A series of short essays (a monograph) on the practice of “do it yourself” (DIY) as a sociological rebelliousness, still contained within capitalism, yet harnessing a spirit that deviates from the standard universal of cost/benefit. The text moves from the abstract principle, through the machinic craftsman, through the emotive self, and on to political agency in a type of cyclic discourse to map the path of the creative or constructive impulse back into the political.

The text starts with Nietzsche’s notion of the Last man, moves into Marxist estrangement, looks at art and agency through Adorno in a commodified/mediated culture, and on to Mark Fisher, Benjamin Noys, and Frederick James as commentators on the state of change necessary.

written: Fall 2019
while at Studio Kura, Japan

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