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All those who praise work are wrong
Artist: Gabriel Stoian
April 15th - April 30th. 2014
(A project about absence of meaning in today’s active performance.)
The concept is a reaction towards the absence of meaning, fake motivation and the lack of choice regarding the relation between the contemporary individual and his working environment.
More and more people refuse to think for themselves, they are no longer in control of their ideas; they simply act as puppets in a society which is increasingly led by artificial intelligence. The lack of choice for a desired profession, activity, is due to the addiction for speed and the growth of mass production. Mass production mentality equals massive damage to the individual imagination, identity, creative desires and cultural values. ”During our team meetings we were reminded clearly how much "autonomy" did the employees actually had. We could not decide anything about the production process in which we participated directly. All major decisions were communicated to us by our leaders, people that come from the stratospheric level of the company, it was like receiving a portion of food that you didn’t order but you had to eat anyhow. And it seemed normal.”1 This project embodies a series of objects and statements that act as hybrid artifacts made to express a vital creative behavior and also to invite the viewers to participate in an open call for the use of their imagination. Each of these pieces is built using a contrast between two distinctive elements. Most of the materials used in achieving these works are ready-made objects. My intention was to use them for their iconic meaning, and not to present them as ready-made pieces. Therefore, by creating all these associations I intend to communicate a critical insight on some of the most dangerous aspects of today’s mentality and vicious use of power. The statement “All those who praise work are wrong “ does not represent a chant for all who work hard it is a motto of protest against those who refuse to think while working. All corporations are undermining „creativity" and „flexibility" under their explicit rules, since these would represent an impediment to their fundamental objectives – competitiveness, „market" and maximizing profits – and in the same time to develop the so-called professional „pride” among work men, leading them to do their job „faster and better”. Therefore, such enforcement and compliance orders would only blindly turn us into automatic operating dummies, leading us to (self) destruction. „When they come to work in the morning, people receive a serial number by which they can be identified – losing their identity, they became some numbers”2.
1 CREATIVITATEA CORPORATISTA CA REVOLUTIE CONSERVATOARE - article from Gazeta de Arta Politica by Marius Bogdan Tudor 2014.
2 Secretary Knights of Labor union federation said... in 1883.
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