Assignment 2 : Tag Something .
The " <-- DEFECT " sticker attempts to bring the passerby's attention to the anomalies of the built world.
Modern architecture promised us utopian lives in a sleek world of sterility and right angles, but we soon realized that human nature is not totally compatible with that vision. The urban environment today is a juxtaposition of ideals and reality. Walls are painted, streets are paved, and fences are installed with precision and perfection in mind. Through unplanned variables such as mistakes and interactions, these calculated fixtures develop the patina of reality - paint is scratched, metal gets dented, cement cracks. The flawless ideal is unattainable more often than not.
At a time when factory production is the norm and with an increasing desire for prefabricated housing, consumers and citizens have grown accustomed to the quality and aesthetic of manufactured goods. The environment that breeds these familiar products is under constant supervision and quality control. Defects at any point along the production line are hunted, labeled, and discarded.
Utilizing Helvetica, the typeface of modernism, these stickers extend the phobia of imperfection from the factory to the city. The label " <-- DEFECT " brings up questions but does not answer any. What if we scrutinized all built forms as closely as we do manufactured ones? What if we erased all traces of use from the city and it existed in a permanent state of brand-new?
Modern architecture promised us utopian lives in a sleek world of sterility and right angles, but we soon realized that human nature is not totally compatible with that vision. The urban environment today is a juxtaposition of ideals and reality. Walls are painted, streets are paved, and fences are installed with precision and perfection in mind. Through unplanned variables such as mistakes and interactions, these calculated fixtures develop the patina of reality - paint is scratched, metal gets dented, cement cracks. The flawless ideal is unattainable more often than not.
At a time when factory production is the norm and with an increasing desire for prefabricated housing, consumers and citizens have grown accustomed to the quality and aesthetic of manufactured goods. The environment that breeds these familiar products is under constant supervision and quality control. Defects at any point along the production line are hunted, labeled, and discarded.
Utilizing Helvetica, the typeface of modernism, these stickers extend the phobia of imperfection from the factory to the city. The label " <-- DEFECT " brings up questions but does not answer any. What if we scrutinized all built forms as closely as we do manufactured ones? What if we erased all traces of use from the city and it existed in a permanent state of brand-new?
posted by Alan Paukman at 10:09 PM
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