On the Shelf: "Making Do and Getting By" by Richard Wentworth
Richard Wentworth is an established and influential British sculptor—but in “Making Do and Getting By” he uses photography to “register chance encounters of oddities and discrepancies in the modern landscape, expanding the possibilities of sculpture into the public realm.” Essentially it’s a sketchbook of snapshots; the images aren’t precious, but the concepts they support are layered.
What I find compelling about this collection of images is both the documentation (celebration?) of improvisation in the built environment as well as the elevation of the flâneur as more than a mere urban onlooker, but one who is seeking inspiration in the prosaic world around them. Wentworth suggests that the viewer shouldn’t “dwell on a page”, the book is best absorbed at the pace of a walk, steadily turning the pages, going back and forward, making our own connections and categorizations—bringing the concept of the flâneur full circle.
I also see “Making Do and Getting By” as a subtle commentary on the modern world of design, as funneled through a consumerist lens. As humans move further from our agrarian roots, we are slowly losing our ability (and desire) to repair and adjust the world around us as we see fit. When there’s a service for everything and buying new is often times cheaper and easier than taking the time to fix it ourselves, we surrender this notion of “non-conformist inventiveness” and rely solely on corporate powers to provide for us. “Making Do and Getting By” is project that helps train the eye to seek and appreciate improvised ingenuity and to embrace the “unrefined” and the “good enough” as truly human.
