{"id":4687,"date":"2010-03-02T06:52:19","date_gmt":"2010-03-02T06:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monochromist.com\/2010\/03\/02\/fuck-committees\/"},"modified":"2010-03-02T06:52:19","modified_gmt":"2010-03-02T06:52:19","slug":"fuck-committees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2010\/03\/02\/fuck-committees\/","title":{"rendered":"FUCK COMMITTEES"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

(I believe in lunatics)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about the struggle between individuals with jagged passion in their work and today\u2019s faceless corporate committees, which claim to understand the needs of the mass audience, and are removing the idiosyncrasies, polishing the jags, creating a thought-free, passion-free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone. By now, virtually all media, architecture, product and graphic design have been freed from ideas, individual passion, and have been relegated to a role of corporate servitude, carrying out corporate strategies and increasing stock prices. Creative people are now working for the bottom line.<\/p>\n

Magazine editors have lost their editorial independence, and work for committees of publishers (who work for committees of advertisers). TV scripts are vetted by producers, advertisers, lawyers, research specialists, layers and layers of paid executives who determine whether the scripts are dumb enough to amuse what they call the \u2018lowest common denominator\u2019. Film studios out films in front of focus groups to determine whether an ending will please target audiences. All cars look the same. Architectural decisions are made by accountants. Ads are stupid. Theater is dead.<\/p>\n

Corporations have become the sole arbiters of cultural ideas and taste in America. Our culture is corporate culture.<\/p>\n

Culture used to be the opposite of commerce, not a fast track to \u2018content\u2019- derived riches. Not so long ago captains of industry (no angels in the way they acquired wealth) thought that part of their responsibility was to use their millions to support culture. Carnegie built libraries, Rockefeller built art museums, Ford created his global foundation. What do we now get from our billionaires? Gates? Or Eisner? Or Redstone? Sales pitches. Junk mail. Meanwhile, creative people have their work reduced to \u2018content\u2019 or \u2018intellectual property\u2019. Magazines and films become \u2018delivery systems\u2019 for product messages.<\/p>\n

But to be fair, the above is only 99 percent true.<\/p>\n

I offer a modest solution: Find the cracks in the wall. There are a very few lunatic entrepreneurs who will understand that culture and design are not about fatter wallets, but about creating a future. They will understand that wealth is means, not an end. Under other circumstances they may have turned out to be like you, creative lunatics. Believe me, they\u2019re there and when you find them, treat them well and use their money to change the world.<\/p>\n

Tibor Kalman,\u00a0New York,\u00a0June 1998<\/p>\n

(via\u00a0Find the cracks in the wall – Casey A. Gollan<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(I believe in lunatics) It\u2019s about the struggle between individuals with jagged passion in their work and today\u2019s faceless corporate committees, which claim to understand the needs of the mass audience, and are removing the idiosyncrasies, polishing the jags, creating a thought-free, passion-free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone. By […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-video_graphics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5sGHy-1dB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1719,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/07\/02\/cacher-to-hide-to-hide-a-passion-totally-or\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":0},"title":"cacher \/ to hide To\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"July 2, 2013","format":"quote","excerpt":"cacher \/ to hide To hide a passion totally (or even to hide, more simply, its excess) is inconceivable: not because the human subject is too weak, but because passion is in essence made to be seen: the hiding must be seen: I want you to know that I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3574,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/18\/anunreliablewitness-i-loathe-and-despise-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":1},"title":"anunreliablewitness: I loathe and despise\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"March 18, 2011","format":"gallery","excerpt":"anunreliablewitness: I loathe and despise all those \u2018Getting Things Done\u2019 productivity zealots with a passion. Especially when they start posting endless self-righteous blog entries about \u2018how to watch TV more efficiently\u2019 or \u2018how to check your work email while taking a shower and juggling seventy-three plates at the same time\u2019,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/tumblr_li95n2vdYw1qzowbro1_1280.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3822,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/10\/experiencing-the-fear-of-technology-robo\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":2},"title":"“Experiencing the Fear of Technology” – Robo Culture Wiki","author":"monochromist","date":"March 10, 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"\"Experiencing the Fear of Technology\" - Robo Culture Wiki-The end of the human resistance is fast approaching- The rise of technology will no doubt lead to our downfall as the eminent creatures on earth. One can often turn to popular media to witness this fantasy unfold with such films as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1829,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/06\/17\/adsertoris-soulstudy-the-lovers-rene\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":3},"title":"adsertoris: soulstudy: The Lovers\u00a0 Rene\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"June 17, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"adsertoris: soulstudy: The Lovers\u00a0 Rene Magritte, 1928 Magritte\u2019s mother was a suicidal woman, which led her husband, Magritte\u2019s father, to lock her up in her room. One day, she escaped, and was found down a nearby river dead, having drowned herself. According to legend, 13 year old Magritte was there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_m4k7sy9n7r1r44146o1_r2_1280-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3716,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/11\/zorba-the-buddha\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":4},"title":"Zorba the Buddha","author":"monochromist","date":"March 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"That is the ultimate synthesis \u2013 when Zorba becomes a Buddha. I am trying to create here not Zorba the Greek but Zorba the Buddha. Zorba is beautiful, but something is missing. The earth is his, but the heaven is missing. He is earthly, rooted, like a giant cedar, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1221,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/07\/25\/extract-from-chapter-xvi-p-247-8-in-this-short\/","url_meta":{"origin":4687,"position":5},"title":"Extract from: Chapter XVI, p.\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"July 25, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Extract from: Chapter XVI, p. 247-8 In this short summer night she learnt so much. She would have thought a woman would have died of shame. Instead of which, the shame died. Shame, which is fear: the deep organic shame, the old, old physical fear which crouches in the bodily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mqgybodfi31qzsz45o1_400-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}