tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post5045743497406836546..comments2024-03-28T15:48:11.151-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: THE LIMITS OF COMMODITY FETISHISMRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-65733224634754703732013-03-11T08:08:35.223-04:002013-03-11T08:08:35.223-04:00First of all, Jerry, if that really is an honest t...First of all, Jerry, if that really is an honest to goodness Picasso quote, it has got to be the best quote by an artist in the history of art!<br /><br />Professor Pigden [if I may], I considered that when we first learned of its "value," but Susie is fond of it, sort of the way one grows fond of a plastic pink flamingo on one's front lawn, and I would have to schlepp it to a center of fine art like New York, since no one down here in North Carolina is crazy enough to pay big bucks for an ugly ashtray, even one with "editions Picasso" written on the bottom. But I must say the idea of cashing it in and donating the money to charity intrigues me. Then there is always EBay. Decisions, decisions. I feel, once again, like the hero of THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY. Why did He have to drop this in my lap? Of course, I could destroy the blasted thing, thereby, presumably, raising the price of all the other exemplars a tiny bit, assuming perfect markets.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-13146412087658595602013-03-11T06:45:04.073-04:002013-03-11T06:45:04.073-04:00Now Professor Wolff, I know you are not short of a...Now Professor Wolff, I know you are not short of a bob or two, but if the thing really is ugly, then why not sell it to somebody who likes that sort of thing and have fun with the $5000? Not selling it means that there is an idiot art collector somewhere not getting his kicks and $5000 worth of fun that you, your wife/your heirs or your favorite charities are not getting. Surely there are ATTRACTIVE ceramic ear-ring receptacles to be had for a mere fraction of the price! I say that if this is a commodity that you don't fetishize, why not exploit the commodity fetishism of somebody else? There are some people with more money than aesthetic sense. Why not do your bit towards righting the cosmic balance? <br />Charles PigdenCharles Pigdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01131765562671298571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-84940494255219788422013-03-11T02:28:00.523-04:002013-03-11T02:28:00.523-04:00This may help:
"The 'refined', the &...This may help:<br /><br />"The 'refined', the 'rich', the 'professional do nothing', the 'distiller of quintessence' desire only the peculiar, and sensational, the eccentric, the scandalous in today's art. And I myself, since the advent of cubism, have fed these fellows what they wanted and satisfied these critics with all the ridiculous ideas that have passed through my head. The less they understood, the more they have admired me! ...Today, as you know, I am celebrated, I am rich. But when I am alone, I do not have the effrontery to consider myself an artist at all, not in the grand meaning of the word. ...I am only a public clown, a mountebank. I have understood my time and exploited the imbecility, the vanity, the greed of my contemporaries. It is a bitter confession, this confession of mine, more painful than it may seem. But, at least, and at last, it does have the merit of being honest. - PICASSO"<br /><br />Jerry Fresiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01427077490696059928noreply@blogger.com