If you’ve been following Kate Bingaman-Burt’s project: Obsessive Consumption then it’s time to hit the bookshelves. Regularly published as a zine, the drawings of her purchases – diligently recorded via drawings for posterity since February 2006 – is now selected and compiled into a book called Obsessive Compulsion: What did you buy today?
Although the items that become the object of her sketches seem rather ordinary, Kate manages to transform even the most dull item (think Q-Tips) into an illustration that imbues the item with character.
My guilty indulgence has to be tracking the purchases she made for her dog; Miss Maybelle – there’s a fur brush (the furminator!), her leash, and even meds for her swollen glands. Also exciting: her thrift purchases — a dress for a dollar? EGAD!
Voyeurs will be giddy at the mere sight of the book, I can guarantee you that. My mind was actually conjuring images of Kate walking down the street, and finding THAT particular succulent in a pot in a store. Granted, I have a very vivid imagination, but to be able to see the everyday details in normal life drawn out in Obsessive Consumption made me realize that we all have more things in common than we thought (even though we are oceans away from each other.)
Documenting the mundane has never been more exciting, and Kate manages to bring life – to life.
Who is this book for?
Kate’s fans who have been following her journey of documenting her every purchases religiously; and also those who are interested in illustration for the everyday.
Who wouldn’t want to read it?
Those who think that books aren’t complete without typewritten words (Wait, there’s a paragraph of typeset text in front and at the back.) Or for those who aren’t interested in finding the fun in everyday stuff.
+ Also, Kate’s doing a limited edition pack which you can purchase over at her website!
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Happy weekend everyone — I’ll return next week with a big surprise that I’m hoping you will all love. 🙂
