Want to get closer with your object(s)?
I've been taking a free course hosted by Harvard that discusses the practice of "close looking" in an artifactual sense. You pick an item of your choice to analyze (can be anything from a paperclip to your drapes) and observe it closely while documenting your findings throughout the lesson modules. Below is a list of prompts that were attached to the most recent assignment I've done that really resonated with me as an objectum person.
Categorize the observations you made about your object
Measure the dimensions of your object
Measure or count some of its other features
Engage your other senses; if appropriate, smell or taste your object
Close your eyes and explore your object through touch
Consider how you might recreate your object: sketch it, mold it in clay, photograph it a dozen times from various angles and with emphasis on its varying details
Make a list of questions generated by your examination of your object
Research your object and any questions it has generated using the internet or other means
Search for photographs, poems, or other works of art; proverbs; quotations; or other artifacts related to your object
Consider your object from the perspective of another person or of a discipline other than the one in which you are trained
Consider how your object or its use may have changed over time, or may change in the future
Consider whether or how the form and function of your object might be related
Link to the course if anyone's interested! :)
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