Looking at manifestos from the design sphere they are very clear signifiers of their cultural and temporal context. I often feel they are hollow as they dictate a way of relating to visual form. They often serve as a mean to construct a dualism in ways of approaching design. A sort of good or bad. While my belief is that way of looking at design is nothing more but a western construct, building a world based on either/or.
Manifesto of Futurism by F.T Marinetti (1909)
A. Rodchenko, V. Stepanova, A. Gan. 1922. Who We are. Manifesto of the constructivist group.
Elisabeth Warde. 1930. The Crystal Goblet
To widen my own gaze on the perspective of manifestos I had to look a bit beyond the graphic design discourse and beyond the structure of manifestos. I read a bit of Krippendorff’s redesigning design as he in that proposes alternate and more responsible ways of relating to design. And I read a paper of Escobar who is existing within the discipline yet inviting a broader, and deeper perspective. Providing a tone of voice that I aim for in this manifesto but also as an academic.
Klaus Krippendorff, Redesigning design an invitation to a responsible future.
Arturo Escobar, Autonomous design and the emergent transnational critical design studies field.
Temporal Tensions is a feminist platform, for feminists. I thought looking at a feminist manifesto could be useful as well. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie divides her manifesto into fifteen suggestions. I find her writing to be decisive but not certain, if that makes sense.
Challenge
I am thinking of writing the first paragraphs for a manifesto for Temporal Tensions (from GDE740). Temporal Tensions was a speculative collaborative online platform meant to engage in feminism from a historical perspective.
In an ambition of trying to navigate who I am as a graphic designer and researcher, formulating a manifesto around Temporal Tensions seems like an appropriate idea.
I am looking at inspiration from: Degrowth journal and https://futuress.org/about/Futuress have as well been posting manifesto-like instagram posts the last few days, where they implement their approach in their visual directions.
Some initital thought on the tone of voice and possible visual approaches for the manifesto.
I am afraid this is how I start my writing process? I am collection things and quotes I find interesting and suitable for the idea. What is Temporal Tensions? How can I build this manifesto from that?
Should I divide my manifesto into sections, perhaps into past//tension//present
Both past and present intersect though the lens of feminism and that is where the tension emerges and where the articles of temporal tension are written. Could I find a practical solution in the outcome for this, where they physically intersect and a “full understanding” is made visible? Or a plural of futures?
First try for a text
Manifesto for Temporal Tensions
Temporal Tensions highlight how harmful constructions of the past are still echoing in the present. Constructions that build on narratives that are detrimental for the people restrained by them.
Through fusing past and present together in written words, the texts probe contemporary constructs from below. Utilising collaborative approaches this exploration works toward an imagining of a plural of futures. A multitude of worlds, where anything is possible.
Temporal Tensions is a feminist platform, believing in the unbelievable. The matriarchal shift.
This is our manifesto.
Dissect the past
Break conventions. Reexamine the knowledge of history and avoid creating new harmful narratives. Disbelieve the dominating logic. Unlearn and reread from below. Investigate the context of the creation of a hegemony. Confront old architectures of historical narratives. Deconstruct the values of what has been. Dismantle.
Do not trust the argumentation in authority. Widen your gaze and get an overview. But remember to look at the details. Analyse. Free yourself from the rigid framework of precision of time and space. Explore.
Unravel the present
Transcend time. Be the lemniscate of feminist discourse. Exist in past, present and future. Weave the constructs of temporality together and lay bare the echoes of the past in our present day. Unpack the myths. Use a critical lens but reach out with empathy and insight. Foster a practice of communal understanding. Collaborate.
Increase the complexity yet be accessible for many. Include and invite. Do not be limited by the lack of understanding, dig deeper, go beyond and look below. Embrace the transdisciplinary forms of knowledge. Push the discourse forward. Raise your voice. Challenge.
Envision a multiple of futures
Seek change. Reach out to those who feel burdened or unable. Question the entitled and assured. Reallocate the structures of power. Do not hold back. Claim your place. Reinvent.
Visualise and discover. Invent beyond the visible and outspoken. Fuse past and present together through the tensions of feminism and open up to a plural of diverse worlds. Imagine beyond our comprehension. Rid yourself of any internal or external boundaries. Be free. Create a world you want. For all, or some. Believe.
Enter this safe space. Give heartbeat to the struggle. Create a temporal tension that pulsates for eternity. Or quivers in a moment. Together we can dissect the past to unravel the present for envisioning a multiple of futures. For female reign. Now.