I miss pizza boxes. I understand the need for ad space but are there certain spaces and surfaces that should be sacred? Pizza does taste better when eaten on a red and white checkered tablecloth, or delivered in a box with a happy Italian chef on it.
]]>
In New York City, we have been experiencing some extreme weather. I was fascinated by the amount of umbrellas on the street after the recent storms in March 2010. I've noticed more umbrellas than usual during this storm season. This of course got me thinking about patterns of behaviors concerning disposal and what kind of statements people might be making during the act.
LIFE magazine captured the moment that precedes this disposal. Is her frustration so palpable that throwing the umbrella to the ground becomes a unintentional marker for here anger? A stamp of disapproval if you will.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
]]>
I've been thinking about the markers that people leave in transit or as they exit a location. Here are two instances where the audience are extremely similar but the manner in which alcohol containers were discarded varied greatly. The main differences between A and B were obviously the energy and environment (quiet and contemplative versus loud, crowded and hot) durations (short versus long) of each event. Considering these factors, the question I'm still left with here concerns the type of containers and their possible influences on exiting behaviors. There was only one type of container at the art opening. Does this (along with the event energy and duration) nudge people to organize the disposal of the containers at the time of exit? Whereas in Exit B, the extreme variations in container types does not reinforce, or afford organization.
Why does this matter? During the Exit B, the crowd was anxious to get out of the door but due to the amount of people (and the hyped and inebriated state) it was difficult to move out in a fluid manner which was the case in Exit A. Could a mass act of stacking and organizing the containers (possible in the form of play) calm the crowd at time of exit - also making cleanup and disposal easier?
]]>
]]>
Why are Americans less articulate in our descriptions?
]]>
I found this taped to a UPS drop box in my lobby. Would you leave your loved ones in these hands?
]]>
]]>
Bathroom wall at Parsons.
]]>
Sent with all thumbs from my iPhone
]]>
Looking at some artifacts from my past I discovered this old cubscout shirt. Thinking back, the effort represented in the badges and beads explains a lot about my preoccupation with collecting things. It's physical transference onto a design artifact upon completion of some task or assimilation of knowledge. I've always been a pack rat of sorts but it's only with objects that hold some knowledge value or represent a completed goal. But I hold these things as reference, or portals.
What's interesting about this shirt is the reminder that my accomplishments - when I was younger - were so measured by the acquisition of these badges. And what's even more interesting is that I don't remember what I did to get these badges. No wisdom was gained. I need to take a closer look the things I surround myself with at the moment. Are they just meaningless badges? Representations of wasted time.
I was recently on a research trip in Atlanta and as I was trying to find my way through one of the many beautiful Alantonian office parks I came across a marvel of human engineering. The sidewalk that goes nowhere. It begins just at the base of the photo and dead ends at the top right and left. I'm trying to understand why this was put here in this way? My hypothesis is that it's a waiting island for car pool passengers. But it's still strange there is no side walk that leads you to this area. There was no one around to ask so I guess we'll never know.
I like to stand in front of blank sheets of paper and mentally project drawings onto them. It's much easier than using my hands or any clunky human tools.