“the land is a sacred trust from the creator. the land is the giver of life like a mother. the ecological aspect of indigenous knowledge is all about the land.”(leroy little bear, 2009)
Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset (TSPS)..., is a manifesto of sorts for design and our collective future. TSPS is far from revolutionary or exhaustive—if anything, it serves to instigate a conversation to help build imagination or capacity to think within and beyond our present moment. TSPS is part of a larger body of work which examines the role of the conventional practice of design and traditional design curriculum under conditions of unsustainability.
⌱Design as a conventional practice is problematic, it offers few solutions.
⌱Design should encompass a new circulation of thinking and acting.
⌱Design should look beyond capitalist/modernist agendas.
⌱Design is more than a tool for the benefits of the commercial sector.
⌱Design as a conventional practice is inherently exclusionary.
⌱Design is ALWAYS political, never innocent.
⌱Design should understand its ontological dimensions.
⌱Design as a conventional practice sustains unsustainability.
⌱Design is entirely social.
⌱Design should consider the potential of undesign.
⌱Design and technology are indivisible.
⌱Design should be a practical and intellectual project for transformation.
Written with earnest intentions amid challenging times.
The essay can be read here and will be available in print in Further Reading Vol: 4.
The conventional practice of design is defined by the standardized and systematized practices commonly employed in the field of design focused on the planned production of images, signs, symbols, objects, and experiences operating in the service of commerce acting on client instruction. The conventional practice of design, along with its traditional disciplinary knowledge, is a product and service of its historical relationship with the interests of capitalism and the development of technologies. The use of the term conventional practice refers to an attitude about design activities, behaviours, or procedures that seem habitual within the field. Within the context of the conventional practice of design, the term is used specifically to underscore this attitude and or cultural value system—the prevailing normative perspectives shaping the understanding of design within both academic curricula and commercial contexts.
Global change is defined by changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life.
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/13330/chapter/5