I come cross this recently, and I just found this manifesto has got quite radical approach against media and advertising industry ( in the mean time Kalle Lasn is marketing his book through the media he is referring ). He is enforcing the idea that we, designers having a powerful profession that can have nasty societal consequences.
Design Anarchy
Kalle Lasn | 2006
Cultural revolution is our business
We are global network of artists, writers, environmentalists, teachers, downshifters, fair traders, rabble-rousers, shit-disturbers, incorrigibles, and malcontents. We are anarchists, guerrilla tacticians, meme warriors, neo-Luddites, pranksters, poets, philosophers, and punks. Our aim is to topple existing power structures and change the we live in the twenty-first century. We will change the way information flows, the way institutions wield power, the way the food, fashion, car, and culture industries set their agendas.
Above all, we will change the way the interact with the mass media and the way in which meaning is produced in our society.
Design Anarchy
Design anarchy is madness. Choose it only if you are certain the other options will corrode your soul and give you a bleeding ulcer, only if you know you are among the chosen few designers who hold Prometheus’s holy fire in your hands. You will suffer for years and live like a stray dog, but you will have the joy of breaking all the rules, of freely mixing art and politics, of pouring your beliefs and convictions into your work. Eventually, if you are really as brilliant as you think, you will have a crack at pushing the boundaries of blobal culture with bold new forms and fresh ways of being.
Comments
If you are interested to know more of what Kalle Lasn says then try his book: Culture Jam: The Uncooling of America. I was written a few years ago now, I read it for my dissertation. It’s not that long, abit of a rant and a tad unrealistic but it has some similar ideas and principles to First Things First, in fact reading it would probably make you want to write something like First Things First. He is of course the co-founder of Adbusters which pretty much says it all really.
I really appreciate this, as it almost describes the designer in terms usually reserved for the fine artist. For me it is exactly this sentiment that, (although don’t cause me to quit my job) definitely helps to keep a questioning eye and a healthy amount of cynicism with regards to the commercial world we operate in. But also it reminds me that what I do as a designer fits into a much larger context and that the many industries that fit within have varied responsibilities and contributions.
I also like that on the other hand the manifesto statement is quite hopeless as it is directly implying that you can only make a revolutionary/positive influence if you are prepared to stand in the cold for long periods. I think that it is fair to say that this sort of manifesto potentially addresses the karmic balance by influencing some designers to opt out of commercial work; however it is still referring to real design having its function outside of the commercial arena, (much like the original manifesto), before it can be reabsorbed as part of it again; should it be regarded sucessful in its avant garde approach.
I maybe taking this out of context and being a tad specific, however the tone of this seems to be raising the same objections that I had with the original 1964 manifesto as being impractically idealistic.
I much prefer the tone of this to the First Things First manifesto. Its pretty ballsy and makes no bones about the difficulty of the path to righteousness, should you choose to follow it. First things First struck me as a woolly statement of vague intent by a privileged few, this has more of a revolutionary call to arms feel to it. I like the cut of his jib.