Significant Objects
by Celeste Ng
Does having a history makes an object more valuable? Part writing project, part community art, part economic study, the Significant Objects project intends to find out. The project asks writers to invent a story for a thrift-store object–each costing just a few dollars–and then posts the object on eBay, with the fictional story as its description. Past contributors have included Aimee Bender on a seahorse cigarette lighter (final price: $36); Colson Whitehead on a wooden mallet ($71), and Matt Klam on a duck-shaped vase ($15.50). Curtis Sittenfeld’s story about a spotted dog figurine–which bears the motto “Glad I Spotted You!” […]
