the catalog of things
ORGANIZING the world's artifacts for the purpose of artistic inspiration
In a generation infatuated with creating new forms from scratch, artists and designers often overlook the beautiful complexity found in pre-digitally-manufactured objects. These forms are potent, yet because they are ubiquitous or disguised by our notions about their purpose, this resource remains largely untapped. The project we propose here would be a historical reference tool for artists and designers, but it would also be far more. It would change the very way we see utilitarian objects and would provide an unprecedented caliber of source material to fuel a new era of hybrids and reinterpretations. It would change the way we create new form.
The project is the Catalog of things.
It begins by making new assumptions.
For collections of man-made objects, museum curators often base catalogs on the original purpose for which an object was created. Using ‘prior function’ as the common denominator between objects yields a catalog that is very efficient for archive organization and historical reference. However, for those seeking artistic inspiration, this functional grouping is detrimental to their ability to see an object as something new.
The Catalog of things does not address ‘prior function’ nor does it have a singular common denominator. Instead, each user can organize the catalog around a personal selection from a list of geometric, material, and compositional traits.
Just imagine if you could see a museum’s entire collection of objects with holes? Or cylindrical objects? Or blue, asymmetrical objects that only melt at temperatures above 1300 degrees Celsius?
the analog catalog:
There are both analog and digital formats through which objects and their associated traits can be presented. In analog versions of the catalog, objects that share certain traits can be easily identified using the McBee edge-punched system. The holes around the perimeter of each card offer the potential to store a unique set of yes/no information for a given object.
analog VERSION 1.0:
analog VERSION 2.0:
the digital catalog:
While the analog version of the catalog is quite satisfying to use, touch, and sort by hand, the true potential of the Catalog of Things comes in its digital version - where metadata, photo documentation and three-dimensional virtual models could be compiled into a massive online repository collected from a global network of museums.
There is currently a blossoming culture of self-curation. Photos of inspiring objects are gathered and spread using an array of online venues and social networks. People have long defined themselves through displays of their treasured objects. Personalized web pages can be seen as the current evolution of that desire. However, finding inspiring objects within this process is still in its infancy.
Certain art museums have digitized collections aimed towards artists and designers, but their collections do not include most non-art or utilitarian objects - an enormous percentage of artistically inspiring objects. It is by setting aside “former purpose” and “field of study," and focusing instead on the full spectrum geometric, material and compositional traits – traits held by all objects - that the Catalog of Things democratizes the world’s artifacts. Because these virtual museums are freed from the limitations of physical space, they can also span hundreds of collections. In the Catalog of Things, a user’s query would not be restricted by a particular location or even genre of museum. He or she could search the world for bronze spheres.