I was fortunate enough to catch Sagmeister's exhibit, The Happy Show, last weekend. I went in not really knowing what to expect. I knew I'd be impressed with his typography and designs but I still wasn't sure about the exhibition theme. The knowledge I've gained from the excessive reading of self-help books and psychology textbooks had led me to believe that there was not much more to learn about the pursuit of happiness. If anything, I thought the exhibit would be slightly self-aggrandizing, a successful and handsome man's journey to happy land. I was wrong. I soon discovered that like myself, Stefan shared the same skepticism and cynicism about happiness. You don't always have to be happy, and it's not likely that you are.
I wasn't too excited when I stepped out of the elevator and saw Maslow's triangle. I feared this would just be a yellow and aesthetically pleasing regurgitation of my psy100 course. To be honest the exhibit reminded me of a Post-it.
Things started to pick up when I saw this neat card dispenser. I, a pessimist, connected with the cynical tone of the little blurb beside this project. It was genuine and also the first time participants were able to truly witness and admire his penmanship. I was reminded how unforgiving Sharpie pens could be and couldn't help but wonder if the fumes gave him an extra "edge" while completing the exhibit, just kidding - but not really.
The dispenser gave everybody a task that would manufacture a happy moment. The first card was not quite feasible so I used it as an excuse to take another one. I wonder if the second card is a precursor to the first.
Stefan cleverly incorporated many of the architectural features of the building into his project. Everything was harmonious and though a lot of information was being thrown at me, I realized that there was not much visual noise.
Toronto's very own hipster happy survey. I wondered if Torontonians were truly that happy or if nobody wanted to admit that they were the one depressing person in a yellow room that farts happiness.
This was pretty fun. We had to draw our symbol of happiness without using a happy face. I drew a park bench in nature because I like trees and sitting, but mostly because it resembled a serene happiness for me. A few of his projects were interactive and you quite literally felt happier after participating.
As a young adult, I feel like I'm hitting this inevitable stage of depression. Where everyone around me is generally unhappy or unsatisfied. Life seems to be stagnant for the majority of us, and a highway of progression for others. But I think what Sagmeister is trying to say is, you have to find the time and effort to let yourself be happy. And this happiness may come with unwarranted moments of self-realization and discomfort but it's a worthy investment. I can't even quantify how many times I've complained about being bitter and diagnosed myself with depression versus the few moments I've felt ambitious enough to do anything about it. For some reason, happiness is one of the few things we can control but we never seem to find it or we only have it for a short period of time before it slips away. I walked out feeling inspired to discover this intrinsic happiness he preached about and not just to settle with the shallow, though appreciated, happy moments in life.
