Reading 3

In the introduction to the article titled "The System of Objects", author Jean Baudrillard describes his theory behind the importance of human-made practical and technical objects that exist in the world, and the processes by which we as humans relate to these objects, and the systems of our behavior and relationships that are a result. He addresses the question: "...how can we hope to classify a world of objects that changes before our eyes and arrive at an adequate system of description?” and notes that mankind has an extremely varied and large amount of products which make us appear stable.

            Braudrillard is clearly very concerned with the technical understanding of objects, and notes that “the technical object will tend towards the state of a system that is completely internally consistent and completely unified”, though this is never directly experienced by us. In other words, the technical level of an object is of importance because if the object in question does not work well on a technical level, the object loses importance in other areas, and may not be able to function on any other level.

            What contributed the most to my understanding of Baudrillard’s point is how he states that “Each of our practical objects is related to one or more structural elements, but at the same time they are all in perpetual flight from technical structure towards their secondary meaning, from the technological system towards a cultural system.”  This is an interesting point, and can relate to ceramic art on many different levels when considering both sculptural and functional ceramic work. Each may have different structural (or technical) components, though the practical aspects may not be evident, and may end up meaning completely different things in certain cultural contexts.