Encapsulated

Okay, so here’s the concept: if you’re going to do something stupid, there is a level of perfection you can achieve with it that people won’t question it anymore. My example of this is the Kentucky Do-Nothing (you might know it from another state, but Kentucky is how I learned it).This is a machine which, from a logical standpoint, is completely worthless and useless and stupid. You put energy into it, and movement happens, but all of that energy is immediately released and gone and nothing has happened. It does-nothing. It would actually be of greater use if you put it under a short leg of a table than if you were to use it for its intended purpose (if you can even call it that).

At the same time, this machine has a beauty about it. It set out to do nothing, and it does nothing. But it does it so perfectly. It is still a machine – it has mechanisms. A rock just sitting there also does-nothing, and probably does it just as well. But the rock is doing-nothing as a by-product of being a rock. This machine activates in order to do nothing. Although logically that is still dumb, there is a concept that is so clear and then executed so perfectly that you have to admire it. It stops existing as an example of a stupid concept, and starts existing as a tribute to execution of a concept.

It’s a clever and powerful turn around, but it is difficult to pull off.

It can happen with a lot of things, and I think a lot of viral video showcase it. But viral videos can be ruined when it’s picked up. Parkour is strange like that. “Let’s just run and jump off some stuff.” “That’s kinda dumb. Oh wait, they’re doing some really cool shit.” And then a movie like Live Free or Die Hard comes along, and kinda ruins it. It’s still cool, but there’s a purpose behind it now. The concept is at least decent, and then you pull it off well. That’s not what I’m talking about here. You lose the beauty inherent in how a excellent execution can overpower a concept.

When I started thinking about this, I was actually thinking about it in terms of stupid outfits. A lot of little kids whose parents dub “creative thinkers” will, at one point or another, decide one day to pull 5 random pieces of clothing out from their closets and wear them all at once. And enter into public like that. It’s basic, and it’s pretty dumb.

Okay, some people will try to say that it shows the bliss of ignorance that children possess. Yeah, sure I can see that. But for us real people and for the sake of argument, it’s dumb.

So a kid dresses dumb, and it passes for some reason. There’s an age limit on doing that, after which you will be smacked. But if my idea is correct, there are ways to get around it. You wanna do this dumb thing still, so do it well. Start color coordinating that random shit you pull out of your closet. Give is some sort of a theme to tailor it and give it a sense of completion or attendance. Take enough care in it, and suddenly people will start seeing it and admiring it, and forget how dumb of a concept actually underlies it.

People might point at a fashion designer here and say, “but Nick, isn’t that just what these people are doing?” Nope. They’ve gone too far. Perhaps once this is what they were doing, but no longer. Now the themes and colors and coordination are the point. The execution is part of the concept. Whether it’s dumb or cool it is being so with it’s entirety. For this idea, that is of no difference, and it’s boring.

On the other hand, there’s Bjork. She’s not doing it right either, but she’s got it wrong from the other end. If you start going high concept and not putting the effort into the execution, then you’re still failing. You’re essentially doing what the child is doing in their naivete. Credit can be given, however, to the fact that your concept will indeed be far far higher then what a child would come up with. But to be fair, the point is basically that the concept is pointless, random, or otherwise stupid to begin with. To start high concept just makes more work for yourself.

Is this a useful idea? I don’t know. Maybe it’s pointless. Does that mean I could make it admirable by pulling it off notable well? Maybe, but I sure as hell know I don’t care enough to try.

F*R*A*G: Of course he’s not musically named. HE’S CHOPIN.