Many of us live in consumption economies unlike any in human history. Consuming is a daily chore. Acquiring is easier than ever.
What do you have? How much of it do you need? Do you have things that you don’t want? How do you manage the stuff that enters your home? Does it go? Or does it stay? Do you dispose of the disposable and semi-disposable goods? Or do you try to recycle them, even if only within the boundaries of your home? How do the shelves and drawers, the nooks and crannies of your living space, obscure our answers to these questions? What would it look like if we had to look at it all, all at once?
Chinese artist Song Dong convinced his mother to allow him to display every item of her home as an art exhibit (article here). She had lived in the same house for nearly 60 years. He arranged her belongings, in a museum, around a dismantled piece of the house. The result raises questions about consumption, economy, and the things in our lives.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 17
KK Slider — July 24, 2009
That looks like a really gorgeous, colorful installation. I wish I could visit it or stand on that balcony above.
When I moved into college I got to see the sum total of the possessions I considered important: My computer, 4 small boxes of clothes, and lots of books. I made a conscious decision when I was younger not to be a packrat like my parents, and I enjoy shedding most of my possessions when I move.
I think it is so true that we don't own all these objects: all this stuff we have owns us.
Easy for me to say of course, since so many of my possessions are digital and stored in my computer or in the "cloud."
Jennifer — July 24, 2009
Interesting, but where did the toothpaste tubes and bottle caps come from? Does she collect them, or did he go through her garbage? I think there's a big difference between typical consumerism -- using items like toothpaste and soda bottles -- and being, as KK mentioned, a packrat.
It seems like one is more about daily life and the other about materialism.
Sarahjane — July 24, 2009
Check out the original article for more info, it's quite interesting. Mrs. Song was a horder, with some cultural and personal reasons for holding on to her things.
kate — July 24, 2009
I kind of love this.
Consumption Made Into Art | The Global Sociology Blog — July 24, 2009
[...] Sociological Images » The Things In Our Lives via kwout [...]
julian — July 24, 2009
That was my question, Jennifer -- do most folks keep all those empty toothpaste tubes around? (I don't, but maybe I'm not "average"!)
Packrat or no, this is really interesting, and we have been going through similar things at my house as we prepare to move 700 miles away.
abby — July 24, 2009
When I look at the tubes of toothpaste, I see someone saving them "just in case" they ever need them - like if they run out, they can at least squeeze out the last bit.
mike — July 24, 2009
there's a great video at newsweek.com
http://www.newsweek.com/id/40211#?l=1785302026&t=30052946001
Matt — July 25, 2009
Hey! I thought he did his mom's house. That looks like MY mom's stuff. That's a lot of rope.
Very interesting.
hayley — July 25, 2009
there's a different approach to this in michael landys work Break down;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2001/feb/17/shopping.books
he destroyed all of his possessions systematically in an empty shop on oxford street. I never worked out if he destroyed his money also. I don't think so, which makes it all seem like bravado to me.
h.x
Makenzie — July 25, 2009
I just saw this exhibit at MOMA; it was truly amazing to walk through the exhibit and to read the artist's commentary on it. His mother hoarded things because she lived through a period of time in China when resources were scarce and poverty was everywhere. It's similar to the folks who lived through the Great Depression in America and now have a hard time throwing things away even though they no longer need them. The project was created because his father died several years ago, and the process of sorting through his mother's belongings helped her to move on, and gave her a sense of pride that the things she saved ended up being useful after all. On the wall, there's a neon sign which I believe reads "Don't worry, dad, mom and I are doing fine", in Chinese. Sadly, his mother also died early this year.
AR — July 25, 2009
Many of us live in consumption economies unlike any in human history.
What do you mean by this? All economic activity has always been for the ultimate goal of human consumption. In fact, only by the tremendous increases of wealth brought on by industrialization can a majority of people devote significant parts of their lives to activities other than putting food on the table.
Cupcakes and Mace » Blog Archive » Pick N Mix – Week Starting 27 July 2009 — July 27, 2009
[...] a artist son hoards for 60 years? Well, if that son is Song Dong then your life gets turned into one big installation. The background story is quite interesting and certainly explains some of the questions you might [...]
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emily — November 21, 2009
hi im doing a research about sociology because thats what i want to do when i grow up . i would love to help people and to understand them so i can help people get their life back on track instead of their lives falling apart just like mine and im only 13 years old.