Inspired by the lyrical forms of Japanese bamboo baskets, this sculpture is created from discarded telephone and stereo wires. In the same way that baskets have fallen out of humanity’s list of essential items, so too have telephone and stereo wires as technology replaces them with cell phones and bluetooth devices. How quickly we discard these technologies that have supported humankind when the next exciting thing comes along.
Animism, the idea that objects have souls and experience the world in similar ways that we do, is a concept that has been with humanity for millennia. Only recently has it been replaced by modern ideas of objects as things that exist to serve us and nothing more. Of course, many cultures still maintain these ancient ideas of animism, but interestingly, American Consumer Culture has not. And who is throwing away perfectly useful materials wantonly for the next shiny thing, without regard to what these objects have given us?
As I cut each length of telephone or stereo wire and lovingly wrap it in teflon tape (one of the most persistent materials humankind has ever invented being stain proof, corrosion proof, water proof, colorfast, and heat resistant to extremely high temperatures), I like to contemplate all the messages these wires delivered. I think of the ways in which they made people feel connected across continents as loved ones called to check in; I think of ways in which the inner thoughts of talented musicians moved and inspired millions of regular people to "keep on keeping on.” I wonder what our society would look like if we made more of a commitment to the objects we decided to purchase, if we felt an obligation to them in the same way that we feel obligated to each other. Would we be as inundated with stuff we don’t need or want? Would we face the same plastic pollution problem?
- Subject Matter: Abstract
- Collections: Patterns of Consumption