Office Supplies
Offices are neutral and dependable, white and gray. Printers print memos, scanners scan them, copiers copy. Papers shuffle from the bellies of enormous humming plastic machines into stacked receiving arms. The paper is flat, collated, and warm. Crisp corners and sides are hole-punched, stapled, and bound.
On occasion, an ink cartridge explodes. Mishaps occur frequently in offices, but software or hardware malfunctions will sometimes create an exceptional image. The accident, in the peculiarity of what it creates, happens only once. Within the run of a normal workday, these creations are oddly momentous. They are beautiful.
Once, I turned over a printout to find an opaque and pixilated corruption of a PowerPoint presentation. I felt as though I were being saved, and that I would cry.
The moment was private, transitory and intangible. I witnessed a uniquely botched document, I felt disconnected and passionate and vulnerable, and then I threw the document away and continued working.
I’m certain these ephemeral moments, be they profound, odd or humorous, happen in offices everywhere. I hope to find and collect their source material.
Below are images from my own office experience. I am seeking images from offices everywhere, and I hope to assemble a diverse collection.
If you would like to contribute to the project, please scan your image/document (black & white or color, pdf or jpeg formats preferred) and send to info@morganclevy.com. Please also include:
1. The type of office the image came from (temp agency; law office)
2. The mishap that created the image (copier jam; found in garbage)
3. Date, date range, or year the image was created.Optional, but welcome: name (if you’d like credit), business name, and any other information that is appropriate and that you wish to provide.
Please share!
