May 28, 2002

4:16 PM

The day is June 3rd, 1999 and one mad genius decides he's going to photographically document every door or drawer that he touches. Can focusing on minor repetitive actions - normally lost in the whole of the experience - tell us anything about our world and the way we interact with it?
posted by willnot (19 comments total)

There is something so mundane about the subject matter, but I found it very interesting. Particularly the text area below the group of photos. I'm not a new-agey type of person, but this page has me wanting to take a few hours out and try to live in the now.
posted by willnot at 4:24 PM on May 28, 2002

I was going t post this same site yesterday, but I got busy and forgot... sort-of a repost, but still really good..

also check out Ask a silly question...
posted by PugAchev at 4:33 PM on May 28, 2002

On a side note, said mad genius is living the good life. It seems rather dated avant-garde art will buy you a mercedes these days.
posted by kickingtheground at 4:43 PM on May 28, 2002

I love this kind of focused madness. I kept trying to figure out if he was really left-handed or just using his left hand because he was snapping with the right. He has very nice hands. It seems he has the same refrigerator that I do, and some of our drawer pulls are the same. He also drinks diet caffeine-free coke, just like me. And the door and the peony that's growing through the hosta are the same color - my favorite shade of lavender. I could go on.
posted by iconomy at 5:25 PM on May 28, 2002

Too bad he doesn't have a comment section under each picture, like this similarly themed obsessive site.
posted by bobo123 at 5:46 PM on May 28, 2002

Going against the grain, as always, I think this is really lame. Interesting concept; the study of the mundane, and how much time we spend on it. Regardless, I still think it's lame... I honestly don't care how many drawers he touches -- as long he stays outta my "drawers".
posted by Dark Messiah at 6:06 PM on May 28, 2002

I cried when I viewed the photos. Very moving, powerful, and shines a fresh new light on living in the moment, mlment by moment. I am off to buy a camera now to do the same thing in my neck of the woods.
posted by Postroad at 7:17 PM on May 28, 2002

Hey! You all should check out the grandfather of focused madness: French author Alfred Jarry, who invented "pataphysics, the science of imaginary solutions. It is great stuff and this project is definitely a little "pataphysical (typo intentional).

A really famous more modern-day "pataphysical work is the book Painting By Numbers. Or check out any of the fun poetry at Coach House Books. I've taken the coolest classes on this stuff and it is great.
posted by josh at 7:57 PM on May 28, 2002

Very moving, powerful...

I thought the same. It's an amazingly complex world we live in, which makes it so easy to overlook something as mediocre as a doorknob. I often found myself in awe observing the smallest insignificant things such as threads in a blanket, stucco on a ceiling, or leaves on a tree. It's strange to realize that at that very moment, within the entire universe, I am witnessing a pattern that may never be seen again by anyone. Or at least that is what I'm lead to think. In this case, the observation of doorknobs is personalizing. The beauty of it, to me, is that a he can capture that observation and spread the madness.
posted by samsara at 8:24 PM on May 28, 2002

Wow. Nice. Strangely nice.

Hurrah for OCD.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:08 PM on May 28, 2002

I cried when I viewed the photos. Very moving, powerful, and shines a fresh new light on living in the moment, m[o]ment by moment. I am off to buy a camera now to do the same thing in my neck of the woods.

You almost got me, but the last sentence was too much. It's only Art if you're the first person to think of it, so there's no point in doing it yourself.
posted by kindall at 9:21 PM on May 28, 2002

It's only Art if you're the first person to think of it

What's that, now?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:57 PM on May 28, 2002

josh, that should be a front-page post.
posted by vacapinta at 10:05 PM on May 28, 2002

Kindall,

The point of doing this excercise yourself is to discover a certain richness is the mudane. Think about the ways you could construct a story of one day...

...these are the surfaces I walk on; these are the sounds of my day; etc.

For my part, I wish the page did not have descriptions with each thumbnail but instead with the larger image.
posted by Dick Paris at 10:59 PM on May 28, 2002

What's that, now?

Sorry, I was having a flashback to other discussions of modern art, in which a room with lights going on and off can be an artwork if you're the first person to think of doing it. If you're the second person, of course, you're a slavish imitator of the first.
posted by kindall at 11:07 PM on May 28, 2002

Kinda neat, but I didn't really want to know how many times somebody goes to the loo. At least we're not regaled with the details of each visit.
posted by Su at 2:28 AM on May 29, 2002

I enjoyed looking at the photos. The first thing which came to mind is/was a children's book or Sesame Street (both of which I still enjoy).
posted by ParisParamus at 5:41 AM on May 29, 2002

I think the word "genius" is overused sometimes.
posted by Trampas at 8:25 AM on May 29, 2002

You're probably right
2,020,000
4,960,000
posted by willnot at 3:03 PM on May 29, 2002