Lately, I’ve been thinking about our connection to objects and how, at least for some of us, certain objects can represent a specific time in our lives or evoke a particular state of mind or, in the case of artists, inform the type of work we are able to produce. Painters often have a favorite brush or two — I still use a couple that I’ve had since 1988. Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt used the same Leica M3 for decades and in 1963 Cormac McCarthy spent $50 on a Lettera 32 Olivetti manual typewriter that he used to write The Road, No Country for Old Men, All the Pretty Horses, and seven other novels. Objects can become more than the raw materials used to create them. They are somehow imbued with hope, with possibility, and something greater than ourselves. On Monday, we were reminded just how much one object can mean to so many.

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LINKS

Kenneth Clark’s landmark documentary Civilisation is a thirteen part series produced in 1969 for the BBC that looks at the history of Western art, architecture and philosophy since the Dark Ages.

Here's a fascinating interview with Martin Gran about what it means to be a holistic designer and the idea of looking beyond aesthetics into the deeper meaning of design and how collaboration often results in stronger work.

Vice takes a look at seven photographers who are rewriting street photography’s rigid rules through clever shooting techniques, staged scenes, and a variety of digital manipulation.

 

Music in this episode: The Wrong Way (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0