Common Discourse is a project designed to help others (and ourselves) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work—from Alex Tan & Alice Otieno.
Every Tuesday we share words from a few ideas, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them. Words from the journal will come at least twice a month.
Happy September, and happy Friday!
As you might have noticed, Alex and I took an unintentional (but much needed) break throughout August as things gradually got busier at the studio. We’ve managed to catch our breath, momentarily, and thought that this month would be a good time to get back to regular scheduling — using the momentum of September to usher in a fresh start.
For this week’s Sights & Sounds, we reached out to Colson Place, a freelance designer based in Los Angeles, California. I first came across Colson’s work in 2020, specifically his sculptures and and illustrations, and loved some of the themes he was exploring throughout his pieces — themes of faith, architecture, connection.
Here’s what he shared with us this week!
— Alice
Sights —
1. Ingo Maurer 1997 customized Zettel’z Chandelier and BLESS N°29 Wallscape. Snapped this at the Nonaka-Hill “Busy Work at Home” group show in 2021. Rodney and Taka always curate amazing shows, highly recommend keeping an eye on their upcoming exhibitions if/when you’re in LA
2. Riga Cathedral courtyard Wallscape. Last week, on a short trip to Latvia, I was obsessed with this church’s creative problem solving. Felt related to the BLESS Wallscapes. The high contrast here of new vs old and real vs fake works so well. Big fan.
3. Aspirational name/signage. Perfect sweet spot: to the point and open-ended, familiar and obscure, serious and playfully unpretentious all at once. Plus the default-feel of the Helvetica-esque typeface plays so well with the building’s charactered exterior.
4. Latvian park benches. Stumbling across this bench circle made me think of Max Lamb’s Exercises in Seating. I love how the different heights create a distinct feeling and function for each bench.
5. Peter Eisenman’s Holocaust Memorial in West Berlin. An example of great design. Highly affecting and dimensional. Lots here.
6. Enzo Mari Autoprogettazione daybed (mid-construction). Partially taking a page from Danh Võ’s book of tricks, my mechanical engineer sister, Rae, helped Em (my partner) and I make this daybed from Enzo Mari’s original 1974 plans. Not the most comfortable option for a couch but looks inoffensive in our space and works well enough.
7. Em (@spreadholy) painting in our bedroom. Em’s been working a series of typographically abstract poems they’ve written. Mostly as paintings and drawings. So inspired by their creative instincts and thoughtfulness.
8. Wall at the David Ireland House. There’s no place like 500 Capp Street. Here, David Ireland pulled back the original wallpaper to uncover the paperer’s signature. To add some flair and bring attention to it further, he hung this sconce. Brilliant.
9. Charli XCX Pop 2 5 Year Anniversary Vinyl. Love Charli, love this album, love this vinyl, love Cong who showed it to me (pictured).
10. Ayoto Ataraxia, Sadness of Pleasure or Zen and the Art of Squirt. Last (but certainly not least) is my friend Ayoto’s newest book full of interviews about Squirt. Buy, read, and digest this content if you know what’s good for you lol.
Sounds —
This song feels like the theme song for coming out of your shell. Big fan of the Charli energy. Chanel Beads makes great music from NYC!
