The gift: Imagination and the erotic life of property
Ratings5
Average rating3.8
Starting with the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity, this revolutionary book ranges across anthropology, literature, economics, and psychology to show how the 'commerce of the creative spirit' functions in the lives of artists and in culture as a whole.
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Abandoned, p.240. I really loved the first three chapters; it then got progressively more tedious, then pompous, and I have other books in need of reading. I'm sorry. I really wanted to love this whole book.
I'm going to keep it, though, and one day reread just the beginning, and try to preserve that in my mind without the unpleasant aftertaste of women-as-property, usury, Whitman, and constant references to judeochristian bullshit.
Some interesting ideas about art and the marketplace, but overall not for me. Too much talk about creativity being an ineffable gift from the universe or whatever.
