Tangential thoughts on fun, facades, and purpose | x. politics of the envelope
Phenomenology is about experience and emotions; and if the emotions you seek to invoke are pleasurable, it is closely related to hedonism and having fun. Some aspects of modern culture may be antagonistic to selfish hedonism, but I am inclined to say that a stoic culture of self-restraint is worth it only if it makes the act of having fun, more fun. I believe that it is possible to have fun even while being respectful, even when designing something like a graveyard or a memorial.
I was a bit overwhelmed by all the ritualistic discussion and dissection of phenomenology and atmospheres in class today — a topic that is very subjective. I posit that fun (and, by extension, atmosphere) is not meant to be understood, but to be experienced, felt and lived through. Fun, like laughter, is attractive, and resists an interpretation that is too serious. I think the only way to create something that is fun and pleasurable, is to actually have fun while doing it. It’s similar to a ‘quality without a name’ in that any attempt to objectively describe it takes you farther away from it. In this sense, Zumthor is successful in his not-so-theoretical approach in Atmospheres. Extra theorizing and objective intellectualization about something that is inherently very subjective makes it less fun (somewhat like writing a theoretical blog post about why fun shouldn't be theoretical.) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fun materializes through the activation of, and perception by, the various senses within the space, and is also expressed externally through form and facade. There is always the question of why. Which brings me to my next point: a purpose behind having fun. Fun is great especially when it is also driven by a cause or an issue that you’re trying to change in the world. A playful facade can then be a means to an end, and indirectly serve a larger cause.
To have the most impact on the world you can’t be hidden and anonymous while just focusing on doing the right thing: you need to market yourself and sell the idea to the most people, maybe even inspire more people to do the same. I’m reminded of Steve Jobs holding up the iPod at his keynote presentation, or Elon Musk's gimmicks while selling his ideas to the world. Now you can dismiss it as just being driven by the hedonistic pursuit of wealth and market capitalization, but is that really such a bad thing if money is just a reflection of the amount of value you create for the world? Wouldn’t you be able to have a larger impact and serve more people by using the idea of fun to attract a larger following, compared to some small-scale rural studio in the middle of nowhere?
I was a bit overwhelmed by all the ritualistic discussion and dissection of phenomenology and atmospheres in class today — a topic that is very subjective. I posit that fun (and, by extension, atmosphere) is not meant to be understood, but to be experienced, felt and lived through. Fun, like laughter, is attractive, and resists an interpretation that is too serious. I think the only way to create something that is fun and pleasurable, is to actually have fun while doing it. It’s similar to a ‘quality without a name’ in that any attempt to objectively describe it takes you farther away from it. In this sense, Zumthor is successful in his not-so-theoretical approach in Atmospheres. Extra theorizing and objective intellectualization about something that is inherently very subjective makes it less fun (somewhat like writing a theoretical blog post about why fun shouldn't be theoretical.) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fun materializes through the activation of, and perception by, the various senses within the space, and is also expressed externally through form and facade. There is always the question of why. Which brings me to my next point: a purpose behind having fun. Fun is great especially when it is also driven by a cause or an issue that you’re trying to change in the world. A playful facade can then be a means to an end, and indirectly serve a larger cause.
To have the most impact on the world you can’t be hidden and anonymous while just focusing on doing the right thing: you need to market yourself and sell the idea to the most people, maybe even inspire more people to do the same. I’m reminded of Steve Jobs holding up the iPod at his keynote presentation, or Elon Musk's gimmicks while selling his ideas to the world. Now you can dismiss it as just being driven by the hedonistic pursuit of wealth and market capitalization, but is that really such a bad thing if money is just a reflection of the amount of value you create for the world? Wouldn’t you be able to have a larger impact and serve more people by using the idea of fun to attract a larger following, compared to some small-scale rural studio in the middle of nowhere?
Facades might only be superficial, yet they are an effective way to market yourself widely while serving your cause. The important thing then is to actually have that cause that drives everything else, lest fun become an empty shell that exists for its own sake. Sometimes a fancy facade might just be a cover for your true intentions, or even a necessary enabler for fulfilling the scope of your intentions — intentions that might in fact be altruistic. A fun facade is just the necessary mask.
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| Bruce Wayne was the mask. |
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