| In the spring of 2007, the SVA MFA Design Class of ’08 presented Serious Fun, an exhibition that addressed social issues in the form of kid’s toys. Each of us conceived of and created a unique line of toys, straddling the line between play and commentary. One Degree was my conceptual toy line about global warming.
Some of my favorite toys: Pin the Hole on the Ozone Layer, Topple (Drowning Polar Bear Edition), and the Greenhouse Glasses. Not pictured: Sweet Snow (bags of little iceberg remnants) and Beat the Heat, an environmental anxiety pinãta therapy set.
The official rationale goes a little something like this:
“One Degree is about the causes and effects of global warming. The toys touch upon some of the major outcomes we will experience as a result of how we affect our planet, including increased temperature, rising sea levels and loss of species that depend on the colder climates in which they now live. A lot of this change is incremental and will consequently affect each generation differently. We all have to be aware that the overall change is made up of all of our individual actions, and all it takes is to start changing little by little, one degree at a time.”
The class website can be viewed by clicking
here. Click on “Getting Ready” and then move your mouse to the lower right corner to see some behind the scenes animations.
The podcast of all of my toys can be viewed by clicking
here.
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