersdiscoverthattheyhavethepotentialtocreateuniqueproductsthatcanbesoldthroughtheInternet,thiswillconfrontthemwiththeactualrealityoftheirproducts.Directcommentaryandconsumerdemandsmightmeanthattheyhavetoimprovethepres-entation,qualityandproductionsystemoftheirproducts.Theyhavetotakeintoaccountthespecificdesiresofthefinalconsumer.Whenconsumersdiscoverthattheycanalsohaveasayinthequality,designandoriginoftheproductstheybuy,theywillhaveavoiceinwhattheyconsume.Inturntheymaycontributetothecommercialdevelopmentofsmallproducers.WhenbothconsumerandproducercaninteractinasocialnetworkthroughtheInternet(makingcontactwithotherproducersandconsumers),closer,moredirectcontactcanbecreated.Theywillbepartnersinthedevelopmentofsustainable,ecologicalanduniqueproducts.




3.2 INTERNET COOPERATIVE ( PROPOSAL )

TheproposalconsistsofdevelopinganInternetCooperativewebsitesys-temthatfunctionsasasupporttoconnectinadirectwaysmallpro-ducerswithconsumersdirectly.Itprovidesinstitutionalinformation,interactivedataabouttheproducts,andserviceguaranteesbothforconsumersandproducers.

Thecooperativewebsitesystemisdividedintothreeparts:

1 Awebsiteforsmallproducerstolearnhowtodevelopanonlineshopquicklyandeasily.Thisisaccomplishedusingthesystem“webinabox”,containingmanualsandlayouttemplatesforbuildingawebsite.Thissystemalsoeducatesproducersinthebenefitsandadvantagesofonlinesales.

2 A“mutualprojects”websitewherethesmallproducers,consumersandsupplierspromotethe“connectedness”throughmutualcooperationanddevelopmentprojectsonline,intheformofaglobalCooperative.Thewebsitealsoputsforthguaranteestosupportallactionsofbuyingandselling.

3 Awebshopthatdirectlyconnectstheconsumerwiththesmallproduc-erandhis/herproducts.Itispossibletoshareconsumerexperienceswiththeproducer,andassuchtoimprovetheproductionstandardsandsatisfythespecificnecessitiesoftheconsumer.

WhatismeansforconsumerstobepartofanInternetCooperativefortheconsumersisasfollows.Onthewebnavigatortheconsumers(webusers)gototheInternetCooperativesiteandselectthe“shop”optiononthehomepage(buy,please,don´thelp).Onthewebshop shomepageitispossibletosearchforaspecificproductbykeywordofbyproductcategory.Byselectingacategory,consumersseeallproductsofferedto-getherwiththeproducer spicture.Clickingononeoftheseproductsimmediatelylinkstotheproducer’swebsite,withaphotocatalogoftheirproductsandadetaileddescriptionoftheselection.Acompleteproducerprofileisalsoincluded.Theconsumerviewsallthecompletedescriptions,photosandproducercommentsabouttheirproducts,theexactprecedenceandseesallthepeopleinvolvedindevelopingtheproduct.Thesearefactorsoftransparencyintheflowofcommunica-tionamongproduction,distributionandsales.(Seeforanexampleinhttp://www.made-by.nl/index.php?lg=en)

Someproductsoffermultipledesignoptionsforcolor,texture,andsize.Forspecialrequests/orderstheconsumercancontacttheproducerbye-mail.Thereisalinkonthewebsitewheretheconsumercaninviteotherconsumerstobuy,andinthefuture,startparticipatingintheprocessofimprovingexistingproductsandcreatingnewones.AnotherfeatureoftheInternetcooperativesystemistheoptionofturningtheconsumersintoshareholders,inthegrowthanddevelopmentoftheproductionprocess.Theconsumercanfindanaccessibleprojectlistfromsmallproducers(forexamplecoffeeproducers)allovertheworldthroughthe“mutualprojects”website.Theconsumercansearchforaprojectontheworldmapinwhatevercountryhe/shewantstobein-volved.Theconsumermaymakeafinancialcontributionthatwillbeusedbytheproducersforacertainstipulatedamountoftime.Thisway,tangibleproductionobjectivescanbereached.Byparticipatinginthisprocess,theconsumerscanfollowtheprocessofproductiononthe“mutualprojectswebsite”andbecomeinvolvedwiththeproducers.Afteraperiodoftime,forexampleoneyear,theconsumer’sfinancialcontributionispaidbackorpaidinproductsthattheconsumercanfindinthewebshopaffiliatedwiththeproducer.





Inthiswaytheproducerwillbepromoteddirectlybytheconsumers.Theconsumersdiscovernewproducersandproductsandtheproductsarecreatedmutually:“Wearewhatwesell.”ProductsandservicesarepaidthroughtheInternetpaymentsystemssuppliersandthemoneygoesdirectlytotheproducer.Afterpaymentthebuyer/consumerreceivesanemailpurchaseconfirmation,listingthetimeandmethodusetomaketheproduct,togetherwithinformationaboutthesmallproducerandallthesuppliersinvolvedintheprocess.(Seeforsupplierexamples:

http://www.worldpay.com/emea/sme/index.php http://www.wirecard.com/all-in-one-payment-solutions.html https://www.paypal.com/)Ontheproducer’swebpageitisclearlystatedthattheremaybeadiffer-

encebetweenthepicturesandtheactualproducts.Theproductsarehandmadeandthereforemayvaryslightlyincolorandmaterial.Thisisadifferencethatcharacterizeshandmadeproducts.Afterhavingre-ceivedtheorderedproduct,theconsumermayhaveideasonhowtoim-proveit;onemightdevelopablogabouttheproducer’sproductswherecustomerscanpostcommentsandviewotherconsumercomments.ThelocalNGOandproducerswouldchecktheblogfrequently.Thepro-ducerwouldreceivethesuggestionsontheblogandaddanewdesignorimprovealreadyexistingproducts.HerethecommunicationthroughtheInternetisveryimportant.Ifanewproductevolvesfromthisproc-ess,theproducerwillpublishitonthewebsitewithanoteofgratitudetotheconsumerwhoparticipatedintheprocess.However,inthisstagethatisaprematureplan.Theinnovationandsuccessofthewebsystemcanonlybeachievedwhenaconsumersatisfiedwithhis/herpurchasebecomesinvolvedwiththeproducerthroughtheInternet.Thiswaytheconsumercangettoknow,tryoutandpromotetheproducts.

Animportantaspectistheidentitytheproducerneedstopresentonhis/herwebsite.Thiscanbecreatedbyphotosoftheproductsandoftheproducersthemselves.Inthemanualscontainedinthe“webinabox”,theproducerscandownloadandfollowtheproceduretopublishrel-evantandqualityphotos.Anotherelementthatwillcontributetothevisibilityoftheirwebdesignarephotosordrawingsoftheirenviron-mentandcommunity.Thestyleofthetextissimpleandisconstructedfollowingtherecommendationsinthemanual.Thedistributionoftextandphotoswillalsobebasedonthelayouttemplatesincludedinthe“webinabox”system;thesmallproduceronlyhastorecollectandfillinallrequiredinformation.ThenitispossibletotestandpublishitontheInternetusingthesystemcontainedinthe“webinabox”kit.

Thevoluntarywork,localandglobalNGOs,suppliersandInternetconnec-tionsareimportantfortheexpansionoftheInternetCooperative.Thewebsitesshouldclearlypresentthebenefitsofbeinginvolved,theloca-tionofproducersandproducts,whyothersareinvolvedandhowtobuyandparticipate.Theresultmustbethattheconsumerwantstobecomeinvolved.(Seeexamplesin

http://www.bidnetwork.org/index.php?lang=en http://www.uch.ceu.es/principal/designfortherealworld/home.http://

www.nabuur.com/modules/homepage/home.php http://www.kiva.org/app.php)ConnectiontotheInternetisbecomingmoreandmorewidespreadand

gradually,alsowheresmallproducersareconcerned,thetechnologyisbecomingmoreaccessibleandvariouscompaniesareinvestingintheirincorporationtotheInternet.(Seeexamplesin

http://www.bushnet.net/ http://50x15.amd.com/en-us/solutions.aspx http://www.efreshportal.com/Content/01_01_Home.aspx http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/design/internet-village-motoman- network http://www.laptop.org/vision/index.shtml)



“Establishingsustainabilityrequiresvitalresources.Basedonresearchgatheredfrompreviousdeployments,ensuringthefollowingkeyareasofanInternetconnectivityecosystemcantranslateintosuccess:

– Power–gridbased,solar,ormanualpowergeneration;– Connectivity-wired,wireless,orsatelliteserviceproviders;– Devices-servers,personalcomputers,laptops,thinclients,smart

phones,andothertoolspeopleusetoaccesstheInternet;– Financing-governmentprograms,financialinstitutionsandfounda-

tionsthatprovidemicro-loansandothermeansforhelpinglocalpeo-pleaffordInternetaccesstoolsandservices;

– Content-locallyrelevantsoftwareapplicationsandinformationavail-ableinmultiplelanguages;

– Expertise-training,repairservices,andgeneralecosystemsupport.”(UnitingtoAccelerateDigitalInclusion,AdvancedMicroDevices,Inc.(http://50x15.amd.com/en-us/partners.aspx).

So,thesmallproducers,whohavebeenexcludedfromthemarketbecauseofdistanceandlackofcontactwiththeconsumer,willbeabletocomeintodirectcontactwiththeirconsumersbyusinginnovativewaysofcommunication.Nowisthetimetocreateamarketbasedonlocalsus-tainabledevelopment,withdirectparticipationinsocialprojects,andtoinvestinabetterqualityoflifeforothersandoneself.Thesustain-abilityofthelocalandglobalcommunitiesliesintheircapacitytode-velopthroughmutualinvolvement,whilebeginningwithestablishingequalityininformationanddistributionnetworks.

REFERENCES

Barthes,Roland,1980,Mythologies,London:Granada.

Batalla,GuillermoBonfil,1999,ThinkinourCulture,Madrid:AlianzaEditorial.

Castells,Manuel,1996,TheRiseoftheNetworkSociety,Oxford:Blackwell.

Klein,Naomi,2005,NoLogo,London:HarperPerennial.

Mulder,Arjen,2004,UnderstandingMediaTheory,Rotterdam:V2_/NaiPublishers.


FashionandthePassingofTime

MAAIKE STAAL

When Gerrit has worn his clothes two days, he washes them. When they look old, or he no longer likes the way they look, he throws them away and picks out something new at Motiva- an institution collecting used clothes. The most important criterion is that they look good on him. The homeless people I have interviewed pick their clothes carefully. Most homeless do not buy clothes, but get them from homeless institutions such as Motiva. “You do want to look handsome, don’t you? I don’t want old rubbish!”, says Gerrit in my interview with him.

Ton,Rini,Marcel,André,andGerritarehomelesspeoplefromAmersfoort.Tonsays“hedoesn’tcareaboutbrands”(thoughtodayhe“coincidental-ly”iswearingNikes…).Clothesshouldbeapproximatelyhissize,andfeelcomfortable.Hedoesnotwanttolookfoolishbuthowhelooksisnotthatimportanttohim.Marcel,ontheotherhand,paysalotofattentiontohisclothes.Initially,hedoesnotwanttobeinthephoto-graph,becauseheisn’twearingaverynicejackettoday,hesays.Marcelchooseshisclothesbasedonappearance,andhecherisheshismostvaluableclothes.Inthehomelesscenter,hehashisownlockerwherehestoreshisbestpieces.Otheritemsheexchangeswithothers,orheturnsthembackin.

André,Marcel,Rini,Gerrit,andTongettheirclothesthroughvarioushomelesscharitablefoundationsinAmersfoort.ThoughIassumedtheywouldnotcareabouthowtheylook,theyappeartobeactivelybuild-ingbothanimageandanidentitythroughtheirclothing.Marcel,aswellasAndréandGerritreferclearlytocurrentfashionalthoughtheyweargarmentsdiscardedbyothersasbeingworthlessor“outoffash-ion”,throwninthenearestrecyclingbin,localthriftstore,orvintagestore.

TheimageIhadofhomelesspeoplewasthestereotypeAriUyttenbroekandEllieVersluisputforwardintheirseries‘Vagabonds’:unwashed,unshaventypesintorn,dirtyclothes,worninlayers(www.exacti-tudes.nl).Becauseofthatlook,weimmediatelylabelthemashomelessvagabonds.Nevertheless,duringmyresearch,Idiscoveredthatthema-jorityofthehomelessinAmersfoortarenotrecognizableashomelessvagabondsexceptfortheStreetnewsintheirhands-newspapershome-lesspeoplecanbuyandsellwhilekeepingtheprofit.Rather,home-lessvagabondswantpeopletothinktheyaretouristsorjustpeopleontheirwaytowork.(MagazineLinda,December2006).

Whydowealwayswantnewclothes,whiletheoldonesarenotworn-outyet?Someclothesandotherthingsbeartracesoftime,givingthemsoulandcharacter.Theycannotbereplacedbyanythingelsebecauseoftheiruniquepatina.Therefore,Idobelievediscardedthingscouldserveasinterestingstartingpointsforsomethingnew.Evenpiecesofgarbagesuchastincansandbottlecapscouldbeusedasmaterialtomakenovelcreations. Inthispaper,Iwillexaminehowfashiondealswiththephenomenonofreuseaspartofthedesignprocess.

Sincethe1950s,variousmovementsandauthorshavedealtwithreuseinfashion.Forexample,AngelaMcRobbiestatesthatinthebeginningofthe1950s,beatnikgirlsandwomenboughtthe1930sand1940smid-dleclassfurcoats,satindresses,andsilkblousesinfleamarketsinordertoescapethedictatedfashionimageoftheirowntime(McRobbie1989:34).Throughculturaltrendssuchasthe1970shippiemovement



• André,homeless,Amersfoort

•• Gerrit ,homeless,Amersfoort

••• Marcel,homeless,Amersfoort

••••Tresjmen,wastecreatures,partofdesignprocess

•••••Ibid■• Ibid

•

•••

•••••

••

••••

■•


andnextthe1980spunkmovement,wearingvintageclothesbecamemainstreamratherthananexpressionofacertaincounterculture.Onecouldsaythatthedifferencebetweenthevintageclothesofthehipandtrendyandtheusedclothesofthehomelessisfoundinthegoalattainedthroughwearingsecondhandgarments.Whereastheurbanvagabondortrampdoesnotwanttobenoticedbutseekstodresslikethemassesinordertoblendin,thefashionablevintagewearerintendstodevelopanindividualclothingstyleinordertostandoutinthecrowd.Theurbanvagabondwantstohidethefacthehasnomoney,whilethetrendyvintagestoreshopperislookingforuniqueandsome-timesexpensivepiecesnobodyelsehas(anymore).

Strikinglyenough,sometimesthegoalofsecondhandclothesiseventolookhomelesswithoutbeinghomeless.McRobbiereferstolookingpoorasastylisticdeviceinthe1960s,“Wolfepokedfunatthearriv-isteyoungmiddleclassesofAmericainthe1960swhoweresowelloffthattheycouldaffordtolookbackandplayaroundwiththeideaoflookingpoor”(McRobbie1989:26-27).Invariouspost-warsubcultures,secondhandclothingplayedamajorrole.Inmimicryofthesecounter-cultures,designersalsobecameinspiredbysecondhandclothesanddiscardedmaterials.“CombinedwiththethriftshopmasqueradingoftheNewRomantics,whosetheatricalandnostalgicstylepermeatedLondonclublandintheearly1980s,analternativesetofstatussymbolswasappearing.Itfusedmulticulturalandhistoricalreferencepointstocreatealookthataestheticizedpoverty,despiteitsactualhighfashionstatusandcost”(Arnold2001:24).AccordingtoArnold,anewlookofaestheticizedpovertyoriginatedatthebeginningofthe1980s.Despitethe“poor”look,itwashighfashion,withequivalenthighprices.Fashiondesignersusedtheundersideofsocietyasasourceofinspira-tion.

In1981,YohjiYamamotoandReiKawakuboshockedPariswiththecollec-tionstheyshowed.“KawakuboandYamamotoliterallytoreWesterndressmakingtraditionsapartattheseamsandreassembledthem,creatinggarmentsthatrecalledthetatterdemalionclothesoftheva-grantandthetorn,misalignedandill-fittingdressofthemendicant”(McDowell2000:443).KawakuboandYamamotodidnotbotheraboutslickness,beauty,andtheconventionalrulesforhautecoutureoranybeliefinprogress.Theyshowedmodelsonthecatwalkinclothessimi-lartothoseofurbantrampsandvagabonds.InMcDowell’sview,theshowhadsuchanimmenseimpactbecauseoftheerasureof200yearsofcraftsmanship.

Similarly,DianaCranedescribestheimpactofthatturninfashion.“ReiKawakubo(…)createdclothesintheearly1980sthatviolatedmajorcharacteristicsofWesternclothingasepitomizedbyhautecouture.Westernclothesareexpectedtobesymmetrical.Bycontrast,symme-tryisunimportantintraditionalJapaneseclothingandintheworkofKawakubo…AnothercharacteristicofFrenchhautecouturewhichKawakubo’sclotheshaveviolatedisperfectionofcraftsmanship;handstitchingisexpectedtobeperfect,thecutimpeccable.ReiKawakubohaddesignedsweatersthatarefullofholesanddresseswithunfin-ishedraggedhems”(Crane1997:131).Inotherwords,KawakubodidnotcareaboutthemostimportantcharacteristicsofWesternhautecouture.Therefore,thecollectionsofbothKawakuboandYamamotoannouncedabreakingpointinfashion.

Workingwithusedmaterialsandtracesoftimeinclothescanbeseenasapostmodernistexpression.Importantpostmoderncharacteristicsareeclecticism,parody,“thefadingdistinctionbetweenhighandlowculture”,andintertextuality(Smelik2006:156).Smelikdescribesin-tertextualityasacontinuousstreamoftexts.“Everytextisawebofcitations,borrowedwordsandothertexts.Ofcoursewearenottalk-ingaboutanarrowconceptionoftext;alsoimagesrefercontinuously



•


toeachother”(Smelik2006:156).Twootherpostmodernnotionschar-acteristicofpostmodernculturearepasticheandbricolage.“Pastichereferstoatextualorvisualcitation,withthemerepurposeofrepeti-tion,citationitself.Thereferencehasnodeepermeaning,becauseallhistoricalconnectionshavebeenreleased”,saysSmelik(Smelik2006:157).InSmelik’sview,bricolagefitsa“copy-pasteculture”whereevery-bodycouldpasteclothesandevenone’sownidentitytogether.Smelik2006:157)

Anotherfeatureofpostmoderncultureisthesubstitutionofrepresenta-tionbysimulation,oforiginalbycopy.Inthatcontext,SmelikreferstoWalterBenjaminwhoarguedthat“intheeraofmechanicalrepro-ductionthedistinctionbetweenoriginalandcopydisappears”(Smelik2006:160).

ElizabethWilson,however,arguesthatfashionhasbeenpostmoderninnatureeversincetheIndustrialRevolutionbecausebackthentherewerealreadystylisticcharacteristicsbeingrecycledfromprecedingpe-riods(Wilson1990:224).Butnotallpostmoderntraitsareapplicabletofashion.Notuntilthe1960swasthebeliefinprogresscastasidebycer-taincounterculturesandtheboundariesbetweenhighandlowculturebegantofade-thinkofthebeatniksandhippies,whocamefromalllayersofsocietyandvisitedfleamarketsinhugenumbers.Fromthenon,recyclinganddeliberatewearandtearcanbenoticedfrequentlyinclothesandthefashionimage.Ittookuntilthe1980sforthebounda-riesbetweenmainstreamandsubculturetofade;punk-styleclothingwasevenforsaleatbigdepartmentstores.Inthatsameera,moreandmoredesignersturnedtheirbackonamodernistbeliefinprogress.However,somedesignersstillliveuptomodernistutopianideals.Nevertheless,the1980sseemtobeastartingpointforamainlypost-modernsortoffashionquotingfromandreferringtoformerstyles.From“recycling”and“reusing”thosestyles,itisonlyasmallsteptoreusingmaterials,garmentsorcompletecollections.

Designersworkingwithsecondhandmaterials,oftenusebricolagetech-niques.Bricolageiscommonlyaccompaniedbyaneclecticmethodofworkingbecauseofthecombinationofallkindsofobjectsandma-terialsfromdifferentstyles,cultures,anderas.Whenthebricolagetechniqueisnotemployed,thereuseofexistingmaterialismorelikeapasticheasavisualquotation.However,contemporaryfashionasawholeisalsoeclecticwithoutpasticheorbricolagebecauseofthecoex-istenceofmanydifferentstyles.Byusingclothesfromothererasinthepresentday,thehereandnowandthepastcoexist;inthatsense,wealsocanspeakofintertextuality.

Thus,thephenomenonofsecondhandclothesonlyusedbythepoorhasbeentransformed.Nowadaysevenhautecouturedesignersturntodis-cardedclothesfortheirdesigns.Thisisaclearexampleofthefadingofboundariesbetweenhighandlowculture;anothertraitofpostmod-ernism.Thedifferencebetweenoriginalandcopylikewisedisappearswhereasrecyclingmakesthatevenmorecomplicated,byusingtheoriginalinanewdesign,producingclothingthatisneithercopynororiginal.Allinall,thereuseofmaterialsclearlyseemstofitapost-modernera.

Severaltermspopuptodescribeclothingstylesinthepostmodernera.Infact,thetermsTrash-Worship,DeconstructionFashion,Surrealist-Utilitarianism,andFashion-after-the-Fashionallfindtheirrootsinpostmodernism.IproposeusingthetermTrash-Worshipfordesignerswhousediscardedmaterialsintheircreations;theyemploytherem-nantsofourconsumersocietyasabasisfornewdesignsforthatsamesociety.Infact,theyrevaluateourowngarbage.

ThoughthetermTrash-Worshipmightsoundabitnegative,itdescribesquitewelltheincorporationofsecondhandmaterialsinfashion.AccordingtoAllisonGill,DeconstructionFashiondealsmorewith



• Commedesgarçonsinfraapparel


tatteredclotheswhichareunfinishedordeliberatelyundone,whileSurrealist-Utilitarianism’smaincomponentisbricolage(Gill1998:25).“He(MartinMargiela,ed.)studiesfoundobjectsaroundhimandthinks,`Aha!Howcanthatbemadeintoclothes?’“(http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/Le-Ma/Margiela-Martin.html).Thatsoundsexactlylikethedescriptionforabricolagetechnique-onlyoneofthemanymethodsforworkingwithdiscardedmaterials.

BarbaraVinkenhasintroducedthetermFashion-after-the-Fashiontonu-anceourviewonpostmodernity,andespeciallytodescribetherela-tionshiptotime.AccordingtoVinken,Fashion-after-the-Fashionisdifferentfromotherpostmodernexpressions.Itisnotsimplyeclecticinmixingandmatchingaccessoriesandstylesfromalltimeperiods.Fashion-after-the-Fashionoffersareflectiononthepassingoftime,andproposesadifferentintercoursewithtime;onewhichisnotsim-plynostalgic,norlivesuptotheutopicidealwheretheprecedingfash-ionisreplacedbythepresentone.Fashion-after-the-fashiondescribesabroaderareathanTrash-Worship;namelyallfashioninwhichtheelementoftime,especiallytheelapsingoftime,playsanimportantrole.Thisvaluationofpatinaisnotnew,asthenameFashion-after-the-Fashiondoessuggest,butitisaboutarevaluationofoldvalues.

Inreflectingontheageingprocess,CarolineEvansstates,“Patinawasasignifierofsocialstatusuntiltheeighteenthcentury,whenitwaseclipsedbytheconsumerrevolutionthatformedthebedrockofthemodernfashionsysteminwhichstatusismarkedbynoveltyratherthanbythesignsoflongevityandage…Yetattheendofthetwentiethcentury,justasonegroupofdesignersbegantoplaywithhistoricalci-tationinthemostuptotheminuteclothes,sotoodidanothergroupbegintointroducethethemeofpatinaintotheirmoreavant-gardedesigns.Thesignsofageing,andtheideaofahistory,werereplicatedintheworkofanumberofdesignerswhoseworkwasnotovertlyhis-toricallythemedbutwhich,insteaddrewonmotifsofrefuse,detri-tus,remnantsfromthepastwhichweretransformedinthepresent”(Evans2000:104).

Sovaluesfrombeforethe“mode-de-cent-ans”(theperiodbetweenCharlesFredriqueWorthin1957upuntilthe1960s)becameimportantagain.Theword“fashion”inFashion-after-the-Fashionmightalsobeapointofdiscussioninrelationtosecondhandclothing.Dothesecondhandclothesofaurbanvagabonddifferthatmuchfromthevintagediscov-eriesofthehipyoungsterwhowantstodistinguishhimselffromthemasses?Whywouldtheonenotbefashion,whiletheotherwould?Asforadesignerwhousessecondhandclothesinhisorherdesigns:Isthatfashionoracollectionvisiblyinspiredbythe1950s?

Fashion-after-the-FashionaswellasDeconstructionFashion,Trash-WorshipandSurrealist-Utilitarianismareexamplesoftheso-calledbubble-upeffect-afashionwhichrisesupwardsfromthelowerech-elons,fromthestreetstothecatwalk.Butworkingwithtracesoftimeinclothescouldbeseenwithinvariousstreetstyleslongbeforefash-iondesignersstartedworkingwiththisseriouslyinthe1980s.Inthecontextofstreetstylesandthesecondhand,AngelaMcRobbieclaims,“Mostoftheyouthsubculturesofthepost-warperiodhavereliedonsecondhandclothesinjumblesalesandfleamarketsastherawmate-rialforthecreationofstyle.Betweenthe1960sand1980saseriesofrecyclingofclotheswereconnectedwiththedevelopmentofPunk,theNewRomantics,Glamourandcross-dressingstyles.Allofthesewerestreet-fashions,createdonthemarginsofcommoditycapitalism,whichintimebegantofeedbackintothefashionindustrywhichei-therreproducedtheoriginalsormimickedthemodificationsachievedbythestreet-styles”(McRobbie1989:26).AccordingtoMcRobbie,sec-ondhandclothingplayedanimportantroleinmostpost-warsubcul-tures.Theclotheswornbythe“members”ofthesestreetstyleswere



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copiedbythefashionindustry,andweremadeavailabletothemassmarketthroughtheregularshops.

However,onthecatwalktheissuewasstillmainlytheNewMeaningortheImproved,inkeepingwiththeprevailingacceptedbeliefinprogress.Itwasnotuntilthe1980swiththeshowofKawakuboandYamamotoinParisthatachangeoccurred.TheseJapanesefashiondesignersinspiredotherdesignerssuchasMartinMargiela,SusanCianciolo,JeanColonna,JessicaOgden,ShelleyFoxandRobertCary-Williamstoworkindifferentwayswithtracesoftimeintheirdesigns.

MartinMargielacreatesnewdesignsfromsecondhandclothingandotherusedmaterials.Heoftenemploystheliningsfromoldclothesontheoutsideofnewgarments.SusanCianciolopaints,bleachesandprintsfabrics,thentearsthemapartandputsthembacktogetheragainwhileconstructingclothesasiftheyweresculptures.JessicaOgdenusesmainlysecondhandfabricslikeoldcurtains.WhenOgdenusesnewmaterials,shefirsttreatsthemandcreatesstainstoimbuethemwith“feeling”.RobertCary-Williamssaysaboutoneofhisdesigns“Myki-monodressistatteredsoitwillleavepiecesbehindeverywhereitiswornuntilthereisonlyalittlebitleftatthetop,thenithashaditslife…Somepieceswillbeatapartyandotherswillbeatsomeone’shouse,likesomeofthespiritofthegarmentislefteverywhere“(Evans2000:105).

Asstatedabove,BarbaraVinkencallsthephenomenonofreflectiononthepassingoftimeFashion-after-the-Fashion.Sheargues,“IthinkFashion-after-the-Fashionisaphenomenonwhichoriginatesinthebeginningoftheeighties.Ittriestoattainexactlytheoppositeoftheideal:itwantstodesigntime…(Vinken2006:32).Tracesoftransitoriness:thatisthematerialFashion-after-the-Fashionismadeof.Thisnewlookadornsitselfwithtimeinsteadofwithdreams.Theclothesbearwit-nesstothepassingoftime.Thisdiffersfromarevivalofhistoricisminfashionerroneouslylabeledas‘postmodern’;thelookiseclecticandobviouslyarbitrary”(Vinken2006:32).

Thus,Fashion-after-the-Fashion,Trash-Worship,Surrealist-Utilitarianism,andDeconstructionFashionareallexamplesofthesocalledbubble-upeffect.Thevisiblewearandtear,looseseams,andsecondhandclothesfromthecatwalkwerealreadywornonthestreetsyearsbe-fore.Deliberatelyworn-outclothesarealsopartofseveralsubcul-tures.Visibleageingorworn-outclothesarespecificallycommoninthebikerculture.Inthemid-1940sitwasworn-outjeans;inthemid-1950sRockabilliessportedageddenim;inthemid-1960sthegreasersdonnedsecondhandhelmets,rippedjeans,andleatherjacketswithtornsleeves.Inotherleather/motorcyclerelatedstyles,weseeapersist-entinterestinwornclothes.

Manyhippies-accordingtoPolhemusagenerictermforBeatniks,Folkies,SurfersandPsychedelicsthatbegantofallunderacommonmonikerbetween1965en1967(theSummerofLove)-woresecondhandcloth-ingandworn-outclotheswithpatchworkandembroideryasasignofanti-materialism.(Polhemus1994:64-65).Aninterestinold,used,andovertlycheapthingswascharacteristicoftheentirehippielifestyleandtheirdesiretopositionthemselvesoutsidethedominantconsumersociety.

InPolhemus’book,theRastafarians-originatinginthe1930sinJamaicaandrisingtoprominenceinthe1970s-withtheirarmysurplusclothesandothersecondhandclothingareadefiniteinfluence.OthergroupsfavoringsecondhandclothesarethePunksinthemid-1970s,NewAgetravellersintheearly1980s,Indiekidsfromtheearly1980s,Grungetowardstheendofthe1980s.Subculturesalsouseotherformsof“waste”intheiroutfitsinadditiontotextiles.Forexample,PunksandCyberpunksintheearly1990susedsafetypins,binliners,etc.InthecontextofPunksandbricolage,Polhemusstates,“TheFrenchusethe



■•

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■••

■••••

• ShelleyFox,Collection1998:burntfeltwithstripes

•• JeanColonna,CollectionSpring/Summer2004

••• SusanCianciolo

••••RobertCary-Williams,CollectionSpring/Summer

2004

•••••JessicaOgden,CollectionSummer2005■• Greasersduring1969festival■•• Hippie,London1971■••• IndieKids■••••Proto-PunkPhilipSallonwithfriendYelenain1976

wearinghome-madeclothesfromgarbageliners


wordbricolagetorefertoanactofcreationwhichcobblestogetherex-isting,‘found’,oftenunrelatedbitsandpieces.ItisanappropriatelabelforwhatwasuniqueandrevolutionaryaboutPunkstyle.Whereasallpreviousstyletribeshadchosentheirsourcesofinspirationwithanobvioushistoricallogic,thePunksjustgrabbedwhatevercaughttheeye.Suchsartorialanarchywas(andis)centraltoPunkstyle/ideology,anditisalsothisqualitywhicharguablyhasmostdirectlyinfluencedmainstreamstyleandfashion.”(Polhemus1994:93).So,inPolhemus’view,bricolagemakesthePunk-styleuniqueandrevolutionary.

Thehippieslovedtowearhandmade(secondhand)clothesasaprotestagainstmassproductionandAfghancoatstoconveyaback-to-na-turefeeling.ThePunks,however,usedeverythingwhichshockedorseemedinteresting:latexclothingfromthesexindustry,denimjack-etsinRockabillystyle,andhippiebadgesheldtogetherwithasafetypin.TheDo-it-YourselfmentalityisthebasisforPunkthought.Pickwhateverinterestsyou,mixandmatch,cutandtear,i.e.,youareyourowntailororstylist.AccordingtoPolhemus,itwasexactlythatele-mentwhichhadthegreatestimpactonmassfashion.Ratherthandressingfromheadtotoeinonedesigner,yousimplypickandchoosetheelementsmostappealingtoyou.ThecombinationofdesignerclotheswithH&M,orofvintagewithajacketfromanexclusivebou-tique,originatesinthatera.

BricolageisoneofthetechniquesusedrepeatedlybydesignerssuchasMartinMargiela.Butmanythingsarepossiblewithintheareaofreuse.Infact,sincethemid-1980s,startingwithMargiela,workingwithsec-ondhandmaterialshasbeguntoexpand.Noveltyisnotthehighestat-tainableidealinfashion;thepastplaysanimportantroleaswell.

HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF

Therearemanydifferentwaystoportraythepassingoftimeindesigns:bygivingnewmaterialsanold,lived-inorusedlookorreusingoldma-terials.Iammainlyinterestedinreusingoldmaterialsbecauseoftheiruniqueappearanceandcharacter.Theyareinterestingtoworkwithsinceyouareabletocreateone-of-a-kindpieceswhereeverygarmentlooksdifferentandshowsauniquehistoryofwear-and-tear,stains,anddiscoloration.Suchpiecescannotbereproducedindustrially.

FIVE METHODS OF WORKING WITH DISCARDED MATERIALS

1 LITERALLY

Re-useofoldclothes,intheiroldfunctionbutwithnewowners:vintagestores,homelesspeople,andclothingexporttoothercountries.Evensomefashiondesignersusesecondhandclothesliterally;inadditionto



• •• •••


theirowncollectionortomakeastatement.Forexample,inhis1990Fall/Wintercollection,MartinMargielashowedavintageman’sshirtonafemalemodel.Intheir2007Fall/Wintershow,theDutchchil-dren’sbrandImps&Elfsusedasecondhandblouseintheirjeans.

2 AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Forhis2005Spring/Summershow,MartinMargieladesignedanentirecol-lectiononlyusingexactreplica’sofvintageclothes.Inretailthishasbeenhappensforalongtime.AfterWorldWarII,theAlliedsoldierslefttheirclothesbehind.TheseclothesbecamepopularandextremelydesirablegarmentsfortheDutchpopulation.TheAmericanjacketsandcoatsandtheEnglishMontycoatsalsoservedasasourceofinspi-rationfortheDutchfashionindustry(Meijetal.1981:31).

3 REUSE THE SHAPES

Are-interpretationinwhichtheoriginalshapeofthegarmenthasbeenrevised,reshapedorchanged,buttheoriginalfunctionismaintained.OneexampleisMartinMargiela,whoremovestheliningfromadressandsellsitseparately[image22],turnstwojacketsintoonenewone,andbleachesrockbandt-shirts,cutsthemtoshreds,andsewsthemto-getherbyhandtoformonet-shirt.

4 NEW FUNCTION

Forexample,ajacketnolongerwornasajacket,butremodeledintoapairofpants.Theformerfunctionisoftenunidentifiableunlessyouknewofitbeforehand.

EsméValkmakescostumesfromoldmattresses.Theworkissupposedtoevokethe“hossen”,aritualduringCarnival.Shealsousesoldtextilesinherpaintingsandotherobjects.

BasKostersoftenconstructshisoddcreationsfromunusualmaterial.TheHeinekenparasolrecursfrequentlyinhisdesigns.

AnotheryoungDutchdesignerwholovestoworkwithdiscardedmateri-alsisJanTaminiau.Inhisgraduationcollection,heusedPTTmailcar-rierbagstocreatehisdresses,buthisrecentworkismoresubtle.InhisSummer2007couturecreations,hemadeshortsoutofthebottomofoldbeachchairstobewornunderneathhisdresses.

OfcoursewealsoseeatMaisonMargielamanyexamplesofuncommonmaterialsgivennewfunction.Fromsubtleandwearable,asinthecol-lectionshapedfrompartsoffurniture,tomuseum-likegarmentsinwhichtheoldshapeisveryclearlyvisibleandrecognizableasinthepaintingdress,andthesuitcasejacket.



•••• ••••• ■• ■••

• MartinMargiela,liningforalongdress,.Collection

Spring/Summer1992and1997

•• EsméValk,performancevisualizingcarnival“hossen”

••• BasKosters

••••JanTaminiau,graduationcollection

•••••MartinMargiela,CollectionSpring/Summer2007■• MartinMargiela,CollectionFall/Winter2006■•• MartinMargiela,CollectionSpring/Summer2007


Thismethodsometimesleadstoveryexperimental,seeminglyun-wear-ableclothes.InthecaseofMargiela,hismuseumlikeclothescanbeseenasastatementorasawaytogeneratemediaattentioninordertostimulatethesalesofhismorewearablelines,andalsotodrawatten-tiontorecycling.

5 THE MATERIAL AS A BUILDING BLOCK

Reuseofthematerialinwhichtheoldpurposeistotallyobliterated.Detailslikepocketsandzippersaredisregarded;onlythefabricisem-ployedasbasicmaterial.MartinMargielamaderosettesfromtheouterfabricofcostumes.Usingthis,heformedthefrontsideofawaistcoat.Fromthesuitlininghemademorerosettesfortheback.Margielaalsodesignedadressmadeoffabricstrips.Secondhandsilkscarveswerebleached,andcutintoslivers.Theseribbonswerehand-braidedtomakealongdressandatop.

TheDutchchildren’slabelFlobberdewotskyusessecondhandtextilestocreatenewgarmentswiththehelpofregularclothingpatterns.Forexample,theyuseoldtablecloths,bedspreads,potholders,curtains,sheetsandblankets,lampshades,andsometimessecondhandclothing.

Thesefivemethodsdemonstratethattherearemanywaystogiveoldtex-

tileandotherwastematerialsanewlife.Workingwithsecondhandmaterialisanalmostinexhaustiblesourceofinspirationfordesigners.Workingwithpreviouslyusedmaterialsexhibitingcertainformsandsignsofpatinahasinfluencedthedesignprocess.Differentshapesandthediscoveryofnewpossibilitiesareofferedbytheappearanceandhistoryofoldmaterials.Materialswewouldnormallythrowawaynowobtainanewfunctionandplayagainaroleinbothfashionandsociety.



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•


REFERENCES

Arnold,R.,2001,FashionDesireandAnxiety–ImageandMoralityinthe20th

century,London:I.B.TaurisPublishers.

Crane,D.,1997,“PostmodernismandtheAvant-Garde:StylisticChangeinFashion

Design”,In:Modernism/modernity,Volume4,number3,September1997,123-

140.http://muse.jhu.edu

Deelen,P.van,2006,“Geenhuisgeengeldgeenliefde”,In:Linda,December2006:

122.

Evans,C.,2000,“Yesterday’semblemsandtomorrow’scommodities,Thereturnof

therepressedinfashionimagerytoday”,In:Bruzzi,S.andGibson,P.C.(eds.),

FashionCultures:Theories,ExplorationsandAnalysis,London:Routledge.

Gill,A.,1998,“Deconstructionfashion:themakingofunfinished,decomposingand

re-assembledclothes”,In:FashionTheory.Volume2,Issue1,25-50,Oxford:Berg

Publishers,

McDowell,C.,2000,FashionToday,Vienna:PhaidonPress.

McRobbie,A.,1989,ZootSuitsandSecondHandDresses:AnAnthologyofFashion

andMusic,London:Macmillan.

Overduin,H.,Jonker,N.Zuthem,H.van,Meij,I,Dercom,C.,1981,Massacultuur,

Modevooriedereen,Confectie1880-1980,.DenHaag:HaagsGemeentemuseum.

Polhemus,T.,1994,StreetStyle–fromSidewalktoCatwalk,London:Thamesand

Hudson.

Schacknat,K.,2004,“UnbeschreiblichWeiblich”,In:Teunissen,J.enBrand,J.,

DeIdealeVrouw,Nijmegen:SUN.

Smelik,A.,2006,“Modeendemedia:vanhautecouturenaarbeeldcultuur”,In:

Brand,J.,Teunissen,J.,Zwaag,A.vander(eds.),DeMachtvanMode,over

OntwerpenBetekenis,Arnhem:ArtEZPress.

Svendsen,L.,2007,Mode–EenFilosofischEssay,Baarn:UitgeverijtenHave.

Vinken,B.,2006,“–Deeeuwigheid–eenrucheaaneenjurk”,In:Brand,J.,

Teunissen,J.,Zwaag,A.vander(eds.),DeMachtvanMode,overOntwerpen

Betekenis,Arnhem:ArtEZPress,

Wilson,E.,1990,“Thesenewcomponentsofthespectacle:fashionandpostmod-

ernism,In:Boyne,R.enRattansi,A.(eds.),PostmodernismandSociety,London:

Macmillan.

Wilson,E.,1993,“Fashionandthepostmodernbody”,In:

Wilson,E.andAsh,J.(eds.),ChicThrills,Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.

www.maaikestaal.nl



• Rozema&Teunissen,1999graduationcollection

•• Flobberdewotsky

••• MartinMargiela,CollectionSpring/Summer2007


research reports

South-KoreanReport

Designisaglobalevent.WhentheplanetouchesdownatIncheonInternationalAirportinKorea,myfirstimpressionis:“Thisisjustan-otherpartoftheglobalculture.”Thesimilaritiesaremoreobviousthanthedifferences,yetslighttwistsinemphasiswillrevealanotherworld.BannersthatshowtheprideofwinningWorld’sBestAirportinOperationalEfficiencyExcellencepreludemysenseofthelocalidentity:acountrystrivingforcompetence,comfortandcoherence.TheKoreaneconomyhasrecentlyemergedfromaneraofhardship.Obviously,asocietyrushingforsuccesshasasmalleramountofinter-estinreflection,cultureorenvironment.Nevertheless,interiordesignprofessorsmeetannuallytodiscussthedevelopmentsintheirpro-fessionandeducation.ThebiannualconventionoftheInternationalFederationofInteriorDesigners(IFI)washostedinBusanbytheKoreanSocietyofInteriorDesigners(KOSID).

Thetopicofconversationconcernedanexplorationofthelatesttenden-ciesindesign.AndsinceDutchdesigniscelebratedaroundtheworld,thebriefingofmylecturewastoshowitsderivation.Fromtheexperi-enceofearlierinteractionswithaKoreanaudienceIhadlearnedthatthequalityoftheinterpreterwascrucial.ThusIaskedBokyoungJu,analumnaofourMAHKUcourse,forherassistance.

Inpreparingthelecture,westartedtoinvestigatethewayKoreandesign-ersunderstoodandappreciatedDutchdesign.AcrucialpointprovedtobethepreconceptionheldbymanyKoreansthatdesignisaimingforbalanceandconsistency.ToclarifytheDutchopenandmoreop-tionaldesign,theresearchwasextendedtofactorsinDutchcultureunderpinningthedesigner’smentality.Underthetitle:‘Ifthereisnotruth,theDutchwilldesignit’,weofferedanintroductiontohowadesignattitudebasedontheculturalbackgroundofnegotiationintradeanddemocracycanberelevantintoday’sglobalsociety.Thiscon-tentaddressedaprominentconcernamongKoreandesigners;namely,howtheircompetenceinmakingcomfortabledesignscouldexpressaKoreanidentitycoherenttothediscourseofcontemporaryglobalde-sign.

IntheIFI/WINGworkshop,ItooktheopportunitytoconfrontKoreanstu-dentswithaDutchdesignprocess.Whileothergroupswereanalyzingthethemeof‘water’,Istartedtoletthestudentsplayfullydiscoverthepropertiesofwateritselftoarriveatdesignprinciplesderivingfromthismaterial.Startingexperientiallywasunfamiliar,butthepracticewaswellaccomplished.Itappearedtobemoredifficulttoreflectontheoutcomeofthefoundprinciplesinordertolinkthemtoabroadersocialorphilosophicalcontext.Itseemedalmostimpossibletoexceedthedomainofform,expressionandcomfortandusemoreabstractandconnectivewaysofthinkingtoimplementasociallevel.Theamazingthing,however,wasthatwhileIhadalreadygivenupthechallenge,studentssensedsomethingnewandeagerlykeptonquestioningmyin-tention.Eventuallysomeofthemmanagedtoemploytheircreativeap-proachforaninnovativeconceptthatcontributestosociety.

AfinallecturewasorganizedatHong-ikUniversity.Althoughthemeetingwasintendedforstudents,halfoftheauditoriumwaspackedwithpro-fessorsanddesignerswhowerecurioustoseethe‘doubleDutch’.Inanintensereflection,BokyoungJuandIessentializedourexperiencesofarandcondenseditintoarhetoricaloppositionofa‘why-’anda‘whynot-’attitudeinthedesignprocess.Thewhy-attitudeisdefensivelyseekingrationalauthorizationandendsupinaconcept-baseddesign.



Theresearchhereisoftentheoretical,objectivebutindirect,andleadstoawell-balanceddesignthateasilybecomestoocomplicatedtocom-municateclearly.Thewhynot-attitudestartswithasimplestorylineanddrawsattentiontoanoptionthatcanoriginatefrommoreexperi-entialwaysofresearchandis,therefore,moredirect.Itexploresavisu-alizedscenario,whilekeepingnewoptionsopenand,so,continuesthecreativeprocessindesignthatfacilitatespossibilities.

Asanexampleoftheopendesignprocess,wementionedtheGalleriaDepartmentStoreinSeoulbyUNStudio.Intheirdesign,theytook‘BigDetail’asaguidingprinciple,andcounteredtheexcessofneonadver-tisinginthecitywithafaçadefullofsmallsilverglassdiscsthatap-pearneutralatdaytimebutlightupmostbrightlyandcolorfullyatnight.Theissuetriggeredaquestioninadelicatearea,sincethebuild-ingappearedtodisturbthesociallifeintheneighborhood.Ittookmealongtimetounderstandwhymyresponsetoincludeallcircum-stancesandseeksolutionsinanymediumwasappreciatedsomuch.Itshowedhowaflexiblecompetencecouldincreasecomfortandcoher-ence.(WimMarseille)

Academy

Inthenexttwoyears,theprofessorshipandresearchgroupArtisticResearchintendstoexplorethepositionandsituationoftheartacad-emyassuch.Today,theconceptof“academy”seemstobeacrucialoneinthepracticeofvisualart.Atvariousexhibitionlocations,cu-ratorsfocusontheacademyasaneducationaltrajectoryinadditiontotheirtraditionaljobofshowingvisualwork.Forexample,in2006,theMuseumforContemporaryArtinAntwerp(Muhka)andtheVanAbbeMuseuminEindhovenjointlyorganizedthelarge-scalepro-gramA.C.A.D.E.M.Y.Inaddition,the2006Manifestaplannedabien-nialconsistingmainlyofatemporaryartacademyprojectatCyprus.Unfortunately,becauseoftheincompatibleviewsofManifestawiththoseofthelocalauthorities,thatManifestaprogramhasneverbeenexecuted.Eventually,partoftheManifestaacademyprojectwasreal-izedbyAntonVidokle,oneoftheManifestacurators,intheunitedna-tionsplazainBerlin.DuringthepaneldiscussionArt Education Today-aprojectrunningparalleltotheFriezeArtFair2007-withspeakersSaskiaBos,TobiasRehberger,RalphRugoff,andAntonVidokle,thelat-terreportedontheManifestaacademyproject.

AccordingtoVidokle,thecurrenteducationalturnisrelatedtohowtheroleofvisualartisinaprocessoftransformation,asfarasthespecta-torandthepublicisconcerned.TheparadigmofthepublicexhibitionwasalreadyformulatedatthetimeoftheFrenchrevolutioninthe18thcentury.Fromthatpointonward,andthusalsoinourday,exhibitionshadtocontributetoacritical,socialawarenessandaconscioussenseofcitizenship.VidoklearguedthattheAmericanartistMarthaRosslerhasdemonstratedparticularlyinherworkthatthetraditionalartpublichasdisappearedoverthelasttwocenturies.Atthesametime,artseemstohaveadoptedtheroleofentertainmentforthemassesintheirleisuretime.Thatmakesitincreasinglydifficultforarttohaveanyimpactonsociety.Yet,inspiteoftheendofconsensusinpublicspacetoday,bothartistsandcuratorsstillwantthat18th-centurysov-ereigntyoncegiventoart.Instressingthatdesire,theydevelopexhibi-tionsdemandingattentionformoreeffectivemodels,whileincludingtheconceptsofeducationandparticipationintheformofexperimen-talacademiesasplacesofpossibility.AnexampleofsuchaplaceisBerlin’sunitednationsplaza.



However,aresuchexhibitioneventsindeedtheappropriatelocationsforattainingasolidreflectionoftheacademy?Shouldn’ttheacademyissuebeexploredfromwithintheacademiesthemselves?Thoseques-tionsarethepointofdeparturefortheprofessorshipartisticresearchgroupinthecomingyears.Inaddition,theprofessoratewillorganizeayearlyconferenceinthecontextofartandacademy.Thefirstcon-ference,A Certain Ma-ness,willbeorganizedincollaborationwiththeBrusselsSt.LukasAcademyinDeBrakkeGrond,andisplannedforspring2008.

Inresponsetotheacademyissue,theresearchgroup“Academy”willdelveintodidacticstrategiesandmodelsinordertobeabletodealwiththesituationoftransformationinvisualart.Thepracticeofthecurrentvisualartistseemstobeincreasinglycharacterizedbytheconceptofexpandedpracticeasafieldofpossibilitiesandexchangesinanin-termediaryspace,hoveringbetweenvariousformsofperceptionandthought.Inthatsense,artnolongerusestraditionalcontexts,butap-pearstocreateitsownplatformsabletocontinuouslyproducenovel,interdisciplinarycontexts.Thatrecontextualizingturnalsoimpliesthattheartistalwaysneedstoreflectontheconnectionofart,public,andpublicdomain.

However,thetraditionalartacademywithitsdisciplinaryrelationshipbetweenlecturerandstudentdoesnotprovidethenecessarytoolstoanticipatethenovelartisticsituation.Inordertodevelopanadequatecurriculum,amorenaturalroleforcriticaltheoryseemstobeoneofthemoreurgentrequirements.Theoreticalreflectionshouldnolongerbeasingularapproach,butindeedparticipateintheacademy’scur-riculum,intheformofacommittedexchangebetweencriticaltheoryandcreativepractice.PartoftherequiredreconfigurationoftheoryandpracticeseemstobenecessitatedbytheBologna-basedrules,stressingtheconnectivityofacademicoruniversity-basededucationandartisticeducation.Thus,theevolvingacademicstructureofarteducationresultsintutorialsfocusedonindividualartisticproductionincreasinglybeingreplacedbygroupdiscussionsdealingwithcontextandpresentation.Duringthesediscussions,novelkeywordssuchasartisticresearchandartisticknowledgeproductionpopupasingredi-entsforvariousformsofreflectionwithintheartinstitutions.Yet,thedangerlurkinginthesedevelopmentspertainstotraditionalacademicdiscipline.Afterall,artisticthoughthasalwayssurpassedthebounda-riesofanydisciplinewhatsoever.Therefore,theresearchgroupartisticresearchintendstofocusonthepre-conditionsofacurriculumabletosurpasstheformattingpowerofacademicthought.Atthesametime,spaceshouldbecreatedfordifferentandexploratoryformsofcriticalthought.(HS)

Conference,ACertainMa-ness,

Amsterdam,March7-8,2008

Toomanyconferencescurrentlybeingorganizedbyartacademiesdrawat-tentiontotherecentdevelopmentofPhDinarttrajectories.Ofcourse,assuchthatPhDdiscussionisuseful.Yet,anevenmoreimportantissuetodaypertainstothespecificityofMAprogramsofartacademies.Afterall,itisthemaster’sprogram,focusedonresearch,thatpreparesartistsforapossiblePhDtrajectory;itisthemaster’sprogramthatof-fersartistsvariousperspectivesontheirprofessionalcareers;anditisthemaster’sprogramanditsstrongemphasisonthespecificitiesofits



curriculumthatforcesthebachelor’sprogramtoreflectontheparticu-larstructureofitsowncurriculum.Moreover,inspiteoftheobligationtoeffectuatetheBolognarulesby2009,manyEuropeancountriesin-terprettheconcreteimplementationofthemaster’sprograminvari-ousways.Insomecountries,aone-yearprogramisoffered,whileothercountriesconcentrateonatwo-yearprogram.Somecountrieshavehadmaster’sprogramsinfineartformanyyears,whereasothershardlyadheretoadeadlinefortheimplementationofamaster’sprogram.Theseclear-cuturgenciesindicateadefiniteneedforaninternationalexpertmeetingandconferenceaddressingtheissueofthespecificityoftheMaFineArtprograms.

TheconferenceA Certain Ma-NesswilltakeplaceinAmsterdamonMarch7-8,2008andwillbeorganizedbytheUtrechtGraduateSchoolofVisualArtandDesignincollaborationwiththeBrusselsSt.LukasAcademy.Inordertoexplorethespecificityofanacademicmaster’sdegreeinfineartfurther,threedistinctissueswillbediscussed.

1 TheissueofthespecificityofMa-competencies.IsitpossibletomapthevariousskillsrequiredfortheMa-programparticularlywithregardtoareflectiveandcriticalattitude,andaconceptionofbothknowledgeproductionandresearch?

2 Theissueofdidactic strategies.IsitpossibletodeterminehowaMAcur-riculumischaracterized?Whatareadequatedidacticstrategiesanded-ucationalmodels?Whatistherelationshipbetweenthoseeducationalstrategiesandmodelsandtheresearchpracticeoflecturers?

3 Theissueoftheresearch environment.Inwhatway-political,facilitating,infrastructural-couldtheGraduateSchoolcontributetothedevelop-mentofaresearchclimateinarteducation?

Theconferenceconsistsoftwoparts.Ondayonethreeparallelworkshopswillinvestigatethemajorissues.ThefirstworkshopisforstudentsofvariousEuropeanartschools,thesecondoneisforlecturers,andthethirdoneforpolicymakers.

Theresultsoftheworkshops,summarizedbytheirrespectivemoderators,willserveasthestartingpointsforthesymposiumondaytwo.Threepanelswilltackletheissuesraised.Panel one, Competencies:ClementineDelissandSimonSheikh.Panel two, Didactic Strategies:MickWilsonandDanielBirnbaum.Panel three, Research Environment:BartVerschaffelandUteMetaBauer.InMaHKUzine#5-Summer2008-theconferencelec-turesandoutcomeswillbeextensivelydiscussedandillustrated.

Moreinformation:www.mahku.nl


politics of design research essays research reports – 48 – mahkuzine 4, winter 2008

Mmahkuzine 4journal of artistic researchWinter 2008mahkuzine, Journal of Artistic ResearchHosted by the Utrecht Graduate School of Visual Art and Design ( MaHKU )ISSN: 1882-4728

contact mahkuzine UtrechtGraduateSchoolofVisualArtandDesign InaBoudier-Bakkerlaan50 3582VAUtrecht TheNetherlands [email protected]

website www.mahku.nl

editorial board HENKSLAGER(genera ledi tor)

ANNETTE W. BALKEMA

ARJEN MULDER

BIBI STRAATMAN

editorial consultants KLAAS HOEK

WIM MARSEILLE

CHRIS VERMAAS

MASCHA VAN ZIJVERDEN

finalediting:ANNETTE W. BALKEMA

languageediting:JENNIFER NOLAN

translations: GLOBAL VERNUNFT

design:MaHKU/MAEditor ia lDesign(THOMASCLEVER) .

typeface:Swift(byGERARDUNGER) ,BEAkzidenzGrotesk

earn MaHKUispartoftheEuropeanArtisticResearchNetwork,togetherwithHelsinki

SchoolofArt,Helsinki;MalmöSchoolofArt,Malmö;NCADSchoolofArt,Dublin;SladeSchoolofArt,London;ViennaSchoolofArt,Vienna.

participants ANNETTE W. BALKEMA LecturerinAnalysisinSpatialDesign,MaHKU,Utrecht GUUS BEUMER,DirectorMarresandNAI,Maastricht PETRA BLAISSE,InterdisciplinaryDesigner,InsideOutside,Amsterdam LUIS IGNACIO CARMONA , MaHKUGraduateDesign,EditorialDesign HEIN EBERSON. LecturerEditorialDesign,MaHKU,Utrecht GABRIELA HERNANDEZ, MaHKUGraduateDesign,UrbanDesign HELLA JONGERIUS , ProductDesigner,Rotterdam WIM MARSEILLE , CourseleaderMAInteriorDesign,MaHKU,Utrecht F IONA PARRY, CuratorialassistantCasco,Utrecht F IONA RABY, ProfessorofInteractionDesign,RoyalCollegeofArt,London MAAIKE STA AL , MaHKUGradauteDesign,FashionDesign ROEMER VAN TOORN, ProfessorProjectiveTheoryProgram,BerlageInstitute,

Rotterdam

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maHKUzine #4