On the Kindness of Things by John Tuite

“Treat objects as if they had nervous systems.” Bruce Fertman.

There’s an old porcelain telephone on the stage. It’s only there because in the second act it is written that a character answers the phone to hear news of an arrest. After this single moment the telephone plays no more role, contributes nothing to the on-going drama. It’s forgotten by audience and actors alike. Its existence fades.

We tend to treat most objects like they are minor props in a play. They are only real when, and in so far as, they have use to us and the plot we are enacting. They have no voice of their own, no ‘life’ other than that contained in our script. They are not even background.

If we can give up this idea we realise that the simplest of objects offers us a more interesting possibility. Each has a dual existence, like light…