I’ve briefly touched on the “Significant Objects” project (here) in my post about Joshua Glenn & Carol Hayes book: Taking Things Seriously, 75 Objects with Unexpected Significance.
A joint project by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, “Significant Objects” is a sort of spin off from that book. Previously insignificant objects are given new meaning and increased monetary value, by virtue of having been written about in a story. The objects are then put up for sale on eBay. I bid on a cursed bottle, but (luckily for me) I lost.
Since then, I’ve been monitoring closely for significant packaging-related swag, but I haven’t really coveted any of the objects quite as much. Until now with this jar of marbles.
The weird thing is—as unappealing as some of this stuff is at first glance—these stories do a great job at transforming your initial repulsion into a desire to purchase. I was not instantly drawn to this reused Beechnut Baby Food jar and I don’t collect marbles, but after reading Ben Ehrenreich’s disturbing story about how this particular batch of marbles came to be contained in this jar, it has, for me, become a very desirable item.
I pull a marble from your skull each time we kiss. “Give it back,” you say, each time.
“Darling,” I say. “Baby,” I say. “No.”
I put the marble in my pocket. Later, I will hide it with the others. But not now, because now you’re watching. Now you’re getting mad. I knew you would, and now you’re doing it. You cross your arms. Your features droop. Not just your lips but your eyelids and ears and the cleft ball of your chin. All of it droops. I laugh at you. “Come here, Droopy,” I say, and I try to kiss you, but you pull away.
–Excerpt from Jar of Marbles by Ben Ehrenreich
Unfortunately with the bidding already up to $28.05 and with three more days to go before the auction ends, I don’t think I can compete for ownership of these marbles. Not when I’m paying out of a joint bank account. Even if I were willing to spend $50, $100, maybe even more on this super-significant jar of marbles—how on earth would I explain it to my significant other?
Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design
Comments