Noticing Inspiration
TAoN No. 176: A personal 2024 highlight. Plus a new Icebreaker — and a special sticker offer
I got a postcard recently that really made my day. And as the year winds down, I thought I’d share the backstory, because it offers a nice little case study in how paying attention to things most people overlook (the art of noticing) can spark a fun and unexpected creative project — inspring new observations and incorporating new influences, connecting with friends and strangers along the way.
Years ago, I wrote for Design Observer about Matthew Frye Jacobson’s documentation of the alarming proliferation of signs advertising vacant commercial space beginning at the depths of the Great Recession. The collection, “Space Available,” struck me at the time as a terrific example of noticing the hidden-in-plain-sight. It made me see and consider both the implications and the aesthetics of “space available” ads in a new way.
Separately, E (my wife, and regular creative-attention collaborator) and I often joked about the way artspeak tossed around the term “liminal space.” This is a perfectly useful concept, evoking a threshhold or ambiguous transitional state. But the words are often deployed in a way that does more to mystify than clarify. (Admittedly, I was probably the one who harped on this all the time, but we both joked about whether this or that physical space might be liminal.)
Then E had a funny idea: What about “Liminal Space Available,” borrowiing the low-end real-estate visual style — picture what we later learned are called “bandit signs” you see stapled to a telephone pole — and combining it with highfalutin jargon?
This reminded me of a project called Ca$h For Your Warhol. Someone told me about this several years ago, and gave me some 3X5 stickers1. It’s a simple but brilliant subversion of something familiar — outdoor ads for dubious fast-cash businesses2.
We mentioned “Liminal Space Available” to some friends, who thought it was a funny concept, and we decided to make some stickers, as a lark.
We sent those to various pals, and I wrote about it in a TAoN supporter post, offering to send stickers to anybody interested. All I asked was for recipients to send a picture of wherever their sticker ended up.
It has been a delight to watch the results — and to see what liminal spaces were claimed or spotted, and where: New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Portland (Oregon), spots in Canada, Porto (Portugal), and elsewhere.3
Which brings me back to the postcard I mentioned at the start. It’s from reader Cathy L. Stewart, who described carrying around her sticker for a few weeks, “waiting for an interesting spot in need of liminal space.” She found what she sought on a bench in Vermont, and turned her picture into the postcard (at the top of this post) that she sent our way.
A perfect example of the spirit we’re after — and a reminder of why this was a favorite little project of the year, for us. I’d love to hear yours!
STICKER SPECIAL OFFER!
Become a supporter of TAoN at the $40/year discount rate, or the $5 a month rate, and I’ll send you a sticker. Just include your mailing address as a message with your sub.
Already a supporter and want a sticker? Email me at the address below with your info.
Noticing is about other people, too. The Icebreaker series aims to help with that. There’s a central collection spot for all the icebreakers to date, here.
Today’s icebreaker comes from reader Ash K.:
“If you could know the answer to one conspiracy theory — whether it was true or not, and the actual events that happened — which would it be?”
“For me, I think it would be Area 51,” Ash adds. “I need to know!”
Thank you Ash!
Please send your favorite icebreaker (whether you made it up or found it elsewhere) to consumed@robwalker.net. If I use your icebreaker you’ll get a free three-month sub to the paid edition of TAoN (or some other fun prize if you’re already a supporter).
GIVE THE GIFT OF TAoN!
If you appreciate The Art of Noticing and its mission to help you to pay attention to what you care about, and care about what you pay attention to, consider sharing that mission by giving a gift subscription to a friend. Supporters get extra posts, discussion threads, full archive access, and other surprises. The book also makes a great gift !
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IN OTHER NEWS
For the “gifts” file: "I Still Give My Ex-Husband Great Gifts and I Don’t Know Why," by the terrific Laura Lippman.
Googly eyes in Oregon, googly eyes in Boston. Here’s more on the Boston example, involving the T. I’m very interested in Arielle Lok, one of the Boston googly-organizers, who separately organized a lettuce-eating contest. (“[If] you have a stupid idea, you should just go ahead with it,” Lok advised. “It turns out a lot of us like stupid ideas.”) Who is this remarkable person?
A case for holiday cards.
Great episode of the Sidedoor podcast (from the Smithsonian) on Sojourner Truth, especially the last 10 minutes or so on how she used photography to control the presentation of her own image.
Briffits, plewds, quimps, etc.: The Lexicon of Comicana.
OKAY THAT’S IT!
As always, I value your feedback: suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, etc. Constructive insults may be directed at me, not at anyone else. I also welcome your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers, at consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.
—> Tell someone about TAoN! Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.
And thanks for reading …
rw
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All this by Rob Walker PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032. Send me mail!
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I think it was a student. If it was you, let me know!
My initial understanding was that the creator was actually a collector/dealer who really did buy Warhols. But looking into it more recently (because of this mini-project of ours) I find this is not the case. CFYW dates to 2009 and was partly a street-art prank, partly a response to the recession boom in “bandit signs” offering cash for gold or distressed real estate. Since then it’s morphed into an actual art enterprise of sorts, with gallery shows and prints for sale. Here’s the Instagram. I still love it as an example of putting a new spin on something most of us had overlooked.
Thanks Anne & Brad; G.K., Rubi, Stacy, Josh G., Josh N., Amy & Chris, and Andrea
I love this post so much. It reminds me of a quote by a punk music promoter who created flyers for bands he wished existed, then pasted the flyers everywhere: “With an x-acto knife and a little glue, you can change the world.” And the skateboard decks serving as seating are like a literal torch passing among generations. Where once the boards served as the vehicle, they are now a stationary respite post.
Hey Rob, I have enjoyed your work since you wrote the "Consumed" column for the NYT. Unless that was a different Rob Walker and you are occupying his liminal space.
As someone who has spent decades as a creative director, strategist, and columnist myself - for Inc. magazine - I have long told my clients and students that the neural loop between observation and initiation is one of the most powerful forces in the world. (Einstein said the most powerful force in the world was compound interest, but that might have been a reflection of inter-war hyperinflation.)
Noticing is impeded by both our heads-down phone posture and immersion in our preoccupations, the "in media res-ness" of our daily lives.