Perceived Value and Context. (Part Two)

(Continued from Part One)

The object shown in the image above is all but indistinguishable from the plastic party cup that we are familiar with. The object shown above, however, is a ceramic cup. The weight, texture, and experience derived from a ceramic cup are worlds apart from these factors inherent in a disposable plastic cup. The ceramic cup elicits the feel of an art object. Using a recognizable design of a disposable object in a private setting with materials reserved for the non-disposable, the user pays homage to the iconoclast. Suddenly (and some readers may shout “hearsay”) this object is tasteful. It follows a somewhat Dadaist concept by proclaiming an object to have art value by being placing it in an intellectual context. An example of this is Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain.” It appeals to both the visceral and reflective capacities of our thinking. Why is a simple thing capable of being art? With the Duchamp urinal, it is the signature and the museum placement. With the cup, it is the ceramic. [To be continued…]