Jean Baudrillard and Collecting

In this text Jean Baudrillard writes about collecting, I have picked out a series of quotes that I have found interesting in relation to my research:

In 'The System of Collecting' Baudrillard writes about ‘The loved object…’ (Baudrillard 1994: 7)

…it is related to subjectivity…

‘…for while the object is a resistant material, it is also simultaneously, a mental realm over which I hold sway, a thing whose meaning is governed by myself alone.’ (Baudrillard 1994: 7)

‘…the objects that occupy our daily lives are in fact the objects of a passion, that of personal possession…’ (Baudrillard 1994: 7)

... on the difference between a functional object (something that is used) and ‘ The object divested of its function…’ (Baudrillard 1994: 7)

‘Possession cannot apply to an implement, since the object I utilise always directs me back to the world. Rather it applies o that object once it is divested of its function and made relative to a subject… in a mutual relationship…’ (Baudrillard 1994: 7)

‘Thus any given object can have two functions: it can be utilised, or it can be possessed.’ (Baudrillard 1994: 8)

‘The object pure and simple, divested of its function, abstracted from any practical context, takes on a strictly subjective status. Now its destiny is to be collected. Whereupon it ceases to be a carpet, a table, a compass, or a knick-knack, and instead turns into an‘object’ or a ‘piece’. (Baudrillard 1994: 8)

‘Once the object stops being defined by its function, its meaning is entirely up to the subject. The result is that all objects in a collection become equivalent…’ (Baudrillard 1994: 8)

References:
Baudrillard, J. 1994. ‘The System of Collecting’. In: Elsner, J. and Cardinal, R. [eds] The Cultures of Collecting. Reaktion Books Ltd.