thoughtless acts.

February 4, 2010

telephonepole

1. telephone pole as public message board.risdbikes

2. railing as bike rack.glove2
3. fence post as lost glove repository.glove1
4. same idea, different fence.coffeecan
5. coffee can as ash tray.box
6. cardboard box as suspected playhouse.
Ā 
for a class assignment, i had to photograph examples of what designer jane fulton suri calls ā€˜thoughtless acts.ā€™ the idea behind the project is that daily people adapt the objects around them in an effort to better suit them to their needs. in her book, suri collects photographs of these adaptations as a way of promoting a common-sense approach to new design. these are my shots from around providence.

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19 Comments

  • Reply D&D February 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    very cool idea. you found some good ones!

  • Reply PJ February 4, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    how very interesting. form follows function.

  • Reply Char February 4, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    great finds – i'm intrigued by the glove one as i came across gloves lined up and abandoned on a brick wall.

  • Reply Stacey February 4, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    Sounds like a fun assignment, I think you found outstanding ones most definitely.

  • Reply Anonymous February 4, 2010 at 5:19 pm

    neat project idea. I like your photos. Though, i'm not big on the name "thoughtless acts". It sounds like, to me personally, that the acts were mishievous.

  • Reply Erin February 4, 2010 at 5:34 pm

    ha! yeah, i was thinking that they're more thought*ful* than anything!

  • Reply The Yellow Door Paperie February 4, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    These are outstanding… love these shots.

  • Reply laura marie February 4, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    i LOVE these! there's something so fascinating about looking at the way we live our lives unconsciously… beautiful šŸ™‚

  • Reply Diana February 4, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    this is really cool!

  • Reply olivia rae February 4, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    these are so awesome!!! what a cool assignment and i love your take on it. xo

  • Reply Jessica - Domestic PDX February 4, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    The playhouse is great. šŸ™‚

  • Reply Amy@OldSweetSong February 4, 2010 at 8:27 pm

    very cool, erin. love the gloves.

  • Reply Pretty Neat Designs February 4, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    So neat! The gloves remind me of the bronze lost gloves sculpture in the Porter Square T station in Cambridge.

  • Reply Chakra Pennywhistle February 4, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    w o w ! I love your blog! Totally inspirational! Thank you for sharing šŸ™‚

  • Reply Pretty Things February 4, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    I'll bet that was a fun walk-about.

  • Reply doebmom February 5, 2010 at 12:01 am

    Leave it to you to find the thoughtful ones! No surprise. Beautiful(ish) and useful, all the way. xo

  • Reply stephanie February 5, 2010 at 2:41 am

    That sounds like a pretty fun assignment. I should assign myself a project like that.

  • Reply simplesong February 5, 2010 at 1:18 pm

    wow this is great!

  • Reply knack February 5, 2010 at 11:45 pm

    what a fun assignment……love your shots!

    xo

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