Significant Objects

100 EXTRAORDINARY STORIES ABOUT ORDINARY THINGS SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS: A Literary and Economic Experiment Can a great story transform a worthless trinket into a significant object? The Significant Objects project set out to answer that question once and for all, by recruiting a highly impressive crew of creative writers to invent stories about an unimpressive menagerie of items rescued from thrift stores and yard sales. That secondhand flotsam definitely becomes more valuable: sold on eBay, objects originally picked up for a buck or so sold for thousands of dollars in total — making the project a sensation in the literary blogosphere along the way. But something else happened, too: The stories created were astonishing, a cavalcade of surprising responses to the challenge of manufacturing significance. Who would have believed that random junk could inspire so much imagination? The founders of the Significant Objects project, that’s who. This book collects 100 of the finest tales from this unprecedented creative experiment; you’ll never look at a thrift-store curiosity the same way again. FEATURING ORIGINAL STORIES BY: Chris Adrian • Rob Agredo • Kurt Andersen • Rachel Axler • Rob Baedeker • Nicholson Baker • Rosecrans Baldwin • Matthew Battles • Charles Baxter • Kate Bernheimer • Susanna Breslin • Kevin Brockmeier • Matt Brown • Blake Butler • Meg Cabot • Tim Carvell • Patrick Cates • Dan Chaon • Susanna Daniel • Adam Davies • Kathryn Davis • Matthew De Abaitua • Stacey • D'Erasmo • Helen DeWitt • Doug Dorst • Mark Doty • Ben Ehrenreich • Mark Frauenfelder • Amy Fusselman • William Gibson • Myla Goldberg • Ben Greenman • Jason Grote • Jim Hanas • Jennifer Michael Hecht • Sheila Heti • Christine Hill • Dara Horn • Shelley Jackson • Heidi Julavits • Ben Katchor • Matt Klam • Wayne Koestenbaum • Josh Kramer • Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer • Neil LaBute • Victor LaValle • J. Robert Lennon • Jonathan Lethem • Todd Levin • Laura Lippman • Mimi Lipson • Robert Lopez • Joe Lyons • Sarah Manguso • Merrill Markoe • Tom McCarthy • Miranda Mellis • Lydia Millet • Maud Newton • Annie Nocenti • Stephen O’Connor • Stewart O’Nan • Jenny Offill • Gary Panter • Ed Park • James Parker • Benjamin Percy • Mark Jude Poirier • Padgett Powell • Bob Powers • Todd Pruzan • Dan Reines • Nathaniel Rich • Peter Rock • Lucinda Rosenfeld • Greg Rowland • Luc Sante • R.K. Scher • Toni Schlesinger • Matthew Sharpe • Jim Shepard • David Shields • Marisa Silver • Curtis Sittenfeld • Bruce Sterling • Scarlett Thomas • Jeff Turrentine • Deb Olin Unferth • Tom Vanderbilt • Matthew J. Wells • Joe Wenderoth • Margaret Wertheim • Colleen Werthmann • Colson Whitehead • Carl Wilson • Cintra Wilson • Sari Wilson • Douglas Wolk • John Wray

Small-Great Objects presents a remarkable look into the art-collecting practices of two of modern art's most widely influential figures, Anni (1899-1994) and Josef (1888-1976) Albers. Their impressive collection of over 1,400 objects from Latin America, namely Mexico and Peru, represents a conscious endeavor that goes well beyond that of a casual hobby, displaying a deep appreciation for the art, textiles, and overall ingenuity of the ancient American world. This insightful book draws on primary-source materials such as the couple's letters, personal papers, and archival photographs--many never before published--and demonstrates their conviction that these Prehispanic objects displayed a formal sophistication and bold abstraction that defy the prevalent conception of the works as "primitive." Moreover, it shows how the Alberses spread their appreciation of the ancient world to others, through their teachings, their writings, and their own art practices.

Dragan Djurić looks at strategy tools from a process-ontological worldview as proposed by the Process Organization Studies discourse. Building on Wittgenstein’s later philosophy he understands science and management as language games thereby developing a view of strategy tools as objects with both an ontological and a symbolic function. This perspective is contrasted with the traditional understanding of strategy tools as ‘technologies of rationality’ as well as with the practice-based view of strategy tools as ‘boundary objects’.

"This is a book about the things that inspire all of us, from the sacred to the profane, from everyday objects like a marble or a rubber stamp, to the more surprising such as a dirt pile or a turtle tail. Artists, writers, designers, among many others, contribute their objects and ruminations that encourage, motivate, and energize their own creativity."--Provided by publisher.

An engaging, encyclopedic account of the material world of early modern Britain as told through a unique collection of dated objects The period from 1500 to 1800 in England was one of extraordinary social transformations, many having to do with the way time itself was understood, measured, and recorded. Through a focused exploration of an extensive private collection of fine and decorative artworks, this beautifully designed volume explores that theme and the variety of ways that individual notions of time and mortality shifted. The feature uniting these more than 450 varied objects is that each one bears a specific date, which marks a significant moment—for reasons personal or professional, religious or secular, private or public. From paintings to porringers, teapots to tape measures, the objects—and the stories they tell—offer a vivid sense of the lived experience of time, while providing a sweeping survey of the material world of early modern Britain.

In this innovative book, Amanda Norman looks at D. W. Winnicott’s theory of Transitional Objects in early years practice, the ‘good-enough’ parent, and the relationship between the young child and primary carer in relation to the value of Transitional Objects. Norman looks at how an understanding of psychological theories can be useful when caring for young children in both educational and research contexts, aiding those interested in understanding therapeutic relationships, and applying the principles to promote the use of Transitional Objects in their work. Throughout the book, Norman uses case studies from parents, children, and practitioner’s perspectives in supporting physical and emotional development. Through these, she shows how observing Transitional Objects is particularly relevant to living in the west, where a low touch, high technology culture prevails, compounded by the recent pandemic. This volume contributes to a timely connection between the understanding and application of therapeutic approaches within early educational contexts. Including engaging exercises at the end of each chapter, this book is a perfect companion for those approaching the concept of Transitional Objects for the first time. Transitional Objects in Early Childhood is vital reading for those with an interest in the psychology of the infant/young child and their relationship and realities with the external world. It will be of particular interest to those specialising in infant and child care who wish to develop their knowledge of emotional development through play, as well as those working in a variety of social, education, and health contexts.

Who owns, who buys, who gives, and who notices objects is always significant in Austen's writing, placing characters socially and characterizing them symbolically. Jane Austen's Possessions and Dispossessions looks at the significance of objects in Austen's major novels, fragments, and juvenilia.

How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? This volume brings together a range of case studies in which objects of the past were encountered and reappropriated.