Things Are Cheap, Hurrah! Towards an Alternative Aesthetic of Consumption

In their 1984 Cheap Art Manifesto, the Bread and Puppet Theater rightly argues for the merits of art that is available to all. In this provocation, we will argue that a similar line of thinking applied to consumer objects is the source of the completely overblown consumption patterns currently seen among affluent populations. We take an aesthetic perspective, from which we consider the creation, consumption, and disposal of things under capitalism to be part of the same aesthetic pattern. Our aim is to explore the requirements of an alternative aesthetic of consumption, one that challenges designers to critically reflect on the implications of their designs, which is based on notions of care. We recount our initial thoughts and forays into giving shape to this aesthetic.