Writing an object biography means looking at the object 's history, from the moment it was made to the moment it disappeared, or to the present if the object still exists. Object biographies are passive narratives, because objects are inherently inanimate. An object biography will consequently not look at what the object 'accomplished ' during its lifetime, but rather, how the surroundings of the object transformed it through time. A biography can thus concentrate on several themes, or several changes, that the object went through. These changes can be physical, such as the modification of the appearance of the object, or changes of location. They can also pertain to the 'social life ' of the object. One must understand by 'social life '
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But most importantly, biographies are not fixed. Object biographies go through a never-ending process and change as the relationship between the object and the external world changes.2 The objectives of writing an object biography are multiple. Biographies help us assess the social and cultural relevance of some objects, and in this essay I will focus on how biographies place objects in the narrative of the civilisation that created them. The object which biography I will write is a Jomon pot (Fig. 1). It was made around 5,000 BC and is now held in storage in the British …show more content…
It is an interesting object to write a biography on, as it occupies such a central place in the history of humanity. This pot had an eventful biography, and was modified in every aspect throughout history, physically, when it was lacquered in gold to be included in the tea ceremony, and when it was relocated from Japan to England; but also socially when it became a ritual object and later on a museum object and ambassador of Japanese culture.21 Writing a biography of the Jomon pot is therefore historically useful, as we get to understand the relevance of this object. However, there are many limitations to using object biography as an art historical methodology in the case of the pot. The most important limitation is that the object being as old as it is, the biography inevitably presents huge gaps in its structure, and it is not always possible to keep track of the pot due to lack of records. Moreover, biographies go hand in hand with a certain type of anthropomorphism which skews our perception of objects, especially when it comes to economic values. One can therefore conclude that object biography can be a useful methodology, when it is used simultaneously with other methodologies, such as visual analysis, to be sure that we do not get driven away from what the object really is, and what it is trying to tell
But most importantly, biographies are not fixed. Object biographies go through a never-ending process and change as the relationship between the object and the external world changes.2 The objectives of writing an object biography are multiple. Biographies help us assess the social and cultural relevance of some objects, and in this essay I will focus on how biographies place objects in the narrative of the civilisation that created them. The object which biography I will write is a Jomon pot (Fig. 1). It was made around 5,000 BC and is now held in storage in the British …show more content…
It is an interesting object to write a biography on, as it occupies such a central place in the history of humanity. This pot had an eventful biography, and was modified in every aspect throughout history, physically, when it was lacquered in gold to be included in the tea ceremony, and when it was relocated from Japan to England; but also socially when it became a ritual object and later on a museum object and ambassador of Japanese culture.21 Writing a biography of the Jomon pot is therefore historically useful, as we get to understand the relevance of this object. However, there are many limitations to using object biography as an art historical methodology in the case of the pot. The most important limitation is that the object being as old as it is, the biography inevitably presents huge gaps in its structure, and it is not always possible to keep track of the pot due to lack of records. Moreover, biographies go hand in hand with a certain type of anthropomorphism which skews our perception of objects, especially when it comes to economic values. One can therefore conclude that object biography can be a useful methodology, when it is used simultaneously with other methodologies, such as visual analysis, to be sure that we do not get driven away from what the object really is, and what it is trying to tell