Extraordinary Ordinary Things
Week 1: Introduction & Exploring CMOA’s “Extraordinary Ordinary Things” Exhibit
For our Fall 2021 Senior Studio project, we partnered with Carnegie Museum of Art to create experiences beyond the walls and ideas of the current exhibit in new, meaningful, participatory and inclusive ways. The final deliverable is a one-day, public-facing pop-up museum set up in 3 significant locations in Oakland, Pittsburgh: Carnegie Schenley Plaza, Craig Street business district, and parts of Forbes Avenue.
To gain a better understanding of the exhibit and how it came to life, we got to connect with Rachel Delphia, a CMU alumn and current curator of the Extraordinary Ordinary Things exhibit. Below are the notes that I took with some key takeaways:
- Exhibitions need a thesis
- How can things feel alive without people?
- Background story of how exhibitions came ot life
- Visitors will… (1) reflect on role of objects, (2) place themselves in role of makers & understand process
- Encourage sense of wonder
- In terms of form & function, why do objects of similar/same functions lead to different forms?
- Need a place for the curator/designer to sit & observe people’s reactions
- Want to be a place where everyone is welcome
- Frustrations & Reasons for Disconnect:
- lack of tactile sense/touch
- view-master
- “take-home” free items
- no protection
- public but not public (fees, going/exploring all places)
My Experience at Extraordinary Ordinary Things Exhibit
Over Labor Day weekend, I visited the Extraordinary Ordinary Things Exhibit after looking at the artifacts online. I took a picture of the 1947 Salt & Pepper Shaker because it interested me the most out of the objects I viewed online. The form of this object reminded me of a mother & child, as the words embracement, love, empathy, respect, and relying came up in my thoughts.
As I was touring and looking at the artifacts, I felt very disconnected with the exhibition. Yes, there were signs with text explaining the context of the exhibition, but I didn’t really understand what these artifacts meant and why these were so important to be placed in an exhibition. The main thing that was screaming inside me was, “I want to TOUCH! FEEL! SIT! PLAY WITH THESE OBJECTS! MOVE THINGS AROUND!”. I had a conversation with a classmate during my visit to the exhibition about how an exhibition like this compares with a zoo. At the zoo, the animals are surrounded in environments that are closely and precisely matched to be made as similar to their “home” environment. However, I felt like the exhibition lacked context and the environment in which these objects were placed. What if the salt & pepper shaker was placed anywhere BUT a glass case? What if we could see who, how, when this object is used?
After visiting the museum, I took time to reflect on 3 artifacts that interested me the most to tell a story.
1947 Salt & Pepper Shaker (glazed earthenware)
When viewing this object, my first thoughts were that the form shows embracement and love, a tender motherly love. It reminded me of the Matryoshka Dolls, which through more research I found that “mater” (in latin) actually means mother. The dolls are a traditional representation of a mother carrying her child within her, and represents that mothers are carrying on the family legacy in her womb. This continued connection to mother & child was fascinating, and therefore I came up with overarching storytelling themes based off of this object.
2018 Token (glazed earthenware with underglaze decoration)
This attracted me because it was a new way to see several parts becoming a whole. I immediately thought of mosaic tiles, and wondered why the designer chose to draw flowers. This part-to-whole concept made me think of storytelling in a different way. What if everyone could participate in telling a story? How does everyone’s individual story come together to tell the story of Oakland? of Pittsburgh? of humanity?
2015 Endgrain Bench (assorted dyed woods)
This endgrain bench was amazing. The simple form was covered with vibrant-colored patterns that made it just enjoyable to watch and wonder. I became interested in how this was made, and immediately wanted to touch it, sit on it, place objects on it, and questioned what’s the purpose of this object? These thoughts naturally led me to the question of HMW bridge the gap between the designer/object and audience? HMW make these objects come alive without the curator?
I also saw other chairs at the exhibition, such as the chair wall, the Nendo chairs, and the compostable furniture chair. When reflecting on these collection of chairs, I wondered, why are there so many different chairs?
Current thoughts/themes/next step directional thoughts:
- What makes a chair a chair?
- I want to have the audience know the process of how this chair is made
- I want the audience to know the life cycle of a product. What happens before we make it? How does it become made? What happens after? How does this affect the environment? Us?
Week 2: Greg Manley Workshop
The Greg Manley Workshop experience was spectacular and new. I’ve never experienced something like this, but there was something almost holy and enlightening about the activities we did. Personally, I had to step out of my comfort zone A LOT to participate fully, but Greg really helped all of us to just be free and really engage in the activities. After this workshop, I was able to reflect on what we did and how that helps with our current project:
- people can create rituals and stories together
- people are more engaged and participatory when they see process of what is happening. we like to have impact!! CO-CREATION!
- people remember the energy, spiritual aspects, smell, touch, moments of emotional attachment, meaning, significance
- people’s stories can be shared individually to create something more beautiful when put together
Moving forward, I have ideas of directions I want to be the theme for the project, but I am still figuring out which direction is best and how to communicate those themes into the public.
