Tenacious Flames Utopia Poster By Korben Harrison

Korben H.

Come and see the abode of the Tenacious Flames

It will not be our terminus,yet it can be our pursuit

Tom Moylan's analytical essay To Stand With Dreamers concludes with an excerpt from renowned author Oscar Wilde, who stated that humanity could only recognize an utopian ideal if "it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail" (Moylan, 2006, pg. 17). In other words, Moylan asserted that a proper utopia should always be aware of their surroundings in the pursuit of finding ever stronger ideals. As such, I included an airship to serve as imagery for this grand society leaving its isolation, in order to seek for potential steps toward their ideals. Afterall, a perfect society may not exist, but a community of progress can perpetually exist if one were to strive for more.

The Greek interpretation of the notion of "utopias" is quite different from the Western interpretation. Unlike the modern idea of a society that is universally perfect, the Greeks described utopias (which had a literal translation of "not a place") as less of a physical space and more of a metaphysical idea that can serve to the benefit of humanity. The Greeks acknowledged that they were not certain that such a utopian paradise can actually exist, but were willing to work towards their convictions for the sake of progress. Consequently, I modeled the motto of the Tenacious Flames around this concept. The Flames are not planning at reaching an ultimate destination (terminus) where every issue and vice was solved, but rather pursuing an ideal with collective effort and an open mind to innovation (pursuit). In my eyes, this is a pragmatic message that would be able to even entice those who hold pessimism to the practice of utopian thinking.

On the left side of the scale, two practical workers can be seen melding a dilapidated point of said scale. Thematically, the scale represents the egalitarian efforts of the Flames that upholds the hearth of ideals that their society was constructed by. In that regard, there are prudent practitioners that reformulate the space in which the Flames' ideals can flourish, and to fix fundemental flaws that might come to the detriment of their goals. In my eyes, this can be done when utopian thinkers build a sagacious understanding on what labor could provide to the design of a utopia. If one was to consider the cases of the religious communes of Brook Farm and the Shakers, it is evident that, even when against the mainstream efforts of industrialization, these communities prospered when they were reliant on and welcomed a multitude of professions to their abode (National Park Service, 2025, pg. 2-3). Otherwise, the practical manifestation of a utopian society is as critical as the intellectual manifestation.

The principal foundation of utopian thinking revolves around imagining a better realm for humanity, and the ideals that facilitate such a place. Likewise, the top of the scale is the symobolic hearth of the ideals the Tenancious Flames are working towards in their own society. In this hearth, there is a indiscernable woman that carries a healthy sprout, which I percieve as a symbol of prosperity. This woman is indiscernable due to the practices of the Flames being enigmatic in nature; the ideal will always be familiar to those in the community, but the methods that work towards said ideal are subject to drastic changes across time. Afterall, all utopias (ex. Shakers, religious communes, Robert Owen) tend to change to avoid stagnation, which is when progress can no longer be made in preference for a transcedent, unyielding value. Regardless, this hearth is invigorated by many elements throughout this poster, such as the agriculture, the offerings from the community (the wisps that come from these objects tend to the flame), intellectual debates, and those that travel to other regions by airship.

Two individuals from the Tenacious Flames can be seen debating on the philosophical values of their community, and are directly fanning the flames of the hearth from below. Moylan had always been a proponent for "self-critical" utopias, as he believed these utopias avoid stagnating into ideology and a status quo, and functions best when it is "exploring, proposing and producing radical social alternatives" (Moylan, 2006, pg. 8). In this regard, I made sure to include this intellectual stimulation that the community should be exercising, hence why a debate (in a place of resources as can be seen with the shelves of books) is present in the poster. Additionally, it should be noted that one of the participants is gazing at the hearth as they debate; this is to ensure (and symbolize) that the discussion is productive to their ideal, and that they can be critical of their methods if needed.

For this element of the poster, I took inspiration from Robert Owen's own assertions while he was formulating his utopian realm of New Harmony, in which, in A New View of Society, he described that prosperity should be enjoyed by the collective, and that this prosperity only comes when one "endeavours to increase and happiness of all around him" (Owen, 1816, para. 25). Therefore, the people of the Tenacious Flames can be seen adding their contributions (ex. tools, goods, services, personal anecdotes for social change) to the communal pool of the scale, which attempts to stay in balance for all within the community. This pool is meant for the benefit of the collective, and is the product of what the community has produced/cultivated.

This hotspot is tied to a tube containing the agricultural gardens of the Tenacious Flames. In this society, all labor is percieved to be equally important for the affulence of the community, and that includes the cultivation of local sources of food. In addition, along with technological enhancements, a natural enviroment is needed to alliviate the smog of industrial areas, hence why a garden is maintained in the community. I took inspiration from typical agricultural practices from other utopian communities, as agriculture is common in communal societies.