Collaborative artists Parsons and Charlesworth discuss their sculptural practice addressing key social and technological challenges. They explore the limitations of online interactions, the potential impact on the medical industry, and their participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale. The podcast also touches on QR codes, retail challenges, and creating a retail experience. They wrap up by expressing gratitude and promoting their design fiction newsletter and the Near Future Laboratory discord community.
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Quick takeaways
Grad school provides an opportunity for exploration, collaboration, and rebuilding one's approach to design.
The German Seminar fosters co-learning and active engagement in discussing unfamiliar topics.
Embracing uncertainty and diverging from traditional metrics can lead to more compelling and impactful outcomes in design.
Deep dives
Importance of Grad School and Rebuilding Ideas
Grad school is seen as a place where one's preconceived notions are challenged and rebuilt, leading to a new understanding of design and making. Going to grad school, such as the RCA, allows for exploration and collaboration with others. It provides the opportunity to question and rebuild one's thinking process and approach to design.
The German Seminar and Co-Learning Environment
The German Seminar is described as a highly collaborative platform for co-learning among individuals with an open mindset. The goal is to discuss new and unfamiliar topics without relying on experts. This type of seminar encourages active engagement and exposure to emerging concepts that are at the forefront of consciousness.
The Non-Objective Approach to Ambitious Outcomes
Professor Kenneth Stanley's lecture on why greatness cannot be planned is discussed. It argues against having predefined objectives in pursuing ambitious outcomes. Instead, following a non-objective yet principled path can lead to more compelling and impactful results. Embracing uncertainty and diverging from traditional metrics and mandates can open up possibilities.
Balancing Industry Work and Personal Creative Pursuits
The podcast guests, Tim Parsons and Jess Charlesworth, share their experiences balancing industry work and personal creative projects. Grad school experiences played a role in their process of rebuilding their ideas and finding their own creative interests. They discuss the importance of maintaining a supportive peer group and nurturing collaborations even after leaving school.
Imagination and Education
The podcast discusses the crucial role of imagination in education and how it is often neglected. The lack of emphasis on imagination in the education system restricts our ability to think creatively and consider alternative possibilities. The hosts express their wish for imagination to be integrated into the education curriculum, not just for those pursuing creative fields, but for everyone, including those in more practical professions who can benefit from imaginative thinking in problem-solving and innovation.
The Post-Human Project
The hosts summarize their participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale, where they were tasked with responding to the theme of 'How Will We Live Together' in the context of the human body. They expanded on their earlier project, the Post-Human Project, which explored the intersection of wearable design and the body. They created an installation consisting of four units, each showcasing different products related to wellness and productivity. Through a combination of objects, animations, and marketing text, they aimed to challenge the prevailing ideas of endless productivity and question the societal pressure to sacrifice sleep for efficiency.
I had a chance to meet up with Jess Charlesworth and Tim Parsons while they passed through Los Angeles a few weeks ago. It was great to meet them in person after following their work for years now. Their work has been exhibited internationally at some of the most awesome venues and exhibition forums — I suggest you settle in to look at their website, which is a great catalog of their works and their motivating principles.
Parsons & Charlesworth are collaborative artists focusing on the objects and habits of humankind. Their inventive sculptural practice relies upon creating objects that allow us to examine our future selves and perhaps navigate better. Utilizing sculpture, objects, narrative writing and photography, their work addresses key social, ecological and technological challenges of our time, including climate change and the future of work.
Please consider supporting this podcast, or if you want — buy me a Coffee! You may also be interested in the Design Fiction Newsletter as well as the Near Future Laboratory Discord, high-signal / low-noise channel discussing design, technoculture, and futures.
Thank you for listening!
Julian
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