“Shining a light into the long shadow cast by Papanek, his work, and his writing, Clarke's riveting account not only reveals a complicated, nuanced, and multidimensional figure, but along the way illuminates an essential, contemporary archaeology of social design practices.”
Jamer Hunt, Vice Provost for Transdisciplinary Initiatives and Associate Professor of Transdisciplinary Design, The New School
“Exquisitely written and illustrated, the book restages Papanek's innovative and controversial design practice. This superb book cements Alison Clarke's reputation as one of the most accomplished and thoughtful historians and theorists of design at present.”
Arturo Escobar, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; author of Designs for the Pluriverse and Pluriversal Politics
“I just love this book! Intellectually courageous, entertaining, full of vivid detail, challenging. Clarke's truly brilliant and at times hilarious reading of maverick social designer Victor Papanek not only vividly elucidates his complex and dissonant position within the cultural politics of design, but in doing so renders that history a key to understanding design's multiple and extensive connections to our troubled times today. Necessary reading for anyone interested in the complex entanglements of twentieth-century design.”
Felicity Scott, Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University; author of Outlaw Territories
Alison Clarke holds up a mirror to Victor Papanek to reveal a fresh picture of the designer and educator by showing how his influence and legacy of ideas are broader than what was previously suggested. [... ] Clarke is adept at explaining the culture within which her subject existed. Her approach takes the reader through Papanek's prescient ideas that emerged out of the prognostic nature of his design thinking. As such, her biography of Papanek doesn't subordinate his thinking to his non-conformist personality, but shows how his provocative thinking and understanding of design as a relational practice was contingent on his being in the world. [... ] [Victor Papanek] will provide both design educators and students alike with an opportunity to reflect on their own design practice in terms of for whom they work and for what they stand.
Design and Culture
