OCCUPIERS OF OBJECTS (?)
NO.12
OLIVER GOCHÉ
DATUM
26
When working in the studio this semester, I have thought a lot about simple, personal objects and the importance that they can hold. My studio partner is Aaron Koopal, and the project we are working on addresses the decontextualization of objects and drawings. The idea was initially rooted in the way certain drawings were presented to us and then through material models. The ideas brought some thoughts to the forefront that were always at the back of my mind. The notion of how we view objects and how the idea of caring for them is a nuanced and subtle thing from one person to the next. On a grand scale, a museum holds items that the citizens find culturally significant. At the same time, and on a much smaller size, there are personal artifacts that we as individuals hold dear. The ideas and stories carried by these objects may be profound and important, or not. The importance of an object is subjective based on how we attach a related and likely personal experience to it. Ultimately, it is these artifacts, a fabulous image, or a simple love note from someone that we are fond of, that makes us, us. To some degree, from an onlooker’s standpoint, these items that we accumulate don’t matter. A shitty note or a ring that seems uninteresting or unadorned are representations of us, and only us.
“To some degree, from an onlooker’s standpoint, these items that we accumulate don’t matter. A shitty note or a ring that seems uninteresting or unadorned are representations of us, and only us.” They may make up the exterior image that others see of us, but the meaning that they hold for the owner may never be fully understood by the onlooker. We hold these items dear to us because they remind us of ideas, experiences, or perhaps, people. My items like these are hidden away in my apartment in a small filing cabinet or a drawer. No one but me knows they are there. Mostly they are hiding in plain sight; however, this is where things that matter most to me exist: Notes from my girlfriend; mementos that my father brought me back from any number of his trips.
