Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? the book

We consume things, that is what us humans do best. We consume air, food and space, and of course we also consume consumer products. From toothpaste & paperclips to SUV’s & penthouse suites, it’s really an inescapable fact of life. Even with many people turning away from the conspicuous consumption of past decades, consumerism is just the way modern culture works. I mean, try buying nothing on Buy Nothing Day….it’s just about impossible for many of us.

The things that we choose to spend our money can be an interesting story about our lives and times though. In my former life, working on exhibits for a museum, I often found myself referencing old Sears & Montgomery Wards catalogs from the 1890’s. It was really fascinating to see what was offered up in the marketplace. Surprisingly, a lot of the same  type of products existed then as do now, but there certainly are way more products for sale now. See for yourself.

As far as what we are buying, many of the things are ephemeral in nature, while others are more permanent. Some things are totally frivolous, and others are completely practical. We make lots of purchases that we look forward to, while others are fraught with worry and apprehension. Sometimes, we buy more and sometimes we buy less. These consumer stories aren’t unique, but are true for all of us…and I find them all fascinating.

So does Kate Bingaman-Burt, the author of the book Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? and the creator of the blog Obsessive Consumption. Kate has been documenting her own daily purchases through little drawings she has created every day since February 5th, 2006. With her drawings, she shares her personal consumer story with us, but her drawings in turn speak a lot about our own stories. Kate’s drawings range from a Diet Coke can & newly married checks to credit card bills & Tylenol PM. Kate writes that she,

likes to draw objects that are rather ordinary….items that a lot of consumers have a shared experience with; items that we interact with, but don’t really think about. I love documenting the mundane and, in turn, putting a personal face on something that is mass-produced. I make work about personal consumerism, market economies, guilt, joy, excess, more guilt, gifts, celebration, repetition, and the community of these shared experiences.

Reading Kate’s book and blog is sort of like being a voyeur and peeking in someone’s shopping cart at the grocery store, but I like to think of the experience as being more anthropological in nature. See what you think: purchase the book HERE & read the blog HERE.