Significant Objects
This is pretty cool: Significant Objects is a project from Rob Walker (Buying In) and Joshua Glenn (Taking Things Seriously) wherein writers are paired with a cheap garage sale/thrift shop item chosen by the curators. The writers compose a short story about the item, and the item is put up for auction on eBay. "Invested with new significance by this fiction," write Walker and Glenn, "the object should – according to our hypothesis – acquire not merely subjective but objective value." The contributors list includes a ton of names with which you're probably familiar. How's it going so far? "As of Monday morning, 57 thrift-store objects purchased for a total of $77.07 have sold for $1,851.45," says Walker, noting that the money goes to the authors. Anyway, check it out.
I cannot think of anything more perfectly suited to the mind and writing style of Alex Balk. You must do this! And we will create a mad bidding war for the objet d'art! And Mary HK Awesome can liveblog it!
Oh my God, I'm killing myself with excitement over this idea.
STRONGLY AGREE
Didn't we see one of these already, the guy with the story about a power tool and love gone wrong?
YES! That story was fabulous.
Though I'm not sure that its power-toolish nature was ever clearly revealed…
It was great.
This thing looks like the Awl office worktable. If slightly more lucrative.