Thoughtless Acts

The focus of the next few entries will be upon objects, how we observe them and our relationships with them. I will consider questions like: Why do we value the handmade? Why is an object built a certain way? As understanding these values can help me with my own design work. One way of answering these questions is through close observation. This should be done without preconceptions in order to find out how we are really using an object. Often this involves the consideration of affordances. An affordance is when an object is used often alongside another unrelated object in a way that it was not initially designed for. An example of this would be a coaster used to balance a table leg.

These affordances have been studied by different people, in the essay 'Parallel Universes' by Kevin Henry the way in which we perceive these affordances is considered. Henry looks at the differences and similarities between a designers (Suri) perspective and that of an artists (Wentworth). The affordances the two practices consider are done through a photographic documentation. The photographs are not intended as pieces in their own right but simply as a record.

Suri considers the affordances to be evidence of our subconscious interaction with objects. She sees them as reletively thoughtless acts. This differs greatly to Wentworth as he sees them as much more conscious. He sees them as warnings, reminders and repairs, as things that require some conscious thought. Interestingly however there is more ambiguity to Wentworth's images, he leaves much more up to the viewers interpretation. However in some ways this is not surprising, unlike designers who most often create work which conveys a clear message, artists thrive on uncertainty. Wentworth's photos are often drawn to the poetry of the image as much as the reality of the objects in them.

Wentworth sees his photos as documenting coincidence whereas Suri sees her images as a way of validating coincidence. However both of them discover their insights in the space between taking the images and collating them into narratives. Though the way in which they are collated into narratives again differs greatly. Suri's in a book and Wentworth in a slideshow which he presents in a random order. Both of them however are using photography to expand the narratives. Unlike moving image they demand more from the audience. You can't help when you are looking at them thinking I wonder whats happening just off frame. This interaction with the photographs helps to build a personalised vision of the affordances. Whilst the images themselves create memories and trap feelings within them.

The way in which the designer interacts with the subject is also the way in which I approach a subject, with a more structured eye and a definite message to convey. Whilst looking around for affordances I have already been dismissing some as they don't say what I want. Perhaps I should consider taking a more fine art approach to things and try and push my own boundaries. Try to document coincidence like Wentworth rather than find images to suit my own narratives. This could provide a more organic and perhaps more interesting result.