Real life glitches
Micro moments and the subjectivity of seeing ft.SuzyBag
At this rate it feels like Fridays are now Unreality days but ‘it’s Friday my dudes’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it - so I’m hoping I can get back in the swing of things eventually. I’m at a crazy busy period in my work at the moment which does make it harder to fit in my weekly Unreality musings, but also means I have a lot of interesting topics to talk about when I actually get the chance to do so! I’ve got four different proposals due next week which I look forward to eventually sharing with those of you who are interested in me as an artist (as opposed to just me as a rambling philosopher of sorts).
This week I’m thinking a lot about micro moments and the subjectivity of seeing. I’m reminded of one of my very first instagram posts from years ago that I sadly no longer have saved anywhere. Just a photo of a packet of conchiglie pasta with one single piece of fusilli visible through the little plastic pasta viewing window, with the caption “my pasta has a mistake in it”. Read on and you’ll understand why this pointless story is actually (vaguely) relevant…
Micro observations
Continuing on from my thoughts lately around the wonderful ubiquity of access to cameras nowadays, I’ve been thinking a lot about this image. For as long as I remember her having a smartphone, my mother has sent me these amazing photos. She has a huge collection of them and every single one is absolutely brilliant (although the above is my definite favourite). It says a lot to me about the way she perceives the world around her, noticing these tiny yet amusing details that someone else might not acknowledge or at least not think to capture.
It’s interesting to me that two people could walk the same route yet report different experiences of what they encountered along the way. It ties to what I’ve discussed before around the complete subjectivity of reality. NB I actually later found out that this concept does have a name - the subjective character of experience.
I love the thought that some people’s minds are just built in this way that they are inclined notice the little moments of weirdness and joy in an ordinary environment.
Minor urban disasters
Another of the prompts that got me thinking along these lines this week was an introduction to the concept of ‘minor urban disasters’, popularised by artist Ariel Schlesigner. You can see a selection of his photographs via this Flickr album, or this presentation if you’d also like to hear from the artist. The main MinorUrbanDisasters Flickr group has some more from a range of contributors (although it doesn’t look like either album is still updated).
There’s something very satisfying about these strange structural mistakes in urban environments. There’s certainly something very human about them - an indication of the human hand or mind behind an otherwise calculated and machinic space of straight lines and equidistant street furniture.
It makes me think about the controlled and perfected nature of urban environments in video games, where litter is intentionally placed to imply a humanness that is lacking and a lived in space that still exists when you’re not looking.
I really could go on and on with this topic - we’ve only just scratched the surface today and don’t get me started on glitches in the matrix and simulation theory. But I shall leave you to ponder on these images for now, and perhaps to look out for your own personal pasta mistakes as you go about your day. Let’s pick this up again next week.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Edie x
I am so honoured to be mentioned in your musings 😊