2x4: Collective Progress

Amidst the many ideas that 2x4 generates, the team lives with a bias to action. In their own words, "Our general philosophy is to simply do it. 'Made' things always have more power than 'unmade' ones. We are trying to train ourselves not to wait around for instructions but to always plow forward, no matter what."

The 2x4 team's greatest frustrations stem from the nature of their work. They explain, "We are (present tense) creative professionals (plural). The greatest challenge is to work as a collective in the present tense. Everything is negotiated and so the complexion of the group becomes key. Finding the right collaborators and clients is the most intensely frustrating part of working. We never overcome that problem. It is perennial."

The team measures success by collective progress rather than the outcome of any particular project. As they explain, "Our ideas are not project specific. We are working on a bigger project all the time: the project of the studio and the overarching meaning of what we do. In that way we are not so affected by the success or failure of individual attempts. You add up all the successes and try to disregard or downplay the failures."

As for inspiration, the team's sources "are varied and diverse." To name a few: "life in NY, the life of the street, novels, music, plays, movies, happenings, parties, dancing, restaurants, traveling, etc. Collaboration only means there is more of everything: more people, more ideas, more personalities, more conflict, more diversity, more
cultures, more..."

The 2x4 team is in touch with their mission and room for growth. "Our mission is to be free of sanctimony, dogma and pretension. We are not particularly successful in accomplishing this mission."

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Cooper Hewitt