Thingness vs. Objecthood, 2015
A collaboration with:
Diane Einsiedler
Ryan Long
Moa Lingga
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Thingness versus Objecthood was a brunch at Publication Studio, Portland OR in which participants consumed the same matter and text.
Prior to the meal, participants were given a hand-made wood box with a set of instructions inside asking one of two things, "bring a thing and not an object' or "bring an object and not a thing". Folks were also asked to prepare for the gathering by:
- Reading Etymology of the word Thing (1)
- listening to RadioLab on Things (2)
- Reading “The Thing” by Martin Heidegger (3)
On the day of the event, the table was set with only the content of the readings and food, (and lots of jugs of course, a wink to Heidegger). The participates now filled boxes (with things and objects) where passed around and we debated and deliberated things verses objects. it was very fun.
At the end of the exchange, the matter of the table was edited, bound, and now acts as an aesthetic record of the meal–an imprint from a shared experience. If you would like to buy a copy of this publication, please reach out: lauraoquin (at) gmail (dot) com
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(1) Etymology of the word Thing: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/144171/phrasal-verb-be-a-thing
(2) RadioLab on Things: http://www.radiolab.org/story/things/
(3) “The Thing” by Martin Heidegger, In Poetry, Language, Thought 1971, Translated by Albeit Hofsiader.
