PhD Research project

“The concept of a local or national culture is a paradoxical proposition not only because of the present obvious antithesis between rooted culture and universal civilization but also because all cultures, both ancient and modern, seem to have depended for their intrinsic development on a certain cross-fertilization with other cultures.”

"Chacque condition est définie, inséparablement, par ses propriétés relationnelles qu'elle doit à sa position dans le système des conditions qui est aussi un système de différences, de positions différentielles, c'est-a-dire par tout ce qui la distingue de tout ce qu'elle n'est pas et en particulier de tout ca à quoi elle s'oppose: l'identité sociale se définit et d'affirme dans la difference."

When we say that local values are integrated in global design, we are refering to the fact that globalization is the sum of elements. Altough for Bartelson (1) there is also a paradox in that concept: "The whole is always something more than the sum of the parts, yet the parts are always something more than mere instantiations of the whole" aknowledging that in the same way that local culture is a deliberate construct, globalization is also a social construct.

By analizing examples of good practice in critical regionalism and global design, we can define some guidelines or common patterns to be considered when integrating regional aesthetics into product design.

Cultural exchange with local references and solutions must be present in the recent globalization wave. Is important that local cultures preserve their identity just as it is that they share their solutions with others. The standarization of the global products has lead to a lack of such local input. Some time ago we heard about some European product that was only known to the persons that lived or visited the old continent, but it was indeed a useful product to others. The advertising for such a product was something like this : "Now! The most used product in Germany is here!" When we looked at that product, it seemed to us to fit generally in our stereotype of a German product, whatever that stereotype is. But in more recent times some firms began producing their products in other countries, so the label on them was "Produced in X, but designed and with materials from Y". It was a statement that the product had still some "originating" nationality. But in recent times, products are decontextualized from their local origin to fit into a more globalized culture, not only from their labels or boxes, but also in their aesthetic essence. Nowadays it is almost imposible to distinguish that origin.

"The phenomenon of universalization, while being an advancement of mankind, at the same time constitlites a sort of subtle destruetbn, not only of traditional cultures, which might not be an irreparable wrong, but also of what I shall call for the time being the creative nucleus of great civilizations and great culture, that nucleus on the basis of which we interpret life, what I shall call in advance the ethical and mythical nucleus of mankind. The conflict. springs up from there. We have the feeling that this single world civilization at the same time exerts a sort of attrition or wearing away at the expense of the cultural resources which have made the great civilizations of the past. This threat is expressed, among other disturbing effects, by the spreading before our eyes of a mediocre civilization which is the absurd counter-part of what I was just calling elementary culture. Everywhere throughout the world, one finds the same bad movie, the same slot machines, the same plastic or aluminium atrocities, the same twisting of language by propaganda, etc. It seems as if mankind, by approaching en masse a basic consumer culture, were also stopped en masse at a subcultural level. Thus we come to the crucial problem confronting nations just rising from underdevelopment. In order to get on to the road toward modernization, is it, necessary to jettison the old cultural past, which has been the raison d'être of a nation?… Whence the paradox: on the one hand, it (the nation) has to root itself in the soil of its past, forge a national spirit, and unfurl this spiritual and cultural revendication before the colonialist's personality...But in order to take part in modern civilization, it is necessary at the same time to take part in scientific, technical, and political rationality, something which very often requires the pure and simple abandon of a whole cultural past... It is a fact: every culture cannot sustain and absorb the shock of modern civilization. There is the paradox: how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization, and take part in universal civilization…"

The use of stereotypes to categorize the ethnic, cultural or historic origin of the objects, might seem sometimes unfair or full or prejudices (in its negative connotation). But it is precisely those prejudices what Bourdieu refers to as "codes", i.e. we use those codes to label a product, giving it the meanings we consider are appropriate. Then, for others to understand those meanings, they have to use the same code to "decode" those meanings. This codes are imposed by society arbitrarily, so the categorization of the object is also arbitrary and not always fair. But people use those arbitrary codes or prejudices to categorize and impose meanings into the objects regardless of fairness or political correctness. (1) Theories about how meaning is encoded into an object are discussed in chapter 2, which also serves as a theoretical framework for this thesis.

My proposal consists in demonstrating the possibility of integrating regional aesthetic values into a global product design (or not).

The processes of adaptation/appropriation of objects are determining in the meaning and values associated to that object thanks to the social practices involved with its use :

A series of products that can help to understand the social processes associated with the integration of local values and their influence on global product design and their categorization as such must be analized. To have an spectrum that can cover different possibilities we are going to analize examples from Germany as a strong industrial country and predominantly exporter of products and technology; and Mexico as a developing country where design and production are bounded to a strong local culture and limited technology. We will take 10 examples from each one, covering enough variants to identify the most processes that influence the processes of encoding local and global meanings into the objects.

The focus of this thesis is not to prove any of these theories or to postulate a scheme to describe society or define the concept of culture. Our goal is to analyse and understand the elements within the regional social practices that influence the integration of meanings and symbolism into what we call global products. To do that, we are going to use some of these schemes and theories, not to define society, but to analyse the signifying processes of the objects. In this case some of the postulates of these theories can help us to understand how the objects obtain meanings that are local or global, how those meanings are associated with the objects and interpreted through the practices and activities of every day's life.

FernandoVallejo-Siller