‘ JOWN ELSNER AND ROGER CARDINAL around us, both eatwral and natural, in all its unpredicabilty and consngent complesty, The naratives we have found t0 be most calightening have no been those ofthe cree of ellcors ike Henry (Gay Frick, J. Paul Getty of Charles Saatchi, for whom building = callecion of things is inseparable rom bulding up weakth and pres Instead we have be drawn tothe less publi stories of thos les perfec colecors whose vorstion sends them across the confines ofthe feasonable and the aceptale. Thee last ~ people ike John Soane, CChares Wilson Peale, Kut Schwixrs, Sigman Freud and Robert Opie = exemplify a genuine exposure to existence: indeed thei projec at times melancholy, even morbid, and pethaps ultimately tapi, often ‘res with tan indmation ofthe failure thas always.on the cards once mortal desire reaches the limit of what can and cannot be done Stuldenly such collectors emerge slongside Noab, at dhe margin of the 1 The System of Collecting Among the various meanings of the Fench word objet, the Litré iconary gives this: "Anything which sthe cause or subject ofa pasion, Figurative and most rp: the loved bjec- Trough tobe obvious tha the objects that occupy our day lve atin {act the objets ofa pasion, that of personal possesion, whose quotient ‘olinvstedatfetisinno way inferior thatof any other variety of human passion Indeed, this everyday passion often outstrip al the others, and ometines reigns supreme in the absence of any vl, What is characet- [nti ofthis passion i that itis empeed fase, and relative: we can ‘only guees ets fundamental role in keping the ines of the individ subject ofthe collectivity on aneven footing andin supporting Our Very rojctof survival Ta ths respect, the objects in ourlves, asdisne from the way we make use of them ata given momen, represent someting tach more, someching profoundly related vo subjecavy: fr while the objec sa resistant material body, cis als, simultaneously, 8 metal reaim over which I hold sway, a thing whose meaning is governed by nyse alone ei all my own, the objet of my pasion. ‘TH oBjsCT DIvEsteD OF Irs FUNCTION “The factthat make use of reeigerator inorder fo freeze things means thatthe refrigerator defined i terms of practical transaction itis not snobje ao much asa freeing mechanism In this sense, lcannor be said to poses it. Possession cannot apply to an implemen, sine the objec tle always directs me back to the word. Rather i aplis wo that object once iis divested ofits function and made relative toa subject In ‘ths seas, all objects that are pesesed submit othe same abstacive ‘operation and papa ins masta lationship in ofa a they each ‘lerbackcto the suboc. They thereby consiate themselves as 2 syst, fn the basis of which the sabjec seeks co pec together his word his personal microcosm.® JEAN BAUDRILLARD ‘Thus any gen object cam have wo encom: can belied ot canbe posse. Theis fncion at odo wth the ubjec' proto SSvering practical control within the eal world the second with an over of abract mastery whereby the abject ser msl San autonomous tol ouside the worl The two functions te inotallyexSuave, Ulinately the src wlan object as socal ‘as think of «machine, for example. Conversely, the objet pre and Simple, deed of uncon, abeaced from any praca cnet, {ales on a sey subjective tana Now i deny iso be cole ‘Whereupon cctates tobe carpet, tabl,s compan os iceknac, and mead turn into an ‘bj or 8 pcs’ Typical, color wil ‘ert‘alovely per’ athe than owl caviog Onc the ob stop ‘rng defined bya furcin,dasncaing ety upto he sues. The "al esha bjcein a election become xan thank to hat ocr of passionate absracion we ell poston Parhr, ge ‘hjeccan aevebe enough invaraly there wil bea whole screamo bjs ad tthe extreme, atl set marking he secompliment of inion, Ths why the powenton of sn bjt of whatever Kind heap both sting and rating the noon of here big ast of ‘bjc to wbichit belonged the object an extension Beyond el and ‘pues solar stat Something sma con be sai to operate inte Sota phere fori te that the arorons np dred atthe Singlaiy often being the impale of physi porseson ak uch, “monly bests bya sting of objet, ob the epettion a tsar ‘bj, or by te sapetipontin ofl cet of doe. A oreo ‘complex pattern of connections and comaionss ial fhe nvidia ‘object i to achive # degree of abrasion sifisent for 10 be teruperated. by the subject within tat experince of embodied sbvractionKouwn ss these of possi, "The product of shit way of delng with objec i, of cours, the callecion, Ou everyday covicoument tell rmacn tn sebiguoes terry, fon in odary if foneton i conta supersced by the ssbjetie factor, a acts of ponesson mingle with act of wags in 8 Doce that ays short toeaneration: On the other hand he Collection offers us a parsdgm of pereaion, for this in whee he ena enterprise of postion can achieve it abions within a Space where the eerday prow ofthe obje-morld mdlates xa port, ovate an unconedou ad wieephanedscete ‘The System of Collecting ° rus Loven onjecr the tat for olestnguggets Maurice Rheims, ‘slike game played. swith urter passon”." For the child, cllecing represents the most ‘odimentary way f0-exicee contol Over Oi Out Woda: by lying {things ot, gouping them, handling them, The active phase of collecting crs to OST between the ges of even and twelve, daring be period of Inteny proto puberty. With dhe onset of puberty, the callecting impulse tends to disappear, though occasionally i tesrlaces after a very shore fntctal: Later on, ics mea in thee forties who sem ost prone tothe on. Ia short, acorelaion with sexuality can generally be demon Fated so thatthe activity of collecting may be seen a a powerful ‘nechanism of compensation ring entical phases in a person's sxaal evelopment. variably ie runs counter to active genital sexuality, though it sbould not be sen as «pure and simple substine threo, bat rather @ regression to the ancl sage, manifested in such behaviour puters as accumlation, ordering, aggressive retention and 80 forth The practice of collecting is noc equivalent to asexual prac, in solar as iedoes nr sek 0 stl desires does esis). None the es, ican Txing about teatve satisfaction cht i every ita ingens. In which tases the obec im question should undoutecdly be seen as loved objec. As Rims observes, "The pasion for an objet eas tots being onstrded as God's special handiwork: the collector of porcelain eg wll imagine that God never made 2 more Beautiful nor rarer form, ad hat He creat it purl forthe delight of porcelain egy collecors - "Such cess wilinsit that hey ae tay abou this objec, and without fxception, even in circumstances where no feshite perversion is involved, hey will maintain about their collection an’ aura of he slandesting of confinement, secrecy and dsimulatin, all of which give rie to che unmistakable impresion of 2 guilty relationship. The boundless passion invested in the game Is what lends this regressive behaviou fs sblinity, and eifores the opinion that an individual ‘who snot some sora collector can only be a cetin or hopelessly sb human” = ence thecalletr partakes ofthe sublime norby vite a the ypes of things he collects (or these will vary according rhs age, his profession, his social miles, be by vrs of his fanaticn. This fenaticm ix ahrays Wena, whet the cae Ofte Bek man apecalaing in Persian miniatures, or of the pauper who boards matchboxes. This being $0, the distinction one might be tempted to make between the cllstor as10 [EAN BAUDRILLARD connoisieur — one who adores objec because of thee beguiling ‘ingolrty and diferentesr~and the srightforvard collector, whose passions ofthis acquisitions into sero series, breaks down, Inether is, pleasure springs from the fact that posseuion rele, onthe one hand, pon the absolte singularity ofeach tem which mean tae eis quialentohuman being and eventually the subject himself and,on the other, upon the possibilty of envisaging a se or erie of ik items in ‘which is implied a prospect of lniless substation and ply. The sqinesence ofthe collection is qualitative, while is material organiz- Sion is quantitative. For if poseasion ental cereain intimate delim 1 one fonds and scrutinies the privileged pec, it equally involves Acsivites of seeking oat, categorizing, gathering and disposing, Acualy, there is strong whiff ofthe arem about all this, in che sense thatthe ‘whole charm of the harem les in its being at once a series bounded by inamacy (with always a pevleged final tem) and an intimacy bounded by scr. ‘Surrounded by the objec he poste, he caller i pre-minetly the sultan ofa secre sergio. Ordinary human relaonships, which are the ste ofthe unique andthe confictal, never permit sucha fasion of absolute singularity and indent serait. This explains why ordinary ‘elaionships ae sich 2comtnul source of anxiety: while the realm of objets on the other hand, being she realm af succes and homologous terms, offers security. OF couse it achieves this atthe price of» piece of sleightoF-hand involving abstraction and regression, but who cares? As Rheims puss, or che ellezor, the object sa sort of doce dog which receives ares and ern them ints own way or rather, cellet them [ke mirror constracted nach away ato throw backimages not ofthe real but ofthe desrale* “The image ofthe pet dogis exactly righ, for pete area category midway beeween persons and objects. Dogs, cat, bir, the rorote oF the canary. he poignant devoron fo ich creatures pint ofall to ‘Geablsh’ normal human relationships and to che installation of a arissctertory~ the home ~ wherein he subjecsvity can ul el ‘without let or hindrance. Let us observe in passing that pes are never scxully dstince(ndzed they are occasionally casted for domestic ‘purposes: although alive they are asexually outa as any inert object Indeed this isthe prce one has to pay if they are vo be emotionally ‘omlorsing, given that castration, calor symbolic, is what allows ther The Sytem of Collecting to play om thei owners behalf the role of rqslatng castration anes, [Tele thats also preminertly tha ofthe objec which surround ws. 1 ‘in be sai thatthe abjece is isl the perfect pet. Ie represents the one ‘Seng’ whose qualities exend my person rater than confine it In their plurality objects ar the sole thing in existence with which i euly Fossil o cove i sofa asthe diflerences donot set them at odds ‘teh one another 2s the case wt living beings Instead they incline ‘hediently towards mysel, o be smoothly snventorzed within my ‘onsloatnes, The objects that which allows itself tbe simultancously eronalized’ and catalogued. And chee is never 2 hint of exclusivity ‘bout sich subjesive inventing anything canbe ports invested ino in terme of collecting, sranged, sorted and clanifed. Th object thus emerges ss the Meal tor: forthe images i reflect succeed one nother while never conadicting one another. Moreover, tis ideal in that eres images not of whats el but ony of wha is desabl. In ‘Short tis ikea dog edced to she single aspect offer. Tam able to {aac oni withoutits gazing back atme This tw omeinverte in objecte {tha ome finds imposible ro invest ena relationships. This is why Iman so quickly seeks out the company of objects when he nozds 0 ‘recuperate, But we should not be fooled by such talk of recuperation, nor by al that sencmental Irate that celcrates inanimate objects. We ‘honot but soe this reflex of eet a repression his or of pasion fn escapist one. No doubt objec do play 2 regulative roe in everday liens far as within thom ll nds of neuroses are newalize, ll kinds of tensions and frustrated energies grounded and calmed Indeed this ‘what lends them tet "spirtal” quality; this what ens us vo speak tthemas'our very own’ Yerthisis equally what turns them ino the site of a tenacious myth, dhe ideal ste ofa nears equibrum. (Of coure, this eecourse t objects looks superficial: how could con- sxiouncss be s0 eal fooled? But here i where rbjecsity demon trates its clrernese The recourse to the posesed objec i never suerfial:iisalwayspremisied on dhe objec’ absolute singularity. Not in eel terms: for while the appropriation ofa ‘rare’ or “unique” abject is obviously the perfect culmination of te imple to poss, it bas to be recognined that one can acer Gnd absolute proof inthe ral word that a given object i indeed unique. On the other hand, subjectivity is emily capable of working things rots advancage without ‘uch poof eis re thatone peculiarity ofthe objec, its exchange vale,2 seay savonmtsano ‘governed by caleural nd socal criteria. And yrs absolue singularity asan object depends entirely upon the fac that it is T who posses it ‘which in tury allows me to recognize mysal init as an absolutely ‘Sngula being. Thies of coure coloea nology, yeti ever ails Ihsten the intensity wrth which we tim to objec and the ridcslos faality with which chy afford us «glorious if ilasry, gratification. (re, shez wl alvays be disappointment in stot, given the eautlog- calmature ofthe system.) Bat there is more: we the same sor of cosed ‘ret can alo be sid to relate human relationships albeit with Iss faci), there ate things inconceivable in the intersubjective encounter thar become quite fasble here. The singular object never impedes the proces of nace projection, which anges over an indent namber fof objects: on the contrary, R encourages such muleplicatn, thas “ssocating sel with « mechanism whereby the image of the sl is txtended to the er ints ofthe collection. Here ined es the whole Imiacke of clleting Fr is ievarably oneself that one collec. ‘We are now in beter positon to approsate the structure of the system of possession: a given eallecion is made up of a succession of ‘ems, bt the final term mit alway he the person of the colecor. In ‘reciprocal fashion, th peson ofthe collctoe only constitted a such by die of substutng isl for every successive term in the collecting proces, We shal se that thre iy a¢ the sociological level an exact ongraity of sructare withthe system of the series othe paradigmatic chain For we shal find that he collection rte seis is what underpins ‘the possesion of che object, which io 52, the reciprocal integration of ‘object with person FROM QUANTITY To QUALITY: THE UNIQUE OBYECT “The weakness ofthis hypothesis might seem tobe the decisiveness with which the passionate ealetor reaches oat fora given pice, But it should becear thatthe apparently unique object i, preci, no more than the final rem embodying all prerious tems of like kind, che paramount term of an entre st (whether vital vsble or ili, is of m0 ‘comequence). Ta short, the unique objet epitomizes the set to which it beloags. In on of thote literary portraits in which La Bruyére demonstrates how cutioty can be the mow extesvagant of patio, we ect & callector of engravings who voices the complain: ‘slr from an affiction cannot ignoce and it wl oblige me to give up collecting ngravings forthe et of my days. I now posses the whole of Jacquet The Sytem of Collecting 8 ‘allot, spat from ust ae pce which is neath, not even on of is ‘ever productions. On the contrary, ome of his weakest, and yet itis {hone I mat haveto round off Call For twenty years have striven to Itpny hands on that engraving, and now Tv got the pot where Ive (Evan op all hope. Irs so cruel” Here we may discern, in sricly ‘Fhcmetcal tems an eqaation Between the ene set mimas one item, ad the single tem ens rom chat set Thie at, for aca which the eeat lege remit meanings, isa symbolic sation threo iis ‘erchy imbued with aetrange quality, the very quintessence, st speak, Shee cute preceding avalide of quantities. Cereal, akan objet, SS perceived e nique given ts absolte poston a he ead af he series, ‘nbich ensures it llasory sit of embodying special naly- This is noes ‘emarkable, we might think yeti i worth aoing how quality isin fet ‘cvated by quantity, given thatthe valu concentrated within this single Tiger is one which spreads along the entire ean of intermediary Sigileds making up the paradigmatic chain. Here we find what might be {Sled che symbolism of the object inthe etymological rene (ymbolen) Ivherby a chain of signifcasions is subsumed ina single one of is terms. ‘The unique obec is indced a symbol, not of some external factor oF quality, But eeenilly of the enti seis of objects of which it Sorstties the Binal term (whe simukaneousy beg symbol ofthe pesto who owns ‘Ta Bruyte's example allows us to draw out another a, which chat _an objet ony squires its exceptional value by dint of Being absent ‘ot jst a matter of the glamour of a mirage, What we have begun to Soper is that the collection te miver relly intstad im order 10 be competed. Might ino betas the missing item in the collections in fact $sindipensable and pov part ofthe whol, insofar this ack isthe basis ofthe sec’ ability co grasp himself in objecive terms? Whereas the aision ofthe fnal item would in effce denote the death ofthe "sbjet, the abeence of this item stil allows fim the possibilty of ‘ilating his deat by envisaging icin an objec, thereby warding off its toenace This gap inthe collection maybe experienced spain but iis "ually shat cptare through which ssid a deinive elsion ofthe teal. We should therefore congatalate La Brayér's collector for not faving tracked down his Ise Callot, sine he would otherwise have ceased to be the living and passionate individ he sill wast It could Inded be added that the poine where a collection closes in on itself and ‘eases tobe opened towards an unilled pap the poin where madness teemJEAN paupartaRD Another anecdote, relayed by Rheims, confirms this way of seeing things. Abibliopil witha magneent collecon of unig books ears ‘one day that a bookseller in New York has placed on ale an iter, idescalto ane ofthe volumes hows. He takes th plane, purchases the book, and then arranges o have notary pubic present wien he set fire to the second copy, in order to cnaute formal attestation 28 to i sich implied, narcissistic, primitive and infantile forms of sel projection as ‘nthe component pars ofthe ca (relcting an almost delirious analogy ‘wih the disociated components and fanesons ofthe human body. I thereina symbolic dynamicto the horse, operates precisely because itis impossible to coumerate each of the horse's part and functions hence isequaly impossible to exhaurt che relationship by way ofan ato-erotic “Gacours’ focused on solated cements. Ths repressive ruction to component parts implies 2 parcula modus operand of method on the part of the subject, concentrated ‘wihin the sphere of the pare-object. Thus the woman rnslated into a ‘yrapm of separate erogenous zones is assigned the single faction of {ring pleasure, co which corresponds theeroticmethod. This is of course “ncthod tht seks to objecify and ritual, 038 0 camouflage the Ssnxisies ofthe peronal relationship and atthe same time establish = ‘ali ab (gestaral and plausible) while the system of perversion runs its phanasmatic course. Ir can be argued that every mental system is “indebted to reality in that i require some concestion, some technica “ralfcation” or pretext. Thue the scoderator inthe pate" accelerated’ ‘hebeadlamp in the phrase hesclampy or the entre ca inthe phrase “ny ca represen the matenal technical underpinning ofthat whole esprise of narcisistic recuperation that seks to ignore materiality ‘The same holds for the erotic method, deliberately pursue: be it noted ‘hat at this level, we are no longer dealing with the genital order that butsupon realy and pleasure, but with the ana-epreive ode ofthe ‘eval eye, fr which erotic ctviy serves only a8 cover Ie is cbvious chat such 2 method is far from being consistently “objeive. I can be objective if socialized, or absorbed within & technology, or when i informs new structures, But when it operates within che Falm ofthe everyday, offers space ever mote conducive ro2 JEAN sAUDRILLARD regressive fantay, given tht the potential for destracraring i always 50 Close at and, When aserbled ad fied together, ce component of technical object embody a coberence. Yet the sracure betrays is {taglisy once confronted by the mind: rom the ouside se may eahere by ‘ate ofits function, bat fr the psy itis form open to manipulation. [Aknough the components ofa stucture may have been organized as hierarchy a any moment they can fll part and lapse indserimintely into-s paradigmatic system within vthich the subject can rehearse 2 Private repertory of meanings The objects rio! lacking eabesion; ‘eisai desteuctured by shought All the mote 0 were he object (and especialy the rechnologial objec sno longer asiacated, ain the pas, wth s human gesture, 2 human dynamic I iis cue thatthe ca i ‘uperor tothe hors ean object of narcissistic manipulation, iti largely Irecnuse the control one exercises over 3 horse it mascolae and shyt tical, and involves physically balancing onesell, whereas one's control of ‘ears simplified, fanctional and abstract. Throughout this analysis, we have worked on the astamption that tis not important what sors of objects are being collected: we have concentrated onthe systematic and ignored the thematic aspect. Even 80, itis lear that one does not collect paintings by OM Masters inthe sme spire tha ove collects cigat-bans. shouldbe sessed hat the concept of cllecting trom the Latin collier, to sleet and assemble is dstnet {om tht of accamlating, The later ~ che pling up of old papers the stockpiling of em of food ~ ian inferior sage of collecting, and les ‘ndway berween oral intoection and anal retention. The next tage is that ofthe serial acomolation of identi! objec. Collecting proper fmerges at fist with an onentaion to the citual: ie aspires to Sscriminate betweon objec, privileging those which have some ‘xchange vale or which are altoobjec of conseration of commerce, ‘of social situ of dplay ponably which are even a source af profi. Such objects are always sasociated with human projects. While cease [esl refering to one another, they admit within their rbithe external Sone ae So co okt abi he Inti acre noi tess ad abs newly the trates gna an sneer rend ncag modern ala towards26 References inition and inualan. ie mateores he ete mom el he ‘hope of oe machines Santa mechan sn cared ‘ubcrataeton tute sbpettantycompstn aeons lopecaly ‘pe ame enc be deca pret eof hea cng thin anymore ee ons pred tey oe uses cate onde hp icnhlon Kaela tense har thet mek eae conan Retnd dente te cnt pe sa Theme of ne spa tf andy exten, 0 ‘bof he wx Inputs winch pct etme zoe was ony em 1 Om toda ee ene beeen ln ton Sintering ion Seca “ho he ining pan tpg tla Bp ret a ee aed sce rk 1a Gay ea bide ae ee ft, ei he oe of ‘elo, gen ow pal ue oat sete Sh oly ‘ln Se ey opus fo eg et ne he ‘Sen be ane Ine cone ode eel ey (octconel wth npr th fi extn othe rome fe oer 15 fens ede oes be rune ta eee perl he Ete seca asthe tay pace sd comequr 9 ou beh 16 Silat, pomenive een tend nou whe Eng engi deed be eval Rion Se Rear abee re remy ot SPUD asiainesy ane cede sy Fas doeatn ni acon pene ete dane Ine nce fe et ot fps pls ana wt nash ‘tasers atch al peso a poe at Wha inte “Sau cacon th culo mp opr anon win et ele aon conpeanng eta sets pon ‘Say feync in mech Th expla ny aime ope pang te tok ey cpu yl yon bygone Tir hy we Fone pen pra acto my hapten poe fe [pen foi of ve. Ay Berrie har reported A ‘Sut ictiactenTheone esa reo eae f References a sees reg emp te at ‘nea erga pract t ete See ale "gu frm of icing soo ac andere tt an ae 3 be Wid: ti Peres vt yer are hn yn gates cmerecarte tt ee eas ea 5 Bocas! Sec hieeia Bip etl lon een eee ater See ee re Tt mtn Rhee on) ean yc LE St Sah Sires | Sanita a 4 Rag Cardia Caen ond Clg ming The Caf Ke Stars 1 MPs: Cite Se che Sear ari Gama Calli Fa, 2976 05. ‘elopmets eznpentn Diy Sd martin pope elem ease oe ‘sont for aoe oral and ee ners a Cy ‘See te ‘Speer ol her nd ogg, aps so dpi omaa Critical Views Inthe same sts The Now Maca ied by ee Wo Rensicsance Bodies dey cy Cent 20d sgl Llewelyn Modern ix Design ste by Pal Grengh Inari Cntnporry et hace aod ‘Willan Ae ‘The oat i Phot hdty Got Cocke” opis and he Milenio ted by Kesha Kamar and Seephen Bann THE CULTURES OF COLLECTING Edited by John Elsner and Roger Cardinal REAKTION BOOKS