Reflections:
- A book which has come out of Matos’s studies in graphic design and art.
- It is a critical look at the philosophies of the art institution where they studied which preaches that students should look to make a difference in the world using their design skills
- It talks about the obvious and very real limitations of design in the face of needing to have a job that allows you to live and eat and the contradictions between what you are taught and this reality
- It ends with a suggestion that there are ways to create change with art and design, but perhaps it is a small thing that we can do as part of a bigger community
- It doesn’t offer a neat solution and also is aware of the limitations of the book’s thesis as they have benefited from financial privilege that allowed them the time to write it
- I think it is a reminder for me that I will need to be realistic about how much social change I will be able to make with the skills I am learning and that I too will have to work through the fact that I will just need a job that pays the bills and that this may cause some conflict with my ability to have an ‘authentic’ creative practice…
Reference:
Matos, A. (2022) Who Can Afford to Be Critical? Set Margins’ Publications.
