Adam Savage Interviews Tom Sachs

Adam Savage interviews Tom Sachs, the artist and creator. Notably also the inspiration for the “Neistat aesthetic”, this connection is obvious when you’ve laid your eyes on Sachs’ work, but less so looking only at the Neistats'.

Sachs seems a real handyman and really, truly values utility in his work, workshop and art.

That something is fit for its function seems the most essential thing. As a corollary, the “marks of the maker” do not matter. On the contrary, they imbue the object with humanity and history, thus further enriching it.

These considerations in many ways defines the aesthetic.

The utility aspect of this is somewhat reminescent of some of Dieter Rams’ principles of good design. But the aesthetic result is very different: where Rams work is minimalist but clean, and thus functional but fragile, Sachs’ seems honest and robust in the sense that if broken the aesthetic itself permits easy repairs without breaking the objects allure.