forgot this

This semesters Work

There is something interesting going on here

Carl Fasano is a Mad Man. The current work that he is doing is a real Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde affair. I cant help but be amazed at the differences between the front and back of his current work. For me it begs the question, What the Hell is going on around here? How can part of his work be so well considered, so calming, and the other part be so crazy. I wish I knew the answer. Wait, I do know the answer. The answer is that people are incomprehensable. Any attempt to figure out a person is doomed. My attempt to understand Carl's paintings is doomed, better to just sit back and enjoy.

Carl

No more dumpster design please

How do we add value to products? why do we want to add value to products? I would like to add the type of value that causes people to cherish objects, to keep them and maintain them. I wonder if this type of value can be added to a mass produced product?
Maybe,
Rolex watches are mass produced and cherished as heirlooms by some. Some cars, model T's, ferraris and rare muscle cars have the same effect. Many consumer goods that fall in the catagorie of antiques qualify. I wonder what it is that ties all of these things together, what can be learned from these things that we can add to new products?
As someone who is interested in craftsmenship i tend to believe that objects need to be well made to fall into the cherished catagorie. It is true that this is not always necesary. The converse all star is a pretty crappy shoe but a lot of people are obsessed with those things. Maybe it was the initial quality of the idea that elevated it to its current status. The rubber soled shoe would be hard to live without.
There is still the question of why. Why should we want to add value to things. The majority of current design only strives to appear more valuable than its competition, both of which are probably disposable anyways so unless it was the plastic ring that your husband proposed to you with because the real one got stolen by pirates, you probably wont bother to keep most of the crap that you buy anyways.
that was a little soap boxy
but seriously, a lot of talk about sustainable goods is in the wrong direcion the way i see it. I dont care if the sweater is made from recycled plastic bottles or not, if it is not made well, made to last a lifetime, than it is still wasteful.
The reason why i think it is important to add value to products is so that people will want to keep them. The dumpster is already full, why are we designing new things destined for it?

failed attempt to be poetic

Some people think that as young men our lives should be about

the crashing of the sports cars and the
the drinking of the liquors and
the sexing of the young women and
the wasting of the college funds and
the taking of the drugs and
the wasting of our time

Too bad we are not in the movies.

Thinking about the future

Thoughts about my design process quickly become thoughts about my values. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of thinking to do about my values so this connection does not serve as an answer but as a clue. I have had a hard time using these clues to get anywhere solid but I have been dreaming. I dream of futures were I am fulfilled through designing and making, Futures were I am part of a community. Futures that are not dull.

It is easy to compromise on ones dreams, what is the material worth of a dream after all? In the face of a paycheck a dream can easily be abused and forgotten. Dreams cannot pay the rent or feed the kids. Fortunately dreams are persistent and sometimes even haunting.

In my Dream I help people to live more enjoyably. I know people’s names and I am part of a community. I repair things that are broken. I add value to people’s lives and I can make it in any color that you want.