Ingenious and ingenuous: Improvised technology

Ingenious and ingenuous are often confused. Ingenious means 'clever, skillful, resourceful' (: an ingenious device), while ingenuous means 'artless, frank' (: charmed by the ingenuous honesty of the child).
The improvised technology is often frank and has a rather brutal visual attraction. At the same time these objects are clever and resourceful.
The Kevin Kelly blog showed me the way to something truly remarkable: a collection of improvised technology from Russia. These objects combine function with poetry. material poverty with invention.

http://folkarsenal.artinfo.ru/map/r56.htm  (for the collection of Vladimir Archipov. in russian only) http://www.kk.org/streetuse/archives/2006/09/soviet_improvised_household_ar.php (Kevin Kelly blog)

Soviet Improvised Household Articles

This stunning gallery of improvised household objects from the Soviet Union. Many are utilitarian, but many others are decorative, toys, or personal artistic expressions.
These were all collected by a young Russian, Vladimir Archipov. His found objects were produced in the last twenty years and were made in Russia at a time when manufactured items were very hard to get, yet the aspirations for them were growing. The collection began when Archipov found a coat-rack made by his grandfather out of heated and bent toothbrushes. He then saw for the first time the true nature of handmade objects and their lovely beauty. He started collecting stuff from his relatives and friends and then friends of friends. He writes: "There are over a thousand items in my collection today, and they all have three characteristics in common; functionality, a visual uniqueness and the testimony of the author, who is both the creator and the user. They represent an astonishing part of modern folk material culture.

These objects were part of an exercise in translating pictures of 'things' into 'signs' bearers of meaning. Will be explained and illustrated in a future article.