Materialism in Pink

[browngirl]

So, I was reading in the paper about an art exhibition whose theme is materialism: JeongMee Yoon, one of the featured artists, has done a Pink Project and a Blue Project, photographs of little girls and little boys with their pink or blue items respectively. This isn't the picture that was in the paper, but it's close to it:

http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=424670535&cid=113128&which=&aid=424791604&wid=425001855&source=exhibitions&rta=http://www.artnet.com

(Some background info/other pictures: http://afonline.artistsspace.org/view_artist.php?aid=4910 )

That little girl looks so cheerful and happy.

I suppose I'm meant to think that her possessions are excessive, that if we distributed them amongst seven penniless children the world would be better off. Maybe. But, for various reasons not entirely clear even to myself, I'm not as antimaterialistic as would seem to fit with the general tenor of my politics; sometimes I look at my full bookcases with a distinct feeling of contentment, and I adore WD's romance with his sexy German car. I understand that things alone can't make people happy, the problems with "keeping up with the Joneses" etc, but I think it's possible to want something and own it and enjoy it for itself, not to impress anyone else, and that this is not necessarily a bad thing.

This little girl looks so happy, and the one in the paper looked even happier. How can I begrudge them one roomful of pink things? I want to buy them both pink hair ribbons.

Comments

[flabosib.livejournal.com]

Like you, I am content when I look at the books that are all over my house. To be fair, I am not the sole source of new books coming into the house, but we are about equally unable to resist bookstores.

My daughter owns more books now than I did until after my first three years of college. My parents didn't believe in buying books--in a family of nine, the money had other places to go. When my first niece was born, I became the Auntie who gives books--said niece is at Oxford this year, still reading up a storm. Not a bad legacy.

We don't watch a lot of television which keeps us all from being overrun by the ads which tell us we "must have" this, that or the other thing. Seems like a fair trade-off to me, we are surrounded by books.

Give the girls the pink hair ribbons--why not? Maybe if every child was given one "I-really-want-this" thing, the world would be a happier place.
[My girl isn't a pink-type of girl. Never got into the baby dolls or Barbie (thank goodness!). For Christmas, she wants rocks to study--geology is the new fad. And that's okay by me--Museum of Science, here I come.]

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

This is such a great long thinky comment. I don't really have a response in words, so just picture me listening to you and smiling. :D