In Praise of “No Storytelling”
Sometimes, an interesting artifact is simply that: interesting. There’s no narrative, no grand story around it. The item simply exists, and is notable for existing. That’s it.
I’ve been rolling this idea in my head for a while now, particularly after seeing some clear examples of this from other people.
Paul Ford wrote about how a hotel he stayed at tried to embody a story of its brand identity. The hotel in question did this through everything from an in-house TV channel right down to salt and pepper shakers in the restaurant. Instead of creating a beautiful story to “envelop” guests, as Ford describes, the hotel kind of falls flat. Really, a hotel is somewhere for people to sleep and maybe eat. This is completely fine and good, and sometimes hotel companies should remember this fact. Mostly when I’ve stayed at hotels, I need somewhere to sleep, wash, perhaps eat, and generally rest. I think a lot of folks are like me. We’re not looking for a deep experience or dialogue so much as a mostly comfortable bed.
Another example is from the world of mathematics, where there are lots of ideas and concepts that, frankly, don’t need stories to be interesting. As an enjoyer of things mathematical, what I enjoy is that certain theorems or mathematical expressions are simply interesting on their own. I’m not looking for stories or a narrative around why the Four Colour theorem came about; I’m more interested in what it is and how it’s been proven. In fact, some mathematicians take umbrage with the applicability of concepts in math, believing math should be enjoyed for its own sake (see number theory and cryptography). Maybe the Banach Fixed Point Theorem is cool enough to learn for learning’s sake.
A last example of enjoying things for being interesting without storytelling is the art of Agnes Martin. In a sense, art is storytelling, at least by some descriptions. However, the first time I saw Martin’s work, I simply enjoyed it for being orderly and elegant. Grid lines on paper, organized in modern frames: I simply enjoyed it. In part, I think I enjoy Martin’s work because there’s no story, no recreation of a great tale. Art can be an incredible vehicle for storytelling (see the Sistine Chapel and pretty much all Renaissance paintings) but art can also be a bunch of interesting objects.
In an era where narratives and storytelling dominate many, many aspects of our lives, it may be worthwhile to keep in mind some things that exist are interesting and delightful because they exist, and nothing more.
