Kanye West Delivers Desktop Pep Talk at Harvard GSD

Musician and aspiring designer Kanye West stopped by Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for a surprise visit Sunday evening and delivered what Jenny Xie calls a manifesto on architecture.

1 minute read

November 18, 2013, 11:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Kanye West at SXSW 2009 Perez Hilton Party

Dell Inc. / flickr

Though West is as well known for his controversial opinions as he is for his music, the pep talk he delivered to Harvard's design students on Sunday evening is sure to win him admirers, at least among budding creatives. His impromptu speech, delivered atop a desk in the school's design studio, started with the affirmation that the world can be saved through design. West went on to praise the students' dedication to "[honing] their craft" and invite them all to his show that evening in Boston.

"I believe that utopia is actually possible," he added, "but we're led by the least noble, the least dignified, the least tasteful, the dumbest, and the most political."

See the video of his speech below:

FULL STORY: Kanye West Goes to Harvard, Delivers Manifesto on Architecture

Monday, November 18, 2013 in The Atlantic Cities

Architecture Education & Careers Massachusetts Kanye West Utopia Creativity View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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