Mundane Tasks: Answering Email & Wrapping Presents

I spent many hours of my evening attempting to get my inbox down to a manageable size (under ten). I failed but there is still tomorrow. When Google searching "answering email," the following image pops up (which is appropriate in a bizarre way):



Image via.

I certainly fail at this in the 32 Most Important Email Etiquette Tips:

#6. Answer swiftly.

Ideally it would have been nice to finish wrapping presents instead. Photographs by Sarah Hobbs always are appropriate in times like this.


Sarah Hobbs, Untitled (Overcompensation), 2006

Obsessive Collections by Sarah Hobbs

Sarah Hobbs, Denial, 2008

I have always loved Sarah Hobbs's Untitled (the perfectionist). Upon perusing the Critical Mass finalists, her portfolio is one that struck me the most with examples of mass collections of the same object all relating to eccentric behavior.


Untitled (paranoia), 1999

From her artist statement: "These photographs are the result of an ongoing exploration of the neurotic tendencies that exist in all of us. The images represent the psychological arena as opposed to real space. The carefully staged photographs depict phobias and obsessive-compulsive behaviors and how we attempt to deal with them. Set in domestic spaces, the images illustrate the idea that even the most comfortable spaces can house our uneasiness...."


Untitled (indecisiveness), 1999

"My process begins by researching human behavior. I then set out to put my concepts into three-dimensional form. Sometimes this process comes quickly, but other times it may take months to translate a mental image into an environment. The interiors create a mood in the work that aptly mirrors what is going on inside one’s mind while experiencing a certain condition."


Escapism, 2009