Scrolling through my usual visual design and art blogs, I stumbled upon a series of work that really lived up to its name. A set of-- I guess "sculptures" is the closest term to what these objects are-- dubbed the "Uncomfortable" series by Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani really did make me feel more uneasy than I had felt in a long while.
This series included simple, everyday objects that had been manipulated or changed in one serious way that completely obliterated its practicality. For example, one of the pieces in the series was a watering can which emptied into itself, therefore never capable of hydrating anyone's flowers. Other pieces included a furry plate that would just be the definition of unpleasant to eat anything off of, and a bowl with a small hole intentionally drilled into its bottom, thus obliterating its primary responsibility of containing liquids.
The reasons these objects make a viewer feel uncomfortable are obvious on a surface level, but when examined deeper, they reveal quite a bit about how most humans view not only art but all objects in the world around them. When asked about her project, Kamprani called "Uncomfortable" "a collection of deliberately inconvenient everyday objects," adding that it "started as a twisted sadistic design project. It messed up its creator's head (and the heads of people she knows). It exists in sketches and 3-D visualizations and has no meaningful purpose. It's a parasite in the world of materialism and design."
Humans look to objects in order to utilize them, and if they can't use them, they should at least be able to find some semblance of meaning in them. By purposefully removing any utilitarian capabilities from the everyday objects Kamprani chose, she forced people to resort to finding meaning in them to accept their value in the world. This is why Kamprani's "scuptures" become art. Not only do they make an aspect of the human psyche clearer to the human population, but they also convey meanings in similar ways as an abstract dot upon a canvas does at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
This series included simple, everyday objects that had been manipulated or changed in one serious way that completely obliterated its practicality. For example, one of the pieces in the series was a watering can which emptied into itself, therefore never capable of hydrating anyone's flowers. Other pieces included a furry plate that would just be the definition of unpleasant to eat anything off of, and a bowl with a small hole intentionally drilled into its bottom, thus obliterating its primary responsibility of containing liquids.
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| Useless watering can |
The reasons these objects make a viewer feel uncomfortable are obvious on a surface level, but when examined deeper, they reveal quite a bit about how most humans view not only art but all objects in the world around them. When asked about her project, Kamprani called "Uncomfortable" "a collection of deliberately inconvenient everyday objects," adding that it "started as a twisted sadistic design project. It messed up its creator's head (and the heads of people she knows). It exists in sketches and 3-D visualizations and has no meaningful purpose. It's a parasite in the world of materialism and design."
Humans look to objects in order to utilize them, and if they can't use them, they should at least be able to find some semblance of meaning in them. By purposefully removing any utilitarian capabilities from the everyday objects Kamprani chose, she forced people to resort to finding meaning in them to accept their value in the world. This is why Kamprani's "scuptures" become art. Not only do they make an aspect of the human psyche clearer to the human population, but they also convey meanings in similar ways as an abstract dot upon a canvas does at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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