New Museum: Collection Reflection
Roger Caillois’ “Selection of One Hundred Stones” is exceptional in its quantitative and qualitative measures. The rocks ranged from large to small and from intricate to bold in their designs. Caillois believed that these rocks were “tangible examples of the endless ingenuity and creative power of the universe” (Shaffer-Del Valle). I really like the way this statement is worded and I completely agree with this quote. In the collection some of the rocks were chosen for their exterior aesthetics and some for their interior aesthetics both fascinating creations by the earth during its formation period. As one amazingly intricate rock might not give the audience justice to attain attentiveness, surly 100 rocks create a far greater meaning and understanding of the beauty that the natural world has to offer.
I am also very fond of stones like Caillois was and have my own collection at home, it is far less vast than his but it tells a unique story of my experiences from around the world and at home. Sometimes I choose a rock for memory purposes disregarding its aesthetics; but most of the time I choose them because it was a striking personal artifact that was lying there naturally when I happen to pass by. It was a genuine artifact from my time in that location opposed to a “tourist” memorabilia. I became fascinated with their origins and I had to take it with me to add to my collection. Unfortunately I do not have any photographs of my personal collection with me as it is in Vancouver. I would say that this collection represents my attentiveness to the little things as a designer. Enabling myself to look past the broad picture and find just the right details of a creation that aren’t working and need to be fixed. In representation, as I look past the location I am in on a macro scale and start to identify the unique micro materials which make up the location that I am in, most of the time being unique rock formations.
Citation:
Shaffer-Del Valle, Emilia. Roger Caillois. New Museum, n.d. New York, New York.
