What he did talk about…

What Mr. Sudjic did talk about about was the line between art and design. The very thin line.

He referenced product designers who painstakingly detailed every curve and button of say – a microwave oven, or calculator, only to have technological advancements turn these products into junk. Of course once they become junk, aka useless, aka, no longer serving their functional requirement – heating food; they can often then, and only then, become art. The example he gave was MOMA, which waited for a particular helicopter to cease production, before hanging it as art.

Kinda like how now a Commodore 64 can be considered art. Or how a few years ago Atari T-shirts were chic.

What occurred to me at the event was that our modern gadgets are like candy. They give a burst of joy, then quickly turn meaningless. Like how a super sour Japanese candy turns into regular sweet boring candy after just 30 seconds.

And for the first time in my life I thought about buying a watch. The watch buyer is consciously looking forward in time. They are buying an object they plan to keep. Some may value this watch to such a degree, that if they were ever captured by the Viet Cong, they would hide it up their ass and give it to Christopher Walken to pass on to their son.

But really, for the longest time, people bought a watch knowing that there will be advancements in watch technology, but not to point of having to replace the watch – unlike our gadgets in which we are pretty much forced (with consent) into upgrading and replacing.