The Practicality of the Futile, the Futility of the Practical
The
boom of buying “pretty trash” has continued for several years in Korea. People
collect unnecessary items such as jars, stickers, or magnets just because they
look ‘pretty’. [1]
In addition to such a boom, buying the intangible or unpossessable has been a
very modern phenomenon. People pay money to watch movies, see exhibitions,
attend musicals or concerts, and such goods are impossible to hold on to for
the consumer. A movie’s scene is gone once the audience is out of the cinema.
In a sense, such products are neither ‘useful’ nor ‘practical’. Then why are
people so passionate about things that could indeed be considered useless and
futile?
On
the other hand, serious problems regarding the environment, poverty, or human
rights appear on the news every day, but they seem to be having a difficult
time trying to catch people’s attention. We all know that these issues need
tackling, but these complications are simply not attractive enough. We do not
want to give attention to such matters, but they are indeed directly concerned
with our lives and solving those problems is ‘useful’. Nonetheless, if such problems
that need people’s interest for resolution cannot charm people, what use do
they have?
It is a
well-known stereotype that the untouchable or matters regarding value are
futile, while truly practical items are tangible and useable. However, such
division of ‘practicality’ should be reconsidered because what is practical is
no longer useful unless it can appeal to the people. One should start focusing
on the interface of the two–practicality and futility–, because sustainability
is about ‘living’, not ‘surviving’. Considering only the pragmatic effect is
closer to ‘surviving’. Therefore, the practicality of the futile is that they attract
people; the futility of the practical is that they are useless unless people
take interest in them; one can find a better way to achieve sustainability in
the interface of these two.
Sustainability
is about ‘living together’ in a broad point of view. Taking interest in
problems that at first sight may seem far away from our everyday lives is what
sustainability incorporates. Then what can the so-called ‘futile’ elements do
to help humanity sail towards sustainability? One could discuss matters
connected to ‘value’ such as good health and well-being or gender equality out
of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or issues that
help raise consciousness. For instance, Gail Albert Halaban, a photographer
active in New York, led a project called “Out of My Window” employing
photography as a form of social engagement in order to combat loneliness by
connecting with her neighbors.[2]
This project is being brought back into the spotlight nowadays where people are
forced to stay home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and depression levels are
increasing due to isolation.[3]
Such projects may seem useless, but mental health is as important as much as
physical health, and Halaban’s photos suggest new ways of recovering our lost
connections with others.
<Picture 1>Gail Albert Halaban, "Out of My Window"
<Picture 2> BTS contributing to the SDGs
Another
example can be K-Pop idol BTS having received a commendation from the United
Nations as one of the most sustainable future leaders, with an aim of
“empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.”[4]
The concept idol or singer might be considered ‘impractical’, but donations or
participation by both artists and their fandoms in projects like tree-planting
show that once a value-related, intangible concept gains people’s interest
through its beauty, it can lead to actual change.
Areas
like fashion or architecture are one of the leading fields of achieving
sustainability out of the balance of beauty and practicality. Fashion brands
such as “H&M Conscious”[5]
appeal to customers with both its ‘value’ and ‘visual beauty’. One Central Park,
a building located in Sydney constructed as part of an urban renewal project,
“blends artistic vision, the natural world and public benefit into one striking
mixed-use building”. Not only does the building have vertical gardens that
contribute to its marvelous exterior, but also tracks and moderates the usage
of energy that improves occupants’ comfort.[6]
People are driven into the beautiful. This alluring power that beauty has can
adjust that attention to more useful areas that assist the SDGs, just as
clothes and buildings can both be beautiful and practical at the same time.
One
Central Park
“Art
can save us time – and save our lives – through opportune and visceral
reminders of balance and goodness that we should never presume we know enough
about already”[8], says
Allain de Botton in his book Art as Therapy.
Many consider art, or in a broader sense, something that only has
‘attractiveness’ but nothing more as its core value, futile. People argue that
we should focus on what truly matters, the ‘useful’ issues. Nevertheless, the
so-called practical issues do not have power unless people give them attention,
and what we call futile has that power to attract people. The coalition of the
practical and the futile is where we find sustainability’s future path, where
it both has power and effect.
References
남형도, 「’예쁜 쓰레기’인데… 왜
사세요?」, 『머니투데이』,
2018. 2. 1., https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2018013114453076252, 2020. 11.
12.
De Botton,
Allain, John Armstrong, Art as Therapy: Allain de Botton on the 7
Psychological Functions of Art, 2013. 10. 14.
Hong,
Matthew, “Out of my Window / Gail Albert Halaban”, Artpil,
artpil.com/news/out-of-my-window-gail-albert-halaban, 2020. 11. 12.
Sachs,
Lexie, “20 Best Sustainable Fashion Brands You Can Actually Trust”, Good
Housekeeping, 2020. 3. 20., www.goodhousekeeping.com/clothing/g27154605/sustainable-fashion-clothing,
2020. 11. 12.
Schraer, Rachel, “Depression Doubles during Coronavirus Pandemic”, BBC
News, 2020. 8. 18., https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53820425#:~:text=One%20in%20five%20people%20appeared,questions%20used%20to%20assess%20depression,
2020. 11. 12.
“Sustainability
Framework of One Central Park – Arup.” https://www.arup.com/projects/one-central-
park, 2020. 11. 12.
Yann, “BTS
and ARMY Named as Top Global Sustainable Future Leader and Group by Korean Association
Supporting UN’s SDGs”, Hellokpop, 2019. 7. 20., www.hellokpop.com/news/bts-top-global-sustainable-future-leader,
2020. 11. 12.
[1] https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2018013114453076252
[2] https://artpil.com/news/out-of-my-window-gail-albert-halaban/
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53820425#:~:text=One%20in%20five%20people%20appeared,questions%20used%20to%20assess%20depression.
[4] https://www.hellokpop.com/news/bts-top-global-sustainable-future-leader/
[5] https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/clothing/g27154605/sustainable-fashion-clothing/
[6] https://www.arup.com/projects/one-central-park
[7] http://m.blog.daum.net/thozi/688120?np_nil_a=1
[8] Allain de Botton, John Armstrong, Art as Therapy: Allain de
Botton on the 7 Psychological Functions of Art, 2013. 10. 14.
Comments
Post a Comment