Comments on: The Work Office: WPA-inspired participatory performance art http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Fri, 24 May 2013 11:45:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: octopod http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620091 octopod Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620091 unemployment is like, 12%? hello marie antoinette, would you like some delicious cake? unemployment is like, 12%?

hello marie antoinette, would you like some delicious cake?

]]> By: Marco Raaphorst http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620125 Marco Raaphorst Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620125 nice one :)) in Holland we work harder I must say nice one :))

in Holland we work harder I must say

]]> By: octopod http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620400 octopod Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620400 >"must-need" military stuff we bought in the 80s ... hmm. dunno. the russkies couldn't raise and so they folded without the world catching fire, and it got medum term oil price inflation under control. >”must-need” military stuff we bought in the 80s …

hmm. dunno. the russkies couldn’t raise and so they folded without the world catching fire, and it got medum term oil price inflation under control.

]]> By: norskamerikansk http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620187 norskamerikansk Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620187 Familiarity with WPA and basic sense of humor/poetry is needed to read this work: B.S. steampunk chaser anyone? Familiarity with WPA and basic sense of humor/poetry is needed to read this work: B.S. steampunk chaser anyone?

]]> By: octopod http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620220 octopod Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620220 quite so, i read it as a bit lame. hipster-ironic is teh olds. anyways, even marie antoinette would have an etsy shop. quite so, i read it as a bit lame. hipster-ironic is teh olds. anyways, even marie antoinette would have an etsy shop.

]]> By: yokimon http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620250 yokimon Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620250 when I was a little girl I wanted to work for the WPA, though the WPA was like 40 years dead when I was a little girl when I was a little girl I wanted to work for the WPA, though the WPA was like 40 years dead when I was a little girl

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620253 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620253 It's a cool idea. If you called it a volunteer arts office, no one would blink, let alone dismiss the project out of hand. Some of the suggested assignments are fanciful, but others are <a href="http://www.theworkoffice.com/html/work.html">serious</a> like documenting sites in need of repair and cataloging WPA structures in New York City. It's a clever way of calling attention to lack of support for the arts. It seems totally logical that the government would pay to employ a construction worker as part of the stimulus. Why not a graphic designer? The main goal of any stimulus is to keep people working and spending in their communities with the added bonus of getting some useful work out of them. In the WPA era, it seemed logical to pay people to paint murals, design posters, and take on other creative work. For whatever reason, we've stopped thinking about creative work as work, at least for the purposes of stimulus jobs. It's ironic because we supposedly live in a knowledge intensive economy where ideas are as important as bricks and mortar. It’s a cool idea. If you called it a volunteer arts office, no one would blink, let alone dismiss the project out of hand. Some of the suggested assignments are fanciful, but others are serious like documenting sites in need of repair and cataloging WPA structures in New York City.

It’s a clever way of calling attention to lack of support for the arts.

It seems totally logical that the government would pay to employ a construction worker as part of the stimulus. Why not a graphic designer? The main goal of any stimulus is to keep people working and spending in their communities with the added bonus of getting some useful work out of them.

In the WPA era, it seemed logical to pay people to paint murals, design posters, and take on other creative work. For whatever reason, we’ve stopped thinking about creative work as work, at least for the purposes of stimulus jobs. It’s ironic because we supposedly live in a knowledge intensive economy where ideas are as important as bricks and mortar.

]]> By: Maddy http://boingboing.net/2009/10/24/the-work-office-wpa-.html#comment-620279 Maddy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-620279 Love me some alphabet soup. While conservative and liberal economists debate whether FDR's programs got us out of the depression faster/slower -- it always seemed we got more bang for our buck out of what we invested in -- as oppossed to "must-need" military stuff we bought in the 80s ... Love me some alphabet soup. While conservative and liberal economists debate whether FDR’s programs got us out of the depression faster/slower — it always seemed we got more bang for our buck out of what we invested in — as oppossed to “must-need” military stuff we bought in the 80s …

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