Massive Change Part II
Well, this will act as both a comment and a post. First off, here’s a link to Andy’s original post. Now that you have refreshed yourself to what he though of Massive Change, let me comment. Andy’s comment after seeing the show with me when we were having dinner, and I paraphrase: “I know that the world will save itself” he stated between bite-fulls “but I also know that it will take decades, maybe even centuries, and I am not optimistic about what will happen in that time. That’s the thing about reading a lot, about having a good education; you become less capable in the blissfully ignorant and optimistic departments, and more cynical of the world around you.”
I agree with him there.
He also said “If you read my blog, you would have known everything that was in Massive Change already”. Probably. But not having read his blog very much, I learned a lot during that art show. I learned about the camel pack a water bottle for cyclists, the army, etc., I was able to be in the same room as these battery-powered vehicles that I’ve only read about, I was able to see the technology of keyboards traced along a wall ... but none of these things related to “Massive Change” for me. To me, they are just interesting pieces of information. Coming out of the show I loved it –- I learned so much, it was very colourful, interactive, creative, and well-designed, but I was satisfied. I wasn’t moved to do anything.
Since then, the more time I have had time to think about Andy’s reaction to the show ... the worse I feel about it. Also, I read an article in the September / October 2004 issue of I.D. magazine, and that thoroughly disappointed me, and confirmed what Andy said. So many people seem to love the show, but that’s why it’s useless. It was created to let people know everything is fine, and you don’t have to worry about trying to be intelligent, because the world is coming up with so many cool things that nothing is wrong. You are absolved from needing to be active citizens and trying to help save the world. It should not have been called Massive Change, because Andy is right, there is no call to change the world at all through this show. Massive Change pushes pop-culture issues; these are projects everyone already knows about. The show publishes a sensational burst of well-designed, cleverly disguised corporatism, and innocent design do-goodness. If people can still say that engineering crops is bad after seeing that show, then a) Massive Change hasn’t gotten it’s message across or b) Massive Change is promoting the wrong message. It’s a show all wrapped up in corporate consumerism and mass media.
I agree with him there.
He also said “If you read my blog, you would have known everything that was in Massive Change already”. Probably. But not having read his blog very much, I learned a lot during that art show. I learned about the camel pack a water bottle for cyclists, the army, etc., I was able to be in the same room as these battery-powered vehicles that I’ve only read about, I was able to see the technology of keyboards traced along a wall ... but none of these things related to “Massive Change” for me. To me, they are just interesting pieces of information. Coming out of the show I loved it –- I learned so much, it was very colourful, interactive, creative, and well-designed, but I was satisfied. I wasn’t moved to do anything.
Since then, the more time I have had time to think about Andy’s reaction to the show ... the worse I feel about it. Also, I read an article in the September / October 2004 issue of I.D. magazine, and that thoroughly disappointed me, and confirmed what Andy said. So many people seem to love the show, but that’s why it’s useless. It was created to let people know everything is fine, and you don’t have to worry about trying to be intelligent, because the world is coming up with so many cool things that nothing is wrong. You are absolved from needing to be active citizens and trying to help save the world. It should not have been called Massive Change, because Andy is right, there is no call to change the world at all through this show. Massive Change pushes pop-culture issues; these are projects everyone already knows about. The show publishes a sensational burst of well-designed, cleverly disguised corporatism, and innocent design do-goodness. If people can still say that engineering crops is bad after seeing that show, then a) Massive Change hasn’t gotten it’s message across or b) Massive Change is promoting the wrong message. It’s a show all wrapped up in corporate consumerism and mass media.
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