Life is in the details

A couple of years ago I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine titled Reading the Message in Everyday Things about John R. Stilgoe, a professor at Harvard University who teaches classes and writes books about things we completely take for granted and often escape our notice. I was immediately intrigued and read his books Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places and Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1938 to find out more about this man and his grasp of the uncommonly common. After reading his work I took pen to stationery and wrote to invite him to give a presentation to the Boston.pm since an appreciation for the wisdom in the details of life would be a welcome change of pace. The one track minded programmer would benefit greatly from seeing and pondering the details in the world beyond the keyboard. He replied in kind and expressed regret that he was going to be away for the summer term but would welcome another invitation during the Fall term.

I forgot all about this until last night when Jarkko found Suburbia by Bill Owens. The book is an utterly brilliant collection of photos from 1970s suburban California. I stared at a photo of a food pantry for nearly 20 minutes noticing how some brands of food had changed and remembering what the pantry looked like at my house. There is a picture of an elderly couple in a garage workshop that captivates since they look very happy and then you notice there are bare breasted women covering the wall behind them. Some of the pictures are accompanied by wry little comments that frame the photos perfectly. Every picture is a time capsule. If I knew or ever saw any of my fellow neighbors I'd attempt making a 2002 version of Suburbia as I'm sure that 30 years from now everything will look quaint and amusing as much as 30 years ago seems now.