16
Artifact
DE FACTO ARTIFACT
Words Maurice Harteveld
It was at the end of a day that friends and colleagues
from abroad came to visit at our house. While having
stormy discussions and chats about people we knew
and didnt know, basically we joined in daily
adventures. The world always seems sizable in our
bubble, especially now. We got a calm focal point in
our midst.
At night, I checked my phone to see what happened
elsewhere and what tomorrow may bring. What
would I be without this compass? Could I survive
in our galaxy? iWonder? My thoughts paused as I
swiped my phone to do earthly things. I got a
message in my mailbox: an invitation to write a short
article for the Artifact column, in the Bnieuws Bday
issue. Reasoning started again. Whats my artifact?
I immediately thought of the non-naturalobjects
shaped by humans. Pure art! I watched my phone
again. This object? It may not be art or wonder; fair
design at the most I opened my browser and
started associating. After a few clicks I knew. Briefly
combining all perceivable, or even imaginable, I
found a way to answer the question, but it needs
time. I closed this app and almost randomly opened
another. Theres nothing to like, so another click
before I call it off. Into my view entered a snapshot I
took today
The following days, the question remained. My
answer will not be my phone. Objects as such will be
too soon of archaeological interest. Some phones
not minewill end up in a museum, where mankind
artificially preserve them from the intrusion of new
ways of living. In my view highly interesting, but not
yet my call for the best that humans make. What then
< Image by Maurice Harteveld.
is my proposal for the piece de resistance?
An epistemological, near existential sequel followed.
As an architect and urban designer, Im trained to
learn from historic paradigm shifts and, who knows,
to create one. As an academic Ive learned to
question this. Everything needs an update and all we
make is temporal. At best, an object enters into
humans heritage. Such may be the value of any
artifactThen, I remembered the snapshot taken so
quickly with my phone. Can I keep this as well?
Digital images wont have extreme longevity as
resolution increases. Printed it may fade as well.
Then, I started to understand: my search has
expressed permanent temporality. Exemplified by 17
this picture, one of the thousands I have, it all comes
together. However, although close, my artifact is not
so much the snapshot itself, nor the device used, but
the object of the image. It is a portrayal of a single
personcenter in the hurricane of thoughts, special
as well as randoma human in time. One of the
many in the world.
In search for my artifact, I got it: Being an incredible
creation without necessity to be made, it is there. It
evolves every second, and we cannot act around it.
With its galactic complexity, it is the core of life and
profession, and premises of any artifact: the
archi-artifact itself. The best that humans make is
humans itselfmy call. I swiped and clicked again:
There must be at least a birthday like