Veneration of Objects | Pratt Institute School of Design

As the notion of truth requires falsity, the notion of living necessitates the existence of non-living. We co-exist with the non-living, and neither can live without the other. Objects are subject to different interpretations, one of which is veneration. To venerate means to revere or have deep respect for someone or something, in the current context, something. This thesis study is a quest to find why we venerate some objects and not others and to explore the causes of object-veneration. My study recognized five forms of venerable objects, form of Idolatry, Interest, Emotional support, Identity, and Apophenia. These forms are caused by at least one of their subtypes.

An object must be encoded with at least one of these contextual markers to be called a ‘Venerable object’. If they are: a form of Emotional Support, a form of Identity, a form of Interest, an outcome of Apophenia, or a form of Idolatry. Any of their subtypes can contribute to forming them.

What are meaningful objects?

At the beginning of my research, I conducted several interviews with people asking them about their most meaningful possessions and why they revere them. This question inherently brought smiles to their faces. Many interesting insights were brought to light through these interviews, with which I started forming a data structure.

Objects of different situations?

Yet another exploration was done through Cultural probes (activity kits to gather inspirational data). Each kit consisted of five daily tasks. The kits persuaded the participants to creatively describe their relationship with their possessions. This project helped me build a formal idea about the different criteria people relate objects to.

Voyage of Attribution:

I designed this game following the insights analyzed from the interviews, cultural probes, and secondary research. The players were asked to drag counters engraved with everyday objects to a location (attribution) they most related the object with. The motive of this game was to check the accuracy of my research findings.

Along with this topic's subjectivity, the game brought forward many confusions from the player’s end. Few couldn’t relate an object to any of the specified criteria. As feedback, they suggested to me newer attribution areas that I could look into. Their suggestion got me to explore subjects that I hadn’t before.

Gamer or Collector:

One of such subjects was the gaming world. In video games, objects are often collected for various benefits such as superpower, strength, authority, reward, etc. This design response demonstrated a gamer’s desire for material ownership. I created a remix of different gaming narratives showing a gamer's journey to own materials in different countries.

To Revere

Finally, as my graduation project, I designed a live platform that serves two functions. One, as a ‘Museum of Revered Possession,’ space where people can glorify and immortalize their revered possessions. Two, as a space to ‘Discern,’ where people can distinguish their relationship with an object based on my research findings.