The Cultural Biography of Things...

We have chosen this statement as our wall text for the Project Object series:

 "We accept that every person has many biographies...each of which selects some aspect of the life history and discards others. Biographies of things cannot but be similarly partial. In doing the biography of a thing, one would ask questions similar to those one asks about people…where does the thing come from and who made it? What has been its career so far, and what do people consider to be an ideal career for such things? What are the recognized ‘ages’ or periods in a thing’s ‘life’, and what are the cultural markers for them? How does the thing’s use change with its age and what happens to it when it reaches the end of its usefulness?"

"Rydym yn derbyn fod gan bob un lawer o fywgraffiadau ... ac mae pob un ohonynt yn dewis rhyw agwedd ar hanes bywyd ac yn hepgor rhai eraill. Ni all Bywgraffiadau o bethau fod yn ddim byd ond yn rhannol debyg. wneud bywgraffiad o beth,byddai un yn gofyn cwestiynau tebyg i'r rhai hynny sy’n cael eu gofyn am bobl ... o le mae’r peth yn dod o a phwy sydd wedi’i wneud? Beth yw gyrfa’r peth wedi bod hyd yma, a beth mae pobl yn ystyried sy’n yrfa ddelfrydol ar gyfer pethau o'r fath? Beth yw'r 'oedrannau' neu’r cyfnodau sy’n cael eu cydnabod mewn 'bywyd' rhywbeth, a beth yw'r marcwyr diwylliannol ar eu cyfer? Sut mae defnydd y peth yn newid gyda'i oedran, a beth sy'n digwydd iddo pan fydd yn cyrraedd diwedd ei ddefnyddioldeb?"

Igor Kopytoff The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process