friedel : some matters of substance

IN SUMMARY : the material conveys the message; only when we consider the material of the thing itself do we encounter its true history. function, availability, economy, style, and tradition all suggest reasons about why a thing is made with a particular material. geography, technology, science, fashion, and competition represent factors that impact material selection. the relationship between materials and values can be described in terms of scarcity, aesthetic, functional, and associative. the values are not inherent in the material but are determined by circumstances. the values attached to materials affect the values attached to things but they are not the same thing. over the last two centuries, our perception of objects has changed. by the middle of the twentieth century. we had embraced new materials and technologies, producing an ever more vast array of consumer goods in the "neotechnic" era (as distinguished from the "eotechnic" and "paleotechnic" eras heretofore). technical changes also impact the materials. perceptual changes indicate shifting relationships between objects and people...from bounty + stasis to ingenuity + change...and finally to science + novelty. rather than concentrate on one specific object in isolation, learn what can be seen when considering assemblages of objects as they inscribe individual and communal life.

FOR DISCUSSION : what did friedel mean when he indicated "all i can think to do is understand their making, their acquisition, their use, and even their disposal, all in terms of real people" (p. 50)?