Decentralized, Disechanted

In 1978, after 127 years, the New York Times made the technological leap from hot metal typesetting to phototypesetting. On that day, Linotype typesetters cast, for the last time, 40 lb blocks of lead type for each page as part of a vast mechanical system that helped produce 1.8 million copies of the newspaper each day without the aid of digital machines. The workers were part of the International Typographical Union, at one time, the most powerful and longest running union in US history.

From handset cold type, to mechanized hot type, to phototypesetting, to the computer, to the phone, each advancement in printing and mass communication through history has diminished the work of the typesetter. Perhaps most significantly, mobile technology has completely changed the way we work from our pockets: Virgil Abloh purportedly refuses to use any plaftorm other than Whatsapp to review design proposals by his team; the text for this brief was reviewed by peers over iMessage.

Before the pandemic, creative workers already led an insecure existence. Covid has further exposed their plight. Restricted often by insurmountable student debt, creative workers have often found themselves with limited options. Most workers end up working soul-crushing jobs, often for large technology corporations. Those fortunate to be debt-free often work underpaid precarious jobs without benefits in the cultural sector.

Creative workers have historically mobilized against exploitative conditions in the arts. From the ITU to the Art Worker’s Coalition, where artists protested the lack of representation of minority and women artists, to recent protests against board members of the Whitney Museum and Museum of Modern Art, the rallying of organized labor against cultural institutions has historically given voice to critique of exploitation in the workplace of art.

For this workshop, your assignment is to research the subject of work in relationship to and art and/or design, pick a specific topic, and to translate your topic into a narrative using a medium of your choice. The final expression of this project should critically translate your chosen narrative into an engaging visual and experiential work.