One of the tasks of a psychological study I took part in when I was at university was to think of as many different uses as possible for a object within a 30 second period. I think the object was the cardboard tube from inside a kitchen roll. In theory, the more uses you could think of the more creative or intelligent you were.
So, is using something as a quick fix, a sign of intelligence, adaptability and resourcefulness, or a cue that something needs to be designed (or re-designed) to fill a gap or fix a problem?
Is there an element of being a free spirit or anarchistic by not conforming to the commonplace?
Is it a question of the perceived affordance of the objects exerting an influence?
Could out-of-the-ordinary uses be motivated by consideration for others, or is it simply the result of sheer laziness and thoughtlessness?
Does a quick-fix really deserve such analysis and interpretation?!
Kevin Henry for Core 77 looks at 2 sets of photographs (which run in a similar vein to the desire path photos), but with very different interpretations of similar situations: Making Do and Getting By (Richard Wentworth) and Thoughtless Act (Jane Fulton Suri), and considers the reasons behind such actions.Enjoy!
