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Philippe Starck- "I will definitely give up in two years time..."

040208starck.jpgAT Chicago's post today about Tim Lott's "Disillusion with Design" seems to chime in with a recent report that designer Philippe Starck feels a similar sentiment. According to a report of a recent interview, he "apologizes for the waste his design career has caused"... and "... I will definitely give up in two years time..."

From SwissMiss via PSFK,


"In an article in Die Zeit Philippe Starck apologizes for the waste his design career has caused. Reportedly he says:

“I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact.Everything I designed was unnecessary. I will definitely give up in two years’ time. I want to do something else, but I don’t know what yet. I want to find a new way of expressing myself …design is a dreadful form of expression…. In future there will be no more designers. The designers of the future will be the personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant.”

Click here for a more detailed report via PSFK.

Here is Mocoloco's editorial take on it. What do you guys think?

Comments (26)

Ugh. I wish these guys would get over themselves. In two years time, I will quit my career as a writer. The writers of the future will be monkeys.

posted by ChiAdam on 2008-04-02 15:17:08
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good. hurry up phillipe! hate your work!

i wholeheartedly agree with him. he should be ashamed of his design career : )

posted by jeffnyc on 2008-04-02 15:25:50
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It sounds like a forced confession from the Cultural Revolution. Is someone making him go off and do manual labor at a Kansas farm for a few years? Maybe they should...

posted by SFGail on 2008-04-02 15:28:34
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at the TED conference...Philippe basically cops to the same position- that he has "nothing to show" - and there's
"too much things"....."toliet brush,toothbrush, toliet seat"

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/197

it's WELL worth listening to- he's a very engaging & comical speaker - say what you will about him and how he works/what he designs - for me- we need MORE Philippe Starks- to "push the edge of the envelope" and challenge our preconceptions about product.

posted by ManofSteel on 2008-04-02 15:32:46
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what's wrong with these people?

posted by Pixie on 2008-04-02 15:36:17
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Here's a quarter, Philippe.

posted by Volvoguy on 2008-04-02 15:41:22
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Starck's toilet brush head snapped off in our toilet's pipes causing $$$ worth of plumbing repair.

posted by wig3000 on 2008-04-02 15:52:43
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lol That's 'cause he went into product design. Yes, most products will end up in a landfill, but I bet that as soon as he retires he won't live in a cardboard box. He'll probably live in some kind of designer home. (Hopefully he won't use inflatable furniture which is definitely pure trash) The only problem I see with design being wasteful is when someone pays $20,000 on a chair, and even then it's great, since that much wealth goes from a rich idiot to someone who at least worked somewhat for it. I call it "post-middle-life crisis" and yes, we're all here for absolutely no reason; the faster one comes to terms with it, the less chances one goes and says stupidities in a magazine. Then again, that'd mean less posts in AT. lol

posted by Djluckyonline on 2008-04-02 15:59:16
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Oh, gag.

posted by Birdy on 2008-04-02 16:08:28
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Easy for him to say now that he's made his fortune.

posted by farmhousemoderne on 2008-04-02 16:13:02
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His only shame should be charging $450 for a plastic chair, and fooling people into buying them. His toilets, on the other hand, are incredible!

posted by hejiranyc on 2008-04-02 16:49:19
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Thank your for your contribution to design.....you may exit stage left....we'll call....really.....NEXT!

posted by Ljames on 2008-04-02 16:56:53
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I'm going through a similar crisis. I work at an advertising agency and I'm having a tough time with the fact that most of the stuff we produce ends up in the trash or ruining landscapes with huge billboards. I need to figure out what I want to do with my life...again. UGH!

posted by Nikita on 2008-04-02 17:02:46
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What a schmuck.

posted by Pteetsa on 2008-04-02 17:04:20
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I can understand where he is coming from. It's sounds like he's had a crisis of conscience because he mass produces products, and mass consumption is destroying our earth. We all know this, right?

I don't think there's anything wrong with his admission. At least he's being honest with himself.

He's right, we don't need all of this stuff.

posted by Vanessa in New York on 2008-04-02 17:44:04
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Two years!
Why not tomorrow?!
He can over-design an awful lot of junk (toilet brushes!) in two years.

posted by blackbird on 2008-04-02 17:46:34
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why doesn't he turn his talent for design to projects like design for the other 90%. you can put creativity to good use to benefit a lot of people as opposed to making pretty little items.

posted by Joan in SB on 2008-04-02 17:57:15
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I am really irritated by all this puritanical commentary. Starck's best work is about fantasy and the future, like the wonderful ballroom at the Hudson Hotel. I don't think the good experiences I have had with his design are waste. But technically, yes, he has created a lot of consumption and waste. Still...

posted by M on 2008-04-02 18:04:31
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Gee whizzes.
Yup, a "puritanical forced confession".
Here's another quarter.

posted by martita on 2008-04-02 18:33:01
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My nephew loved his yellow StarckCar when he was a little guy, and my niece uses it too now.

http://www.slate.com/id/2068213/slideshow/2068213/fs/0/entry/2068216

I would have bought one anyway - so why not one that was well designed?

posted by bepsf on 2008-04-02 18:57:47
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Less talking and more action, Philippe. Why not donate the many millions of dollars you have earned creating this "waste" to a worthy organization devoted to improving the environment and reducing landfill use.

posted by RichardinLA on 2008-04-02 19:31:09
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Why wait two years. He's right of course, much "design" in not nessecary. There is absolutly way to much stuff in the world and the navel gazing we committ to just the right "such and such" for our homes is a sin when you think of the living conditions of the majority of humans. Having said that, I do like my stuff and I like my stuff to be pretty (IE pleasing to the eye, not froo-froo) and I try to buy stuff I need that is also beautiful.

This guy, however, is a dink. If he feels so strongly he should go. Go. Now.

posted by Carder on 2008-04-02 20:15:11
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Stark is obviously a talented man and he is clearly creating a new challenge for himself.
I admire him for coming out, admitting how he feels, and forcing himself to change.
Harry, on the other hand, gave a great, great response which was a whole lot easier to do and a whole lot more fun to read.

posted by EAM on 2008-04-03 08:22:17
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Envy? Jealousy? Tough crowd.

posted by ChrisToronto on 2008-04-03 08:51:23
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Everybody kind of needs to believe that what they do matters, and helps the world a little bit. Having people pay a lot of money for what you do sometimes gives you that feeling.

When people say things like he said it makes me wonder if they've taken conflicting medications and/or forgot to not go to happy hour immediately after taking them.

But then again, it could be a completely honest re-assessing of how his work may affect the world negatively? Personally, I think that quitting wouldn't be the answer, but perhaps approaching his work differently might be less of a cop-out.

I mean, I think the Louis Ghost Chair (that's his, right?) is really handsome, but it IS plastic, and once you have one of those and you get it all scratched up, it's probably NOT good-looking at all, but just another piece of crap that would end up at Fresh-Kills-du-jour.

If he "applied himself" as they say, he could probably come up with incredibly eco-friendly products, but perhaps he's just too spoiled?

I think there's something kind of disrespectful about what he said, because it's like he's insulting the people who admired and supported his work.

posted by Curtis on 2008-04-03 12:35:05
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Curtis,
Amen, amen. Especially that last sentence.

There's something extremely ungenuine about this.

posted by Pixie on 2008-04-03 22:19:20
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