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Our daily lives are filled with consumption--$1.50 for a cup of coffee, $5.95 for a magazine, $17.99 for headphones, $1.79 for cough drops, $36.00 for a haircut. Whether bought out of necessity or indulgence, purchased alone or in a group, everything we buy has its own story to tell. We buy art supplies while feeling inspired, CDs while shopping with friends, and a new pair of jeans to give us a lift when we are feeling blue. Yet, these powerfully emotional experiences can be fleeting--quickly erased by the pull of the next "must-have" acquisition. InObsessive Consumption, Portland-based artist Kate Bingaman-Burt holds up a mirror to her own obsession with shopping and acquisition. Faced with a mounting pile of postgraduation credit card debt, Bingaman-Burt concocted a unique artistic response to this all-too-common dilemma. She picked up a pen and began drawing her monthly credit card statements, painstakingly recreating every last ledger line and decimal point, vowing to continue serving her artistic penance until her debt was repaid. As a relief from this project--turning the idea of "retail therapy" on its ear--Bingaman-Burt began drawing one of her purchases from each day, losing herself in the items, patterns, simple lines, and typography.
Obsessive Consumption represents a selection of three years of Bingaman-Burt's delightful ink drawings of sundry items. Accompanied by witty and insightful annotations, these drawings mock her own relationship with her purchases and put a personal face on the mass-produced items of our shared experience. Readers can catch a glimpse into the life of the artist from the collection, which includes wedding bands, a dog, a moving truck, handmade items from friends, Mississippi beer, Portland pizza, and lots of pens and drawing paper to support her drawing habit. A celebration of the beauty of the everyday, Obsessive Consumption presents a microcosm of consumer culture that will appeal to everyone from a thirteen-year-old mall-dweller to a middle-aged anticonsumerism advocate.
Obsessive Consumption represents a selection of three years of Bingaman-Burt's delightful ink drawings of sundry items. Accompanied by witty and insightful annotations, these drawings mock her own relationship with her purchases and put a personal face on the mass-produced items of our shared experience. Readers can catch a glimpse into the life of the artist from the collection, which includes wedding bands, a dog, a moving truck, handmade items from friends, Mississippi beer, Portland pizza, and lots of pens and drawing paper to support her drawing habit. A celebration of the beauty of the everyday, Obsessive Consumption presents a microcosm of consumer culture that will appeal to everyone from a thirteen-year-old mall-dweller to a middle-aged anticonsumerism advocate.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bit of a one-trick pony,
By mockduck "Myf" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? (Paperback)
I like the concept a lot, and it's interesting, but tbh, reading through every page becomes a bit of a chore. The revelations about a life are subtly there, but it's not engaging enough for that to really help. We have the book in our loo: it's a "dip in" volume really. Perhaps one that's best for art school libraries rather than home use.All of which sounds like I hate it. I don't. Just, well, you know.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What did YOU buy today?,
By KMS "consumer of books" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? (Paperback)
I don't know Kate Bingaman-Burt personally but I'm a big fan of her daily purchase drawings -- her Obsessive Consumption blog is a daily must-read for me, and her awesome zines hold a special place on my home office bookshelves -- so I was thrilled to learn she was coming out with a book version of her work. I am happy to say that not only does this book not disappoint; it far exceeds expectations!At first glance Obsessive Consumption is a commentary on ... well, consumption, and how what we buy defines us, but when you really sit down with this book in your hands you can see that it's so much more than that. It's also more than just a collection of pretty drawings; it's really a diary of sorts. The book is arranged in chronological order and by reading it through from beginning to end, you get a timeline of a couple of years of the author's life. From wedding rings to moving boxes to a shelter dog, from plane tickets to rental cars to parking tickets, from cups of coffee to convenience store snacks to simple toiletry items, the reader travels along with Bingaman-Burt as she navigates a marriage, a cross-country move and a job change. It's refreshingly honest, astonishingly revealing, and never boring. Content aside, this is such a nicely made book. It's divided into sections and each section's drawings are printed in a different color of ink. The paper is satisfyingly thick and substantial, making for a nice crisp print on every page. The layout of the pages is very attractive too, with the perfect amount of white space so the different drawings don't get jumbled together. Occasional pages have the color scheme reversed -- white print against a colored background. My only criticism of the book is that I found some of the small print in Section Two, which is printed in a yellow-orange ink on a white background, difficult to read. All in all a beautiful and oddly compelling book, one that I will look at again and again because those simple line drawings just make me so darn happy! 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
UNTOLD PLEASURE WITHIN,
By Proppa - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? (Paperback)
If you're reading this i'm guessing you've seen some of Kate Bingaman-Burt's wonderful drawings (and if you've not seek a sample or three out Now). Having had the pleasure of seeing some of the 'Obsessive Consumption' drawings before the thought of a book-format compilation seemed like a great idea - only i couldn't have known just How truly perfect a Book is for these works and this is what delivers the Untold Pleasure mentioned in the title of this review.There's a slow-burning mystery-unfolding feeling as you turn the pages of this collection: you'll start to feel like you have a notion of who the author is by voyeuristically viewing her purchases. It's almost as if a Great Fictional Character somehow arises from an utterly Non-fiction documentation and zero actual Plot. There are tiny notes about certain purchases that are (often inexplicably) laugh out loud funny (why is it a joy to see a drawing of shoes bought for a wedding and learn they were not eventually used? I don't know either but it's a pleasure indeed) In a world of entertainment options verging on overload 'Obsessive Consumption' is a subtle yet complex experience. I knew I'd like this book but I didn't realize I'd Love it. CONSUME THIS BOOK! 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ironic!,
By janjamm - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? (Paperback)
I am having trouble trying to get over my laughter about the notion of BUYING a book about obsessive consumption! Hilarious!
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