"Object of Desire"

Responses to the chapter "Object of Desire" from Susan Stewart's On Longing.


Sentence #1:

"The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale."

          This photo was taken at Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Over 10,000 feet above the sea, the landscape becomes distorted. On the other side of this "arch" the ground was far below and it was just me, the death grip on my hat, and the rock landscape stretching for miles before me. Literally, my body is framed in the formation of rock, but the scale of the landscape below is unknown from the picture's point of view. I perceived one scale during the taking of this photo, while the viewer of this photo will perceive another. 

Sentence #2

"Capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experience." 

   

          Taken at UNC Asheville at their bee-friendly literary home, these objects: the old books, logs, and incense sticks were hollowed out to form a whole bee colony. The reminicient quality of an old book turned into a new dwelling is definitely a trace of an authentic experience. The merging of reading and sustaining a population is beneficial on many levels! Reading is an action that sustains the mind, and providing bees with a home so their colony does not collapse sustains the world. 

Sentence #3

"The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the three-dimensional into the miniature, that which can be enveloped by the body." 

 

              This greenhouse became a sanctuary for reading for my mom, sister, and I for two nights. We breathed in the tomato air and our novels. This memory of these moments serves the same purpose as a souvenir, except it truly enveloped us. Ideas of what is tangible become lost when realized that this is a feeling I am holding on to. I cannot physically hold this souvenir of connection and learning in my hand, but I do have it ingrained in my soul. 

Sentence #4

"Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss."

          Northern Spark was an environmental festival I attended in Minneapolis a few years ago. Looking back, it was a transformative night! I learned all about the loss of habitat, water, and culture all while participating in a movement. In order for things to change, reflection about past mistakes of humans on Earth must be accounted for. Northern Spark emphasized the loss realized when reflecting about the past, but this nostalgia must be taken and used to change the world for the better. 

Sentence #5

"The place of origin must remain unavailable in order for desire to be generated."

         This photo of my sister looking out over the forest of Tallulah Gorge, Georgia, reflects ideas of contemplating an unknown origin. Is she thinking about how long ago that tree sprouted from the ground? Maybe she is wondering when the first tree popped out of the soil. Curiosity springs from not knowing. With this in mind, Julia desires to know what she cannot.