Category: Unexpected Objects

Ursula Kwong-Brown

Object: kitchen grater

Characteristics of the original object: a culinary device that shreds cheese and vegetables. Not fancy, very functional. Utilitarian.

Characteristics of the new object: a jewelry display device. Still functional, but much more fancy! Instead of being associated with potatoes and parmesan, it is now associated with hair clips, bracelets (hidden inside), dangly, sparkling earrings, titanium and gold necklaces.

The first comment that I received from the audience was “Can you use it for post earrings?” This question made me happy because it was clear that the person had fully accepted the new functionality of the cheese grater, and was even hoping to carry it one step further! In fact, it does work for post earrings, but I didn’t bring any to class because they fall off easily.

The second comment that I received from the class was: “has it changed your perception of the original object?” This question caught me by surprise, as I had never thought about it before. In fact, my perception of kitchen graters has changed in that I’ve realized they are not very sharp! I used to think they were much too sharp to trust with my expensive jewelry, but the truth is that graters cut vegetables because of the force the user exerts, not their intrinsic sharpness.

My intended outcome was accomplished. I successfully found a new functionality for a an already-useful device! I’ve bought myself two graters: one for the kitchen, and one for the bedroom. It’s a very space-efficient way to display my jewelry.

Daniel Brenners

The battery, specifically the AA battery, has an immediately recognizable shape. It’s become a universal symbol of electrical energy and an icon on our mobile phones. However, as well as it’s shape is known, it is only distantly related to its actual function. Of course it must be made to fit inside electronic devices, but the barrel shape of the battery is somewhat arbitrary. Instead of seeing the battery for its function, I wanted to specifically take advantage of this form.

I decided to combine three batteries into a long cylinder shape to create a writing utensil. In this way, the battery loses all ability to function as it once did. It now solely relies on its form to carry out this new affordance. I like this transformation because it turns what is typically seen as a digital object into more of an analog tool. It also no longer supports other objects from hidden compartments. Instead of empowering another tools, it becomes the tool to be used.

Yang Tan

Original Object: Tea Candle (brown, cinnamon-spice scented)
Original characteristics & properties: wax portion is round, symmetrical and smoothly shaped, in line with the candle holder. Able to be lit. Pleasantly scented (cinnamon spice)
Original emotions & associations: warmth, comfort, romance, happiness, positive ambience, mesmerizing soft light, home, fire (and thus potential).

New Object: Wax model of a whimsical poo, shaped from the wax from the candle, in the candle base (still cinnamon-spice scented)
New characteristics & properties: wax portion more organic/asymmetrically shaped (into pyramidal poo pile shape). No longer follows shape of the candle holder but sits in it. More fragile. Not able to be lit. Still pleasantly scented.
New emotions & associations: disgust, mischievousness, bathroom, harsh light (as found in a bathroom), finished/done (no potential).

About:
I had a hoard of very positive associations and emotions with the scented tea candle, which evoked home, romance, and happiness. I wanted to break that positive emotional association as much as was possible, within the medium of the object. Because of its form factor (roundish, and brown), a mischievous voice in the back of my head suggested that I try to shape it into the shape of a whimsical poo, which was inspired by whimsical toys I’d seen in Japan [similar example image also attached].

Because of my high level of negative associations and disgust with actual poo, I felt that this was a strongly negative association such that resembling it (even a small amount) would conjure some degree of disgust or negative emotion in the viewer. Furthermore, there was an interesting tension that is created because the smell is still that of the original candle. So if you interacted with the new object long enough and smelled the wax, you would be driven to want to smell it because of the scent and have positive associations, which clashes with your sight (glistening brown turd) and also what you expect the smell to be because of the visual.

Thus, the changing of the shape from candle to poo already creates an uncomfortableness, which is then heightened by the discordant smell that was not changed. As I talked about, it was even hard for me to bring it to my nose to try to smell it (because of the mental image of what that act would be if the poo was real).

In terms of audience feedback, I was one of the last people to present in the class so there wasn’t time for much in-depth interaction with the audience. Lisa mentioned mischievousness in relation to poo, which I definitely felt when I was making it. So I supplemented by asking more peers outside of the class to give feedback. The feedback was that the poo was quite realistic looking, and people had the proper associations with poo I’d imagined. Also people tended to have similar associations with the original candle to my own (if not as many associations, still positive – warmth and fire and soft light was predominant). In addition to the normal associations with poo that they had, it was interesting to hear that for the candle they associated with “potential”, because the wick can be lit, so the candle had potential to become something, whereas the poo did not (was already final state). This was a change in association beyond what I had thought of. Also some people associated bathrooms with harsh fluorescent light, and they associated the candle with soft pleasant light, which was another reversal of association to add to the reversals I had planned. Due to this feedback I think the changing and reversing of the associations was successful.

Hasnain Nazar

When I first received this assignment I was a bit confused about how to go about completing the task. I began with first reflecting upon different experiences I had with objects that produced an unexpected experience. The experience that stuck out in my mind was one I had as a child; I would open the fridge and find a yogurt container that was seldom filled with yogurt! Instead the yogurt container was filled with a heavy indo/pak dish (curry). My experience with the yogurt container was also redefined as I would began to expect the yogurt container to have something else in it besides yogurt and when it actually had yogurt I was quite disappointed!

I then began to reflect on objects around me and my house. I stumbled upon a mint box. After the mints where all eaten, I would clean out the container and use the small box for SD cards. When I presented this to the class, I was hoping that the experience and association of the mint box would go from clean,fresh, portable to emotions and thoughts around memories, cameras and new use cases. I do believe my intended outcome was accomplished as many were surprised to find SD cards as opposed to other objects they believed would be found in the mint container.

Xiaojie Li

Egg Vase
I was once impressed by a Japanese-style vase. It’s a whole stone with a flower put in the only hole. I think it contains some philosophy, such as the contrast between soft and hard, serious and vibrant. Thus, I was thinking it would be cool if I dig a hole on the egg and change it into a mini vase.
Egg is the food I always eat in daily life. It contains protein. It’s easy to cook. In terms of cooking egg itself, there are more than 5 methods, let alone the meals using egg as an element. However, I never pay attention to the egg shell after I break it. Just throw it away. The egg is fragile as the shape will be broken down if you knock it against hard surface. However, it can be difficult to be destroyed if you pinch it as a whole. I used to dig a hole on the egg shell to just let the egg white come out. It is interesting as the shape of egg will not break because of the hole.
Now, I will not throw the shell away, instead, I will make use of the fantastic unique shape of ellipsoid. Then the pure white/yellow color will be an advance of the vase and add a sense of elegance. Also the white color takes the advance of fitting almost every color; any flower can be put inside. Besides, as we know the story that Da Vinci painting an egg from different perspective, the seemly simple shape can actually create different shapes. It will also be fun to see how egg vases can combine together. Additionally, as I can draw on the shell, the appearance can be changed accordingly and creatively.
In conclusion, I changed the idea that egg is food and to the idea that the egg shell can be a container. Move my focus from the inside to the outside. Forget about how to break the shape but instead thinking of how to manipulate the shape.

April Dawn Kester

To summarize my presentation: I was lamenting to my husband that I did not know what I should do for this project. Ellen had given me a few examples, however, I was lacking in all imagination. My seven year old son came to the rescue, he said, “isn’t this just a practical joke?”
So, this unexpected object was inspired by my son, a Valentine’s Day chocolate box full of bugs. Lisa said that I should have used real bugs, but I thinks she’s secretly glad that I did not. Enjoy!

Dina Bseiso

As my object, I chose a mason jar. I use mason jars passively in my day-to-day as established containers around my home. On my desk, they contain writing utensils and various art supplies. Upon a wall installation, one contains a couple feathers and studded earrings. But I’ve been seeking mason jars more actively, using them for containing my smoothies I make at home and bring to school. Simple, enduring, pleasant to look at, and functional. They do not shout, they simply are wherever they are for whatever purpose you’ve given them. Usually, the purpose is to carry things. And in the case of my smoothies, I carry them.

So, for this project, I considered the following: what if a mason jar carried me? Mason jars are of a standard size, and so the entirety of Me could not possibly fit into a mason jar; however, I slipped my fists into one mason jar each, and proceeded to live as I normally do. I attempted to do things as I normally would, but came out as unsuccessful. Even though I could see objects within my grasp, my still-visible fingers would flex and stretch in vain as any object remained just out of grasp. My usually dextrous fingers were just as dextrous, but rendered unfunctional. The mason jars, too, were rather unfunctional, as they could not productively carry me to achieve some goal (other than thwarting my attempts to act on other objects). In the end, I succeeded in carrying a very-specific brush with an oblong shaft, and brushed my mother’s hair. I also was able to pull tissues out of a tissue box, but failed hopelessly at trying to blow my nose. I did not even try, because it would have been gross, and on the glass of mason jars, which my fingers were so close to touching but never would.

The experience was eye-opening and world-changing, even if just for the small span of time I had the mason jars on my hands. I have a long-withstanding fear of losing my fine motor skills in my hands. Without the dexterity, I would flounder in drawing, cooking, playing instruments, and being self-dependent in routine things (like buttoning my clothes). This exercise, although temporary, unsettled me. It reinforced the power a tangible object could have, even if through misuse.

The class echoed my thoughts on mason jars: how they are typically rather functional, and do their job well in containing things. And typically, people do not misuse them. The class joined me in laughing at my struggles to pick up a marker — a task that would in other circumstances be very easy for me, considering the health of my hands. Instead of mason jars being convenient and helpful, they were inconveniencing and formed a physical barrier between me and anything I hoped to achieve. In that way, the mason jars were still very enduring and reliable. But also, they lost their trait of pleasantness.

David Eicke

Drawing inspiration from my very musical roommate, I went with a bicycle tire as my unexpected object. While it does have a fascinating history (as anyone who’s taken INFO 203 can tell you), the bicycle tire is normally viewed as very utilitarian. It serves the purpose of allowing a human to travel at greater speeds than he or she can on foot. It generates this lateral motion via rotational movement.

And it’s kinda dirty. It splashes through mud puddles and scrapes over asphalt.

To see it used as an instrument seemed to make people laugh, which wasn’t necessarily my intended outcome, but it makes sense in retrospect. Instruments are thought of as vehicles for artistic expression, not as tools for a job. They’re often polished and kept in padded cases, not dragged along the ground. So I think the laughter came from the juxtaposition of the idea of a grimy utilitarian object being used in conjunction with a viola bow, which is associated with fine art and almost neurotic levels of cleanliness.

Justin Berner

As a literature student who studies electronic literature, I constantly have to think in a very formalist manner about the media with which we experience literary works and how the literary content and the medium in which it is produced can both communicate crucial aspects related to the text. Thus, for my unexpected object, I decided to cut a hole in a codex book in which I could put my iPad touch; one of the principal uses for this object would be to read literary works on the iPad. Thus, I chose a book that was both large enough to hold my iPad and that I would not miss too much if I were to alter it in this way. After measuring the dimensions required, I took an x-acto knife and cut out an adequately sized rectangle. This process was rather arduous, as the pages are a lot thicker and resistant to cutting than one would expect. Once all the pages were cut out, I cleaned the empty space a little, glued some pages that had fallen out of the binding, and then it was ready.

Prior to the exercise, books would evoke feelings of boredom and anxiety; I do not customarily read many books for pure pleasure these days, as almost all of the books I read are for school, and thus they represent both an obligation and an impediment to some other activity I may prefer doing. Additionally, I also consider the book a slightly antiquated, although still very ubiquitous, medium; one that provokes contradictory feelings of nostalgia and contempt. Upon altering the object, the principal characteristic with which I would imbue it would be irony. I understand that this was, essentially the goal of the activity, but by converting one object into a container for an object with which it is, in many ways, in competition, there is definitely a playful, provocative element that it exudes in its transformed state. The most intriguing commentary from the class was related to the origins of the book, which did highlight an important point: the book was mostly chosen because I did not care to read it, but it would definitely heighten the effect of the object if it were a book that I really did cherish, as it would represent my almost complete rejection of the codex book as a literary medium.

Sadly, in my attempts to elicit reactions from the public (at cafés, in libraries, etc.), no one seemed to notice or care. It does fit in enough, which is to say it resembles a book to the sufficient degree, so that it does not spur much discussion – which is, in its own way, one of the most significant aspects of the object: common reactions to literature on a medium such as a tablet or to “electronic literature” are often negative. Especially from the codex Luddites that are ubiquitous in today’s society, the thought of a literary work being experienced on (not even to mention being specifically created for) a digital medium is heresy. Thus, by repurposing a traditional, codex book and making it into a holding device for reading texts on a tablet, I have wholly transformed the book into what it is and always has been: a container. Whereas it customarily contains a literary work, this altered object contains a different, more recent in terms of technological advancement, container for literary works. Thus, in terms of provoking critique on the various media with which we consume literature, I would say that, at least for myself, I have accomplished my goal (I will continue taking it to cafés to hopefully provoke that same thought in others).

Elena

For this project I decided to create new associations with a common object (i.e., an egg) using a surprise factor. Once I decided to use eggs, the obvious thing to do was to modify its content, but I wanted people to engage more than one sense during the experience, so I thought about changing their smell too. Once I defined what to do with the objects, I started thinking about how I could set up the experience to emphasize the surprise effect. Then I remembered a talk I attended to last semester where it was mentioned that a good way to do so is to have three identical objects (in appearance) where the first two are “normal” and the third one is “especial” or “unexpected”. I liked this idea a lot because, besides allowing me to fulfill the goal I had in mind, it allowed me to reconceive this activity as “telling a story”. The story starts with a common and well know object (i.e., eggs). You are prompt to analyzing the first one, and after doing so for a while you get to the conclusion that it is, indeed, just the typical egg you are used to. Then you go to a second egg. You might expect it to be somehow different, but, disappointingly, it is not. It is another typical thing. Finally you get to the third egg, and you probably do not know what to expect anymore. Most likely you will not find anything extraordinary. But then, when you interact with it you discover something weird. Why would an egg smell like peppermint, mandarin, or ginger? It makes no sense, and you want to keep analyzing it. Then you find something else that is completely unexpected: when you lift it the egg is extremely light, when you shake it does not feel like the other eggs, or it clinks. Now you are surprised! (climax point.) But the story does not end here, you need to discover what is inside the egg. So you break it and find an empty shell, a stainless steel chain or green jelly. What?! Now the new associations with the “special” egg make sense, but you still do not understand how the trick was carried out. So you keep looking… and once you figure it out the story comes to an end.

I got exactly the responses I was looking for: surprise!
The instructions for the first group were to smell and break the three eggs, in the assigned order. The first group was pretty disappointed when they broke the second egg and did not find anything exceptional. They wrote “Broke like an egg. Again! Damn!” However, when they got to the third one they mentioned it smelled to toothpaste. When they broke the egg they didn’t expect to find a green gelatinous content. Their first guess was that it was a dyed, hardboiled egg.

The second group was told to smell and shake the three eggs, one by one. As expected there was nothing special about the first two eggs, but when they smelled and shook to the last one they heard a surprising sound (for an egg). It clinked!

The third group was supposed to smell and lift the three eggs. At the beginning this group was the least surprised. They didn’t get very surprised when they got to the last egg. Although it was lighter than the other ones, the weight difference was as shocking as I expected. Nevertheless, when they broke the egg and found an empty shell they were equally surprised as the people in the other teams. Additionally, they mentioned it smelled like an orange.