sagmeister and walsh: six things a continued exploration of happiness

video stills from ‘now is better’, 2012. HD video, 1 min., 40 secs. in collaboration with matthew and erik huber. image © sagmeister and walsh

sagmeister and walsh: six thingsjewish museum, new yorkon from the 15th of march through to the 4th of august, 2013

designers stefan sagmeister and jessica walsh are known for their experimental typography and striking visual imagery. ‘six things: sagmeister and walsh’ – on view at the jewish museum from march 15 through to august 4, 2013 – marks the first exhibition of their newly formed design firm sagmeister and walsh. for the last ten years, sagmeister has researched the concept of happiness, asking, ‘is it possible to train my mind in the same way I can train my body?’ in five short films and a sculpture, the studio investigates six things, dictums selected from sagmeister’s diary, that he believes have increased his personalhappiness such as: ‘now is better’ and ‘if I don’t ask I won’t get’. sugar cubes, bubbles, and water balloons are just some of the materials used to spell out the phrases. the obscure links between the six aphorisms and the objects of which they are composed are left for viewers themselves to interpret –a provocative game based on the pleasure of looking.

in addition, intrigued by a recent nationwide survey in which jews reported the highest levels of well-being of all religious groups, sagmeister and walsh are placing a text in the gallery that connects this scientific data to his personal exploration of happiness.

‘according to a recent nationwide survey, jewish americans report higher levels of happiness than all other major faith groups in the country. this finding is based on more than 676,000 interviews conducted in 2010-11 for the gallup-healthways well-being index. within each faith surveyed, very religious members are happier than their nonreligious counterparts. for example, observant jews are generally happier than secular jews. but a higher proportion of practicing members does not predict greaterwell-being for the faith. interestingly, though jews are among the least religious faith groups in america, with only 16.9% identifyingthemselves as very religious and 53.5% as secular, they still appear to be the happiest. the well-being index does not definitively say thatreligious observance leads to greater happiness. it does note that belief in a higher power, prayer, acts of charity, and neighborly lovecan promote a sense of belonging; alleviate stress and depression; and lead to a positive outlook on life.’

for the last ten years, sagmeister has researched the concept of happiness, asking, ‘is it possible to train my mind in the same way I can train my body?’image © sagmeister and walsh

sugar cubes, bubbles, and water balloons are just some of the materials used to spell out the phrasesimage © sagmeister and walsh

video still from ‘if I don’t ask’, 2013HD video, 2 min., 12 secs. in collaboration with santiago carrasquillaimage © sagmeister and walsh

the obscure links between the six aphorisms and the objects of which they are composed are left for viewers themselves to interpretimage © sagmeister and walsh

in five short films and a sculpture, the studio investigates six things, dictums selected from sagmeister’s diary, that he believes have increased his personal happinessimage © sagmeister and walsh

sagmeister and walsh are placing a text in the gallery that connects scientific data to his personal exploration of happinessimage © sagmeister and walsh

‘according to a recent nationwide survey, jewish americans report higher levels of happiness than all other major faith groups in the country‘ – text from the exhibitionimage © sagmeister and walsh