Apologies to Marx
The second in our series of ‘Secondhand Philosophies’ is Apologies to Marx, a granite plaque carved by a local stonemason. It is a replica of an inscription on Marx’s grave in London’s Highgate Cemetery. The original text is from Marx’s 1845 ‘Theses on Feuerbach’ and reads “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however is to change it.”
Referring to the dialectical relationship between ideas and the material world, it was ripe for appropriation as part of our futile attempt to redirect and recontextualise design. After all, “The designers have only packaged the world in various ways, the point however is to change it”. Of course it is true that the “packaging of the world” has caused immense change, but that is exactly the kind of change that needs changing.
And the way the design media, in Australia especially, has traditionally skimmed the surface of visual culture, dodging design’s role in maintaining social and political inequity, disadvantage and atomisation, just renders designers impotent. Casts us as sycophants. Assigns us as slaves. But we will rise.
The image fronted the cover of Australian design magazine Desktop which featured a profile of inkahoots.
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