Sacred and Profane Consumption

by

Kurt Bryden

Profane Consumption

• Does not imply ‘obscene’ or ‘vulgar’

• Ordinary, everyday objects and events

Sacred Consumption

• Not necessarily religious or valuable

• Any event, person or object that is treated with respect or awe

Sacralization

• Ordinary objects become sacred through objectification or collecting

Objectification

• An ordinary object becomes sacred if it is contaminated by a sacred person or event

Collecting• Systematically

acquire a set of similar objects

• Carefully organized and displayed

• Can be valuable

Collecting vs. Hoarding

Hoarding is not sacralization because there is no order

Desacralization

• Occurs when a sacred object loses its special status

• Exclusivity is impaired • Mass produced replicas• Object goes mainstream

What is a Jeep?

Is This a Jeep?

Questions?