Sufficient Self from andrea zittel on Vimeo.
Andrea Zittel's work reflects a contested relationship between the individual and home. How does her work illuminate the distance between societal aspiration and consumptive desire linked to the lived experience?
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From how I see Andrea Zittel's work, I do not think it is trying to show a contested relationship between the individual and the home. I understand her work to be a simplified way of living, away from the normal consumer idea. She has created small, yet very livable spaces, that include all you need. Her work does not reflect traditional American social aspirations as it does not include the single family stand alone home with the picket fence. It also doesn't meet the traditional consumptive desire of many Americans. The simplicity yet extreme functionality of the spaces she creates are perfect spaces for the individual.
So society seems to push towards consumerism and the bigger better home, where as Andrea Zittel is pushing herself to live in the simplest smallest homes possible with the bare necessities. The world tries to get the newest products that will make their life easier. While she doesn’t even have a full kitchen or appliances she has a simple grill and uses recycled pieces for making simple things like eggs. She uses bowls for everything she eats because they can stack easier on her sink space. Her designs do take advantage of space in that things fold up inside themselves. Her designs are a push from the corporate controlled consumer society to the idea of a home in the middle of nowhere detached from society and its futuristic high tech goals. She is pushing back to our roots with her own garden spaces that she can live off of. She even makes her own clothes so that she limits what she has to buy.
I think people expect and want to be one thing and society but then consumption causes people to want to become something else. I was thinking to myself about things of this nature yesterday. I realized that over the years I have been bombarded with so many advertisements and pieces of advice that I do not know how to approach many issues that come up in day to day life. On Saturday, I got on certain advice on how to approach people and then a few days I got advice that was totally the opposite. I just feel like every day I see a commercial that says purchase this product and it will make you feel happy or eat this food and you’ll look good. Then occasionally I go out and purchase the product and usually it doesn’t work and I feel guilty about the purchase. In conclusion I feel that consumerism has totally ruined people’s ideal’s about what life should be about and what the more important things in life.
Zittel’s work in the home is based on reducing everything necessary for living into a simple, compact system, as a means of facilitating basic activities in a small apartment, and making daily routines easy and efficient and liberating people from their daily housework chores. Her work makes the most out of every last inch of of space available in a small condo or apartment complex. Zittel lives with very little in her “live a simple life”, without many accessories. She wears only one piece of clothing for a long period of time as if to bring attention to societal pressures on owning and wearing new clothes every single day. Zittel offers people a minimalistic way of life through intelligently constructed furniture, uniquely designed homes and hand made clothes. She brings attention to a simpler way of life, living in isolation for long periods in a sustainable way far away from the temptations of over consumption and society’s obsession with materialistic wealth.
Andrea Zittel's work is commercial in an uncommercial way. She tries to meet individual needs by constantly striving for perfection. Her route however, is lonely. Kind of like the art exhibition we saw, her work brings out the things we hide, the feelings of loneliness we seek to hide. In a way her work highlights the fact that anyone who makes a conscious choice to be an individual and deviates from community standards is also making the choice of being alone. Those who are scared of loneliness can hide their "individuality" inside their home. Zittel makes the conscious choice to focus on her needs, on utility, and in sustainability away from traditionalism. Ironically she is trying to market an alternate lifestyle and while the idea of the home is a well established value, Zittel has caught on to a change bringing her attempt to be an individual plenty of attention.
Andrea Zittel is an artist who personalizes and organizes her space as much as possible. She is innovative in her expansion on the idea of the home. She uses typical goods (such as a grill) but utilizes it in a different manner. She creates her own appliances. Not only is she being a lot more environmentally friendly with her ideas but she is changing the way one can use consumer goods, by making it on one's own. This is a new concept for many people. We as a society are used to buying our domestic goods. We have even created a billion dollar home industry by doing so. So, Andrea Zittel's new home suggests that one are allowed to do differently. People can still have all the appliances and furniture they need but without necessarily having to the pressures of a "consumer".
Andrea Zittel's work reflects a contested relationship between the individual and home. How does her work illuminate the distance between societal aspiration and consumptive desire linked to the lived experience?
I agree with that Andrea Zittel's work is about widening the gap between societal aspiration and consumptive desire centered around a living experience. What I admire the most about her and her work is the location and climate in which she works. Her anti-consumptive desire is echoed throughout her living space and unique projects on sustainable clothing. I wrote down her theory of forward motion because it is not only true to human behaviors, but it can be related to so many other subjects its incredible. Like Helen said, "the simplicity yet extreme functionality" of her projects are something to take note of. She is tackling problems that are relevant and localized to her community. This problem solving attitude is what our country needs, personally saying, and could grab a larger audience if one were to take the time to listen. Maybe fiber clothing and sustainable housing doesn't appeal to some, but in reality we all need to bear clothes and have a space with a roof over our heads.
Andrea Zittel’s work reflects what an individual truly needs to live. Her work is small and compact and shows that livable spaces do not always need to be the single-family home. We can believe this because she actually uses and lives in the spaces that she creates for various periods of time. Living in these types of spaces does not seem conducive to life with kids and their obligations, but it definitely gave me an insight to individual living. You honestly do not need that much to survive and be happy. From a young age we are taught the biggest homes are the best homes, but Andrea Zittel’s work reflects that does not necessarily have to be true. A place of living comes in many shapes and sizes and they should all be embraced for the positive qualities they posses.
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