Bjork is no luddite, but she wants you to step away from the computer and experience the wonder of the outdoors. Pitchfork spoke to Bjork for a variety of reasons, including the upcoming release of a songbook featuring sheet music of her work. However, it was her VR project, Bjork Digital, which opens in Los Angeles later this month, that provoked a discussion of how we as humans interact with technology. Bjork sees it as a “tool,” but also mental junk food:
We just have to define technology. There’s no one answer. Sometimes you have to burn yourself. Maybe there are a lot of kids now who don’t know how to walk in a forest and do basic outdoorsy things. You can be on Facebook for a long time, and then you get a feeling in your body like you’ve had three hamburgers. You know it’s trash. I always advise my friends: just go for a walk for an hour and come back and see how you feel then. I think we’re meant to be outdoors. I was brought up in Iceland, and even if it was snowing or raining, I would be outdoors all day. Entertain yourself. Do shit. I think we need to put humanity into technology—the soul. It’s about using technology to get closer to people, to be more creative.
We would certainly be up for helping to found the Bjork School For Kids Who Don’t Know How To Walk In A Forest And Do Basic Outdoorsy Things. The curriculum could include a lengthy DJ set like the one she’s set to do at the Sonár festival.
The musician also spoke about her reacting to the Trump presidency, saying she’s “obviously devastated,” but now would “like to dare people like Bill Gates, to give them like two years to clean the oceans. They have the money and the tech know-how to do it—somebody just needs to organize it.” Perhaps Bjork really is our only hope.
[via Spin]