The Whatnot Studio is a progressive educational platform in the Designed Objects program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) that is focused on creative inquiry and iteration. This course enables students to hone their voice as individual designers while working as a team to execute a thematic collection of highly refined and relevant work for public exhibition.

Comprised of thirteen students and led for the third consecutive year by Pete Oyler and Jonah Takagi, the 2021 Whatnot Studio collection explores time as a framework for the organization of our contemporary social, political, and economic context. The construction of mechanical time in the 13th century by Europeans functioned as a broad mode of control and oppression, especially in the contexts of Euro-American colonizing efforts. As daily life became increasingly entwined with clock time, it also became inextricably linked to capitalist modes of production and consumption. By the 19th century, ideals of efficiency and expediency were firmly integrated into all aspects of commerce and culture within industrialized countries. In our present, the Fourth Industrial Revolution–a technological revolution that foregrounds speed in a range of contexts and applications–is underway and changing, yet again, our relationship to time as an organizational and operational system. The consequences of global capitalism cannot be overstated: the exploitation of planetary resources and human labor are vast and continue to cause widespread, devastating impact on our collective ability to survive and thrive on Earth. The Fourth Industrial Revolution promises to provide much needed solutions–time will tell.

Living in and through the Covid-19 pandemic is teaching us–and in many ways forcing us–to learn and envision new ways of being in our time. Students in the 2021 Whatnot Studio have explored time in diverse ways and from diverse perspectives. The final collection of work is provocative, insightful, and materially, formally, and functionally rich.

The 2021 Whatnot Studio collection will be on view May 12–June 12, 2021 as part of Wanted Design Brooklyn’s virtual exhibition.

Contact
General, aiado@saic.edu
Pete Oyler, poyler@saic.edu
Jonah Takagi, jtakagi@saic.edu

Credits
Graphic and Web Design, Jon Lucas
Silo Photography, Jonathan Allen