The Uncommon Life of Common Objects

Note: As I read this article /wrote this post my head feels as if I were hit by a semi shooting down the Dan Ryan Expressway at 80 miles per hour late for a delivery so my apologies if things don't quite connect I am sure I will be posting a revised or more connected article as soon as I feel better (with all hopes tomorrow).

And on that note I shall carry on.


I jumped into this essay thinking that I already knew what I was getting. I expected the same old spiel that you always hear "there is more to an object then what you think" and while this is true and every object has its story this is hardly the thought provoking essay I could pour over for hours. Then I got to this part of the essay:

"Because such moments in the domestic life of my own family encouraged me to investigate how ordinary things are shaped and used, it gave me all the more pleasure to realize that the same quotidian family life, at times, causes things to be the way they are..."

She goes on to give the following examples: 

"A vegetable peeler takes a new form because a man is trying to help his wife, who has arthritis; a lawn chair comes into being because another man wanted a place for his family to sit outdoors..."

This idea really struck me. While the idea of an objects value has so much to do with it's story and even boils down to just how much people are willing to pay out to own it. There is much more to it true meaning. Why is it the way it is and why is it being used the way we do? This essay has really led me to see that every object has two stories, that of it's owner and that of itself. While the owner maybe very interesting you, might never quite be able to wrap your head around the story of the item itself.

Ordinary things used in a new way Source: http://lubbockonline.com