‘ 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 as10 [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
teemJEAN 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 ro2 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 towards26 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 omaa
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