Philippe Starck – a false god?

Starck gets a Harsh Critique

Philippe Starck gets a Scathing Review by writer Stephen Bayley at the Guardian

The Guardian recently published an article about Starck’s upcoming reality show Design for Life. The writer, Stephen Bayley doesn’t appear to be a Starck fan. He really lets loose and rips the star apart. He starts off by calling the show a humulliation programme and Starck a tormentor. He then goes on to say that Starck’s work does not stand severe analysis. He gives Starck’s lemon squuezer a 10 on the crap-o-meter and says everything else that Starck has designed is useless. I beg to disagree. I think, as do many others, that Starck is an amazing designer who has gone beyond our wildest imaginations and produced works of art for us to live in. That should not be scoffed at. Philippe Starck has made the world a better and more beautiful place through his wonderful designs.

I thought that this part of the critique was particularly painful:

He tickles the ego of desire, without gratifying the more profound demands of id’s lasting needs. Far from tidying up the world, he has contributed to excess. As Karl Kraus said of psychoanalysis, Starck’s work is a symptom of what it purports to cure.

I think Bayley needs to lighten up and enjoy what Starck’s work has to offer, -fun, joy, pleasure, excitement, entertainment and stimulation. Design is by its nature superficial. There is no way that one can purport to meet deep needs through design. Starck does not claim or even attempt to satisfy deep needs, and that is not his job. He merely creates a playground for adults to escape the harsh realities of modern life. He creates what could be called escapism. Just like we watch TV and movies to escape, Starck has created environments for us to leave our stressful lives behind and escape into a world that is much like a fansay. What is wrong with that?! I say nothing! In fact we need more colour in our mundane world and the more places that become Starckified the better!

See the full Stephen Bayley article here.

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