Tom Strala

A lot of people have the impression that an artist just has to let his work flow. That he creates something out of being a genius or similar. Of course we can be the source of creation, but we have to reflect on what we have produced. Unfortunately not every creation has quality. That’s the reason why design is not only a process where something is coming out like barf. Meanwhile everything that's coming out of our mouth has a meaning - each word and each sentence - even nonsense like « the banana in the apple is blue ». It has still a content and we are able to reflect.

We think intelligence has no physical matter. But if we change our point of view of matter and see in thinking and speaking also a kind of matter, than we understand that every intelligence needs a transmitter to be understood from the society. A poet needs words, a mathematician needs formulas, and we designers need material. Exactly at the moment we humans decide to „do something“ with a material, the material gains a new dimension. It becomes a transmitter for feelings, auras or ideas.

That’s why the question is not if something is a materialized idea, or not. The more important question should be: Is it an intelligent materialization or not?

Imagine a stone. This stone will not turn into something new by itself. It will not develop an idea and give itself a new meaning like being a part of a wall, being a water container or anything else. It’s the spirit which makes the matter to what it is, and not vice versa. But if you want to turn the same stone into a car engine, you will not succeed. Even if it’s the spirit which makes the matter to what it is, there will be no spirit, when the material is not able to give spirit a form. I like this idea very much, because it means that only material and intelligence both together can create something special.