Sensuous Equivalents

When one encounters a ‘sensuous equivalent,’ as described by poet Rainer Maria Rilke, they are commanded by some force to stop and acknowledge the object. The force may not have a name or words to describe it, but the observer must stop nonetheless as the object calls their undivided attention.

I am drawn to the graffiti covered doors, telephone booths, and postal boxes of the world. Many people walk by these objects. Perhaps they think that these are the works of vandals, or do not think about them at all. What I notice, however, is a biome, beautiful and complex. These objects are collectives of media and technique. They are created by a need to express and a need to be recognized. The signatures (and their stories) can be studied individually or as a larger composition. These levels of existence mirror those of the individual in a community. This community is entirely mysterious; its members are anonymous and its signatures are often unintelligible. These compositions are constantly changing as old signatures age away and new ones are added, and so the doors mimic life.