Motyf 2021 Workshop: Design within and for a Post-Scarcity Society

Workshop Leader: Zach Kaiser

Description

The Covid-19 pandemic and accelerating climate change have laid bare the horrifying nature of global capitalism. We have no choice but to imagine different socio-political-technical configurations—a massively complex endeavor. Many theorists who imagine a post-scarcity future rely on a false idea about the power of automation, the prominence of which belies other economic shifts. If “abundance is not a technological threshold to be crossed,” however, but instead a “social relationship,” what does a post-scarcity society actually look like? This course—a theory-driven seminar-studio hybrid—asks what a post-capitalist, post-scarcity society might look like, and how design is done in such a society. It will critically engage with ideas about automation and ask what design means when basic human needs are met, economic growth is no longer an imperative, and necessary labor is shared and not relegated to certain classes of society.

Objectives

Students will critically engage with theories of automation, including the automation of the design disciplines. They will use a curated body of academic research focused around the history of economics to develop their own ideas about the social, political, and technological dimensions of a post-scarcity society. Tailoring form to content, this process of research and speculative “world-building” will culminate in media-agnostic projects that communicate these ideas through images, texts, and/or video. Central to this workshop is the idea that without the ability to communicate what kind of future we want, we cannot actually make a better world. Students will thus develop their abilities to theorize and communicate complex ideas about social systems.

Content

This course is a hybrid seminar-studio that will engage with theoretical concerns about post-capitalism, technological change, and automation. It will consist of a series of lectures, readings, writing prompts, and open-ended visualization explorations. Students will spend time discussing each other’s ideas and the way those ideas are made tangible through various media.

Outcomes

Students will produce a series of experimental projects in a range of media that aim to communicate their ideas about post-scarcity. These ideas will be grounded in the readings and research that students will do throughout the course. Project outcomes may include: diagrams, illustrations, narrative scenarios, storytelling, video, experimental interfaces, and more.

Required Tools, Materials, Equipment & Software

There are no special materials requirements for this course. Students will need to read texts that will be distributed as PDFs. It is recommended that students have access to the usual design and media-production software of their choice (e.g., Adobe Creative Cloud software).

Fees

Participation in this workshop is free for students and 160NZD (approx. 95EUR / 115USD / 430PLN) for professionals. Have questions? Please email our event organiser at exhibition2021@motyf-festival.com.

Professional tickets are on sale now. Student tickets will go on sale March 31, 2021 at 9:00PM (NZDT) / 9:00AM (CET).

Workshop Leader

Zach Kaiser is Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Experience Architecture in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University (US). His research and creative practice examine the relationship between technological interfaces and political subjectivity, with a current focus on metrics and analytics in higher education. He regularly exhibits nationally and internationally and his work has been published in high-profile scholarly and popular publications, including Design and Culture, Art Journal, Real Life, and the London School of Economics’ Impact of Social Sciences.

About Motyf 2021

This workshop is presented as part of the Motyf Festival 2021.

Motyf is an International Symposium and Media Art Exhibition that explores current and future forms of interactive and motion typography expressed through art, design, space and technology. The theme of the 2021 Festival is “Communicating Complexity” and will broadly explore how the elements and principles of visual, motion and interactive design can be leveraged within sequential, interactive, spatial or experiential works to authentically inform our understanding of society, elucidate complex concepts or aid in the communication of data. Please visit the Motyf 2021 Website for more information about our workshops, symposium and exhibition.