Once released, all messages are objects of unstable meaning. As much as we try to make use of shared codes and protocols, their composition, transmission, reception, and interpretation are subjective moments. Jennifer Siegler (editor, Harvard Design Magazine)

(E.d.) This article is a mail chat and should be read backwards starting with the last entry* —-Messaggio originale—- Da: info@luigiamato.net Data: 14-ott-2014 16.48 A: <flavia.presti@libero.it> Ogg: Re: N O M A D I S M O (…) Yes, we could start from here. —-Messaggio originale—- Da: flavia.presti@libero.it Data: 13-ott-2014 15.01 A: <flavia.presti@libero.it> Ogg: R: Re:… Read more

For a long time now it has been commonly accepted that the nation-state is in crisis. The barriers remain, as does the movement, which has always existed. Today, movement (physical, cultural and cognitive) is more real than ever and the barriers are symbols. Both physical transfers and transmissions of messages have become easier and faster…. Read more

Aby Warburg and Walter Benjamin are two highly anomalous figures within the European cultural landscape of the early twentieth century. It is precisely because of their anomaly that their thinking and works have proved so fruitful and full of meaning, anticipating contemporary practices and methodologies. Today, their critical attitude and research methodology offer interesting points… Read more

“And, culturally speaking, it seemed there was a market place embracing the experiments of young thinkers and makers who, simply, couldn’t wait until their 40s to become independent and do their own thing. At this point, being an amateur was not an impediment to setting forth and practising what you were never trained to do…. Read more

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at a bar in my neighbourhood just passing away the time. It was one of those days when everything seems unclear: what am I supposed to do and where to begin? So I thought that the most sane thing to do was doing nothing at all. Then… Read more

“I hereby make the simple promise that whenever I purchase new clothes, I will ask the responsible retailer or store representative where, and under which circumstances, the clothes were produced.” This is a promise everyone visiting the Fair Fashion Lab [The Hague, NL] [1] could make and sign. Formulated by artist Arne Hendriks, winner of… Read more

This week we will talk about the consumer and his role in the production process. Perhaps as consumers we are becoming excessively aware of what we want and, frequently, products are made exactly like we expect them to be. What happened to surprise, discovery and hunting for something? Before our role as consumers, we are… Read more

Welcome to the 21st century. We recently exited a century where objects were ideological— we believed that images of life under capitalism and liberal democracy would be enticing enough to bring down opposing economies. Now we talk about the “supreme object of ideology”, an object that is not really an object, or may be proclaimed… Read more

Today concepts like “epoch” and “zeitgeist” seem to have become totally obsolete. The reason for this could be that we are not interested in those concepts anymore, but we remain unable to think about reality in a new way.