Why Do We Lust for Objects?
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium
Admission: Free; reservations required. Call (310) 440-7300 or use the "Make Reservation" button below.
In his witty, well-observed and wide-ranging new book The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects, Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum in London, charts our complex relationship with all things designed. From fashion's excesses to the lure of an iPhone, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by possessions. Sudjic considers why we value the useless over the useful and ponders what's next for a consumerist society suddenly thrust into post-binge sobriety.
This Zócalo Public Square lecture is presented in conjunction with the current exhibition Taking Shape: Finding Sculpture in the Decorative Arts, which explores the complex relationship between aesthetics and function.
About Deyan Sudjic
Deyan Sudjic became the director of London's Design Museum in 2006. He was previously dean of Art, Architecture, and Design at Kingston University in England. He also served as the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and was the founding editor of Blueprint magazine. His book The Language of Things is being published in the U.S. in June 2009.
How to Get Here
The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, California, approximately 12 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. See Hours, Directions, Parking for maps and driving directions.
