With reference to Grant McCracken’s seminal work on the eclipse of patina through consumerism,
this article investigates the compensatory dynamics of contemporary consumption practices centred
on novel items rather than on goods ‘with antiquity;’ how these dynamics are being resisted through
certain forms of ‘curatorial consumption;’ and how such resistance is potentially political in
orientation. After a consideration of the sixteenth-century origins of consumerism as an elite cultural
practice, the focus of the article shifts both to the subsequent democratisation of this cultural trend,
and to the accompanying deeply compensatory function of such popular consumerism. Yet, while
many people continue to become inextricably caught up in such consumerism – in the vain hope
that it will assuage the alienation endemic to the modern era – in the midst of our contemporary
consumer society there also exist alternative forms of curatorial consumption. These manifest
people’s appreciation for patina rather than the new, precisely because of the ability of patina to
connect them to others through the long durée of human history. However, while such curatorial
consumption evinces the continued presence of patina as an adversarial concept within the context
of contemporary consumer society, it is also under siege from corporations that seek to co-opt it into
the ambit of mainstream consumerism, by imbuing new goods with the veneer of the old. As will be
argued, while the latter corporate move may produce short-term profit, in the long run, it stands to
undermine the importance of patina as a potential remedial measure against the excesses of consumer
society
Met verwysing na Grant McCracken se seminale werk oor die oorskaduwing van die patina deur
verbruikersdruk, ondersoek hierdie artikel die vergoedende dinamika van eietydse verbruikspraktyke
wat ingestel is op nuwe items eerder as op goedere met antikwiteitswaarde; hoe hierdie dinamika
weerstaan word deur sekere vorms van kuratoriale verbruik; en in watter mate sulke verset potensieel
polities van aard is. Na ‘n beskouing van die sestiende-eeuse oorsake van verbruikersdruk as ‘n
elitistiese kulturele praktyk, verskuif die fokus van die artikel na beide die gevolglike demokratisering
van hierdie kulturele verskynsel, asook na die verbandhoudende wesenlike kompenserende funksie
van dergelike populêre verbruikersdruk. Alhoewel baie mense toenemend onlosmaaklik deel word
van dergelike verbruikersdruk – met die vae hoop dat dit die vervreemding wat eie is aan die modern
era gaan verdryf – bestaan daar midde-in ons eietydse verbruikersamelewing alternatiewe vorms
van kuratoriale verbruik. Dit manifesteer in mense se waardering van patina eerder as die nuwe; juis
vanweë die vermoë van die patina om hulle deur die lang durée van die menslike geskiedenis met
andere te assosieer. Hoewel sulke kuratoriale verbruik die volgehoue teenwoordigheid van patina
openbaar as synde ‘n opponerende konsep binne die konteks van die eietydse verbruikersamelewing,
word dit terselfdertyd ondermyn weens die druk van korporasies wat daarop uit is om dit deel te
maak van die hoofstroomverbruikersdruk, deur nuwe goedere te beleg met ‘n skyn van die oue. Soos
aangetoon sal word, lei laasgenoemde korporatiewe skuif tot korttermynwinste, maar op die lange
duur sal dit die belangrikheid van patina as ‘n moontlike herstelmaatreël teen die eksesse van die
verbruikersamelewing ondermyn.
