The Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders: An interview with Judy Park Lee and Lucas Teixeira Vaqueiro
source: Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders
written by Zoë Rayn Evans
A core tenant of transdisciplinary design is collectivism; co-creation and the ability to work as one unit leaving space for the work to determine where to move next. It is this framework for collaboration that inspired Judy Park Lee, the Design Research Director at the Public Policy Lab, and Lucas Vaqueiro, a Program Strategist at 3x3 and educator (MFA TD Class of 2022) as they developed their thesis project Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders in partnership with the National School of Public Administration in Brazil. A project that explored and merged their interests effectively, both noting that their previous experiences and ongoing practices as integral, providing a foundation for this new highly collaborative work.
In a post-graduation interview with Transdisciplinary Design Co-Director John Bruce the creative practitioners expanded on the concept of practice, holding space for emergence and finding pleasure in the process.
Judy Park Lee (Judy): …I already said this before, but I think goofiness and delight are some of the key words [for the project], and this is something that I like. I was able to experiment so much here in my practice. Sometimes, in this very serious research world, we can make research goofy and less serious, but with significant findings that are delightful for everyone involved. These are the words I want to keep in my practice as we had in our collaboration. What else?
Lucas Teixeira Vaqueiro (Lucas): Translation is a big part of that—being able to shape-shift and move the pieces to convey something new. Collaboration is also key. It defines how we can work together, not in a top-down manner, but in a structured, meaningful way.
Judy: I feel like maintenance was a significant concept for us. The manifesto by Mierle Laderman Ukeles, the first artist in residence of the Department of Sanitation, talks about maintenance art.
Lucas: The New York City Department of Sanitation is the biggest, and I'm currently doing the Trash Academy, becoming a trash specialist in New York City's trash.
Judy: Abolition was another concept for me. I wrote an essay about it but find it hard to recall all the details. However, it was revolutionary for me.
John Bruce (John): Can you give us your names and what you do now?
Judy: I'm Judy Park Lee, the design research director at the Public Policy Lab.
Lucas: I'm Lucas Teixeira Vaqueiro, a program strategist at 3x3 and an instructor.
John: Let's discuss the Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders. It's a great title.
Lucas: The name is a tribute to the 1700s Cabinets of Wonders, where nobles collected peculiar objects. We created a participatory version, collecting quintessential bureaucratic modern objects that convey power and wonder. This project started from our experience working in and around the public sector. During my five years at Sao Paulo City Hall, I felt like an undercover public agent, observing how government procedures were tangible through artifacts and ways of doing things.
We wanted to enchant the bureaucratic site. Fairy tales served as a narrative container for our project. They are rigid with rules but contain magic and possibility.
source: Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders
Judy: We wanted to enchant the bureaucratic site. Fairy tales served as a narrative container for our project. They are rigid with rules but contain magic and possibility. We used this structure for our installations, creating a familiar yet strange setting that prompted reflection.
John: Talk more about creating a familiar yet strange space.
Judy: When someone sees a familiar stapler in a gallery with a tag, it creates a moment of realization. Public servants who visited our installation went back to their offices seeing everything with a new lens, transformed in some ways.
Lucas: We experimented with different approaches to create that strangeness, using our lived experience as civil servants to intuitively set up the scene, making it familiar yet strange, prompting participants to observe and reflect.
John: What did this journey open up for your participants in terms of shifting their relationship to these spaces and roles?
Judy: By experimenting with different approaches and leveraging our existing relationships within the public sector, we created a setting that allowed public servants to see their work environment anew. This strangeness made them reflect on their roles and the power structures within their institutions, understanding their own agency to create change.
Judy: The project provided a space to critique and be aware of the tensions in public sector offices, such as hierarchical structures and power imbalances. It reminded participants of their own agency to play with these tensions and make decisions, ultimately transforming their institutions. We decided to do it like in a gallery space and invite folks to come in during the weekend or out of work hours. They would find the same objects as in their offices.
Lucas: In Brazil, we did the installation at the entryway of a government office, causing a similar strangeness. People had deep reflections, some recalling dear experiences or addressing gender inequality through objects. A coat hanger, typically in high-ranking offices, would disappear for women. One woman noted her husband, a secretary, had one, but she didn't despite her higher position. This installation enabled reflections on their tenure and experiences in government.
Judy: We wanted the participants' journey to feel like a fairy tale, departing from home, completing a quest, and returning transformed. We aimed to create an emotional arc similar to a hero's journey.
Lucas: In the end, we created an institution and archive. This journey materialized through the installation, drawing from our previous work and the institutional critique art movement. It highlighted the tensions within government spaces, prompting participants to see hierarchical structures and power imbalances more clearly.
John: That's beautiful. How did this affect your participants long-term?
Lucas: Some participants continued to interrogate their experiences. We wanted the installation to have a lasting impact. We created a zine to document the experience, partnering with the National School of Public Administration in Brazil. The zine, now an official government document, continues the conversation.
...it challenges the idea that bureaucracy is unchangeable, reminding us that these systems can be redesigned…
source: Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders
Judy: The installation has been transformative for us as well. It offers a space to escape the rigid bureaucracy, reminding us of our power to act within and reshape the system.
John: Would you say it fuels forms of resistance and abolition?
Lucas: Yes, it challenges the idea that bureaucracy is unchangeable, reminding us that these systems can be redesigned. It's empowering to realize our agency within these structures.
John: Incredible discussion. Shifting a bit, what mattered in your learning environment at the Transdisciplinary Design MFA Parsons?
Judy: Our relationship and collaboration were crucial. We had similar yet divergent interests, and our engagement and discourse with each other were fundamental to our success.
Lucas: We brought ongoing practices and experiences into the program, creating a container for our emerging practices. The program provided a structure to better our practice, and our collaboration allowed us to move forward together.
John: You mentioned goofiness, delight, translation and collaboration as key terms earlier – are there any other key experiences or phrases that contributed to your work?
Judy: The notion of practice was revolutionary for me. It expanded my understanding of what research could be and empowered me to see my work as a practice, not just a process.
Lucas: The program gave us rhythm and structure, allowing us to reflect on and build our practice. It provided a framework to create and adapt our practice to different settings, maintaining core values while shape-shifting as needed. Maintenance, too, was a big one for me. Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ manifesto around maintenance art is inspiring. The New York City Department of Sanitation, the biggest in the world, has been an incredible learning experience for me.
Judy: We had a lot of fun and delight in our work. The program and our collaboration made our practice enjoyable and transformative…so I think fabulation comes up for me. It's the creation of spaces you can enter into and out of. These are imaginaries. It's the provocation to go beyond what's currently available or existing. It’s beautiful. Also, translation is a big part of that – being able to shape-shift and move the pieces to convey something new is crucial. Collaboration can define how we can work together in a structured, meaningful way.
source: Cabinet of Bureaucratic Wonders