In the two PBS Frontline explorations of our modern life, "The Persuaders" and "Digital Nation" we look at the challenges media and technology present in our lives. As we become more and more "plugged in" we become more and more distant from human interaction. As our aesthetics continue to meet with art and technology, "breaking through" on a broad scale becomes more challenging. This applies to large scale corporations marketing new products to moms and dads trying to connect with their children.
Art combining with technology can advance human thought (as with Mitra's experiement) or delve deeper into the human soul (as does Cizek with her work). It has a darker side, however, and this is explored in these two compelling pieces. We are bombarded with bold, edgy advertisements that now make up the landscape of our cities and publications (and placed subtly in our casual entertainment). We are connected to our technology in a way that makes relaxation and human experiences seem like guilty pleasures. We are out of balance with our technology and the ways that it is used to infiltrate our hearts and minds.
The train is out of the station. So, what now? How do we reclaim balance? How do we start talking to our families again? How do we put down the blackberries and walk away from the internet long enough to reflect and reconnect with our natural selves? How do we slow the bombardment of corporations assaulting us with product placements when, if they stop, they will swallowed by competition? Well, as with all of these explorations, we begin again with the questions and work our way to the solutions resulting in substantial cultural change. The pendulum has swung and now we begin to discuss balance.
This message is quite parallel to the stories witnessed in the evolution of our industrialized age and, specifically, our architecture. In "Ecological Design: Inventing the Future" we follow the advancements from small villages to sprawling metropolises. What we once deemed as human pride and achievement is now being recognized as devastating to our potential and sustainability as animals on planet earth.
Once again we witness an example of the train being out of the station. How do we go back in time and incorporate nature into our progress? We can't. The drive for bigger and better has brought us to a place of pollution and disconnect from our natural surroundings. We can not go back so we must go forward. We go forward in re-framing the purpose and goals of architecture. Our intellects show us that the ways of the past have proven harmful. We move forward by using science and technology to bring us back...here's that word again...to a place of balance.
Moving forward requires looking back while heading into a new age of respect for nature and what we miss by ignoring it. The chart represented in the blog post is my hope for where this discussion will lead us in the years ahead...
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