12.15.08 art thoughts

Y’know, I’d say the box thing was cool, except for one crucial flaw in humanity: nobody is curious anymore! I’ve tried designing my living room to be full of nifty little surprises tucked all over, on obvious display to anyone that would care to look. I like the thought of my guests stumbling upon little wonders in every nook and corner. Or something like that.

Nobody ever looks. They act like they’re walking through a high security area, followed by a guard, looking neither to the right or the left until they reach the chips’n’dip. Very frustrating.

I do, in fact, have a beautiful cherry-wood box, with a deep, matte finish. (It was originally intended to contain silverware, I believe.) It was on display in the center of my coffee table for YEARS. To my knowledge, nobody ever opened it on their own. It contains a variety of little laser-cut, flat metal discs- spin them on the table and they make nifty rainbow patterns in their holographic depths. It also contains flashlights and laser pointers, so you can further tinker with the effect. Once it’s opened, at least a half hour is invariably lost playing with them. There is, in fact, one glued on the top of the box to entice further exploration. I always hoped someone would take the initiative, open the lid, and find it themself. Never happened.

Everyone is so afraid of looking like they’re snooping, unless you take it and hit them over the head with it. “HEY! HEY! OVER HERE! THERE’S SOMETHING COOL HERE! RIGHT THERE! YEAH, THREE FEET IN FRONT OF YOU! THERE!” I will never, never understand that. If I didn’t want it on display, if I didn’t want people to look at it, look inside it even, I wouldn’t have put it in the middle of my living room!

And anyone who does otherwise, who insists on having their personal stuff out on display, just waiting for someone to VIOLATE their PRIVACY by opening the big box in the middle of the room… Yeah, they’re idiots. Sure, if you have it in your closet, or in a back room, or under your bed, or even obviously tucked in a corner intended to be ignored, absolutely I won’t snoop. (I know not everyone HAS a back room to put their private stuff in, but it’s not at all hard to make it clear what’s public and what’s not.) But if you invite someone into the room, then expect them to just sit there not noticing anything? Well you’re probably expecting them to act like they’ve been trained, to sit with their hands in their laps, looking at their shoes lest they see a SECRET. But that’s really a shame.

So, in short, the box concept? It’s awesome. I especially like the box that closes as it opens, with the secondary lid. Me, I’d find it kind of profound- a box that protects its own secrets from exactly the kind of people that sneak up and open enticing boxes. And it will also be completely unexplored, unless you hold their hand and say “Pssst… Open the box… Tee hee!” Which makes you feel like a five year old showing off his new Matchbox car. Very, very frustrating. When did we stop being curious monkeys and turn into docile sheep?! Sigh.

Oh… And hi, Jaimie!

CZ! It’s good to hear your voice…so to speak. Don’t be such a damn stranger.

When I was little, I was fascinated with boxes and their contents. Maybe as adults, we come to the realization that most boxes contain paper clips and most encoded messages read “Drink more Ovaltine.” Man, that’s sad. We all need a magic box.