Objectified@ Harris Theater

Thanks again to Bittersweet Harvest for the heads up on the opening of a documentary about the process of designing the stuff that makes up our daily existence from the maker of the cult favorite film about a typface, Helvetica at Pittsburgh Filmakers.

Consultants' free-form brainstorming leads from a bristle-replaceable toothbrush to every conceivable variation on dental care. A computer designer waxes poetic on the multifunctionality of a plastic keyboard grid. A car engineer likens automobile models to classical sculptures while, to another, they symbolize drivers' visions of themselves.

But the biggest sea change in the nature of design comes from ecology and accompanying problems of recycling and disposal. As the camera roves the streets of Hoboken, N.J., past rows of discarded appliances half-covered in snow, Hustwit's film shows how artistic, sentimental, environmental and commercial priorities struggle for pre-eminence amid concerns for planetary survival.

Objectified runs July 19th-23rd @ The Harris Theater, Downtown Pittsburgh