A woman’s traditional tunic made by The Nivkh tribe (Amur the river’s basin) with carp skin that has been bleached, as smooth as silk. Musee du quai Branly, Jacques Chirac, photo Patrick Gries, Valerie Torre
Malinowski was primarily interested in revealing what these items meant as well as their symbolic and political implications, which influenced the ways the objects were used. Popular among anthropologists, Potlatch is a system of gift-giving that was popular among Native Americans, illustrates the same phenomenon. The lavish spending, competitiveness to impress and the consumption of wealth have been extensively researched, specifically by American Anthropologist Franz Boas.
I am also interested in examining the symbolic, political, and economic issues that are inherent in any form of exchange by looking at the movement of high-end products. I’m doing this in a different way as opposed to traditional anthropology. Nowadays, luxury commerce is performed globally level and constitutes a large part of the global economy. In the late twenty-first century industry of luxury, as well as other areas that make up the market, experienced a two-step process of consolidation of ownership and the financialization process.
It is among the few industries that is growing and makes up the majority of our exports alongside the aeronautics and arms industries. Given this, I don’t think of a reason why luxury should be regarded in a way that makes it an “illegitimate” subject.
We should also be asking ourselves why there is a need to establish legitimacy in the social sciences field. Did you not know the fact that Pierre Bourdieu, the sociologist famous for The of the World of the World kicked off his journal of academic research Actes of recherche in sciences social by publishing an lengthy article on fashion?
The Lea Barreleau: It’s been a long time since you’ve studied the the anthropology of globalization for quite a while. Nowadays, your attention is on China, which is a country that has an immense desire for luxury goods and is among the top countries in the world for counterfeit goods. The influence of China has changed the nature and meaning of luxury in the modern world. What does this say about our notion of authenticity?
Marc Abeles In reality, instead of attempting to eliminate the entire market of counterfeits and that would be simple impossible, China has made real efforts to limit the worst instances of counterfeiting. For instance, in 2006 the Chinese government shut down one of its major outlets for the counterfeit industry that was located in that of the Xiangyang Road market in Shanghai.
Imitation iPods in Shanghai’s Old Town in 2007. Cory Doctorow/Flickr, CC BY-SA
One of the traits of luxury is the ability to give an opportunity to imitation as an element of counterpoint. This conversation of “fake” and authentic contributes to the worth of the luxury goods.
The artist Lea Barreaux: The globalisation of luxury goods can also be seen in the realm of contemporary art. On one side, it has provided artists the freedom to travel across borders and has given them a larger audience. On the other hand, it has increased the amount of speculation on the market for artwork. As an anthropologist, do you observed these changes appear?
Marc Abeles, It is evident that there’s a lot of overlap between the world of luxury commerce and the art market of today. The majority of companies in the luxury industry include artists in their design process. They build foundations to encourage contemporary art, and, sometimes, they also manage auction houses. Luxury has evolved into an industry that is global. It is constantly in danger of becoming homogenized and stale. Companies are trying to portray an image of exceptional refinement by linking what is the most expensive art of today with their own brand.