When I think about what Adolf Loos said in his essay ornament and crime “The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use.” I find it very difficult to agree with the man, but at the same time he does have a point. Consumer items of today are design to be sleek and minimalist, for example take the ever popular i-phone. The i-phone’s design is to make it as simple as possible, and by today’s standards that makes it look good and appealing. This would suggest that indeed the evolution of culture is going hand in hand with the removal of ornament. However if we look deeper into the i-phone and its design we see something that contradicts Loos’ statement. Yes, the product is designed be the producer to be simple, and ornament free, but once it gets to a person, the ‘culture’ it was intended for, it is almost always wrapped up in a cover or skin to personalize it to the owner. It gets ornamented.
“The ornament of a savage tribe, being the result of a natural instinct, is necessarily always true to its purpose.” Owen Jones, Ornament of Savage Tribes, 1856
The almost instant customizing, ornamenting, of our possessions shows that people or culture still has the desire to ornament even if it may not be in the way things were ornamented in Adolf Loos’ time.
No comments:
Post a Comment