Flea Markets & the UndeniableRelationship Between Human & Object

preservationcultural :

Faith Barger Senior Design Thesis May 2011

Published by lulu

May 2011

FaiTH BaRgeR

366 Skyline Drive, Huntingdon, TN 38344

731.693.6130 fbarger@utk.edu

www.faithbarger.com

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This thesis project is dedicated to my dad who has walked

miles by my side at the flea markets that have inspired

my life-long search for honest and beautiful things.

initial Statement 2

abstract 4

Project Description 6

Project Components 8

Key Terms glossary 10

Process & Methodology 12

Historial Research 16

Literary Research 17

Field Research 18

Cinematic Research 26

identity & Branding 28

issue One: Hand / Body 30

issue Two: Round / Sound 34

evaluation & Conclusion 38

Further Direction 40

annotated Bibliography 42

acknowledgements 44

Colophon 45

Initialstatement

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January 18, 2011

Dear Can,

i’ve designed for a magazine and i’ve designed for a newspaper and i’ve designed and typeset an entire journal of writing for grist. i’ve made a lot of books, advertisements, logos, greeting cards and envelopes, business cards and letterheads. i’ve made more process books than i care to recall. i’ve spent a lot of money at Kinko’s and they still don’t print my shit right. From all of those experiences, i’ve found my love for print design and the process of thinking, making and feeling a pub-lished piece of my own work in my hands. i want to make work that people see, not necessarily notice, and enjoy. i want to make work that is beautiful, realistic, solves problems, presents information, and enhances ideas. i am interested in pursu-ing a career in publication design with a magazine or publishing house. My attention span fits perfectly with the timeline on which publications function. i like (and need) deadlines to motivate me to work harder and move forward. i want to go somewhere and do something that challenges me to solve real life problems within a publication, as well as to work with other individuals that share the same interests as i do.

To date, my favorite projects have been ones that involve me personally through my own writing, a sense of humor or my own relationships with people or objects. My interest in design projects is only maintained when i have a certain feeling of personal investment in the project itself -- when i feel that intrinsic need to continue making until my ideas are completely fulfilled. Trends in my past work: significant relationships with men, storytelling, personal experience, photography, book making/layout design, map making, distance, and hand-stitching. These are all things i feel passionately about and enjoy discussing and visualizing, but i don’t want to slip into something predictable for my thesis. i want to use some of these ideas to take my ideas further than anything i’ve done before. Maintaining my interest in a project is the difficult part, but it can be done if i continually look at the project in new ways. asking myself questions is usually the best approach to spark a new interest in an old project.

Ways you can best advise me: encourage me to make; sometimes i get so hung up on ideas and rationalizations, i forget that doing and making things is much more productive than thinking sometimes. give me deadlines; i have gotten better about this since sophomore year, but unless there is an immediate deadline, nothing ever seems to get done. give me criticism; i need it. Show me examples of things that might help me and please tell me when my ideas are stupid.

Some ideas i have for thesis involve a combination of my interests and what my portfolio needs. anything that is going to keep my interest for an entire semester is going to have to involve my interest for design, writing, and photography -- and the combination of all three as a solution to a design problem.

i am very interested in flea markets... i always have been. i love what they represent -- the transference and sale of objects that represent memories and past relationships with their possessors. i collect lockets and pressed pennies from different places i’ve been. i’m interested in other people’s collections of things and what that says about who they are. The stories behind the things we collect and the things we buy that have had previous owners. in this ridiculous “green living” boom that stresses the importance of reusing things, i find that i choose to buy things that are “used” because of what they represent, not because it saves the world. To own something that has had a life before me is much richer than to purchase something brand new. i think the sentimentality that we as humans inevitably place upon objects is interesting. The psy-chology involved with collecting certain objects and what that says about our memory, our character and our future with that particular object is intriguing.

in that same vein, i have a strong interest in storytelling. i like to collect stories. in a past project, i recorded stories from various people and transcribed them. i felt like i could do that forever and would never be finished... i loved it. i’m not sure how collecting stories and using storytelling as a design solution would function, but i know that it can keep my at-tention. i just want to make something truthful and relevant that i can be proud of.

Love,Faith

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Version 1:From its creation, every object has a history. a past, present and future are created for any tangible object when a human culti-vates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that exists between object and human through curating and archiving previously disregarded objects found second hand and subsequently gen-erating content and designs based on my experiences with the aquisition and ownership of the object.

i want to explore the roles of memory, truth, location and cul-tural preservation involved with physically and emotionally experiencing an object that has been previously owned.by the unknown elements involved with the objects them.

Version 2:From its creation, every object has a history. a past, present and future are created for any tangible object when a human culti-vates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that exists between object and human through curating and archiving previously disregarded objects found second hand and subsequently gen-erating content and designs based on my experiences with the aquisition and ownership of the object, the people i meet along the way, as well as the personal memories i bring to the ob-ject.

i want to explore the idea of flea markets as a means of cultural preservation and the role of memory, truth, and environment in the physical and emotional experiencing of an object that has been previously owned.

Version 3:From its creation, every object has a history. a past, present

ABSTRACTprocess

Samples of initial thesis abstract statements and the editing process necessary to acheive a clear and precise statement of observation, proposition and intention.

and future are created exist for any tangible object when a human cultivates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that exists be-tween object and human through curating and archiving previously disregarded objects found second hand at flea markets and subsequently generating and gathering con-tent and design based on my experiences with the aquisi-tion and ownership of the object, the people i meet along the way, as well as and the personal memories i bring to the object.

Through branding, designing, and producing an original publication, i want to explore the idea of flea markets as a means of cultural preservation and the role of memory, truth, and environment in the physical and emotional ex-periencing of an object that has been previously owned.

Version 4:From its creation, every object has a history. a past, pres-ent and future exist for any tangible object when a human cultivates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that exists be-tween object and human through the curation of previ-ously disregarded objects found at flea markets, and sub-sequently generating and gathering content and design based on my experience with the aquisition of the object, the people i meet along the way in the process, and the personal memories i bring to the object.

Through branding, designing, and the production of an original publication, i explore the idea of flea markets as a means of cultural preservation and the role of memory, truth, and environment in the physical and emotional con-nection experienced with a previously owned object.

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From its creation, every object has a history. a past, present and future exist for any tangible object when a human cultivates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that ex-ists between object and human through the cu-ration of objects found at flea markets, and sub-sequently generating and gathering content and design based on my experience with the aquisition of the object, the people i meet along the way, and the personal memories i bring to the object.

Through brand, design, and the production of an original publication, i explore the idea of flea mar-kets as a means of cultural preservation and the role of memory, truth, and environment in the physical and emotional connection experienced with an ob-ject that has been previously owned.

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Projectdescription

Flea markets serve as culturalpreservation, or a way to keep history, customs and objects currently relative and in circulation. Storytelling is also a form of cultural preservation that in-volves both teaching and learning.

The Business:a publication in which these objects can live and tell their stories through editorial content, photography, and design.

PosiTion in The MarkeT:a combination of a literary journal, magazine, zine, mem-oir, and documentary.

ProMise:To be authentic and remain true to the emotional connec-tion that the entire project is based upon, as well as to stay loyal to the flea market environment, feel and experience. The publication will do so through tone, personality, edi-torial integrity and branding.

The Big idea:To generate an appreciation for used things, to create an awareness for the life that exists in objects around us and what those objects say about us individually and collec-tively. To circulate a publication that functions to intrigue, excite, relate to and engage with an audience of real, hon-est people.

This forM:Touch, interaction, search, discovery—anything to evoke strong feelings and explore the emotional conflict that ex-ists in nostalgia and mystery.

audience:anyone that would attend a flea market, owns a collection or is interested in their own memories, literature or old things. Primarily ages 18+.

Cultural preservation is to keep in existance anything representativeof a society’s way of living. Tomaintain the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social,ethnic or age group.

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“How do objects carry memory across

space and time? How do they me-

diate loss and forgetting? Material

objects are inscribed with the physi-

cal and affective traces of memo-

rial transmission across cultures and

generations. Looking at how objects

mediate memory in familial and

social life, and in public archives—

at how they are used, collected, ex-

changed, and exhibited.”Objects and Memory: Engendering Private and Public Archives” Workshop cosponsored by the ColumbiaCultural Memory Colloquium and the Department of Art History and Archaeology

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Projectcomponents

issue One: hand / bodyFeatures a locket collection, a kitchen chair, a post card, some black and white pho-tographs and literary work by Margaret atwood, erin Smith, and Tracy Seeley.

Page Size: 5.25”x7.5”Page Number: 40Perfect boundwith wrap cover

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issue Two: round / soundFeatures an interview with Crazy Jim, a timeline of his life, a old-fashioned measuring tape, embroi-derd coasters, a souvenir from Washington, D.C., a pressed penny collection and creative non-fiction short stories.

Page Size: 8.5”x8.5”Page Number: 30Saddle-stitch unboundwith cover sleeve

fLetters

as editor and publisher of FORWORDSLASH, Faith Barger is responsible for all curation of content, art direction, design, editing, production and photography un-less otherwise noted. all works by other authors or artists are copywritten and used without permission of author; Faith in no way claims ownership of these written works or images. Please visit www.forwordslash.com for supplemental material in regards to past, present, and future issues. Questions, comments, or interested con-tributors can contact the editor at fbarger@utk.edu or:

FORWORDSLASHFaith Barger

1636 Clinch avenue, apartment 2Knoxville, TN 37916

Numbers

4 forwordslash forwordslash 5

ORWORDSLASH iS about objects and people. Where the things at flea markets meet stories of their pasts and the

truths revealed in between. every issue of this publication starts with a flea market and an experience or an object found there. Stories are writ-ten or curated for the object based on an imagined past to give it a life. Through discovery, imagination, and authentic nonfiction, i hope forword-slash inspires you to go to a flea mar-ket, touch people’s things, and find beautiful pasts in objects otherwise disregarded. Please visit our website at www.forwordslash.com to share your own stories about anything shown in this issue. The inaugural Hand/Body issue focuses on objects that touch skin, that travel with us in intimate places, that live alongside us unnoticed. The more hands that explore this issue, the better. So pass it on.

Faith Bargereditor/in/Chief

223minutes spent at two different flea markets in search of the inspiration for this issue

4items bought forhand / body: a kitchen chair, a gold locket,and two black andwhite photographs

26dollars spenton objects forthis issue

56miles traveledin search of objectsthat inspiredthis issue

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6 people met in the process of flea marketing: Crazy Jim, the woman with mutual acquaintances, Scott Kitts: Flea Market extraordinaire, Scott Kitts’ brother (recently divorced), Scott Kitts’ best friend, and Myrtle from Myrtle’s Mess

+ Subscription Cards+ advertisements+ Promotional Posters

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acTiVe inVoLVeMenT is to capably engage in any-thing that involves more than one person.

active involvement is a term i use to describe the relation-ship that exists in storytelling (a teller and a listener) as well as in flea markets (browser and vendor). These people must put forth effort in order to engage in the give-and-take flux neces-sary to accomplish one’s goals (to sell merchandise, to get a bargain, to learn or teach)

aTTachMenT is a feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; a devotion, affection or means of se-curing.

What is the significance of a human’s attachment to a cer-tain object? is it the objects function? Why do we become so invested in material things, or feel that they hold certain meaning? The attached or detached feelings we have for ob-jects directly relate to the lives these things live and how they become available through a flea market setting.

circuLaTion is the flowing of anything in a circle; any-thing functioning within a circuit. The transmission or pas-sage of anything from place to place or person to person. Par-ticipating actively in social or business life.

The circulation of objects from person to person creates a life for the object. it gives the object a past, present and future. The concept of circulation relates to both storytelling and flea markets in that for both to exist there must be a person-to-person/person-to-object relationship.

cuLTuraL PreserVaTion is to keep in existance anything representative of a society’s way of living. To main-tain the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular so-cial, ethnic, or age group.

Flea markets serve as cultural preservation, or a way to keep

history, customs, and objects currently relative and in cir-culation. Storytelling is also a form of cultural preserva-tion that involves both teaching and learning.

discourse is the communication of thought by words, talk or conversation. To have discussion or dialogue. Latin origin meaning ‘to run about’.

Discourse is a large part of this project, be it through con-versations with people at the market, discussions with classmates about my experiences or through my physical interaction with the space itself. Deriving meaning from the variations of discourse within this project is crucial to the development of relationships that will enrich the meaning of the project.

MeMorY functions as the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences.

i am interested in each individual’s memory as it affects how we live our lives currently. How every object, envi-ronment and person reminds us of some other place we’ve been or event that’s taken place. Memory has a powerful ability to influence our current behavior, and i am focus-ing on how objects trigger that response.

MeMenTo is an object that serves to remind one of a person or past event; a keepsake or souvenir that can serve as a reminder or warning.

The significance of a memento can be found in a quote by Nancy K. Miller, author of stories relating object and memory, “The cigarette case carries both a trace of the past and a warning about the future. always a memento mori, the keepsake belonging to another is a reminder to the one who saves it. in other words, a memento invites you to reflect upon how to live now—with others.”

MYsTerY involves anything that remains unexplained or unknown. any affair, thing, or person that presents features or qualities so obscure as to arouse curiosity or speculation.

Where did these things come from? Who made them? Who touched them? Who found them important enough to initially buy? Why? What lead these objects to this place at this time? Why are they old and worn or new and seemingly unused? all these questions drive my thesis. i am fascinated by the unknown elements involved with the objects themselves.

Words and ideas that areinfluential, inspirational,and directly relative to the development of thisthesis project.

KEytermsglossary

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narraTiVe, or an account of events and experiences, whether true or fictitious, tells a story.

Narrative is a necessary element of a story. Through this project, i have the opportunity to create interesting nar-ratives based on the objects i find, the people i talk to and the specific emotions i feel through my research and experiences. if nothing else, my thesis builds stories and wonderings with rich narrative quality.

nosTaLgia is a sentimental yearning for the happi-ness of a former place or time; associated with a painful feeling related to memory.

The specific feeling of nostalgia is significant in that it is an emotional response involving feelings of both senti-ment and sadness. Nostalgia is a huge inspiration for my project as i transition into adulthood and look back on memories, not with happiness, but with a sadness for the time that has passed. it’s hard to explain, but these flea markets evoke a huge nostalgic response in me personally which will inspire emotionally-charged work.

rejecTion is to refuse to accept, believe, acknowledge or use. The discarding of something deemed worthless.

The concept of rejection is introduced because the ob-jects at flea markets are living in an environment in which they are considered by their sellers as unnecessary. This is important because the emotions involved with this rejec-tion perpetuate my need as a buyer to find something, anything, that i can accept or find worthwhile. To find something i find necessary or useful (to me) in a mass of things that are seemingly worthless becomes the goal.

sTorYTeLLing is the conveying of events in word, image, and sound with improvisations and embellish-ments. Serves to educate, entertain, demonstrate value, and acts as cultural preservation. Typically contains a plot, characters, narrative, and a point-of-view.

Storytelling, along with flea markets, is a key component of my thesis in that i am interested in the stories and his-tory behind the objects that exist in the marketplace. Tell-ing these stories as a way to entertain, educate and instill value in the objects themselves has become important to me over the course of this project.

senTiMenTaL describes a feeling of tender emotion; a mental feeling or manifestation of nostalgic emotions.

Sentimental feelings have a huge role in this project simply because they are impossible to escape. Nearly everyone can relate to this thesis because we have all experienced sentimen-tal feelings for an object. This manifestation of feelings, what causes them, and for which objects a person feels sentiment for speaks volumes about the individual.

TruTh is an accepted fact or actuality; a genuine portrayal that is reliable and honest.

i believe firmly in personal truth—if i perceive and believe something to be true, it is a truth and whether it is an actual-ity or not is irrelevant. Truth in my thesis is a priority because i want to make work and ask questions that are authentic to who we are as human beings. To make work that communi-cates and is honest in nature.

VaLue represents an objects relative worth, merit or impor-tance. it can also mean its monetary worth.

Value becomes important when investigating flea markets because it deals with monetary worth, but more importantly sentimental and cultural worth as well. Value is always going to be subjective—somebody’s trash is another person’s trea-sure kind of thing. exploring other people’s values as well as what i personally believe has true worth is vital to my thesis process.

VeneraBLe is an adjective used to describe an object that is old, has become obsolete, but still commands respect.

i truly believe in the venerability of the objects found in flea markets. This word is very accurate to my feelings toward these objects that have been rejected for whatever reason, but are still respectable because they represent a history and a past life.

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process&methodology

Flea Markets & Storytelling

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The focusThe active relationship that exists in both storytelling and flea markets through storyteller/listener or vendor/observer. Both storytelling and flea markets exist as a means of cultural preser-vation, or keeping things and ideas alive. Both require a search, active involvement by both parties, and an appreciation for his-tory.

Why flea markets?My thesis project is a culmination of the last four years spent in that weird transition from adolescence to adulthood. as i look toward my professional career and what interests me, the common factors of memory, truth, and relationships stand out as important. at this time in my life especially.

i feel as though i have come to that inevitable moment in my life where my memories become a really emotional part of childhood that i won’t get back. Now when i go home to visit, my parents look visibly older and roads i used to travel seem more worn and tired. The extreme emotional response i have to memories and objects from my past inspired the focus of my thesis.

Statement of Intent i want to go to flea markets and touch things. i want to gather experiences with people, places and things and write about them. i want to use my experiences to illicit a significant re-sponse in an audience based on what they personally bring to what i make. Through my form, i evoke strong feelings and explore the emotional conflict in nostalgia and mystery.

Memory has a powerful ability to influence our current behav-ior, and for that reason i am interested in how objects trigger that response. in today’s society, a lot of emphasis is placed on technological developments, “the new,” and who has the most expensive things. i do not believe these new and untouched things have important significance, and i believe a much more interesting history is lost in an object when there is no previous human interaction.

To generate an appreciation for used things, to create awareness for the life span of objects and what those objects say about us individually and collectively is much more substantial.

My visuals and research argue this point by providing honest content rich with meaning, cultural context and emotional value.

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process&methodology

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Historicalresearch

LocaTion Middle east and europe, more specifically Paris in 1860

facTs Termed “flea” for the insect-infested poor that populated the market. Started as a way to sell unused possessions and handmade wares, but has now become a more commonplace celebration in local culture for collectors, bargain hunters and anyone that likes to walk around and look at interesting things. 5,000+ nationwide.

iMPorTance There is no concrete definition of a flea market because they all vary widely based on local culture, the objects present and the people that are both vendors and at-tendees. every time a flea market, garage sale or estate sale comes together, it is a completely original moment in time. it can never be reproduced simply because there are way too many variables that are constantly evolving in a give-and-take type of relationship.

One common factor all flea markets have is that they represent cultures. These objects, people, places and stories hold a rich meaning and signify lifestyles of past, present and future. Reality and truth flourish at these markets: the characters, the objects, and the stories are honest. Because of this, the objects become reflections of the lives that have lived in them and the lives currently living through them.

Flea market origin& cultural significance

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literaryresearch

There is a pleasure, I’ve come to feel, in not being sure—not only in not knowing what you almost know, but not know-ing what you don’t know you don’t know.”

“objects and Memory: engendering Private and Public archives” Workshop cosponsored by the co-lumbia cultural Memory colloquium and the de-partment of art history and archaeology:

“How do objects carry memory across space and time? How do they mediate loss and forgetting, exile and diaspora? More than props or exhibits of historical evi-dence, material objects are inscribed with the physical and affective traces of memorial transmission across cultures and generations. Looking at how objects mediate memory in familial and social life, and in public archives—at how they are used, collected, exchanged, and exhibited—this half-day workshop will explore, in particular, the gender-ing of familial transmission and the engendering of ar-chives.”

nancy k. Miller: family hair Looms

“Since 1990, the year after the death of my father, i’ve had this box of hair, which i found among his affairs. i assume that my father saved the locks because they be-longed to his mother—a widow who had lived alone and in his care for twenty years. To whom does this hair belong? What kind of hair is it? a man’s earlocks? a child’s curls? is it a precious heirloom? Or is it rather family hair that looms—i.e. that i perceive through the distance of time and the darkness of untold stories. What does it mean to inherit an object that embodies a relation of familial care, but a relation shrouded in mystery?” She is doing something very similar to what i want to do by writing about the memories attached to ob-jects and the lives they’ve lived. i want to do this while incorporating design and market culture.

Nancy K. Miller, My grandfather’s Cigarette Case, or How i Learned about Kishinev

Other authors:Patricia Dailey: TransmissionsMarianne Hirsch & Leo Spitzer: The Tile StoveKubler: Shape of TimeYoung: Texture of Memory

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fieldResearch

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fieldResearch

I’m beginning to feellike I am the novelty here.

Weekend 1: green acres & Trading PosTObseRvatiON

i didn’t realize visiting a flea market could be such an emo-tional experience. Sad, kind of. The people, the things, the conversation. There is something about selling all these objects that were once wanted and loved and desirable that is upsetting in some way. What have these things been through to get to this point? What happens to them if they are not sold? My personal and specific memories heavily influenced my emotional response to flea markets. The smell of cigars puts me in my grandmother’s car port in a cheap white plastic chair while her friend, Howard, wheezes heavily between thick inhalations. The tool box of rusty tools that takes me to my grandfather’s green ga-rage full of tools of which i will never understand their purpose. i relied heavily on all my senses on this observa-tional trip.

The audio is something i didn’t realize would be so im-portant until now. More specifically, the conversations old people have so nonchalantly about death, their life and seemingly every day subjects. an old woman with a voice hoarse from decades of cigarette smoking says, “Yeah, i’m back again. Be back next weekend if i don’t die before then.” Or a man tells a woman that he had a “three potato breakfast” that consisted of potato chips, frozen cheesy potatoes and leftover french fries because his wife isn’t around anymore to prepare his meals. How does the person selling the things become important to the object itself? i recognize that i need to have conversation with these people and hear their stories, but i didn’t have enough confidence this time.

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i noticed i am naturally drawn to domestic items — things from the home, things that have been close to people, things that have been touched and interacted with. For example, tools, hand-stitched items, books, keys, home made art, door knobs, empty picture frames. These are the things i can’t stop myself from wanting to buy, to save from being destroyed or thrown away. The concept of rejection is introduced. i can’t deny the emotional attachment i feel to these things that i know have had a better life. Maybe that is just me. What makes humans so attached to objects? Why do we put such sentimental and emotional value into “things” that will in no way reciprocate our attachment?

The goal at flea markets becomes to find the person least con-nected with their merchandise in order to get the best bargain. To not look interested, to chat up the seller, to show interest but not appear too eager. There are a completely unique set of rules at these markets that are understood by the frequent patrons, and i am interested in the cultural significance behind these objects that brought them to this place.

The estate sale is a completely different scenario. Most estate sales exist because someone has died and their family is sell-ing the entire contents of their home at one time. i drove to the estate sale location and i sat in my car. i watched people go in and out of the house, but i couldn’t bring myself to go inside. My grandmother’s estate was sold similarly when she died. The thought of touching and judging things in a home of someone that just died is not in the same spirit as i had initially imagined for this project. i drove away without going in. i want to bring myself to go to one eventually, but this weekend was not the time.

Times:8:50aM-9:03aM-10:03aM-10:35aM-11:12aM

Miles:47359-47367-47390

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fieldResearch

This sounds totally worth getting up early on a Sunday morning.

Weekend 2: greaT sMokiescONveRsatiON & a FLea maRket is NOt...

This flea market started out as a great example of what (in my definition) a flea market is not. everything inside the warehouse was new. T-shirts, bags, Chinese bamboo plants. None of it was even handmade or crafted by the sellers. Completely unoriginal and uninspiring. i was pret-ty discouraged by what i found here, especially considering that the market boasts a reputation of “one of the largest and most highly trafficked flea markets in the Southeast-ern United States.” i walked around and gave it a chance.

i saw two large booths set up across the parking lot on their own. They looked junky. Perfect.

in the first booth, i met Crazy Jim. He did enough talking for the both of us, and i did a video and audio recording of him. There was contemporary Christian music blar-ing from his garage filled with dusty things that made no sense. He tried to sell me weird things like clothing and toys. There was something really endearing and honest about Crazy Jim as he smoked cigarettes and talked about his two open heart surgeries. i know Crazy Jim is not your typical flea market vendor, but that is the point. Talking to him humbled me. and not the way a homeless per-son humbles you because they have nothing. Crazy Jim had a lot—of literal things, of stories, of experiences—he seemed to have been through it all. it’s people like this that i believe make markets worthwhile. in my interview with Jim i realized that it isn’t just about the objects, it’s about the people that they come from. even if Jim has no idea

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where something came from or how it got into his possession, under some circumstance, these things DiD come into Jim’s possession. How? Why? i hope to use his stories to enrich the object’s meaning and history.

The second booth was a nice couple selling a lot of cool old things. i was interested in an old kitchen chair that they said came from a great aunt’s house—one of a kind, they assured me. The wife, as it turns out, works at the University of Ten-nessee and we have acquaintances in common. She gave me some advice on getting internships and told me about some people she knows. i was polite and pretended to care when things got to a lull in the conversation. either way, i bought the chair.

in this visit to the great Smokies market, i began to under-stand the significance of the persons involved. My thesis needs humanization. Without the people, the objects are just that. Objects. They need past owners and present sellers and po-tential buyers to be in the unique situation that i find them in. Talking to people here is unlike talking to anyone selling new clothes at the mall or in a store because in the flea market setting, the objects set up an environment ripe for history and storytelling.

Times:8:37aM-10:15aM

Miles:47455-47477

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fieldResearch

Set your goals high & believe in God, you’ll be fine.

Weekend 3: knoxViLLe exPo cenTerNetWORkiNg & the FamiLiaR

On my third and final visit to a flea market, i wanted to visit the big, once a month market at the Knoxville expo Center. i had been there before with my dad, but it is a completely different experience when i am conscious of the people i’m passing and the objects i’m touching.

i found several things and people that interested me im-mediately upon entering. a collection of various broken watches and stacks of old costume jewelry, a Washington D.C. souvenir that clicks forward the date, other junky things like that. Then i met Scott Kitts. Scott is a flea mar-ket and estate sale extraordinaire. Boasting over 30 years in the business of selling old stuff, he eagerly gave me his cell phone number and list of credentials that includes an appearance on antiques Road Show. i told Scott i would have a look around his several expansive booths.

First, i found old photographs. Nothing makes you feel like more of a creep than looking through pictures of families and children. Despite that, there was something so personal and emotional about looking through photos that you know have been plucked from someone’s house after an estate sale. Things, such as photographs that have such special meaning to someone, mean absolutely noth-ing to someone rifling through their things. i felt the need to buy these pictures just so that they would be safe and with someone that actually cared for them. along those same lines, i found a large stack of post cards. They were to and from different people, but the handwriting was ir-

25/

resistible. Someone had taken the time to write these postcards and keep them safe for 50 years (some of them were dated as far back as 1955). i had to have them.

While looking through Scott’s wares, i started a conversation with a man that turned out to be Scott’s brother. He told me was recently divorced from a woman he thought was the love of his life, had no children with her, but should have known it would end in divorce because he was her fifth husband. He had a sad look in his eyes when i asked if he had children. He said he would never marry again. i don’t know what it is about be-ing in the flea market environment and being around all these old and intimate objects, but everyone i talked to was very open and honest about the things that were on their mind.

There was a lot of new things at this market, which made the hunt for great stuff that more of an interesting challenge. i also purchased a gold locket with a picture already in it and met Myrtle from Myrtle’s Mess, an antique/thrift store in Knox-ville. She had a really beautiful globe coin bank, but at this point i was past my spending limit.

Times:11:10AM-1:15AM

Miles:47536-47542

cinematicresearch

“The documentary film and educational initiative ‘Objects and Memory’ is about how we respond to history while it is happening and how we tell our stories through the oth-erwise ordinary things in our homes and museums that are associated with people, places, and events.”

‘Objects and Memory’ depicts the transformation of ordi-nary items into vital sources of connection.

how we navigate through a physical world,how we concretize our observations and responses,how we recognize history as it is happening,how we maintain communities across space and time,how we make sense of turbulent times,what fundamental human qualities drive our responses.

Why do people associate thoughts and feelings with tan-gible symbols, and how is it that such ordinary objects be-come so important? What is it that transforms and elevates these things?

Without the objects, the stories would lack vibrancy; without the stories the objects would lack significance. Taken together, the images of the objects, the stories they evoke, and the stories of their collection lead the viewer on a journey where the com-monplace is transformed into the remarkable and where the stuff of history is highly personalized.”

26 /

“

‘Objects and Memory’ by Jonathan Fein & Brian Danitz 27/

Identity&Branding

28 /

i chose the name FORWORDSLaSH because throughout the process of research and planning for future issues, i found myself using forward slashes in several different important ways. When describing the magazine, “zine/literary journal/magazine/memoir,” and when deciding on the inspiration for each issue “hand/body” and “sound/round.” These slashes were used as a means of joining two or more important and separate concepts and creating an interesting new relationship between them. also, the spelling is ‘FORWORD’ instead of ‘FORWaRD’ because words, language and storytelling are all main factors in why i am producing this publication.

i chose Perpetua Titling MT as the cover type and main type when using the publication title because i thought it was beau-tiful and fit the feel of my research and content.

The logo is a combination of a lowercase f and a forward slash in the typeface aldine 401 BT, the typeface i chose to best represent the magazine through body copy.

forwordslash

TiMing: explorative, but a quick readscoPe: ModerateLengTh: ShortauThors: Currently Few, Potentially ManyadVerTising: NonefrequencY: QuarterlydisTriBuTion: Limited print (1000 copies) Paid Subscription everywhere Free online supplement

specs issue 1:Page Size: 5.25”x7.5”Page Number: 40Cover: Cougar gloss cover, heavy lbinterior: Cougar off-white, 80lb possibleBinding: perfect with wrap cover

specs issue 2:Page Size: 8.5”x8.5”Page Number: approx 30Cover:Package that unfolds into posterinterior: whiteBinding: signature

29/

Issueone

30 /

31/

issue One’s theme is hand/body. i chose this because the ob-jects i was initially drawn to all seemed to have a common thread that involved being physically close to the skin and touching the body through various forms. For example, i found this great kitchen chair. i was drawn to it, and i didn’t know why, but i had to have it. it fit well into this issue because a kitchen chair is not necessarily something you think about in relationship to the body that sits in it. i wanted to force you to think about that body and that being and that life.

For the first collection, i used what is easily accessible to me, which is my own collection of lockets. i wanted to create some common departments within the issue so that every subsequent issue could be free to experiment with form, but maintain some similar ideas and a style sheet that represent the general feel of the publication. i was inspired by my own collection of lockets that i’ve purchased from different flea markets over the past 5-10 years.

What initially started out as a pain in the ass, the kitchen chair, turned into my favorite part of the first issue. i’m sure i looked crazy hauling that thing all around Knoxville (and even to Nashville), but i had a lot of fun shooting the photos for it. The story with the chair, The Female Body, is a creative non-fiction work that i thought worked nicely with the concept of a kitchen chair from the ‘50s or ‘60s. it creates a completely new context for this chair i bought for $10.

i wanted to include the post cards as a department that con-tinues throughout the other issues of the publication because the post cards can stand alone as an object with an interesting history. The combination of handwriting, personal notes, and actual addresses says everything about my thesis project.

The size of the book, 5.25”x7.5”, is the size of my own hand at rest.

Issueone

Mar

gare

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ood

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rs in

sight

on

life

rela

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ale

body

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ork,

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1/

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the

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ale

body

32 /

33/

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ails

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34 /

35/

col

lect

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//

Issuetwo

36 /

issue Two’s theme is round/sound. after talking with Can, i realized a lot of the objects i was picking up from the flea mar-kets had a similar circular form. also, the audio of the markets and some of the interviews i had with vendors there seemed of great significance. i thought joining the two into one issue could be interesting. Through this issue, i explore the ideas of not just circular form, but life cycles, generations & aging, and in some ways encourage the reader to be more aware of the meaning of round objects in their daily life.

For the second collection, it was easy because i have a secret addiction to collecting pressed pennies which fits into the round category of the issue. How these pennies represent time, compression, and place is interesting when put with non-fiction stories about my memories with a few of the pen-nies in particular.

Crazy Jim is a feature in this issue because he had a huge im-pact on my entire thesis project. The informal interview i had with him helped me realize the importance of not just curat-ing objects but listening to the people that have acquired all this seemingly disregarded stuff. He had a pretty cool story to tell so i thought it’d be cool to have a timeline of his life.

i experimented with form in this issue a little bit more by making the pull out posters and the sleeve cover. in this issue, there are a few short non-fiction stories by other authors, and my own poem inspired by an old measuring tape.

Most importantly, i didn’t want to make round/sound obvi-ous or take away the mystery. a lot of the connections be-tween the stories and the objects are left open to interpreta-tion and the theme is kept pretty vague so that you might not immediately know why each object and story was chosen, but in the back of the reader’s mind, they know it is a meaninful act of curation.

37/

38 /

furtherdirection

39/

if i were to continue with this project and had more time to work, i would like to have a web component for this project. Similar to what Ninth Letter (University of il-linois literary journal), i would like to have an online supplement to the actual issue that features a place to sub-scribe to and order issues, as well as a place to view sample layouts and design work from issues without showing the entire publication. also, it would be a great place to in-clude some of the video i’ve taken throughout this project and basically provide an online experience similar to the feeling of FORWORDSLaSH print edition.

Specifically, i would like to include a space on the web-site where i post pictures or concepts relative to the flea market objects i’ve found and gather user reactions; they

can submit their own poetry or creative writing, share personal experiences, just help contribute to the publica-tion in any way. i think that would open this thesis up so that it is more accessible and emotionally connected to the audience.

also, if i had more time, i would definitely love to make more issues since that’s the fun part. after doing all this work thus far, i’d like to do an entire issue on just pho-tographs and handwriting since those were the things i responded to the most out of all the objects i’ve found.

40 /

evaluation&conclusion

41/

When i started this project, i had no idea where it would lead. i just knew i had an outstanding interest in flea mar-kets and that i wanted to go to them and touch people’s old things. i had no idea how emotionally fulfilling the research would be and the large potential this project had (and still has). as a designer, this project has been a lesson in self-motivation and ultimately a study of my own process.

i’m a planner. i like to have everything planned and dum-mied and documented fully before i throw it onto the com-puter and start designing. i’ve tried to force myself to stop planning and start making sooner in my process on projects before and it just doesn’t work. So for this final project, i didn’t really have any choice since i was in control of all the objects, all the curated content, as well as all the photogra-phy, art and design of the publication. i stuck pretty well to my production deadlines and ended up with almost every-thing done on time.

i’ve confirmed that if i don’t feel personally invested in a project, then i won’t work on it. and if i do work on it, it’s careless. When i felt my interest waning on this project, i stepped back from it and revisited the things about it that in-tially drew me in. With shorter term projects, i’ve just given up and said, “To hell with it, it’s due in a week.” But for this i was forced to look further and meet deadlines and pretty much inspire myself.

The amount i’ve learned about publication design and flea markets is endless. i served as editor, designer, photogra-pher, art director, creative director, writer and all of the above on this project. Would it have been easier if i’d had help? Yes. Would the issues have been better or more well-rounded? Possibly. But the entire point of this project for me was to work from every aspect of publication design and see my own ideas through to completion. i had to make ex-ecutive decisions on content, colors, branding, typography, a stylesheet to represent the magazine, and a LOT of self-editing and trimming down the unnecessary bits.

at the bottom line, i wanted to do what i thought was fun, meaningful and good-looking. This publication might not be earth-shattering design or bring up concepts like life and death, but there is quality content, thoughtful design and original juxtapositions that i believe would benefit an audi-ence to experience. and i had fun in every vastly different part of the project from beginning field research to making the paper choices for the printed issues.

it’s really up to the audience whether or not i successfully materialized the statements in my abstract, but i believe through the two issues and other project components i was able to make meaningful connections, create interesting de-sign and hopefully make readers think twice about the ob-jects in their lives and the local flea markets they frequent.

From its creation, every object has a history. a past, present and future exist for any tangible object when

a human cultivates a relationship with it, or, ultimately shares a life with it.

i intend to embrace the active relationship that exists between object and human through the curation of

objects found at flea markets, and subsequently generating and gathering content and design based on my

experience with the aquisition of the object, the people i meet along the way, and the personal memories i

bring to the object.

through brand, design, and the production of an original publication, i explore the idea of flea markets

as a means of cultural preservation and the role of memory, truth, and environment in the physical and

emotional connection experienced with an object that has been previously owned.

42 /

4030 (or 2030): Dispatches from the Future (blog). November 4, 2008. “pie.” http://4030class.wordpress. com/2008/11/04

pie.

a blog where different users post publication design inspiration. The November 4, 2008 post of a publication called

“pie” served as inspiration for issue 2: Round/Sound as a way to show round forms in a conceptual and less obvious

way.

arkitip, inc. “arkitip issue editions.” accessed March, 12, 2011. http://www.arkitip.com/magazines.

Produces magazines, books and digital matter as a form of publication in which each issue changes form and

content based on the fact that each issue has a different curator and editor. Served as inspiration and an example

of a publication that changes form with each issue.

Columbia University, institute for Research on Women and gender. “Objects and Memory Workshop.” accessed Febru

ary 13, 2011. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/irwag/events/main/memory/index.html.

event hosted by Columbia University in March 2007 that featured lecturers and stories based on the relationship

between memory and object. Offered several authors that fit into and further inspired the idea for thesis project,

specifically “My grandfather’s Cigarette Case” by Nancy K. Miller.

Craigslist. “Knoxville garage and Moving Sale Classifieds.” accessed January 26, 2011. http://knoxville.craigslist.org

gms.

Shows classifieds listings of local area garage and moving sales. Used to locate nearby sales in order to conduct

field research.

Dictionary.com. “Free Online Dictionary for english Defini tions.” accessed February 9, 2011. http://dictionary. refer

ence.com.

Offers millions of free english definitions, synonyms, antonyms and example sentences. Helped formally

define words and concepts in the key terms glossary.

Flea Market Queen (blog). November 19, 2008. “The History of Flea Markets.” http://www.fleamarketqueen.

com/2008/11/19/the-history-of-flea-markets.html.

Inspiring, informational, and endlessly helpful sources used throughout the developmentof thesis project

annotatedbiblio

43/

Blog about everything flea markets: tips, history, and locations of thriving markets. Served as the main source of

my historical research.

Flea Market Style Magazine. Last modified april 11, 2011. http://fleamarketstylemag.blogspot.com/.

encourages readers to be inspired by flea markets and the objects found there, mostly focusing on interior design

and recycling old objects by giving them contemporary purpose. The only resource found that speaks to the

value of objects specifically found at flea markets through a publication medium.

Ninth Letter arts and Literary Journal. accessed February 10, 2011. http://www.ninthletter.com/

Literary journal out of University of illinois at Urbana-Champaign that features poetry, fiction and nonfiction

writing as well as art and design. inspired layouts of thesis publications and online supplement to the printed

issues.

Objects and Memory. DVD. Directed by Jonathan Fein & Brian Danitz. 2009; New York, NY. ever Production, 2009.

http://objectsandmemory.org/

Documentary about objects found in the aftermath at ground Zero after the events of September 11th. Closely

relates memory and object and gave monumental insight into the emotional connection humans share with

objects that remind them of significant people, places, or events.

Publication Design intro Lecture—a set on Flickr. accessed March 30, 2011. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ro-

giampietro/sets/72157611653691318/show

Shows the fundamental structure of putting together a publication. Offered valuable information about format-

ting a magazine through folio, FOB & BOB layouts, masthead and the well.

Spring and Slaughter, Kishinev Pogrom (1903-2003). accessed February 2, 2011. http://www.kishinevpogrom.com/nar-

ratives3.html.

Features paintings, narratives, journals, letters, and poems about the anti-Jewish riots of Kishinev Pogrom, more

specifically Nancy K. Miller’s creative nonfiction piece, “My grandfather’s Cigarette Case.” Miller’s writing

served as an early example in the thesis research process of a true story inspired by and based on an imagined

past for an object.

Vintage Zine. “Past forward, here we go...” accessed February 15, 2011. http://vintagezine.com.

Publication that features art and writing that focuses on the concept of vintage. inspirational images, illustrations

and format.

Wikipedia. “Flea Market.” accessed January 25, 2011. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea_market.

Free online encyclopedia whose information is a collaborative effort of anonymous online users. Used for basic

preliminary research to gain surface knowledge of flea markets.

44 /

i would like to thank Can Birand for his close guidance throughout the thesis process, as well as Sarah Lowe, Cary Staples, Deb Shmerler, and my senior studio mates for sup-plying invaluable feedback and the inspirational push neces-sary to get to this point in my design career.

Special thanks to Tylor Loposser, without whom i would not have made it through this program with any soul, laugh-ter, or dignity left. Two of which i’m not sure either one of us had in the first place.

Most importantly my parents, family, and friends who have supported me and my art like it was their own, though no one will ever love my work more than my mother.

thanksy’all

Thank you to University of Tennessee graphic arts Ser-vices at 2021 Stephenson Drive, Knoxville, TN for print-ing the first and second issue of forWordSLaSH and for accomodating my printing demands.

also, everyone i spoke to throughout the process of field research who told me the stories that inspired me to make: Scott Kitts, Scott Kitts’ brother, Scott Kitts’ friend, Crazy Jim, Lady Who Works at UT, Myrtle, Creepy Man at the XXX Tent, and all the other nameless voices.

45/

colophon

This book was created in adobe inDesign CS3. Photographs were

enhanced and processed using adobe Photoshop CS3.

Fonts used are aldine 401 BT and Perpetual Titling MT.

This 45 page book was printedusing lulu.com.

all writing, photography, illustra-tions, and design by Faith Barger

unless otherwise noted.