Kalle Lasn
Encyclopedia
Kalle Lasn (ˈkɑlˑɛ ˈlɑsn̥) (born March 24, 1942) is an Estonian
Canadian
author, magazine editor and activist. Near the end of World War II
his family fled Estonia
and Lasn spent his childhood in a German refugee camp. He was then resettled in Australia. In the 1960s, he founded a market research company in Tokyo, and in 1970, moved to Vancouver
, Canada. For twenty years, he produced documentaries for PBS and Canada’s National Film Board. He lives in Vancouver
, British Columbia
.
He is the co-founder of Adbusters
magazine and author of the books Culture Jam and Design Anarchy and is the co-founder of the Adbusters Media Foundation, which owns the magazine. He reportedly started Adbusters after an epiphany
that there was something profoundly wrong with consumerism. It happened in a supermarket parking lot. Frustrated that he had to insert a quarter to use a shopping cart, he jammed a bent coin in so that the machine became inoperable. This act of vandalism was his first (quite literal) “culture jam" -- defined as an act designed to subvert mainstream society.
is the fundamental evil of the modern era. He calls for a "meme
war": a battle of ideas to shift Western society away from consumer capitalism
. His second book, Design Anarchy, calls on graphic designers, illustrators and others to turn from working in service to corporate and political pollution of both the planet and "the mental environment", and embrace a radical new aesthetic devoted to social and environmental responsibility.
Lasn made documentary films for 20 years beginning in 1970, many to do with Japan
, the homeland of his wife, Masako Tominaga. His award-winning films include:
demonstration, but is careful not to claim ownership of it.
Lasn has been accused of antisemitism over certain public comments and published opinions. In 2004, he wrote and signed an Adbusters article entitled "Why Won't Anyone Say They Are Jewish?", in which he identified, from a list of George W. Bush
-era neoconservatives, those who happen to be Jewish.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author, magazine editor and activist. Near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
his family fled Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Lasn spent his childhood in a German refugee camp. He was then resettled in Australia. In the 1960s, he founded a market research company in Tokyo, and in 1970, moved to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada. For twenty years, he produced documentaries for PBS and Canada’s National Film Board. He lives in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
He is the co-founder of Adbusters
AdBusters
The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia...
magazine and author of the books Culture Jam and Design Anarchy and is the co-founder of the Adbusters Media Foundation, which owns the magazine. He reportedly started Adbusters after an epiphany
Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:* Epiphany , a Christian holiday on January 6 celebrating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus* Epiphany , a sudden realization of great truth...
that there was something profoundly wrong with consumerism. It happened in a supermarket parking lot. Frustrated that he had to insert a quarter to use a shopping cart, he jammed a bent coin in so that the machine became inoperable. This act of vandalism was his first (quite literal) “culture jam" -- defined as an act designed to subvert mainstream society.
Books and films
In his first book Culture Jam, he argues that consumerismConsumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
is the fundamental evil of the modern era. He calls for a "meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
war": a battle of ideas to shift Western society away from consumer capitalism
Consumer capitalism
Consumer capitalism is a theoretical economic and political condition in which consumer demand is manipulated, in a deliberate and coordinated way, on a very large scale, through mass-marketing techniques, to the advantage of sellers....
. His second book, Design Anarchy, calls on graphic designers, illustrators and others to turn from working in service to corporate and political pollution of both the planet and "the mental environment", and embrace a radical new aesthetic devoted to social and environmental responsibility.
Lasn made documentary films for 20 years beginning in 1970, many to do with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the homeland of his wife, Masako Tominaga. His award-winning films include:
- Japan Inc: Lessons for North America?
- Japanese Woman
- Satori in the Right Cortex
- The Rise and Fall of American Business Culture
- The Autumn Rain: Crime in Japan
Activism and views
Lasn was one of the first people to call for an Occupy Wall StreetOccupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...
demonstration, but is careful not to claim ownership of it.
Lasn has been accused of antisemitism over certain public comments and published opinions. In 2004, he wrote and signed an Adbusters article entitled "Why Won't Anyone Say They Are Jewish?", in which he identified, from a list of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
-era neoconservatives, those who happen to be Jewish.
External links
- Adbusters website
- Kalle Lasn interview (11/20/2006)
- Kalle Lasn profile
- Kalle Lasn: 4 video messages for the Cologne Thumper design award (2007)
- Kalle Lasn, Typo 2006: The Future of Design (video)
- Donovan King. Optative Theatre: A Critical Theory for Challenging Oppression and Spectacle http://www.optative.net/kingthesis.pdf (2004), http://66.102.1.104/scholar?hl=it&lr=&q=cache:tHNzGfnmB2gJ:www.optative.net/kingthesis.pdf+reality+patterns+structures++paradigms+lasn (2004)
- Why won't anyone say they are Jewish? -- controversial 2004 column by Lasn