Hunter vs. Gatherer

Parallel Universes: Making Do and Getting By + Thoughtless Acts
(Mapping the quotidian from two perspectives)
An Article By Kevin Henry, where he discusses the works of Richard Wentworth and Jane Fulton Suri.

Follow this link to get to the full article.
Some quotes and paragraphs from the original article are highlighted below.

Richard Wentworth commenting on his Making Do and Getting By collection and the everyday objects which are the subjects of these photographs: "It doesn't take very long to realize that some are warnings, some repairs, some reminders, some adjustments. And some of them are kinds of subsections: you would use a word like jamming and others are wedging. There's a hell of a lot of resistance to gravity, and I think my work has a lot to do with gravity..."

Henry makes a note-worthy comparison between Wentworth and Fulton Suri: "Warnings, repairs, reminders, adjustments—activities performed with greater awareness (less thoughtlessness). Duct taping a winter coat to a damaged car fender requires forethought, regardless of its effectiveness... His images depict desperate acts of repair, while Fulton Suri's images focus on humans intuitively extending their bodies or the objects around them to service their needs... Their taxonomies nonetheless intersect: adapting and adjusting are not so far apart, while warning and reacting are clearly related."

"So Richard Wentworth might not be a hunter, but like Jane Fulton Suri and IDEO, he is a gatherer. Situations may find him, but he still must choose which to photograph and, by photographing them repeatedly, patterns begin to emerge."

"Jane Fulton Suri's and Wentworth's views bracket the quotidian in interesting and curious ways, helping to explain a world that is complex, because, as Richard Wentworth points out: 'it contains unthought-of variables of which the chief component are humans who, you know, wear things out in surprising ways, or abuse things, or simply don't conform to the rules that are laid down.'"

"Coincidence is a way of making sense out of our nonsensical world, according to writer W.G. Sebald..."

"Images validate coincidences just as verbal descriptions expand on their meanings."

Tickle

Household objects brought to life by Terry Border. 

I decided to share these images from Bent Objects 

even though they are staged (unlike the objects discussed in the previous post),

 they definitely have an element of quirkiness and humour.

 

Making Do & Getting By

Richard Wentworth is primarily known as a sculptor, with various highly acclaimed works shown in famous galleries and exhibitions. Wentworth is also known as an artist, photographer, lecturer and curator. Born in Samoa, he studied and has lived in Britain for most of his life.

As a photographer, Wentworth is highly recognised for his series, Making Do and Getting By. This series has a common thread to that of his sculptural pieces, where everyday objects are taken out of their usual place –where they belong- and are completely repurposed. Wentworth captured these images in a perchance manner while wandering around the streets of cities in search for the presence of wonder. This is unlike his work with his sculptural pieces, where he manipulates the objects himself to tell a certain story.

The unknown narrative is a powerful part to this photographic series, as the photographed objects are seen as rather ordinary, but they each have their own unique story. Viewers are left wondering, “How did that get there?” The familiar becomes the unfamiliar; mass-produced objects gain a sense of wonder and adorn a crown of quirkiness.

Wentworth finds a symbolic triumph over the materialistic world, where things have order and are seen to be designed for a specific purpose. He challenges us on how we perceive everyday objects and the connotations that go along with them. A gumboot is used as a doorstop, a teacup props open a window, a bottle cap transforms into an ash tray. These new uses of the different objects may seem to be the result of a simple act, but there is a story behind why and how a particular object is given a completely new function. The underlying thought, which provoked the action, was taken in order to adapt to a need. As the result of acts of improvisation and resourcefulness, human beings make do with what they have in order to get by and carry on with their lives. Although the viewer cannot see a human form present in the photo, the viewer sees instead the outcome of the human’s behaviour. 

The organisational nature of human beings tends to lead to objects being stacked, grouped, or propped together. When something is taken from its original place of belonging and given a new use entirely, an ambiguity is formed in the objects identity; and the organisational order is broken. A common theme of Wentworth’s is to cause or find contrasts and juxtapositions, either between different objects themselves, or between the object and its former and current context. This often lends to humour being found in these paradoxical pictures.

An element of wonder that that is greatly treasured is that of humour. If something can scream out to you amidst the busyness of life and cause you to notice it, it may be something deeply saddening, or cause you to become angry, it may be thought-provoking, or simply something that brings you to smile or chuckle to yourself. Humour helps us bear these more serious times. She can sweep us away from our harsh realities for a few moments, which is why we welcome her with open arms.

"Smile and let the world wonder why" -Unknown.

{Sources:}
1) http://www.gupmagazine.com/blog/120-making-do-and-getting-by
2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2001/oct/09/artsfeatures.arts
3)http://www.sculpture.org.uk/RichardWentworth/biography/http://camberwellillustration1.blogspot.com/2009/12/richard-wentworth-making-do-and-getting.html
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wentworth_(artist)

5) http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/wentworth-siege-t07167/text-summary

6) The Photograph As Contemporary Art, by Charlotte Cotton. (Chapter 4: Something and Nothing.)

Rather Grand

"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful."

~ Barbara Bloom

"Amateur is a great word. It's meaning: For the love of it."

{~Also Barbara Bloom, but may be slightly paraphrased}

{Barbara Bloom Podcast:- Scenes from a marriage: Have Art and Theory Drifted Apart?}

Passion

{Image sourced from pinterest}

The Cure

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

~Attributed to Dorothy Parker.

Seeking Out Wonder

“Think and wonder, wonder and think.”

~Dr. Seuss

Wonder is not necessarily found by being passive, in fact, it is often the result of being 

intentional with ones thoughts and actions.

{Quote from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/wonder?before=1343668911 }