- Contact:
- Website
Museum of Failure
Licensed clinical psychologist Samuel West is the curator of the Museum of Failure.
PROFILE
Samuel West
Guest
FROM Samuel West
Design and Architecture
The Museum of Failure Ford overhyped the Edsel when it was introduced in 1957. Customers thought it was ugly and overpriced, and the name became synonymous with corporate failure. Photo by Avishay Artsy "Trump: The Game," the Betamax cassette recorder, Bic for Her pens, the Delorean car, Olestra, Pepsi Crystal, not to mention Google Glass and a Chinese sex doll for rent called "Shareable Girlfriend." These are some of the 100 or so concepts on display at a new pop-up museum called the Museum of Failure , located at the A+D Museum in downtown LA. DnA tours the exhibition with its founder Samuel West, a clinical psychologist and an "innovation researcher," and finds out what connects the over-hyped products and ideas that crash the moment they hit the stores, that are short lived and that are launched before their time. Despite a trend in Silicon Valley to wear start-up failures like a badge of honor, generally, says West, "as a society we worship success and the more we worship success the more failure gets stigmatized. And I think this museum says let's re-evaluate failure, it hurts and it's nothing we want but it's something that we can actually learn from, if we're willing to talk about it."
Recommended
The Business
Revisiting showrunner Steven Bochco on his memoir Steven Bochco, the writer-producer behind record-breaking Emmy winners Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue, fought battles with everyone from out-of-control actors to network censors in his long career. He isn’t afraid to tell those tales in his memoir, Truth Is a Total Defense. This week we revisit the conversation where he shared some of his favorite stories with us.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.
Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?