Post 5/6

Title: Bow Tie

Artist: Unknown

Date: June 5, 2015

Geography/Culture: United States, New York

Medium: Fabric

Dimensions: Length - 6 Inches Width - 2 Inches

Source: Bow Tie

Every object has a meaning and the way the object gets their meaning is from how much value it is to them personally. Every object has a different value to each person and that is what makes it so special because that has meaning to you and only you. Value is different for everyone because the importance of my object may to useless to others and others objects may not be so important to me. When you visit a museum, you see lots of amazing paintings and sculptures but you won’t see the objects we hold dear or something similar. Our objects aren’t worth millions of dollars to people but they hold a high value to us. Some objects are what you call priceless, even though the object isn’t as expensive as the paintings in museum but it means for to us. In John Cotton Dana’s essays he says, “Art museum objects were not chosen for their beauty or for their help they might give in developing good taste in the community, but for their rarity, their likeness to objects found in European museums, and for their cost.” This quote means that the objects in museums take rarity and high price for beautiful. The objects that are expensive are more appealing because of their price value. I believe if they they made the items in museums free then they would lose its value because it doesn’t really mean anything special to a certain someone. That is why objects that we hold close to our hearts has more value than museum items.  

Everyone has a special item or object in their lives and my is my bow tie from my high school prom. This bow tie was a gift that I for my prom from my prom date. No alterations have been made to the bow tie and it stays the same from the day I received this gift. This bow tie matched my prom suit perfectly and I didn’t use it for anything else. I picked this object because this bow tie is one of the most important things to me and has many unforgettable memories. An important thing to tell the viewer about this object that it is a symbol for something you really care about and will always keep safe with you. Special important items should always be kept safe because they can make you randomly smile by making you think of the special moments. This bow tie may be just a normal regular bow tie to everyone else but this bow tie is worth much more to me. An item is just an item if it has no story behind it. You keep the item and you can always remember that story. John Cotton Dana’s essay says, “As the collections were of very great value -- consisting usually of originals which no money could replace, which should therefore be guarded with the utmost care -- the first thought in regard to them was their preservation; their utilization being a secondary and rather remote affair.” This means that if you have a precious item that is very close to you, money cannot buy it because it is priceless. You can’t trade money for a special memory and you will never let the item get damage. This quote relates to my bow tie because I wouldn’t trade this for anything because it was a gift from someone special and it’s priceless.