When thinking about what to write on anti-design, I chose to do some research on what it means to go against design and why people choose to do it and have done so in the past, in order to analyse the emerging anti-design of today. PolItics of Design In the book The politics of design by Ruben Patter the author explains how design is one of the big pillars that have held racism, sexism, homophobia, etc throughout history until today, rather than just a contributing factor outside of it. He presents a vast range of examples of how design shapes divisions, injustices and prejudices. Starting with service icons used all over the world, that were designed in North America in the ’50s and are still in use, where the man is the representation of the general person and the women is only represented next to the man, serving the man, or taking care of elders and children, how food symbols are westernised with a fork and knife and how disabled people are represented as passive, inapt and dependable on others. The biggest example of all is how even the representation of the world in the maps is designed to favour and enhance the global north. The Mercator map was made in1569 and distorts the proportions of the continents and it is still used in education systems. Monsterizing the Masters tools Design holds these structures of division and oppression that have marked history and still prevail in today's society, it is part of it.Its own foundation, its rules and history was created by a very selective group of individuals that didn’t make space for other ethnicities, genders and other underrepresented groups to take part in it. Ele Canli calls this group of design leaders the Masters in her lecture Monsterizing the Master's Tools, where she explains how the Monster ( a representation of the people underrepresented/ oppressed/ who battle the design canons) can change Design by exposing the Master tools and then appropriate it and change. By changing the design from within only can the designer change how it connects with the world, that is when Anti-Design comes in going against design in itself as a way of liberation from its history and what it represents. The Monster monsterizing the Master's tools. Anti-Design as a political Choice Forms of Anti-Design used as a political choice to go against structures have been around since the beginning of design history. Movements like the Maximalist movement, where artists and designers used ornamentation to transform craft and design and embrace feminism, queerness and gender, disregarding the minimalist cleanness of the time. Or the Anti-Design movement that emerged in Italy in the '60s as a criticism of consumer culture the widespread diminution of the social relevance of design at the expense of the capitalist enterprise. Anti-design today I can see that today the anti-design is again coming along with the rise and rise of social media, taking references from the internet world with its memes, satire and impactful graphics that stick to short memory spam. Having grown even more with the Covid 19 pandemic that made internet spaces even more important. This anti-design movement is linked with a lot of underrepresented groups- LGBTQ+, People Of Colour, and Women-, it is in graphic Gesign, Digital art, Photography, in Video, Animation, Fashion, etc.- a lot of times linked with music, the club scene and rights movements of today. These new designers and artists are appropriating the space online for themselves, it is more than just an aesthetic or meme- it is the monsterization of the Masters tools. Bibliography https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Politics-of-Design-Ruben-Pater/9789063694227?redirected=true&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=Base1&utm_source=ES&utm_content=The-Politics-of-Design&selectCurrency=EUR&w=AF7ZAU9TVRK1CVA8V9RU&gclid=CjwKCAiAhreNBhAYEiwAFGGKPHjN6i8wlV6dreh0tLFkwsvijM6OpwAEr6WpLokRCz9gPUiOUZx_khoCUCsQAvD_BwE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_YcZOxZyb8 https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/3k39aw/maximalist-art Matilde Basto, Illustration and Visual Media
1 Comment
sarah temple
1/7/2022 01:19:02 am
Exciting expose of the past colonization of design - make sure that you consider your new research methods and tools too as you develop your liberated practice in this new counter-culture. Linda Tuhiwai Smith is essential reading.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2023
Categories |