What’s it called and what’s it for? Towards an Etymology of Objects

The interplays between recognition, naming, meaning and function exhibit a non-linear fluidity which has been ill-seved by the imposing of linguistic modes of analysis upon visual material. This fluidity is illustrated through analyses of the naming, re-naming and re-use of « functional » objects in two areas : the 1492 inventory of Medici possesions ; and current art practice, particularly the invented objects of Richard Wentworth.