Posted by Steve Price on December 01, 1998 at 19:25:24:
In Reply to: Re: Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? posted by James Allen on December 01, 1998 at 16:11:32:
Dear Jim and Whoever Else is Listening,
There can be no doubt you are correct in believing that a major force driving collectors into ethnographic rugs is the desire to vicariously experience a foreign, exotic culture. Thus, once we discover that the object really doesn't reflect that culture, it becomes much less interesting.
On the other hand, I think your belief that this stems from a cultural impoverishment that we suffer is off by a mile. The developed parts of the world, which includes nearly all rug collectors and nearly all people with computers, is anything but impoverished, culturally or otherwise. My experience as a traveler in Asia has consistently been that the people I meet are fascinated by and attracted to cultures other than their own, just as I am. Does this mean that every culture is internally impoverished? And if so, compared to what?
Steve Price