SteamSHIFT’s MDAT Blog

I started looking at RFID when I was a student at ITP, during the spring of 2006 for my thesis project, which was about object annotation (description). I was interested in how we relate to things, what these artifacts say about us, and how they often serve as proxies for relationships with people. I was taken by the idea that there is a story behind every object. We make and collect physical things — artifacts– that we attach a lot of meaning to. These objects often serve as memory triggers. I was looking at the role of objects (memorabilia, souvenirs, etc.) in storytelling and how digital media can mediate the retelling of memories. I was trying to “embed” personal histories into inanimate objects.

I’m more interested in the narrative — qualitative than quantitative information. I’m more prone to remember a good story than facts and figures. My personal view is that of all the data we record, the most precious ones are stories. These are impressions — real, reconstructed, or imagined memories — that are a trace of our human experience. Ultimately, the network of things, that they both write about, is connected to a network of people.

Via We Make Money Not Art

shrine | sh rīn|

noun

a place regarded as holy because of its associations with a divinity or a sacred person or relic, typically marked by a building or other construction.

• a place associated with or containing memorabilia of a particular revered person or thing : her grave has become a shrine for fans from all over the world.

• a casket containing sacred relics; a reliquary.

• a niche or enclosure containing a religious statue or other object.

verb [ trans. ] poetic/literary

enshrine.

ORIGIN Old English scrīn [cabinet, chest, reliquary,] of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schrijn and German Schrein, from Latin scrinium ‘chest for books.’

altar |ˈôltər|

noun

the table in a Christian church at which the bread and wine are consecrated in communion services.

• a table or flat-topped block used as the focus for a religious ritual, esp. for making sacrifices or offerings to a deity.

PHRASES

lead someone to the altar marry.

sacrifice someone/something on/at the altar of someone/something cause someone or something to suffer in the interests of someone or something else : no businessman is going to sacrifice his company on the altar of such altruism.

ORIGIN Old English altar, alter, based on late Latin altar, altarium, from Latin altus ‘high.’

Also see here

Trace

Human beings have a great propensity for storytelling, and for making and using objects. We project value onto an object based on our emotional attachment to it, which in turn is based on our memories associated with it. These objects become cues to our past. They can tell stories about our lives.