Grace Millard
April 8, 2024
Sometimes the internet feels like endless work: ai porridge, uncloseable ads, outlook search and rescue—terror and celebrity simultaneous. Maybe once you turn off notifications you will find enlightenment. For me, zen is Facebook Marketplace.
The Way is not difficult; only there must be no wanting or not wanting. 1
You have to click that little storefront icon with nothing but peace in your heart, let the wave of possibility overtake you, get rid of all that is unnecessary.
When you let go of your desire for a like-new toaster oven or gently used vacuum cleaner, you will start to see a transfiguration of the commonplace. What was once ordinary will evolve from nothingness into something extraordinary. 2
One man, cleaning up the garage like his wife asked perhaps, comes upon a pile of wire hangers. He could throw them in the trash and call it a day, but an idea forms—cut from the marble of staring at one’s hoarded materials, a plan takes shape.
This isn’t an ordinary closet organization tool, these 80 hangers, collected unanimously on a spindle, is a masterpiece, fit for the MOCAD hallway on a saturday night with wine and cheese. Please! It’s been in the works for years.
Untitled (Wire Hangers) -
Sculpture, Steel, c. 2023.
$500.
This pure humanity brings me into the depths of Marketplace at least once a day. Some sellers are making a quick joke, a pop culture reference some will get and if not, hey, maybe they’ll make $350 off a folding chair! Others just want to tell you about their marble collection or a pile of lumber they had big dreams for—I love them dearly and add them to my treasure chest heart just the same.
Please enjoy this selection of screen shots, a hall of fame for the Detroiters with bounties galore.
1. Schiller, David. The Little Zen Companion. Workman Publishing, 1994.
2. Koren, Leonard. Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts. Imperfect Publishing, 2015