Luxury and Crisis: Redefining the British Decorative Arts

Abstract

DOI This conversation piece explores the relationship between luxury and crisis. It asks: what role have objects, that have long been deemed as “superfluous”, played in shaping and negotiating our political, social, and economic needs, wants, and desires, both past and present? Sconces, porcelain, upholstery, and other works of decorative arts are typically thought of as superficial things tied to elite taste, even though these “unnecessary” luxuries have permeated all classes of society. But what if aesthetic choices made in the realm of the everyday had the power to recalibrate needs and signal the urgency of our desires? Respondents have chosen one object that they view as an example of the “British decorative arts”, and written short texts on the topic of luxury and crisis, with the aim of redefining the scope and parameters of the field, one object at a time.

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