Notes on 'Objects' and 'Things'

I've been reading an article in Things magazine (issue 12 Summer 2000), by Tim Travis, called Things with Souls The Object in Late Soviet Culture. I have picked out some quotes from the text and some of my thoughts and notes in response to what I've read:

The article discusses some differences in the English Language and Russian language. In Russian 'vesch' is translated as 'thing', however it has a more specific meaning that is lost in the translation 'vesch is one endowed with spirit or essence - a thing with a soul.' (Travis 2000: 41). This is in contrast to 'predmet' (object) 'which refers to an inanimate, functional entity' (Travis 2000: 41). This idea of 'vesch' or 'thing' brought to mind the idea of mementos and personal - perhaps uncouncious -collections of things, that when seen on their own, without the person they belong to, become a kind of absent portrait, because they contain an essence or trace of the person who used them.

Tim Travis also discusses the idea that '...the things that are drawn to and circulate around each person reveal a lifetime's changing tastes, habits and memories - the geological layers of a personality...' (Travis 2000: 41) if we looked at this type of collection of objects we'd begin to read the narrative of an individual's life. The things that would tell this story most clearly would be 'The trivial everyday things that entwine with and articulate a persons character...' (Travis 2000: 41).

'The Thing consists entirely of touches that invisibly sculpt its essence... each one is meant to be touched, lifted, moved; some even have knobs and handles that seem to be extended towards the human hands... their form may be machine made, but their essence is shaped by the hands whose warmth they exude.' (Travis 2000: 45). This made me think of old and worn shoes and clothes with frayed patches of fabric or scuffed heels. They tell a story of how they've been used and worn - a story of all the places they may have been and of the person who wore them. The imprint or trace on these objects, gives them a sense of 'vesch'. I have also begun to consider the ergonomics of design, how we relate to the physicality of the objects we use, how the fabric around a button hole will become more worn because of repeated use, yet the area underneath a pocket flap may remain bright and new looking for much longer. Will these considerations have an impact on the way I begin to think about designing an object?