Object with personal value

how does this object define you?
is this item an heirloom, or will it become an heirloom?
what is an object that you covet? want? plan to obtain?
how old is the object? will it outlive you?
does this object provide insight to your past?
instrument or heirloom?
is the object active
artefact/experience
mirror
selective narrative, curatorship
specific nature/precise history=value
rhetorical act of persuasion when describing the object

past exists in 3 ways: objects, physical landscape, narratives

TIME/SENTIMENT

Marcy James: Very Important Things from alexia beckerling on Vimeo.

Marie Watt: Heirloom from alexia beckerling on Vimeo.

Marcel Duchamp - Archive Footage from Little Mushroom on Vimeo.

Self Portrait - Kitchen - Nov. 12, 2007 from Curtis Bracher on Vimeo.

Every Object Tells a Story from Rebecca Penmore on Vimeo.

more pattern making ideas

http://wemakecarpets.wordpress.com/

learning from the exquisite corpse

quilting metaphor

Emotionally Durable Design

The author explores the essential question, "Why do users discard products that still work?" It transports the reader beyond symptom-focused approaches to sustainable design such as recycling, biodegradeability, and disassembly, to address the actual causes that underpin the environmental crisis we face. The result is a revealing exploration of consumer psychology, the deep motivations that fuel the human condition and a rich treasure of creative strategies that will enable designers from a range of disciplines to explore new ways of thinking and designing of objects capable of supporting deeper and more meaningful relationships with their users.

Design Real Exhibit

http://www.design-real.com/

History from Things

Quotes from Intro of History from Things: Essays on Material Culture

"Not only do artifacts present new evidence to support historical arguments; they also suggest new arguments and provide a level of rhetorical support to arguments that mere documents cannot begin to approach" (p ix)

"The style of objects, particularly utilitarian un-self-conscious creations, relflects not only craft traditions and the individual creator but also the contemporary culture in which they were developed. Seen as cultural creations, both their associations and structure invoke multiple metaphors that serve to materialize belief." (pxi)

WHY DO WE NEED THINGS? to objectify the self, organize the mind, demonstrate power, and symbolize their place in society

"Artifacts are instruments intended to be used, and interferences about this utilitarian purpose are not culture-sensitive. But artifacts also serve as signs, and their meaning as signs usually changes when the audience changes. When objects are used as symbols, as indicators by association, and finally as conventions or referents, their meaning becomes increasingly culture-specific." (pxii)

Lubar, S. and W.D. Kingery, eds. History from Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

Bibliography additions

Hawkins, G., and S. Mueke eds. "Culture and Waste: The Creation and Destruction of Value." Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003.

Cummings, N., and M. Lewandowska. "The Value of Things." Basel; Boston; Berlin: Birkhauser, 2000.

Honore, C. "In Praise of Slow." Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2004.

Werner, C., and D. Bell, eds. "Values and Valuables: From the Sacred to the Symbolic." Oxford: Alta Mira Press, 2004.

Candlin, F., and R. Guins, eds. "The Object Reader." New York: Routledge, 2009.

Papanek, V. "Design for the Real World: Second Edition/ Completely Revised." Chicago: Academy Chicago Printers, 1984.

More from Fast Company

Masters of Design 2010

Design is the Problem

Book description here

Interview with author Nathan Shedroff here

Heirlooms in Waiting

Fast Company article says:

"Designed to wow and created to last, these heirlooms-in-waiting are an antidote to throwaway consumerism in this era of disposable goods."

Sherry Turkle Quote

"We live our lives in the middle of things. Material culture carries emotions and ideas of startling intensity. Yet only recently have objects begun to receive the attention they deserve."

- Evocative Objects, p6

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff from Long Island Pulse on Vimeo.

The Story of Stuff website

Objects Video on Vimeo

Objects from Cécile R. on Vimeo.

Value in context?

Objects hold value when they are given meaning. This could be through context, or by storytelling. An item with no story and no context becomes forgotten and abandoned.

There is humour and truth in this concept of the "Instant Heirloom".