Echo Mousepads
By switching a typical mousepad with a sheet of paper, I am able to collect an echo of my computer use over the course of a few months. The resulting drawing embodies both a warm earthy tone while also being indicative of the filth one accumulates through prolonged use of technology.
Wow, I guess someone didn’t wash his hands before using the mouse. Ha, it happens to everyone. I like the layout of the smooshed mixed dead skin cells and dirt on the paper. Hmm… try putting a large, thick sheet of clean paper beneath your chair, that would be interesting, just make sure to scrape excess dirt off of your shoes or sandals before using your computer. Anyway, awesome, keep thinking creatively!
Fascinating. What compels you to do these things?
I have no real answer to that question, but a conversation I read between John Cage and Morton Feldman has held resonance with me:
Morton Feldman: Well, this weekend I was on the beach.
John Cage: Yes.
MF: … And on the beach these days are transistor radios.
JC: Yes.
MF: … blaring out rock ‘n’ roll.
JC: Yes.
MF: All over.
JC: Yes. And you didn’t enjoy it?
MF: Not particularly. I adjusted to it.
JC: How?
MF: By saying that… Well, I thought of the sun and the sea as a lesser evil.
JC: You know how I adjusted to that problem of the radio in the environment? Very much as the primitive people adjusted to the animals which frightened them, and which, probably as you say, were intrusions. They drew pictures of them on their caves. And so I simply made a piece using radios. Now, whenever I hear radios – even a single one, not just twelve at a time, as you must have heard on the beach, at least – I think, “Well, they’re just playing my piece.”
I’ll have to try that sometime.
!!! i do the same with an 11×17, cause a mousepad is too small and i don’t think we have any extras in my office anyway. after a week it’s covered with coffee rings and scribbled notes. its always kind of been a source of embarrassment at my desk. never more!
I tossed my pad and went optical long ago. Don’t they have a Wal-mart in Newyork somewhere? Their pretty cheap these days.
I find that the optical mouse sometimes gets wiggly on a shiny surface. And besides, I need to use the paper pad for this project.
I think your effort in answering questions that may have ‘missed the target’ is a demonstration of your special patience… and possibly highlights your subtle humour (inquistive look at the world) that flows through your works?
I’m probably just obsessive compulsive about replying.
I use graph paper, it works brilliantly with an optical mouse, and also provides a further ‘guage’ to the resulting months-long drawing…
I believe it is not from the dirt on your hands but the oils released over time onto the paper from your skin. I could be wrong about this but that is my first belief.
how long do you think it would take to wear a hole through the paper if you used the same piece for a long time?
I’m always amazed by how polished and worn down (loved) the trackpad is on my laptop. it’s funny to me that my finger did all that. Looking at my laptop-when-new vs. my laptop-of-today would be like looking at the first and last pictures in your daily picture project: so many changes, but so little evidence of the changes as they happen.
I’m not sure if one would ever wear a hole through the paper. This process is constantly adding oil, dust, and grime to the paper, which in turn sort of protects it from the friction of the mouse. I could be wrong of course, but I like the results of the buildup too much to find out if it happens after years of normal usage. By all means, give it a shot yourself!
I am reminded of a keyboard that I used at work that had the ‘Command’ key worn down with grooves in it so that you could tell the person had longer fingernails.
It does get a hole through the paper… I used to work in an Internet Cafe for two years, the space for the mouse on the desks was too small for a mousepad and we used paper… of course a lot of people used it through the day… but they all eventually got a hole (sometimes before even getting dirty), due to sweat i suppose… would be interesting to see the process in pictures
Esta muy chido lo de tu proyecto muy loco andas en drogas o algo asi??
[Google Translation]
Esta muy chido so much of your project you’re crazy on drugs or something like this?
[End Google Translation]
[Babelfish Translation]
This very chido the one of your very crazy project drug litters or something thus?
[End Babelfish Translation]
I’ve never used any drugs. Prefer to stick to my misery as muse.
They look like images of ghosts … technological ghosts. Cool idea.
What a beautiful way to memorialize your relationship with your computer. Not to make it sound that your relationship with your computer is any deeper than most of ours (or maybe it is?) but it definitely gives pause to consider the amount of time we all spend staring at the glowing screen while our living bodies continue to accumulate and shed physical material. I like the visceral qualities – the marks of dirt and dead skin definitely betray the physical presence of the artist.
Love this. And tried it.
I wrapped the old mouse-pad in paper ’cause optical mouse needed clean surface. Mouse pad beneath had Mirko Ilić’s illustration beneath. The paper started to fall apart because of the heat/moist of my hand, revealing the artwork beneath.
Couldn’t be bothered to change the paper. And I took a photo of it for the Margins project.
It’s very Yokoesque. (that’s a compliment).
Good stuff, JK. Just what I needed to chill out. The Cage/Feldman conversation … oddly timely for me. Thanks.
Hey!! I can see Jesus!!……See him?
I see Jesus in everything.
try one of those small mouse… you’ll get a bigger image… (try using it with the left hand or switching… i’ll get more interesting)
I’m not looking for “more interesting”, I’m looking for patience and honesty.
I love it! This is one of those extremely simple things that fascinate me, like wear patterns on your shoes or the way your gear shifting knob gets nice and polished.
Nice!
I can see there are 3 areas that are used more often. I guess lower usage is due to the Menu Bar.
It’d be interesting to see a snapshot of your desktop icons, or move the toolbar from bottom to… I dunno, right, and see the impact on the paper.