My idea is to 3D print a tchotchke.  I consider a tchotchke to be an object that is perceived as meaningless, pointless, or useless.  For all intents and purposes in this paper, tchotchkes, trinkets, and knick knacks are the same things.  Originally I had planned to print one object for myself, and one object as a gift.  My plans have changed to only include printing an object for myself.  I feel that printing an object as a gift is unnecessary for forming my idea.  I have already printed a tchotchke and I learned a few things in the process of making it.  I am very interested in printing an object that has meaning only to me.  On this first tchotchke I included little images from different things that I like.  I included a letter A for my name, the Black Lodge emblem from Twin Peaks, the Pokémon Jigglypuff, a kodama(as represented in the film Princess Mononoke), and the nails emoji.  I was originally satisfied with this design, and I still am, but I think going further with this idea I would like to create an object that has meaning only to me.  Four out of the five images come from places in pop culture, and a lot of people are consumers of pop culture.  The other image is just the letter ‘A’ which could apply to almost anyone in some way.  Thinking about this, I wonder how to create something that only has meaning to me.  Another thing I noticed when showing my design to people is that they would often try to assign a function to the object and make it useful.  While it was extremely interesting to see how others saw how my object could be used, I want to create something that’s only function is bearing meaning.  I think that these objects are worth existing even if they have meaning only to one person, and if they are essentially functionless.  A functionless object is almost impossible though, I think.  I consider an object functional if it has any effect at all.  Even just looking at something can make a person think or feel something.

“5 people like this topic”

The thing about trinkets is that people just like them.  If we didn’t, we wouldn’t need a sign telling us they are forbidden from printing.  In scientific studies trinkets are used as reinforcements for children who display positive behaviors.  “Our preliminary work, therefore, was concerned with evaluating types of reinforcements (appearance of a toy, candy, balls, pleasant sounding tones, trinkets, etc.), various kinds of responses (push buttons and lights, peg boards and lights, pump handles, dropping a ball in a hole, etc.), and ways of setting up experimental procedures.”  (Bijou 162)  Here we see trinkets being used in the same situation as toys and candy.  Toys and candy are undoubtedly positive things that are well liked by most people.  If we like something, isn’t it worth creating?  I think inspiring happiness is a worthy function of an object.

This idea is a controversial one.  The question “What is worth printing in a world that is already full of stuff?” has a heavy environmental theme to it.  Eleanor K. Sommer of myeconnotebook.com is definitely one who is worried about the environmental impact of 3D printing.  As she learned about 3D printing for the first time, she questioned the impact of the plasticity of 3D printing.  “Pulling myself back from warp speed, though, I became disturbed. This wunderkind appliance had implications I could not even imagine.  The substance must be powdered plastic, I decided as I watched. I cringed at the thought of household desktop “printers” adding to the mountains of plastic waste in the world. More useless stuff.  I was wrong. At least about Z Corp. Titlow told me the material is a special kind of powder and contains gypsum.  Z Corporation uses “eco-friendly, non-hazardous” building material and produces “zero liquid waste,” he said and the company tries to be eco-friendly in other ways, such as replacing plastic drums with cardboard ones for shipping the powdered materials to clients.” (Sommer)  She seems to have concluded that 3D printing is eco-friendly and that’s that.  Later in her article though, she questions 3D printing altogether.  “My fear is the proliferation of plastic trinkets in a world already inundated with plastic waste. Health concerns are implicit in every stage of plastic production: manufacturing, use, and disposal.  Do we really need the convenience of downloading a program (or scanning an object) to print more synthetic stuff?” (Sommer)  Here Sommer specifically states her fear of plastic trinkets.  She equates trinkets with waste.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  I wonder why trinkets would still be considered bad if they are made of an environmentally friendly material.

“Does anyone know an online website that i can buy pointless stuff or knickknacks from?”

“It’s a myth that museum shops are stuffed with overpriced, humdrum tchotchkes.  Case in point: Nico, the $8.95 barista action figure now brewing at Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum, is the perfect gift for any latte lover. Read her story on the back of the box — Nico’s beans are always freshly ground, she never tamps the filter basket too tight, and her foam is perfect. This Seattle transplant/ex-Peace Corps worker is moody and curt, but her joe is the best.”  (Erlichman)  We think of museum gift shops as places that sell “overprices, humdrum tchotchkes.”  While it seems that Erlichman believes that the word “tchotchkes” has a negative connotation, I don’t think it has to be viewed that way.  It would be completely easy to view this barista action figure as a worthless object, void of meaning.  However, there is something about the items in this gift shop that isn’t immediately recognizable.  “Museum shops tend to scare people off, says Leslie Dungee, director of the art museum’s gift shop.  ‘But it sure beats the mall.’  Think marble staircases instead of fluorescent-lighted food courts. And hand-picked items, with a purpose.  ‘Our products are designed by women, purchased from a woman-owned company, or relate to the work of women artists,’ says Lynda Marks, director of retail and wholesale operations at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.” (Erlichman)  The fact that all of the items in the gift shop are designed by women, purchased from a woman-owned company, or relate to the work of women artists is incredibly meaningful.  This aspect is not obvious, but is still important and valid.  This meaning might not have been intended at the creation of the object, but assigned later in its life.  I begin to question how it will be possible to create an object that only has meaning for me.

I think I might need to abandon the idea that my object will be functionless and have meaning only to me.  In fact I am almost sure that it will have a function aside from bearing meaning for me.  If I am presenting this to the class, my object will probably inspire thought in some, which I consider to be a function.  I also think that if an object is inspiring thought, it is very likely to be assigned meaning by someone who is thinking about it.  I need to figure out how I will design my tchotchke with this in mind.  Is it worth trying to make it only meaningful to me if it will probably be assigned meaning by someone else?  Is it worth trying to make functionless if it will undoubtedly have a function?

Work Cited