THE THING

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1056577175336769908.post-40760128107481275672007-12-31T10:15:00.000Z2008-01-01T11:09:35.091ZTHE THING<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_RcwHpax0Ens/R3jGpqIPFUI/AAAAAAAAAqk/1MH9N2kHeE4/s1600-h/wrapping-party.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_RcwHpax0Ens/R3jGpqIPFUI/AAAAAAAAAqk/1MH9N2kHeE4/s320/wrapping-party.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150084592883930434" /></a>I have recently found <A href="http://www.thethingquarterly.com/">THE THING</A>. Their site explains that: THE THING is a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers are invited by the editors ( Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan ) to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. This object will be reproduced and hand wrapped by the editors and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service. Very curious and unusual and I think that <A href="http://www.thethingquarterly.com/photos/album/6 ">Issue 1</A> is really interesting. BUT . . . what I like best about this concept is how when you start doing imaginative and fun things.... people follow you, participate, help, get enthusiastic. How this happened here: "Wednesday August 15th, THE THING had its first ever wrapping party at Southern Exposure. We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of participation, but we were completely blown away by the end of the evening. About 250 amazing people from around the Bay Area (and one person from Thailand) came to help wrap Issue 1 of THE THING by Miranda July. Thank you!One of the visions we had about THE THING when we were first thinking of it, was that there would be a sort of social aspect of it when it came time to send it out, like a barn raising. A group of us would pack it and send it out into the world. But the amazing thing about the wrapping party on Wed. night was that it took on a life of its own and suddenly become a sort of force that now seems to be driving the future of THE THING.Not only did we witness incredible innovation in the assembly line, but the entire night’s wrapping was completed in the course of an hour. (The beer and wine may have helped this). The second amazing aspect of all of this is that THE THING has received invitations to set up wrapping parties in other locations around the city and the country for issues 2 and 3! We are still trying to get our heads around how this happened.The day after the wrapping party, we sat down at La Taquaria for our sixth carnitas burrito that week and we discussed the fact that THE THING has a life all its own, and it is sort of leading us along. We thought it was a publication that would be made and sent out with the help of friends. We thought that the best part of THE THING would happen when it arrived at your door and you went to open it. But it turns out that it’s also a sort of public thing on the other end, the end that sends it out. So on both sides of the US mail there is an event that is taking place around THE THING: a party to send it out and a sort of excitement that we think happens when you see it in your house. It’s very exciting for us to think of THE THING existing in this way." So if anyone needs any help at all doing new, fun and imaginative projects in 2008 - call me!Tessy Brittonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05508205143507731122noreply@blogger.com0