Boggs: A Comedy of Values (Passions and Wonders Series)
Author: Lawrence Weschler
List Price: $22.00
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ISBN: 0226893952
Publisher: University of Chicago Press (May, 1999)
Sales Rank: 41,003
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Art as money - a great story.
The debate about what constitutes value has been tackled numerous times, but this may be the most humorous and interesting take on the subject. JSG Boggs shoves the question of value into our faces by drawing money and trying to pass it off - not as real money, but as real value. The book follows Boggs as he takes his "what is value" sideshow on the road, and into several court appearances. By the end, you'll see money in a whole new light as Boggs rides into the sunset with a pocket full of "cash."The book loses its touch (and its uniqueness) when Mr. Weschler wanders into a generic discussion of the history of money. Overall, the author's treatment does just what it should - get out of the way and let Boggs paint a marvelous story.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Honest
It's honest, dispite the quasi-legal aspects of Mr. Boggs livelihood...the proof that the barter system still exists for intellectual property!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Slightly scattered, but very interesting
The story told in this book is fasccinating -- of a man whose art directly addresses the questions: what is money? what does money mean to us? how does money work? Boggs is an artist who creates beuatiful work, and does it in a way that it also drives to the heart of the American monetary system. The transactional part of his art is fascinating, and is told in an engaging amnner in this book.The book suffers from being an enlargement of a fascinating article on the same subject. The borders between the original material and that added to make it a book-length piece are sometimes glaring. The book would have been more successful if the text were limited to the original article, and the collection of images were expanded.
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