THE CONTEMPORARY ANOMALY

A closer scrutiny of this half of the exhibition reveals an inescapable instability and fluidity of categorical boundaries. The same object can occupy a wide variety of categories, providing different kinds of knowledge depending on the context and the questions we ask. Categories, far from being defined by the intrinsic qualities of objects and their function, instead themselves define how we interpret the primary function of the objects, and what we decide the "intrinsic" qualities of the objects are.

Some objects within the exhibition are placed on the border of two categories and participate equally in both. The category changes our relationship to the object. This is particularly true for objects which take on a historical importance, such as souvenirs and other personal memorabilia, which overrides their practical function. A particularly vivid example of this in the exhibition was a dress once worn by Dinah Shore in her television series. As a tool it was used first by Shore and then by the Drama department as a costume, but because of its associations it must also be considered an object of commemoration. In acknowledgment of its dual status, we placed it on the border between the section on tools and the section on commemoration. Yet these are not two categories that overlap gracefully; in fact, they tend to cancel one another out. What serves as a tool is used as a means to an end; what is seen as an object of commemoration becomes an end in itself, enshrined and protected from the wear and tear to which tools are subjected.