I’m pleased to announce the launch of a new site: altarofthebottomline.com. The site promotes At the Altar of the Bottom Line, a book and CD workplace ethnography project by Tom Juravich that chronicles work in the George Bush era.
Imagine Studs Terkel’s Working, updated for the era of the internet. Though it’s striking to compare the two to see how our political landscape has shifted since Terkel published his interviews in 1972. Gone are the preoccupations about “meaningful” work or self-fulfilment, etc etc. In Altar, it’s all about fear, stress, and exhaustion. The workers main aspiration is to avoid them, get through another day and make it past the next bill payment.
For me this was a dream project because I was working with really compelling artwork, fabulous and compelling content, and a great client who, while being attentive to detail, was willing to let me be the designer. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a sound track as well.