Leon Ransmeier’s Interplay between Objects and The Human Body

Leon Ransmeier's Interplay between Objects and The Human Body - he created the same vessel nine times, each with a different handle configuration, as part of the Corning Museum of Glass’s GlassLab at Governor’s Island in 2012.

Leon Ransmeier showed up at Governor’s Island in 2012 with pieces like this ::

 

Leon Ransmeier's Interplay between Objects and The Human BodyLeon Ransmeier’s objects guide interaction – they seem to say that there’s a right way and a wrong way to use them. The piggy bank above, for instance, has a single hole and no plug. The only way to access your money once this bubble-looking thing’s full, is to shatter it.

Of course, I’m pulling all of these pictures and thoughts from the article in Metropolis entitled “Tangible Actions,” but they line up with some of the strategies I use in narrative conflict escalation and… well… my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns.

For example, I once made a DnD campaign that included a tree house city that could be accessed in two ways – one of them worked almost like a cattle run, leading the entire party to their slaughter. The other was much more subtle – a doorway opened only by the right sequence of notes on a wind chime that hung from the tree branch. That kind of forced-hand thinking goes back to early teachers who said, “If the rules don’t say you can’t, you probably can.”

In your art, are there ways to force the hand of your audience/reader/participant?

And then are there ways to reimagine that force so that the attentive will find a way through? For mystery writers, this is second nature – it’s the set of clues hiding behind red herrings. But for painters, it might be color. I found this image by a guy named Michael Scott. It’s simple ::

red-boat

…but by forced perspective and arranging objects, it forces you into a tangible action: seeing the most dominant color – red – last.

Finding myself inspired by Ransmeier today, and finding myself amplifying creative restrictions to liberate my audience towards a specific path by using tangible actions. After all, without restrictions to prevent us from becoming who we aren’t, we cannot be free to become who we are.

How do you make tangible actions? How do you guide your audience?

And do you leave backdoors for the curious?

• • •
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Quick note from Lance about this post: when you choose to comment (or share this post with your friends) you help other readers just like you.

How?

Well, see, your comments & sharing whisper a few things to those who come after you:

The first is that this site is a safe place to speak up & stay curious. That it's civil. That discussion is encouraged. That there's no such thing as a stupid question (being a student of Socrates, I really and truly believe this). That talking to one another and growing together is more important than anything we could possibly publish. That the point is growing in virtue and growing together and growing wise. That discovery is invention, deference is originality, that we all can rise together. The only folks I'm going to take comments down from are obvious jerks who argue in bad faith, don't stay curious, or actively make personal attacks. And, frankly, I'd rather we talk here than on some social media farm — I will never show ads and the only thing I'm selling anywhere on the site or my mailing list is just the stuff I make.

You're also helping folks realize that anything you & they build together is far more important than anything you come to me to read. I take the things I write about seriously, but I don't take myself seriously: I play the fool, I hate cults of personality, and I also don't really like being the center of attention (believe it or not). I would much rather folks connect because of an introduction I've made or because they commented with one another back and forth and then build something beautiful together. My favorite contributions have been lifelong business and love partnerships from two people who have forgotten I introduced them. Some of my closest friends NOW I literally met on another blog's comment section fifteen years ago. I would love for that to happen here — let two of you meet and let me fade into the background.

Last, you help me revise. I'm wrong. Often. I'm not embarrassed to admit it or worried about being cancelled or publicly shamed. I make a fool out of myself (that's sort of the point). So as I get feedback, I can say, "I was wrong about that" and set a model for curious, consistent learning, and growing in wisdom. I'm blind to what I don't know and as grows the island of my knowledge so grows the shoreline of my ignorance. It's the recovery of innocence on the far end of experience: a child is in a permanent state of wonder. So are the wise: they aren't afraid of saying, "I don't know. That's new: please teach me." That's my goal, comments help. And I read all reviews: my skin's tough, but that's not license to be needlessly cruel. We teach one another our habits and there's a way to civilly demolish an idea without demolishing another person: just because I personally can take the world's meanest 1-star review doesn't mean we should teach one another how to be crueler on the internet.

For three magical reasons — your brave curiosity, your community, & my ignorance:

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