The value of an object comes from a subjective attribution, while also subjected to an ever-changing context. It is based on the context - what exists outside the object - that the idea of the value of something is formulated. That is to say: only the intention to give value to something is conceived at the moment when one thinks about the possibility of an exchange with what one considers its equivalent.

The loss of value of an object is a subjective process, but also subject to an ever-changing context. It is based on the context - what exists outside the object - that the value of something decreases. That is to say: the loss of value of something is only conceived at the moment when one thinks about the possibility of an exchange with what one considers its equivalent.

Both ideas about the increase and decrease of value are really the same, they are both governed by the desire for what you don't have; of the conception of being able to acquire something more, where the material form of the object does not vary. However, if this object is dismantled, its value will decrease, since part of the labor force previously used for its elaboration will have been undone and the labor force used for its disarticulation will probably not be considered. But if the cycle of circulation of that dismantled object changes, the sense of its use and its value could also be altered.

When talking about the process of transforming raw material into a utilitarian good, can we recognize the moment when matter acquires a symbolic value that differentiates it? Can an element of the same composition, area, and weight have a different value determined only by its potential use and the demand that others have on it? How can aesthetics and cultural experience determine our understanding of an object?

When talking about the process of transforming raw material into a utilitarian good, can we recognize the moment when matter acquires a symbolic value that differentiates it? Can an element of the same composition, area, and weight have a different value determined only by its potential use and the demand that others have on it? How can aesthetics and cultural experience determine our understanding of an object?

Raúl Silva

September 2019