I For Assignment 1, I decided to take walk through broadway street in the downtown area. I initially picked this street because of its metamorphosis and how it increasingly grows and changes as you walk further down to the SoHo area. I started in the corner of 13th and broadway and walked south without a plan. I reached Houston street, and walked back north again. I entered Strand bookstore in 12th street and then I went back home.
Although I walked through broadway with no preconceived idea of what I was going to get out of it, the walkthrough simply confirmed the memories I had of it. In other words, walking south through broadway was like walking into a consumerist culture museum. I was extremely surprised to find that every shop was related to looks/beautification and/or material goods (other than food stores, pharmacies and banks). Nonetheless, everything seemed saturated. Lampposts were covered in stickers, windows and walls with flyers, the streets with graffiti, and the whole experience screamed color. These aspects specifically made the walk overwhelming, due to the fact that I had never really noticed how emerged we are in consumerist culture. That is, we are so accustomed to seeing excess and ridiculous exposure of goods and services. Although I had a free day and all the time in the world to take this walk, I felt like I was in a rush due to my surroundings.
The weather was sunny but crisp cold, which lead me into strand bookstore to warm up. At the store, I found a game section with the Cards Against Humanity game and bought a design book. When I got home It occurred to me that I could create a set of cards using consumerist materials -predominantly plastic- that would express what consumerist culture has come to be. I immediately did my research of C. A. H. and found that you could make your own card sets because it was part of creative commons licensing. I loved the concept of it being a game that would put people uncomfortable or even unsure, because that meant it would reveal thoughts and truths. As an inspiration of my walk I altered some of the rules, and decided that the game would be played by either one or two people. I also decided to make cards solely based on materiality whilst leaving the potential to ultimately add the food industry, climate change, and other larger topics that relate to consumers. My ultimate goal was to create cards that speak to consumerists themselves and make them question their role, what they think, and how they feel about their culture.
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