Text of inspiration Jane Bennet, The Force of Things: Steps Toward an Ecology of Matter and Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things
”I like you. You are made of stuff and I am also made of stuff”
Things, stuff, objects, junk, belongings, possessions. We find many names for those we love. Still it is hard to find the language to talk about our relationship with things in a way that does not make it sound crazy. It is alright to find a thing beautiful like an object and therefore something that you would like to keep close. It is harder to explain that the lamp in your living room makes you feel less lonely. We are restricting ourself agin through our cultures and languages when it comes to explore our relationship to things. Agin, we are stuck on that high horse and it seems to be so hard to get off it. How can we find a way to meet the surrounding not as master of it but as different equals? Essentially we as humans are bodies and things are bodies to and there is an attraction between our similarities. Many of our way of relating is trough our body and meeting materiality is important for us. I think materiality is a reference that makes us feel alive, that we are not stuck in a dream.
The comfort of things most be true. We surround ourself with things, sure a lot of them are for functions but still many of us take time, spend money and effort to find the right stuff for us. Making us feel loved in our private space surrounding by things we feel for and relate to. Material has a longer lifespan than us humans. Wood, plastic stone last longer than flash and can be a comfort for people that has experienced loss. Maybe it makes us feel less lonely to be surrounded by other bodes to keep us company. In a city and society where a natural place for people to meet are fewer and people experience themselves to be more lonely than ever. Today we also consume more than ever. Many of us have our own place to live and spend our time working, to get money to by things to put in our house as we need those things, as we need the relation to other bodies. I am curious how a lot of time spent with things can affect us. I could be true that things have the power to addle and rearrange thoughts and perception.
Emili Norén
archandphil 
October 16, 2014 at 10:09 pm
I think it could be combination of different aspects. Initially I thought that we are mass and we have an attraction to mass. As in physics, gravitation, a natural phenomenon by which all physical bodies attract each other. It is our natural way to relate to spend time with other bodies. It could be other people, living creatures but it could also be things. I defiantly think that the value of the thing grows if you connect it to memories of places or people. In our consuming society it would be interesting to se how different people treat things (if they do?) with a story or memory connected to it in relation to one without. When writing this I did not think so much of the design but it is interesting because it also connects to perceived identity. Who would we like to present ourselves as? Then things could be a way of pleasing our (constructed?) desires and dreams of our self-image. It is a very effective way to show for example economical success in things and in that way, I think, design is a strong tool.
I little bit of a messy answer.. Thanks for the comment Emma!
/Emili
October 2, 2014 at 3:39 am
Emili, you make a good point in saying things affect the way that we live and move through our days. We are in constant contact with things and objects and often rely on these to function comfortably. Our past experiences can affect our perception of things, just as things can affect our perception of the world around us and hence shape our actions. An example of this could be the concept of ‘trends’. When someone is wearing something that is perceived to be ‘cool’, then others are more likely to follow. That thing then shapes your perception and your action to start dressing in a certain way.
You made an interesting point that the human body is attracted to similarities in the bodies of ‘things’. Is this because these things are designed to appeal to humans? Or maybe because we associate these things with other things, people or places? Why do some people like some things whereas others will hate it?
Emma Crea