Interview by THEPAPERBAGWRITER41622

Before YouTube and Flickr, before DeviantArt or Blogspot, Kalle Lasn was hard at work scheming for the democratization of the mainstream media. With the first issue of AdBusters in 1989, Lasn introduced the world to a whole new aesthetic, one born of the people, by the people, without ad agencies or corporate interventions. Twenty-years and a half a dozen titles later, Lasn is working harder than ever; but he’s not alone. His operation has grown into an industry and his network now counts over 100,000 members. We spoke to Lasn from his Vancouver offices on the occasion of the release of his latest book, Design Anarchy, an anthology of aesthetics.

I. ON CULTURE JAMMING

THEPAPERBAGWRITER: What’s culture jamming?

KALLE LASN: Culture Jamming, which I talk about in my first book (called Culture Jamming), is a practice of “engaged” activism and it is at the center of all our operations. A culture jammer is anyone who stands up to corporate consumer culture and lives a life of resistance against the environmental, physiological and political consequences of over-consumption.

PBW: Engaged?

KL: Modern activism has taken an overly passive approach to problem solving and as a result they’re not getting a lot done. There’s too much complaining and not nearly enough activity…it’s right there in the word: activism. Theory is only good if it’s put to use and too often, it isn’t.

PBW: So you’re like the Malcolm X of activists?

KL: (Laugh) I don’t know about that.

PBW: I’m just kidding. So, what sort of activities do you engage in?

KL: We have several initiatives like Buy Nothing Day and TV Turn Off Week, we run a sneaker company (BlackSpot) and we’re involved in several lawsuits with Canadian broadcasting stations over our commercial spots.

PBW: Lawsuits?

KL: Yes. We’ve created a number of what we call “sub-vertisments” (billboards, magazine and TV spots) and we’ve been having a lot of trouble buying airtime for them. Our case is going to the Supreme Court (of Canada) and we’ll find out whether the airwaves belong to the people or not.

PBW: And if you win?

KL: If we win, and I’m confident we will, we’ll take the campaign elsewhere and hopefully our victory here (in Canada) will set a precedent for other countries to reconsider their own laws.

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Posted on November 8th, 2008 in Interviews

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