In the opinions of most, art and design aren’t the first things that come to mind when socioeconomic justice or environmental sustainability comes up in conversation. Many pin the creative field as an artsy-fartsy preoccupation that’s impact goes no deeper than the aesthetic it achieves. However, many are trying to change these somewhat true notions. People like Emily Pilloton, Valerie Casey, and Gadi Amit are preaching a new kind of creative mentality. These designers aren’t just in it to gain the façade of a goody two-shoes reputation, but to devote their lives to shifting industry paradigms. Making their work a testimony of all the possibilities of the creative product, these designers live by a manifesto that proclaims, “…beauty is a very positive, visceral force that we should harness for sustainability" (Sacks)...
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As I was preparing my lunch I heard a familiar annoyance-inducing buzz come from the window in my kitchen. A fly desperately trying to escape, bashed against the pane again and again. Overwhelmed by my inability to ignore the irritation, all I wanted to do was to smash it against that glass so that the noise would stop. In simultaneous strokes of insight and irony, I realized that I had entered into the middle of both a blatant and underlying cycle of window bashing- the cycle of acting the same and expecting different outcomes. While the unproductive pattern of the fly was self-explanatory, the internal dynamic that occurred between the fly and myself raised a seemingly invisible red flag. Although my potential actions were triggered by a fight or flight stimulus and the extent of the damage I could cause would be limited by personal skill and force, in times when individuals have access to both knowledge and power beyond their otherwise limited means, the damage of one’s personal instinct can produce a catalytic cycle that would inevitably harm its initiator...
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For decades, eager, caring parents have worked to pass the keys of affluence down to their children. With them handed off, it is promised that doors of opportunity will fly open and the roads to success will be paved, enabling the children of the next generation to forge ahead onto their bright, carefree futures. Taking precautions to protect their offspring from every hindrance, caretakers rest assured their children are supplied with all the provisions needed to facilitate their inevitable successes. However, this seemingly flawless system has a paradoxical shortcoming; in sheltering children from these hardships, adolescents are prevented from attaining the work ethic required to pursue the very opportunities their parents worked so hard to provide for them. This protection has injured Generation Y’s ability to become meaningful contributors to society—for adversity, not prosperity, develops the tools needed for success...
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Lounging on the arms of pleasant conversation in my neighbor’s suite, I sat back and listened. Murmurs of small talk awkwardly wafted around the corners of the living room to meet the passionate breath of deep philosophical exchange in the center. Then, from across the room, with such a fabricated disdain I hear, “Passion Pit is so out! I used to like them, but now I just can’t anymore; everyone else likes them.” Frustrated, while guiltily empathetic, I thought, “What a hipster,” but instead attempted the undoubtedly fruitless counter, “Why don’t you just form your musical taste on what you actually like, rather than on what everyone else likes?” I never did hear her reply, but I certainly was faced with a disturbing internal paradox—I understood the emotional proclivity to value the lesser known, but I couldn't deny the irrationality of rejecting one’s own interests for the sake of a contrived individuality. Ironically enough, this compulsion—to unconditionally reject the mainstream in hopes of obtaining uniqueness—is a popular trend many find themselves conforming to. While figures of hipsterdom past may have been characterized by their genuinely progressive cultural attitudes, so-called hipsters of today have habitually become the shells of their originating predecessors, merely contriving the countercultural façade. Those perceived to be hipsters in modern culture misrepresent the very movement they aim to imitate...
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