The Curiosity Gap: Spaces Designed to Lure our Gaze
I cross out words so you'll see them more; the fact that they're obscured makes you want to read them. — Jean-Michel Basquiat
Are you allured by the obscured?
Blurred out tinder pics?
Articles under paywalls?
Partially open curtains offering a glimpse into a home?
Where does the curiosity gap hit you the hardest?
The curiosity gap is the distance between what we know and what we want to know.
Remember when the world fell into a frenzy when Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory announced it was opening up its doors to a select few. It’s because of the curiosity gap why everybody wanted in. They bought bundles, and boxes, and buses chalk full of chocolate just for the chance of chipping away at its exclusive veneer.
Obscurity is seductive. And exclusivity is the lingerie of a seductive space.
Places just out of reach are often the ones that pique our urge to sneak a peek behind the scenes.
And it hits some of us harder than others.
Spaces where we’re not supposed to be,
where few have have been before,
and where only the elite have access.
Those are the ones that get us undressing their exteriors in our minds, trying to imagine what it’s like inside.
It’s not easy to escape the siren song of a space specifically designed to trigger our curiosity gap.
And there’s a barrage of bizarrchitecture out there with that goal in mind.
Weird doors. Unorthodox entrances. Intimidating gatekeepers. All deliberately placed for the purpose of encouraging an atmosphere of allure.
Consider the Upside Down House in Zakopane, Poland.
Or the doorway to any ingenious speakeasy. Like the secret entrance to the Blue Room in Los Angeles (Photo Credit: Antonio Diaz).
Or the Krzywy Domek shopping centre in Sopot, Poland.
How hard would the curiosity gap hit you if you passed in front of any of them?
Would you double and then triple and then quadruple take — feeling compelled to take a look inside?
Which windows would you want to stalk if you could snoop behind any curtain in the world?
I cross out words so you'll see them more; the fact that they're obscured makes you want to read them. — Basquiat
Are you allured by the obscured?
Blurry tinder pics?
Posts under paywalls?
Windows with open curtains?
Where does the curiosity gap hit you the hardest?
And the urge to sneak a peak behind the scenes hits some of us harder than others. (ex. every character in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory).
Which spaces spark your voyeuristic appetite?
