“Only cities like Miami and New Orleans with direct ties to ‘the Old
World’ have stable cultural roots where dumb trends will not invade.”

Agree with this, at least with my experience with New Orleans. Feels like the contemporary aesthetic tries to seep in and make its presence known in the form of contemporary bars and restaurants… HOWEVER the overlying aesthetic will continue to primarily milk the old “bring ya mama n dem and try the seafood gumbo yall” New Orleanian attitude in those places, which will ultimately be interpreted by people as ‘authentic New Orleans’ despite everything else contemporary about it.

Question: Is sushi contemporarily conformist?

Part 2 is making sense why most of the white people in my neighborhood are contemporary conformists. I live in a 3rd tier major city who’s only national identity is a losing NFL team that is always under speculation of moving to L.A.

Maybe many mainstreamers are just tired of cookie cutter and mass produced. They are tired of the shopping malls and chain stores. Maybe they are looking for something more “authentic” but still need to be “force-fed” the places and experiences because they work all the time and have boring lives and lame ass jobs. They have no time to find real authenticity? Or they are so stuck in “mainstream” thought and lifestyle, they wouldn’t even know what authentic was? So these places are being brought to them in their neighborhoods or popping up in gentrified neighborhoods to bring these people in? “Niche mainstream”

I agree, New Orleans is probably the most authentic city in the US. Wynwood in Miami is sooo contemporary conformist though.

I have a very different perspective on New Orleans than your theory about tiered cities. Sadly, New Orleans is a hotbed of cultural conformism. With the investment boom and disaster capitalism post-Katrina, we here can witness on any given day the horrors of cultural commodification and class-based consumer trends at the expense of long term residents and the working poor.

Take a trip down St. Claude avenue. You will see – 1) Historic marketplace in a historically black and working poor neighborhood that was not reopened until last week that now serves: Craft Cocktails, artisan cheeses, whatever the fuck. Mind you, wasn’t reopened as a market to serve the working poor and former residents while the surrounding area came back, but was sat upon for nearly 10 years to serve the transplant cultural conformist population.

http://nola.curbed.com/tags/st-roch-market

2) A school that was “refurbished” into luxury condos, almost 10 years after the storm. Post Katrina most schools were heavilly damaged, teachers were illegally pushed out and replaced with scab Teach For America types; but isn’t it so novel to live in a “refurbished” school in what was once a predominantly African American working class community.

3) Places like http://bootysnola.com/ (fusion international “street food” small plates and craft cocktails) , http://www.redschinese.com/ (overpriced “new orleans fusion” chinese food ex: you get some white bread with your 16$ spare ribs, oh and craft cocktails)

I see cultural conformitism as a pretty horrifying example of apathetic cultural class warfare, perpetuated by thoughtless liberal types, driven by larger capitalist trends in development, local governments, real estate, and of course the many things you touch upon. All I see is expropriation of working class identity, property and community.

I hope your theory is correct that cities with strong bonds don’t buck to this trend and become homogenized. New Orleans probably has the strongest cultural, community and historical bonds I have seen anywhere in the U.S.A. Unfortunately many of those bonds are being expropriated and commodified by Contemporary Conformists, which unfortunately through economics and politics destroys those bonds. All this through real physical displacement, brought about economically, politically, violently and last but not least, Culturally Conformatively

I’m pretty sure you’re just describing consumerism and trendiness. The same basic principles applied in the 80’s (minimal food and permanent skiwear), 90’s (fusion cuisine and flossing) and early 00’s (molecular gastronomy and whatever people were wearing then – baby tees?). You’re not wrong to point out the “faux”ness of it, or that any mass consumption trend is generally bad for the world and for the city. But I sense a contradiction — If “authenticity” is your criterion, I don’t know if it’s fair to level Portland/Austin/SLC in one fell swoop — the lower rents attract not only the lamer/lower-achieving yuppies but also a lot of real artists who understand that cheap rent=more time for culture. I’d wager you’d find more “authenticity” there, pound for pound, than in an NYC full of posers and trust fund kids.

i’ve lived in austin for 5 years [via attending ut] and sadly have to encounter this nonsense on a daily basis. contemporary conformism gets worse here every day [via mass gentrification / people from out of state moving to austin to be “young”/”hip”/”relevant”]. austin was definitely essential in helping to create the aesthetic and now it continues to perpetuate it, as all of the new business / restaurants / yuppies seek to obtain it. the pinnacle of this is def rainey street, a contemporary conformist version of 6th street where “hipster” yuppies go to get so0o0o0o0o0o fucked up and believe they are having a more meaningful experience [via overpriced cocktails/craft beers/horrible decor/other douchebags with the same mentality] than those who go to sixth to do the exact same thing.
http://www.raineystbars.com/

the worse part about it all is that it’s not just late 20 somethings attempting to buy meaningful experiences, it has seeped all the way down into the college environment. it such a shame because i feel college is a time where u can truly have authentic experiences.
this is literally what i deal with on campus every day [warning: you may vomit reading it]

http://www.orangemagazine.co/orange/2015/3/11/man-buns-of-ut

now all of these lame-os dress in “menswear” and other “hipster” fashion to show how relevant and meaningful they are, but rlly it’s just a false identity they must construct to impress their self and others. they are all pseudo-intellectuals who claim to have a “deep” understanding of the arts / culture, but in reality they know absolutely nothing. it’s v obvious how clueless they are as soon as you talk to them. it’s just a fad, in a few years they’ll have adopted some other aesthetic to purchase a meaningful experience.

idk i guess for as shitty and unbearable as all of this aesthetic and cultural destruction is, i think it’s still possible to “make do;” i feel like i have managed to not succumb to it and still have a truly meaningful and authentic experience here. i suppose there’s really not much we can do to erase it as it will naturally die out [via trends] but we can make do within in the systems around us to continue to create our own meaningful experiences.

auth is not a trend.
auth cannot be bought.
auth is eternal y’all.

Würstkuche is one of my favorite restaurants but also guilty of the community long tables, post-pitcher water pourers, zany light fixtures and of course exposed brick/weathered wood…
Be sure to wear suede chukka’s and fasten that top button on your urbyouttie_plaid_shirt

I feel like places like Detroit or other ‘rust belt’ cities utilize the Contemporary Conformist trend as a way of saying
“we are grassroots.”
“we incorporate metal and wood to show that we recognize where we come from”
“we struggled and this design aesthetic visualizes that we are just some bros doing what we believe in”
“we just use the bare minimum, can’t even afford LED bulbs so we have these old [via more expensive] Edison bulbs.”
“we took what the world gave us, and thats just this old GM plant that we repurposed into a cafe”
“we just have a few plants and this counter with a square card reader on my iPhone, we try to get by”
“support us, we are just some bros with an iPad/square reader and a reclaimed wood bar with some barstools”

Always nice to see a piece about something then, halfway through, the author remembers half the population exists, too. ‘Oh hey wait I just saw a woman walk by and remembered they exist. What’s their deal?’ Sorry, ‘What is it that women want?’

Too many comments to check if this has been mentioned but http://thekinspiracy.tumblr.com/ is an extremely apropos visualization of the ContConf aesthetic.

The post reads like a fever dream of almost irony. Everything sucks? Nah, I’m all set.

What is Burning Man to a contemp confie? Here in Portland I know of a few white contemp confies who HAVE to go and also attend year round events for “Burners.” But it doesn’t really fit with the faux high culture vibes that these people tend to surround themselves with. IDK I’ve never been to Burning Man, tho.

It’s not called “American Heritage”, it’s called “Industrial”.

http://www.windermere.com/buying_and_selling/design_styles/industrial?from=list

The Industrial look is most often found in reclaimed factories or converted lofts

Architectural detail is emphasized by open spaces, high ceilings, and floor–to-ceiling windows

Brick walls, wooden beams, and air ducts are left exposed

Floors are typically polished concrete or weathered wood

Whites, blacks, and gray color palettes are used to emphasize space

Large-scale art pieces or bookshelves often divide large rooms

Here’s one from my state of Massachusetts

http://www.ssliving.com/South-Shore-Living/June-2013/Best-New-Restaurants/

It’s clear from the outset that this urban-styled restaurant is unlike anything else in the region. Located in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Milton, this restaurant’s name pays tribute to the area’s rich history as a mill town and to the massive steel beam construction of the building itself, which was once an auto garage. As guests push open the heavy wooden doors, they enter an almost 7,000-square foot dining room with 30-foot trussed ceilings, cement floors, exposed brick, rustic wooden tables, and an expansive bar. Chalkboards and reclaimed windows hang on the walls and water is served out of charming glass milk bottles. The restaurant’s warehouse-like design is paired with a refined, upscale menu of regionally-inspired dishes. Acclaimed chef Chris Parsons’ open-style scratch kitchen bustles with activity like a well-oiled machine, dishing out food that manages to be both gourmet and down-to-earth. Menu choices include such items as a fresh baby beet salad made with salt roasted beets over pistachio herb purée, delicate slices of ricotta salata (a salted and aged sheep’s milk cheese), homemade crackers and candied pistachios. Another savory choice is the oyster stew, which contains sweet Virginia oysters cooked in a velvety broth with smoked hake, chopped bits of applewood smoked bacon, potato, leek, and served with a homemade chive biscuit, right in the pan.

I think the urban-rural thing and exposed brick/wood is a fetishization of the natural state of industrial cities in decline (one of the reasons so many ContempConform cities named above are in the rustbelt), where many partially abandoned factories and mid-20th century office/government buildings, are, thanks to lack of upkeep, being overcome with opportunistic plant life (think ivy, dandelions pushing up sidewalk tiles, all of the train-station ruin porn coming out of detroit). It might be to some extent the white mainstream middle class collective consciousness’s way of integrating the landscape features born of growing income inequality without having to reconcile themselves to the economic condition that created them. It also can explain the love for all things “artisanal”– the production of artisanal products via locally owned small businesses has been touted by more than one economic thinker and both political parties as the future sight of all middle class work in the avirtual world, despite all evidence to the contrary of that sector ever growing large enough to accommodate those dispossessed of work in industrial manufacturing.

Curious why you don’t outline how Chicago fits in to the different city categories.

I guess here?: “Also, ‘major’ cities like Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle,San
Diego, and Phoenix have stable economies where Contemporary Conformity
is utilized as a design trend for the affluent who just value
novelty/contemporary, knowing that the establishment will be ‘re-done’
when the trend passes.”

I feel like people on the coasts don’t know what the hell to make of Chicago, or don’t quite understand it, or don’t want to try to? I dunno.

Isn’t making observations about the shortcomings of culture an example of Contemporary Conformity? Isn’t irony contemporary conformity or is that still reserved for those who are the taste makers?