Posted by James Allen on December 01, 1998 at 21:26:51:
In Reply to: Re: Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? posted by Steve Price on December 01, 1998 at 19:25:24:
: 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
: I will try and be nice. I doubt that you can imagine riding an animal across one of the harshest environments on earth let alone do it. I doubt you can imagine being prepared to fight to the death at a seconds notice 24 hours a day living behing a rug door. This is what I mean by experiential impoverishment. We are mostly numb and satiated blokes compared to the dangerous and vital existences of those whose artifacts we seek. jim