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Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff
Is the distinction between “real” and “fake” as clear-cut as we think?
Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Should we be outraged that some of those famous scenes in Blue Planet were filmed in a lab? Who are the scientists putting ever-more improbable flavors in our Jelly Belly beans? Welcome to the world of “genuine fakes”--the curious objects that fall in between things that are real and things that are not. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes that defy simple categorization. Whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective.
In Genuine Fakes, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes depends on their unique combinations of history, science and culture. The stories of art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas shows that genuine fakes are complicated and change over time. Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits, science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories.
Can people move past assuming that a diamond grown in a lab is a fake? What happens when a forged painting or manuscript becomes more valuable than its original? Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things that they encounter in their daily lives and why they invoke the reactions--surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance--that they do.
Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Should we be outraged that some of those famous scenes in Blue Planet were filmed in a lab? Who are the scientists putting ever-more improbable flavors in our Jelly Belly beans? Welcome to the world of “genuine fakes”--the curious objects that fall in between things that are real and things that are not. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes that defy simple categorization. Whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective.
In Genuine Fakes, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes depends on their unique combinations of history, science and culture. The stories of art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas shows that genuine fakes are complicated and change over time. Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits, science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories.
Can people move past assuming that a diamond grown in a lab is a fake? What happens when a forged painting or manuscript becomes more valuable than its original? Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things that they encounter in their daily lives and why they invoke the reactions--surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance--that they do.
- GenresNonfictionScienceHistory
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2019
31 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 15, 2020
When is a fake a fake? When a museum puts together the remaining bones of a dinosaur and has to replicate the missing parts, does that make it a fake? If an artist does a painting with Andy Warhol's original silk screens, it it a fake? What about machine made diamonds?
The author addresses these questions with a series of examples (including the ones mentioned above) of how the public and experts classify objects and how some fakes take on a life of their own. If I paint a picture (how frightening) and try to pass it off as a Picasso, there is no doubt that it is a fake. But when an extremely talented painter known as the Spanish Forger (circa early 20th century) forged the work of the masters, they were accepted as the real thing. Once the forgeries were uncovered, the Spanish Forger pictures themselves have now become a collectors item and realize large prices.
Mayan/Inca artifacts are a particularly popular subject for fakes. The Grolier Codex, an ancient Mayan book, when discovered was thought to be too good to be true. It appeared that there were only three extant codices and the veracity of this find was determined to be questionable. Years later, after scientific tests and other advancements in science, it turned out that the Grolier was the real things. But the arguments continue and many art historians still disbelieve its authenticity.
This is a thought provoking and entertaining study of fakes through the centuries and makes one wonder where we draw the line between fake and real. Recommended.
The author addresses these questions with a series of examples (including the ones mentioned above) of how the public and experts classify objects and how some fakes take on a life of their own. If I paint a picture (how frightening) and try to pass it off as a Picasso, there is no doubt that it is a fake. But when an extremely talented painter known as the Spanish Forger (circa early 20th century) forged the work of the masters, they were accepted as the real thing. Once the forgeries were uncovered, the Spanish Forger pictures themselves have now become a collectors item and realize large prices.
Mayan/Inca artifacts are a particularly popular subject for fakes. The Grolier Codex, an ancient Mayan book, when discovered was thought to be too good to be true. It appeared that there were only three extant codices and the veracity of this find was determined to be questionable. Years later, after scientific tests and other advancements in science, it turned out that the Grolier was the real things. But the arguments continue and many art historians still disbelieve its authenticity.
This is a thought provoking and entertaining study of fakes through the centuries and makes one wonder where we draw the line between fake and real. Recommended.
January 7, 2020
This is a good book on the not-always-clearcut difference between the “real deal” and the imitation: what author Pyne calls “in-between objects that are real and not-real at the same time.” I thought her best chapter was about diamonds, in particular the long effort to make synthetic diamonds in the lab. GE succeeded in 1954, and I think I’ll start by quoting parts of the excellent WSJ review, which is the one that led me to read the book:
“Applying enormous pressure and heat to carbon, it turned out, could reproduce the process of diamond formation that normally took nature up to billions of years to complete. This development made De Beers nervous—at the time, the company controlled the global trade in naturally formed diamonds. But diamond prices never collapsed: GE kept supply low; De Beers, meanwhile, licensed GE’s technology and now sells its own lab-grown diamonds alongside the natural kind. Indeed, artificial diamonds—which, on a molecular level, are identical to mined diamonds—are now preferred by some as the more ethical choice for jewelry, even if they are still considered somehow inauthentic.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/genuine-... (Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers.) This is the review to read, if you are thinking about reading the book.
She continues on to such topics as artificial flavorings — more interesting than you would think. I bet you didn’t know that Jelly Belly candies are available in some very odd flavors, such as “Vomit” — and a line of “bean boozled” flavors where (for example) a white bean might be Buttered Popcorn or (surprise!) Stinky Socks.
And on to whale bones and full-scale models in museums, where there can be “good reasons to prefer a fake over the real thing, as Ms. Pyne explains in her chapter about putting blue whales on exhibition. (It takes an awful lot of time and effort to wash the grease from their bones and prepare them for display in a museum.) “There’s only so much authenticity about whales that audiences are willing to tolerate—no leaking, dripping or smelling—even if those things are just as ‘real.’ ” [WSJ review]
Unfortunately, she began the book with what I found to be the two weakest chapters — and I see other reviewers had the same problem. And her writing style is sometimes over-academic. Another reviewer here suggests reading the book from back to front, which might work.
So: a good, short book with interesting ideas and minor problems. I’m glad I read it, in particular after I figured out where the Good Stuff is (not at the start!). 3.4 stars.
“Applying enormous pressure and heat to carbon, it turned out, could reproduce the process of diamond formation that normally took nature up to billions of years to complete. This development made De Beers nervous—at the time, the company controlled the global trade in naturally formed diamonds. But diamond prices never collapsed: GE kept supply low; De Beers, meanwhile, licensed GE’s technology and now sells its own lab-grown diamonds alongside the natural kind. Indeed, artificial diamonds—which, on a molecular level, are identical to mined diamonds—are now preferred by some as the more ethical choice for jewelry, even if they are still considered somehow inauthentic.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/genuine-... (Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers.) This is the review to read, if you are thinking about reading the book.
She continues on to such topics as artificial flavorings — more interesting than you would think. I bet you didn’t know that Jelly Belly candies are available in some very odd flavors, such as “Vomit” — and a line of “bean boozled” flavors where (for example) a white bean might be Buttered Popcorn or (surprise!) Stinky Socks.
And on to whale bones and full-scale models in museums, where there can be “good reasons to prefer a fake over the real thing, as Ms. Pyne explains in her chapter about putting blue whales on exhibition. (It takes an awful lot of time and effort to wash the grease from their bones and prepare them for display in a museum.) “There’s only so much authenticity about whales that audiences are willing to tolerate—no leaking, dripping or smelling—even if those things are just as ‘real.’ ” [WSJ review]
Unfortunately, she began the book with what I found to be the two weakest chapters — and I see other reviewers had the same problem. And her writing style is sometimes over-academic. Another reviewer here suggests reading the book from back to front, which might work.
So: a good, short book with interesting ideas and minor problems. I’m glad I read it, in particular after I figured out where the Good Stuff is (not at the start!). 3.4 stars.
June 20, 2022
Dostałam więcej, niż spodziewałam się dostać.
Książka jest świetna. Autorka skupia się nie tylko na świecie sztuki sensu stricto, ale zahacza też o produkcję syntetycznych diamentów, o inscenizowane filmy przyrodnicze, a nawet o sztuczne aromaty wykorzystywane w przemyśle spożywczym. Ostatni z przywołanych tematów to ruchome piaski - wciągnął mnie i nie chciał wypuścić. Dzięki Pyne mogłam zaktualizować swoją wiedzę o kubkach smakowych i odczuwaniu smaków w ogóle.
Przesłanie książki jest dość zaskakujące. Nie chodzi o grożenie palcem fałszerzom ani o stworzenie katalogu sfałszowanych dzieł. Czytelnik zachęcony jest raczej do rozważań, kiedy fałszerstwo przestaje być fałszerstwem, a zaczyna być sztuką samą w sobie. Kiedy staje się niezbędne, żeby zachować oryginał w niepogorszonym stanie. Kiedy pełni rolę funkcjonalną i jest w pełni uzasadnione...
W sumie boli mnie jedynie to, że dokumentacja graficzna została potraktowana po macoszemu i ulokowano ją wyłącznie w środku książki. Autorka przywołuje tyle dzieł sztuki i tyle zdarzeń, że można było upstrzyć nimi wszystkie rozdziały.
Jeśli ktoś nadal waha się, czy sięgnąć po tę pozycję, to polecam poszukać w bibliotekach. Ja mój egzemplarz wypożyczyłam. Nie nastawiałam się na żadną przełomową lekturę. Nie żałuję, to był celny strzał.
PS Najbardziej soczysta część książki ma ok. 260 stron, nie 304. Kilkadziesiąt stron zajmują źródła i indeks terminów.
Książka jest świetna. Autorka skupia się nie tylko na świecie sztuki sensu stricto, ale zahacza też o produkcję syntetycznych diamentów, o inscenizowane filmy przyrodnicze, a nawet o sztuczne aromaty wykorzystywane w przemyśle spożywczym. Ostatni z przywołanych tematów to ruchome piaski - wciągnął mnie i nie chciał wypuścić. Dzięki Pyne mogłam zaktualizować swoją wiedzę o kubkach smakowych i odczuwaniu smaków w ogóle.
Przesłanie książki jest dość zaskakujące. Nie chodzi o grożenie palcem fałszerzom ani o stworzenie katalogu sfałszowanych dzieł. Czytelnik zachęcony jest raczej do rozważań, kiedy fałszerstwo przestaje być fałszerstwem, a zaczyna być sztuką samą w sobie. Kiedy staje się niezbędne, żeby zachować oryginał w niepogorszonym stanie. Kiedy pełni rolę funkcjonalną i jest w pełni uzasadnione...
W sumie boli mnie jedynie to, że dokumentacja graficzna została potraktowana po macoszemu i ulokowano ją wyłącznie w środku książki. Autorka przywołuje tyle dzieł sztuki i tyle zdarzeń, że można było upstrzyć nimi wszystkie rozdziały.
Jeśli ktoś nadal waha się, czy sięgnąć po tę pozycję, to polecam poszukać w bibliotekach. Ja mój egzemplarz wypożyczyłam. Nie nastawiałam się na żadną przełomową lekturę. Nie żałuję, to był celny strzał.
PS Najbardziej soczysta część książki ma ok. 260 stron, nie 304. Kilkadziesiąt stron zajmują źródła i indeks terminów.
February 4, 2021
I didn't really expect this book to be so riveting, but it really was. The central idea is a bit shaky, because Lynda Pyne's definition of "genuine fakes" is very, very elastic: one example is lab-created diamonds, another is the Spanish Forger's faked medieval illustrations, another is the faked Archaeoraptor fossil... The things that make each item "genuine" or "fake" are pretty flexible. The reasoning is most solid when it comes to art like the Spanish Forger's work, which has now become desirable in and of itself. The reasoning for the Archaeoraptor fossil is basically "well, it's made up of real fossils!" Yeah, who cares, those fossils have been ripped from their original correct context in a desperate attempt to deceive people and get more money. That's not a genuine fake, that's just a fake.
And then there's a bit about wildlife documentaries and how they're kind of fake (sometimes, depending on how they're filmed) and kind of not, and the point kind of dissipated somewhere in there for a while in favour of just explaining how much money it takes to create a documentary like Blue Planet II.
That all said, though, even if Pyne's examples don't all hang together, I enjoyed her dissection of each item and the things it has to tell us. I didn't know anything about the Spanish Forger before, and that was maybe my favourite thing to learn about. Interesting stuff here, just... not really very organised.
And then there's a bit about wildlife documentaries and how they're kind of fake (sometimes, depending on how they're filmed) and kind of not, and the point kind of dissipated somewhere in there for a while in favour of just explaining how much money it takes to create a documentary like Blue Planet II.
That all said, though, even if Pyne's examples don't all hang together, I enjoyed her dissection of each item and the things it has to tell us. I didn't know anything about the Spanish Forger before, and that was maybe my favourite thing to learn about. Interesting stuff here, just... not really very organised.
September 11, 2019
Genuine Fakes was an interesting read.
An interesting perspective of what is real and what is fake. A lot of interesting topics disccussed in this book.
But at the beginning I couldn't get myself into this book. Then, I started to skip the few chapters. I read from the back to front to be honest.
It was fun to know about all the topics. From art to food and to nature. The best topic in this book that I really enjoyed reading was about The Art of Making the Palaeolithic Come To Life. This author really did a great job in research and all. Just a few things about one of the topics that I don't agree with the author. Which is in Chapter 4: A Fake of Different Flavor. It's about the artificial flavor. According to the author artificial flavors are created to make up for food shortages to create delicious food. I'm not really sure about this. I think it's not about that. I think because artificial flavors are created to stimulate the taste buds. It's about something that makes people to be addicted at.
Overall, it's still interesting book to read. If you're more into history, maybe you could try pick up this one. And to be honest this book is not my cuppa tea.
Thank you Pansing @definitelybooks for sending me a copy of Genuine Fakes in return for an honest review. This book will be available on October 2019 onwards.
An interesting perspective of what is real and what is fake. A lot of interesting topics disccussed in this book.
But at the beginning I couldn't get myself into this book. Then, I started to skip the few chapters. I read from the back to front to be honest.
It was fun to know about all the topics. From art to food and to nature. The best topic in this book that I really enjoyed reading was about The Art of Making the Palaeolithic Come To Life. This author really did a great job in research and all. Just a few things about one of the topics that I don't agree with the author. Which is in Chapter 4: A Fake of Different Flavor. It's about the artificial flavor. According to the author artificial flavors are created to make up for food shortages to create delicious food. I'm not really sure about this. I think it's not about that. I think because artificial flavors are created to stimulate the taste buds. It's about something that makes people to be addicted at.
Overall, it's still interesting book to read. If you're more into history, maybe you could try pick up this one. And to be honest this book is not my cuppa tea.
Thank you Pansing @definitelybooks for sending me a copy of Genuine Fakes in return for an honest review. This book will be available on October 2019 onwards.
September 27, 2019
A fascinating look into what’s real and authentic and what isn’t, Genuine Fakes discusses art, science and psychology in a conversational way. The author uses a direct language that makes the hardest subjects easy to grasp. It will also make the readers think. If bananas went extinct, would you rather live without them or would a synthetic substitute be OK? If diamonds can be grown in a lab, why are they less real than natural ones that may be ethically compromised? I would personally love to visit Faux Chauvet, the largest cave replica ever built, rather than miss the Prehistoric art altogether or, worse, risk its integrity with my presence in the original. My favorite parts were the ones set in the art world, and how some fakes become authentic in some way. I was also astounded at some old practices that made me cringe (paying to see a dead whale?) and others are so hard to believe I would have doubted them had I read about them in a less reputable medium. Pyne sets the context and then explains the facts, letting readers make up their own minds.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Bloomsbury USA!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Bloomsbury USA!
August 6, 2019
The world of fakes is as big as the world. If a fake is of unauthorized manufacture, then every homemade item is a fake of the original model. Counterfeits are hundred billion dollar businesses. So what then is a genuine fake? In Lydia Pyne’s telling, they are fakes that have been legitimately accepted as marketable legally.
It’s a tortured definition, and Pyne doesn’t always make it work. There are forgers whose work is so good people collect them, and they’re worth big money. A fake unpublished Shakespeare play can be priceless. It’s whatever the marketplace accepts, and Pyne shows the marketplace can be very forgiving.
It’s also arguable that not all fakes are fakes. A 1:1 scale model of a Blue Whale is not a fake. Artificial flavors are not fakes. Industrial diamonds are not fakes. But each has its own chapter in Genuine Fakes.
In the chapter on flavors, Pyne admits we’ve been making artificial flavors for 5000 years. We don’t consider them fake, just a different variety. They are necessary, convenient, economical and crucial. The whole argument they are genuine fakes seems misplaced, if not irrelevant. But Pyne provides a great tour of the flavor world.
The chapter on diamonds is all about the scientific search to replicate what nature does in squeezing diamonds out of carbon. There is a great deal on DeBeers, the global diamond monopoly and how it has been beaten down between man-made diamonds and international anti-competition laws. But artificial (a word she does not use here) diamonds are not considered fakes. They are their own legitimate product in their own legitimate market (they are also making inroads in the traditional jewelry market because of ethics issues in mining and war.) So are industrial diamonds “genuine fakes”? What difference does it make?
There is a chapter on animal films, in which she criticizes producers for making animals human, acting out human stories of love, challenge and death. This is called anthropomorphizing (a word she does not use), and we do it with everything – our cars, our plants, our homes, clouds – everything, to make them lovable and relatable. (Think about The California Raisins. That takes it all in instantly.) This is in no way fake; it’s how we relate to everything.
She calls archaeological replicas ethically tricky. Is a replica of the Lascaux Caves a genuine fake? Why is it important to label it that way? Everyone knows you can’t get into the original any more. So this replica is the only option. What good comes from labeling it fake? Is a hologram of Michael Jackson a fraud? Does it have no value? Are art posters fraudulent? Is a Charlie Chaplin film on DVD fraudulent? Or is it a genuine fake?
The whole premise of Genuine Fakes is difficult to digest. Pyne is a good storyteller. The book makes Shakespearean frauds, paleolithic caves and walruses sunning on the rocks fascinating and absorbing. Her stories have just the right level of detail. But tying them all together in the rubric of genuine fakes seems a stretch.
David Wineberg
It’s a tortured definition, and Pyne doesn’t always make it work. There are forgers whose work is so good people collect them, and they’re worth big money. A fake unpublished Shakespeare play can be priceless. It’s whatever the marketplace accepts, and Pyne shows the marketplace can be very forgiving.
It’s also arguable that not all fakes are fakes. A 1:1 scale model of a Blue Whale is not a fake. Artificial flavors are not fakes. Industrial diamonds are not fakes. But each has its own chapter in Genuine Fakes.
In the chapter on flavors, Pyne admits we’ve been making artificial flavors for 5000 years. We don’t consider them fake, just a different variety. They are necessary, convenient, economical and crucial. The whole argument they are genuine fakes seems misplaced, if not irrelevant. But Pyne provides a great tour of the flavor world.
The chapter on diamonds is all about the scientific search to replicate what nature does in squeezing diamonds out of carbon. There is a great deal on DeBeers, the global diamond monopoly and how it has been beaten down between man-made diamonds and international anti-competition laws. But artificial (a word she does not use here) diamonds are not considered fakes. They are their own legitimate product in their own legitimate market (they are also making inroads in the traditional jewelry market because of ethics issues in mining and war.) So are industrial diamonds “genuine fakes”? What difference does it make?
There is a chapter on animal films, in which she criticizes producers for making animals human, acting out human stories of love, challenge and death. This is called anthropomorphizing (a word she does not use), and we do it with everything – our cars, our plants, our homes, clouds – everything, to make them lovable and relatable. (Think about The California Raisins. That takes it all in instantly.) This is in no way fake; it’s how we relate to everything.
She calls archaeological replicas ethically tricky. Is a replica of the Lascaux Caves a genuine fake? Why is it important to label it that way? Everyone knows you can’t get into the original any more. So this replica is the only option. What good comes from labeling it fake? Is a hologram of Michael Jackson a fraud? Does it have no value? Are art posters fraudulent? Is a Charlie Chaplin film on DVD fraudulent? Or is it a genuine fake?
The whole premise of Genuine Fakes is difficult to digest. Pyne is a good storyteller. The book makes Shakespearean frauds, paleolithic caves and walruses sunning on the rocks fascinating and absorbing. Her stories have just the right level of detail. But tying them all together in the rubric of genuine fakes seems a stretch.
David Wineberg
November 5, 2019
***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***
What separates a fake from the real thing? What if you made a fake and instead of being met with derision it was applauded? In the book, Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach US about Real Stuff by Lydia Pyne, she explores why some fakes, genuine fakes, are accepted in their own right and have a value of their own. Pyne does this by giving the reader different case studies from the past involving fakes. From the Spanish Forger, fake fossils, artificial flavors to natural vs lab made diamonds and nature documentaries vs nature life streams, Pyne goes through each case study and examines why the fake in that particular scenario was important. Each of the scenarios presented are interesting and the reader will have fun learning are paleolithic cave art or how far people have gone to try preserve a blue whale for display. By the end of the book, I feel that Pyne provides a convincing argument for why in the case studies presented we accept these “genuine fakes” are real in their own right and how our times and culture influence what we say and will accept as real. I would recommend this book to people who like interesting stories from history, art and the natural sciences and books on how people view the world.
Rating: 4 stars. Would highly recommend to a friend.
What separates a fake from the real thing? What if you made a fake and instead of being met with derision it was applauded? In the book, Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach US about Real Stuff by Lydia Pyne, she explores why some fakes, genuine fakes, are accepted in their own right and have a value of their own. Pyne does this by giving the reader different case studies from the past involving fakes. From the Spanish Forger, fake fossils, artificial flavors to natural vs lab made diamonds and nature documentaries vs nature life streams, Pyne goes through each case study and examines why the fake in that particular scenario was important. Each of the scenarios presented are interesting and the reader will have fun learning are paleolithic cave art or how far people have gone to try preserve a blue whale for display. By the end of the book, I feel that Pyne provides a convincing argument for why in the case studies presented we accept these “genuine fakes” are real in their own right and how our times and culture influence what we say and will accept as real. I would recommend this book to people who like interesting stories from history, art and the natural sciences and books on how people view the world.
Rating: 4 stars. Would highly recommend to a friend.
August 31, 2019
A fascinating read on a subject of which I knew very little. I always thought the dividing line between real(authentic) and fake was clear cut. That it was black and white. Reading this book allowed me to discover that there are more shades of grey between the two than I could ever have imagined! I would definitely read more books by this author!
July 22, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of
Genuine Fakes.
This was a fascinating book with an intriguing topic.
The world is full of fakes, the fake bags and watches you used to be able to buy in Chinatown, the copies of famous paintings you buy at the museum gift shop, the replica of King Tut's tomb in the Museum of Natural History.
When is a fake not a fake?
Can a fake be better or worth more than the original?
The author pulls excellent examples from art, culture, and history and offers readers an in depth look at moments in history when a forged painting becomes nearly as valuable as the original; or when manufacturers can create diamonds with machines and technology what would usually take nature billions of years to create.
The author has done meticulous research and it shows; unfortunately, the writing is more scientific and scholarly than I had expected, the prose is dry but well written.
Overall, still an interesting read at what a genuine fake is, what it means socially, contextually, and how it has immense cultural significance in our world.
This was a fascinating book with an intriguing topic.
The world is full of fakes, the fake bags and watches you used to be able to buy in Chinatown, the copies of famous paintings you buy at the museum gift shop, the replica of King Tut's tomb in the Museum of Natural History.
When is a fake not a fake?
Can a fake be better or worth more than the original?
The author pulls excellent examples from art, culture, and history and offers readers an in depth look at moments in history when a forged painting becomes nearly as valuable as the original; or when manufacturers can create diamonds with machines and technology what would usually take nature billions of years to create.
The author has done meticulous research and it shows; unfortunately, the writing is more scientific and scholarly than I had expected, the prose is dry but well written.
Overall, still an interesting read at what a genuine fake is, what it means socially, contextually, and how it has immense cultural significance in our world.
September 18, 2021
Przewrotny jest świat i krucha jego autentyczność... zaś fałsz potrafi zaskoczyć geniuszem. "PRAWDZIWE FAŁSZERSTWA", to książka, która bawi i uczy. Bawi - bo wszyscy lubimy czytać o ludziach "nabitych w butelkę", choć sami raczej nie chcemy być "nabijani". Uczy - pokory, nieprzewidywalności i pomysłowości, którą człowiek ma zapisaną w swoim kodzie DNA (jedni jednak mają jej zdecydowanie więcej od innych).
Lydia Pyne temat ten potraktowała bardzo szeroko, dzięki czemu mamy zróżnicowany obraz "problemu". Poznajemy fałszerzy dzieł sztuki, obrazów, podpisów, smaków, kinowego spektaklu, "kłamliwych kamieni", wypchanych płetwali błękitnych, diamentów - słowem FAŁSZ w fascynującym wydaniu.
Jest to też książka, która pokazuje, jak coś, co jest podróbką, staje się autentycznym dziełem sztuki, poszukiwanym i chcianym, kolekcjonerską gratką. Podobnie sprawa ma się z np. aromatami, bo jeśli aromat banana, w którym nie ma ani okruszka banana, smakuje BARDZIEJ bananowo od banana... to czyż nie miło czasem takiego banana skosztować?
Jedna z śmieszniejszych historii dotyczy tzw. "kłamliwych kamieni". Nie jest to wyłącznie zabawna opowieść, ale jest to jeszcze opowieść o przytarciu nosa zarozumialcowi - a historia jest przewrotna, bo "kłamliwe kamienie" obecnie zyskały na wartości, a nazwisko wystrychniętego na dudka "profesorka" powtarzane jest ku przestrodze studentom.
Bardzo zainteresowała mnie też kwestia "skamielin Frankensteina", a zwłaszcza znaleziska z Piltdown, które szumnie nazwano "pierwszym Anglikiem". To rewelacyjny przykład na to, że ludzie naprawdę marzą o przodku, który połączy ich z małpami.
Dochodzi też kwestia tytułowych PRAWDZIWYCH FAŁSZERSTW, bo gdy podróbka staje się cenna, ktoś musi potwierdzić jej UWAGA autentyczność! Jest to temat rzeka, którym można wypełnić niejedną książkę i stworzyć rewelacyjne scenariusze filmowe.
Autorka sprytnie połączyła wiele wątków i stworzyła dość wnikliwą analizę FAŁSZERSTW. Jest w tej książce, poza warstwą typowo informacyjną, warstwa filozoficzna, która również zasługuje na oklaski. I wreszcie moje ulubione "prawdziwe fałszerstwo" - Kamień z Peckham... jakże to wspaniale nas określa... nasz postęp i nas jako ludzi.
Na koniec wspomnę o rewelacyjnej okładce. Trudno przejść obojętnie obok takiego projektu. Brawo dla WUJ i brawo dla Sebastiana Wojnowskiego - i oczywiście dla Leonarda da Vinci. Czytajcie i śmiejcie się, albo płaczcie... lub podrabiajcie...
niby podróbka - a prawdziwa
7/10
seria #nauka
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
bo.wiem
Lydia Pyne temat ten potraktowała bardzo szeroko, dzięki czemu mamy zróżnicowany obraz "problemu". Poznajemy fałszerzy dzieł sztuki, obrazów, podpisów, smaków, kinowego spektaklu, "kłamliwych kamieni", wypchanych płetwali błękitnych, diamentów - słowem FAŁSZ w fascynującym wydaniu.
Jest to też książka, która pokazuje, jak coś, co jest podróbką, staje się autentycznym dziełem sztuki, poszukiwanym i chcianym, kolekcjonerską gratką. Podobnie sprawa ma się z np. aromatami, bo jeśli aromat banana, w którym nie ma ani okruszka banana, smakuje BARDZIEJ bananowo od banana... to czyż nie miło czasem takiego banana skosztować?
Jedna z śmieszniejszych historii dotyczy tzw. "kłamliwych kamieni". Nie jest to wyłącznie zabawna opowieść, ale jest to jeszcze opowieść o przytarciu nosa zarozumialcowi - a historia jest przewrotna, bo "kłamliwe kamienie" obecnie zyskały na wartości, a nazwisko wystrychniętego na dudka "profesorka" powtarzane jest ku przestrodze studentom.
Bardzo zainteresowała mnie też kwestia "skamielin Frankensteina", a zwłaszcza znaleziska z Piltdown, które szumnie nazwano "pierwszym Anglikiem". To rewelacyjny przykład na to, że ludzie naprawdę marzą o przodku, który połączy ich z małpami.
Dochodzi też kwestia tytułowych PRAWDZIWYCH FAŁSZERSTW, bo gdy podróbka staje się cenna, ktoś musi potwierdzić jej UWAGA autentyczność! Jest to temat rzeka, którym można wypełnić niejedną książkę i stworzyć rewelacyjne scenariusze filmowe.
Autorka sprytnie połączyła wiele wątków i stworzyła dość wnikliwą analizę FAŁSZERSTW. Jest w tej książce, poza warstwą typowo informacyjną, warstwa filozoficzna, która również zasługuje na oklaski. I wreszcie moje ulubione "prawdziwe fałszerstwo" - Kamień z Peckham... jakże to wspaniale nas określa... nasz postęp i nas jako ludzi.
Na koniec wspomnę o rewelacyjnej okładce. Trudno przejść obojętnie obok takiego projektu. Brawo dla WUJ i brawo dla Sebastiana Wojnowskiego - i oczywiście dla Leonarda da Vinci. Czytajcie i śmiejcie się, albo płaczcie... lub podrabiajcie...
niby podróbka - a prawdziwa
7/10
seria #nauka
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
bo.wiem
August 12, 2019
How do we decide what’s real? Sometimes it’s about full disclosure of the conditions of production, as when museums make blue whale models and reconstruct parts—even significant parts—of the animal for display. Other times that’s not quite enough, as when a present-day artist uses Warhol’s acetates to create a new set of prints from the negatives by employing the same methods (inks, stretcher bars, canvas, etc.) that Warhol used to create his “originals.” The artist called the project a ‘forced collaboration’ and pointed out that Warhol himself said “ I want other people to make my paintings.” Meanwhile, the Andy Warhol Foundation and the representatives of Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and Jackson Pollock have all dissolved their authentication boards to minimize hassle and legal risk, “rather than deal with the legal repercussions of mistakenly authenticating some work of art that later proves to be fraudulent,” and “scholarly conferences that focus on the authenticity of an artist’ s work have been cancelled, as even the merest whisper of doubt about a painting could have ramifications for its value.” In this vein, the book explores various types of historical authenticity, not just in paintings but in “fossils,” synthetic diamonds, synthetic flavors, nature films, blue whale models, and replicas of ancient art where the art itself is too physically sensitive to be exposed to tourists.
Although the book argues that some forgeries gain value with time as artifacts of their own time of production—the Spanish Forger is the prime example—that didn’t particularly convince me; the value seemed to come from being sufficiently old to tell us something about the artistic preferences of the people around at the time of creation, which is fine but not super tightly connected to the fact of being a forgery (except insofar as that fake provenance led people to notice and preserve that particular work). More convincingly to me, the book tracks shifting ideas around synthetic diamonds, which are both physically like natural diamonds and highly unlike them in conditions of production, which initially made synthetic diamonds less appealing but may now make them more so to people worried about conflict diamonds. (Although the book characterizes synthetic diamonds as physically “identical” to mined diamonds, it also says that De Beers developed technologies that could often distinguish them by looking for “an optical absorption line, found in the majority of natural diamonds but not in laboratory ones.” I would have liked more about that—first, is it a distinction without a difference? Second, that “majority” is really interesting in context: should we think of those natural diamonds without absorption lines as less “real”?)
I wasn’t as clear about the point of the chapter on synthetic flavors. You may have seen the tidbit that artificial banana flavor tastes so distinct from today’s bananas because it was based on the extinct Gros Michel banana, but there’s been a lot of effort to create synthetic flavors that would qualify as “better” than the original—super-strawberry and the like. But the book doesn’t explain much about what “better” would mean here, and the supposed reversal of valuation doesn’t seem complete without an attempt to create flavors that don’t actually have a natural referent. We haven’t seen much in the way of attempts to create “unicorn flavor,” for example, even if Jelly Belly experiments with gross flavors. Another useful factoid: telling people they were eating free-range, organic meats made the meat taste better, though they mostly can’t differentiate in blind taste tests; likewise, “oysters taste better with the sound of the seashore playing in the background.”
Because I’m interested in visual realism, I liked the chapter about how what counts as a “realistic” nature documentary has changed over time, in terms of the amount of human intervention into creating and narrating the story. Apparently, “certain kinds of artifice are necessary to create an ethical wildlife documentary,” such as splicing in footage of tame or captive animals to illustrate an otherwise unseeable part of an animal’s story. It makes sense that it’s not a great idea to get too close to wild bears, or to habituate them to humans. The blue whale chapter was similar: whale skin and bones are uniquely hard to preserve, so if you want a whale or whale skeleton that looks like the real thing (and doesn’t smell nauseating), you can’t have it made entirely or even substantially of real whales. The question then becomes what is an “authentic” model, and museum location (as opposed to sideshow appearance) as well as at least some disclosure of what happened seems to be the key here. “As whale curators and showmen have found, there’ s only so much authenticity about whales that audiences are willing to tolerate–no leaking, dripping or smelling–even if those things are just as ‘real’ as the other parts of an exhibit.”
Similarly, caves with ancient human paintings deteriorate if exposed to many humans, as discovered with Lascaux, so replicas are the only way that the art can be both visible and preserved for the future. As with the synthetic diamonds and nature documentaries, there’s a specifically ethical appeal to the artifice: using the replica keeps the original in existence.
Although the book argues that some forgeries gain value with time as artifacts of their own time of production—the Spanish Forger is the prime example—that didn’t particularly convince me; the value seemed to come from being sufficiently old to tell us something about the artistic preferences of the people around at the time of creation, which is fine but not super tightly connected to the fact of being a forgery (except insofar as that fake provenance led people to notice and preserve that particular work). More convincingly to me, the book tracks shifting ideas around synthetic diamonds, which are both physically like natural diamonds and highly unlike them in conditions of production, which initially made synthetic diamonds less appealing but may now make them more so to people worried about conflict diamonds. (Although the book characterizes synthetic diamonds as physically “identical” to mined diamonds, it also says that De Beers developed technologies that could often distinguish them by looking for “an optical absorption line, found in the majority of natural diamonds but not in laboratory ones.” I would have liked more about that—first, is it a distinction without a difference? Second, that “majority” is really interesting in context: should we think of those natural diamonds without absorption lines as less “real”?)
I wasn’t as clear about the point of the chapter on synthetic flavors. You may have seen the tidbit that artificial banana flavor tastes so distinct from today’s bananas because it was based on the extinct Gros Michel banana, but there’s been a lot of effort to create synthetic flavors that would qualify as “better” than the original—super-strawberry and the like. But the book doesn’t explain much about what “better” would mean here, and the supposed reversal of valuation doesn’t seem complete without an attempt to create flavors that don’t actually have a natural referent. We haven’t seen much in the way of attempts to create “unicorn flavor,” for example, even if Jelly Belly experiments with gross flavors. Another useful factoid: telling people they were eating free-range, organic meats made the meat taste better, though they mostly can’t differentiate in blind taste tests; likewise, “oysters taste better with the sound of the seashore playing in the background.”
Because I’m interested in visual realism, I liked the chapter about how what counts as a “realistic” nature documentary has changed over time, in terms of the amount of human intervention into creating and narrating the story. Apparently, “certain kinds of artifice are necessary to create an ethical wildlife documentary,” such as splicing in footage of tame or captive animals to illustrate an otherwise unseeable part of an animal’s story. It makes sense that it’s not a great idea to get too close to wild bears, or to habituate them to humans. The blue whale chapter was similar: whale skin and bones are uniquely hard to preserve, so if you want a whale or whale skeleton that looks like the real thing (and doesn’t smell nauseating), you can’t have it made entirely or even substantially of real whales. The question then becomes what is an “authentic” model, and museum location (as opposed to sideshow appearance) as well as at least some disclosure of what happened seems to be the key here. “As whale curators and showmen have found, there’ s only so much authenticity about whales that audiences are willing to tolerate–no leaking, dripping or smelling–even if those things are just as ‘real’ as the other parts of an exhibit.”
Similarly, caves with ancient human paintings deteriorate if exposed to many humans, as discovered with Lascaux, so replicas are the only way that the art can be both visible and preserved for the future. As with the synthetic diamonds and nature documentaries, there’s a specifically ethical appeal to the artifice: using the replica keeps the original in existence.
did-not-finish
August 27, 2025DNF @ ~30%: Honestly, parts of this popsci book about fake things and their strange lives were fun and interesting, and I can imagine really liking it at the right point in my life, but right now I'm just not in love.
I did appreciate that this book told me about the Lying Stones; I'm disappointed no one has made jewelry of them on Etsy, haha.
I did appreciate that this book told me about the Lying Stones; I'm disappointed no one has made jewelry of them on Etsy, haha.
November 14, 2019
https://www.themaineedge.com/style/ge...
What is real? What is fake? What do those terms even mean? Is there some kind of gray area in between? And what about authenticity? Is that the same thing? Can something be real without being authentic? Or authentic without being real?
That idea of what is real is the central tenet of Lydia Pyne’s new book “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.” Through an exploration of eight different objects that land somewhere in that blurry place between real and fake, Pyne offers readers a chance to consider what the differences might be.
Too often, we allow ourselves to be conditioned to believe that there are two choices: real and not-real. But the world is far too complex to be governed by that sort of yes/no binary – authenticity depends on one’s perspective.
What Pyne does with “Genuine Fakes” is offer up examples that point up the malleability of authenticity; what is and is not real isn’t always set in stone. And just because something comes to be through methods different than the norm, does that make it fake? Or just a different kind of real? It’s a legitimately fascinating read, well-researched and packed with detail – the sort of book that will surprise and delight the intellectually curious.
We hit the ground running in the introduction; Pyne talks fakes and forgeries before diving into the story of the artist Paul Stephenson, who in 2010 found and purchased 10 original acetates (essentially, negatives used in silk screening) by Andy Warhol. After thoroughly researching Warhol’s techniques, Stephenson created a new set of prints using the original acetates.
So – are those pieces new Warhols?
We’re talking about an artist who was notable for receiving considerable assistance in the studio. Hell, he called it “The Factory.” Assistants and other workers did the lion’s share of the physical painting/printing/what have you, with Warhol simply adding finishing touches. He wasn’t even always the one who signed the work. Stephenson followed the same blueprint with the same materials, so … are they authentic Warhols?
From there, Pyne ventures far and wide – often in unexpected directions. The first chapter is art-driven as well, offering a look at the artist behind numerous faked medieval artworks known only as “the Spanish Forger.” She also spends time on William Henry Ireland’s notorious Shakespeare forgeries. Both the Forger and Ireland have become collectible in their own rights, further blurring the line with regards to the value of what is “real.”
Another fascinating chapter involves the long history of flavor science. We hear the term “artificial flavor” regularly, yet in many cases, the chemical construction of that supposedly-fake flavor is the same as that which occurs in nature. Finding ways to generate familiar tastes in new contexts is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Oh, and we get to talk about Jelly Belly jelly beans as well.
The chapter titled “Taking a Look Through Walrus Cam” lends an interesting perspective to nature documentaries, asking what exactly is true when it comes to filming the natural world. Is it better to offer up raw, uncut looks at nature? How much is too much when it comes to shaping and forming a narrative? And what do the filmmakers owe the viewer in terms of acknowledging what was captured organically and what was staged? Does creating a feeling of authenticity excuse some manipulation?
Other chapters deal with faked fossils, paleontological and archaeological reproductions, lab-manufactured diamonds, ancient Mayan codices and the history of whale exhibitions.
Through these examples, “Genuine Fakes” digs deep into the notion of what is real, what is authentic … and whether it is possible for an object to be one without being the other. At what point does something stop being real, whether it’s an artist creating forgeries by incorporating genuine elements or a museum filling in the gaps of a giant skeleton with metal and plaster? It’s the Ship of Theseus writ even larger; at what point does replacement and refurbishment turn the real thing into a copy? And does that process somehow dilute or eliminate that sense of authenticity?
Nonfiction that is both information-dense AND fun to read is rare; Lydia Pyne has given us precisely that with “Genuine Fakes.” A book like this could easily become bone-dry, a slog of a read. But Pyne maintains an airiness throughout, treating the material with seriousness but never severity. Everything unfolds with a very light touch. The result is a book that is very difficult to put down.
The world is more than just real and not-real. There’s room for things that are real and inauthentic, just as there’s room for things that are authentic yet not real. Getting drawn into learning about those things is the real joy central to “Genuine Fakes” – a joy that you really ought to experience for yourself.
What is real? What is fake? What do those terms even mean? Is there some kind of gray area in between? And what about authenticity? Is that the same thing? Can something be real without being authentic? Or authentic without being real?
That idea of what is real is the central tenet of Lydia Pyne’s new book “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.” Through an exploration of eight different objects that land somewhere in that blurry place between real and fake, Pyne offers readers a chance to consider what the differences might be.
Too often, we allow ourselves to be conditioned to believe that there are two choices: real and not-real. But the world is far too complex to be governed by that sort of yes/no binary – authenticity depends on one’s perspective.
What Pyne does with “Genuine Fakes” is offer up examples that point up the malleability of authenticity; what is and is not real isn’t always set in stone. And just because something comes to be through methods different than the norm, does that make it fake? Or just a different kind of real? It’s a legitimately fascinating read, well-researched and packed with detail – the sort of book that will surprise and delight the intellectually curious.
We hit the ground running in the introduction; Pyne talks fakes and forgeries before diving into the story of the artist Paul Stephenson, who in 2010 found and purchased 10 original acetates (essentially, negatives used in silk screening) by Andy Warhol. After thoroughly researching Warhol’s techniques, Stephenson created a new set of prints using the original acetates.
So – are those pieces new Warhols?
We’re talking about an artist who was notable for receiving considerable assistance in the studio. Hell, he called it “The Factory.” Assistants and other workers did the lion’s share of the physical painting/printing/what have you, with Warhol simply adding finishing touches. He wasn’t even always the one who signed the work. Stephenson followed the same blueprint with the same materials, so … are they authentic Warhols?
From there, Pyne ventures far and wide – often in unexpected directions. The first chapter is art-driven as well, offering a look at the artist behind numerous faked medieval artworks known only as “the Spanish Forger.” She also spends time on William Henry Ireland’s notorious Shakespeare forgeries. Both the Forger and Ireland have become collectible in their own rights, further blurring the line with regards to the value of what is “real.”
Another fascinating chapter involves the long history of flavor science. We hear the term “artificial flavor” regularly, yet in many cases, the chemical construction of that supposedly-fake flavor is the same as that which occurs in nature. Finding ways to generate familiar tastes in new contexts is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Oh, and we get to talk about Jelly Belly jelly beans as well.
The chapter titled “Taking a Look Through Walrus Cam” lends an interesting perspective to nature documentaries, asking what exactly is true when it comes to filming the natural world. Is it better to offer up raw, uncut looks at nature? How much is too much when it comes to shaping and forming a narrative? And what do the filmmakers owe the viewer in terms of acknowledging what was captured organically and what was staged? Does creating a feeling of authenticity excuse some manipulation?
Other chapters deal with faked fossils, paleontological and archaeological reproductions, lab-manufactured diamonds, ancient Mayan codices and the history of whale exhibitions.
Through these examples, “Genuine Fakes” digs deep into the notion of what is real, what is authentic … and whether it is possible for an object to be one without being the other. At what point does something stop being real, whether it’s an artist creating forgeries by incorporating genuine elements or a museum filling in the gaps of a giant skeleton with metal and plaster? It’s the Ship of Theseus writ even larger; at what point does replacement and refurbishment turn the real thing into a copy? And does that process somehow dilute or eliminate that sense of authenticity?
Nonfiction that is both information-dense AND fun to read is rare; Lydia Pyne has given us precisely that with “Genuine Fakes.” A book like this could easily become bone-dry, a slog of a read. But Pyne maintains an airiness throughout, treating the material with seriousness but never severity. Everything unfolds with a very light touch. The result is a book that is very difficult to put down.
The world is more than just real and not-real. There’s room for things that are real and inauthentic, just as there’s room for things that are authentic yet not real. Getting drawn into learning about those things is the real joy central to “Genuine Fakes” – a joy that you really ought to experience for yourself.
August 27, 2019
This book ended up being a bit of a disappointment for me. It isn't what I expected, but I guess that's not the real problem, as I've been pleasantly surprised by books being not quite what I thought they would be.
The author starts out with Warhol. So if someone else paints a Warhol after he has died is it authentic? I'd say no, but the author goes on about the whole process. I'd still say no, but really, it's Warhol & I've never been a fan of his work anyway, so I don't really care.
From there she discusses what I feel fits the description of a "Genuine Fake" an artist who pretended to paint historic paintings. The author was known for this, therefore his work is indeed his authentic work.
What about artificial flavors? This section really ruffled my organic farmer feathers. According to the author artificial flavors are created to make up for food shortages so we can all have delicious food. What!?! WHAT!!! Artificial flavors excite the taste buds & the brain making the individual eating it want more. It's addictive. "Bet you can't just eat one." Food manufactures love artificial flavors, they are cheaper than the real deal & wait for it, addictive. They aren't made to make up for food shortages! WTH? She even said something along the lines of how artificial flavors are better than the real thing. She also mentioned how there is very little difference between natural flavors & artificial flavors, so with that argument, artificial is a genuine fake. Sure, whatever. Both are chemical sh*t storms. Unfortunately natural flavors are even in certified organic packaged foods. If you are wondering, I personally avoid both natural & artificial flavors.
As for the cute chick on the cover looking at the fake wind up chick? Unless I totally missed it, there's nothing about chicks vs. wind up chicks & which one is the genuine fake. I'd like to think that there cannot possibly be an argument for a wind up chick being the "genuine fake" but with the way the author thinks...
I'm guessing the blurb on the front: "How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff" is referring to the nature documentaries. It seems that filming parts of these documentaries is done in a zoo. When folks find out they aren't happy. Gee, ya think? Maybe a full disclosure first rather than lying to the audience would reduce angering folks. I know I'd like to know that I was "learning" about wildlife in their natural (BWAHAHAHA) habit in THE ZOO!
Some parts of the book were more interesting than others, but overall, I am pretty disappointed. I guess I'm just not a fan of giving the ol Ho-rah to things that are fake.
The author starts out with Warhol. So if someone else paints a Warhol after he has died is it authentic? I'd say no, but the author goes on about the whole process. I'd still say no, but really, it's Warhol & I've never been a fan of his work anyway, so I don't really care.
From there she discusses what I feel fits the description of a "Genuine Fake" an artist who pretended to paint historic paintings. The author was known for this, therefore his work is indeed his authentic work.
What about artificial flavors? This section really ruffled my organic farmer feathers. According to the author artificial flavors are created to make up for food shortages so we can all have delicious food. What!?! WHAT!!! Artificial flavors excite the taste buds & the brain making the individual eating it want more. It's addictive. "Bet you can't just eat one." Food manufactures love artificial flavors, they are cheaper than the real deal & wait for it, addictive. They aren't made to make up for food shortages! WTH? She even said something along the lines of how artificial flavors are better than the real thing. She also mentioned how there is very little difference between natural flavors & artificial flavors, so with that argument, artificial is a genuine fake. Sure, whatever. Both are chemical sh*t storms. Unfortunately natural flavors are even in certified organic packaged foods. If you are wondering, I personally avoid both natural & artificial flavors.
As for the cute chick on the cover looking at the fake wind up chick? Unless I totally missed it, there's nothing about chicks vs. wind up chicks & which one is the genuine fake. I'd like to think that there cannot possibly be an argument for a wind up chick being the "genuine fake" but with the way the author thinks...
I'm guessing the blurb on the front: "How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff" is referring to the nature documentaries. It seems that filming parts of these documentaries is done in a zoo. When folks find out they aren't happy. Gee, ya think? Maybe a full disclosure first rather than lying to the audience would reduce angering folks. I know I'd like to know that I was "learning" about wildlife in their natural (BWAHAHAHA) habit in THE ZOO!
Some parts of the book were more interesting than others, but overall, I am pretty disappointed. I guess I'm just not a fan of giving the ol Ho-rah to things that are fake.
September 20, 2024
This is an interesting book that informs readers to exercise critical thinking that leads to a better view about the binary idea of authenticity and forgery of artifacts and objects of human creation. These two things are not static in their status nor are they permanently black-and-white. The various stories about the Spanish Forger, lab-made diamond, Lying Stones, Peckham Rock, Grolier Codec, replica of prehistoric cave art, etc. turn the notion of forgery and fake on its head over time. Buddhism would attribute these to impermanence.
The resourceful author provides readers with sufficient, and sometimes thought provoking, basic understanding and mostly interesting background information on the subject matters being discussed. The story on diamond makes me hate the well known name in worldwide diamond commercial market. All these only to eventually demonstrate the author's thesis about the true nature of being genuine and fake which is dependent on its intent, provenance, context, and evolving social perception and values. Things of the nature discussed in this book never stay still for too long in their status.
A worthwhile book to read and be provoked to think critically to be able to see the true nature of things being real and fake.
One warning is that the ideas in this book apply only to object/artifact of human creation and it is totally different from the rampant "dis/misinformation" that surround us a lot in our contemporary world! Don't apply the idea in this book to it and hope that falsehood will turn into truth any time soon, Trumpies! :-)
The resourceful author provides readers with sufficient, and sometimes thought provoking, basic understanding and mostly interesting background information on the subject matters being discussed. The story on diamond makes me hate the well known name in worldwide diamond commercial market. All these only to eventually demonstrate the author's thesis about the true nature of being genuine and fake which is dependent on its intent, provenance, context, and evolving social perception and values. Things of the nature discussed in this book never stay still for too long in their status.
A worthwhile book to read and be provoked to think critically to be able to see the true nature of things being real and fake.
One warning is that the ideas in this book apply only to object/artifact of human creation and it is totally different from the rampant "dis/misinformation" that surround us a lot in our contemporary world! Don't apply the idea in this book to it and hope that falsehood will turn into truth any time soon, Trumpies! :-)
August 20, 2020
It's taken me a while to get round to adding this to my goodreads. Genuine Fakes has been hands-down one of my favourite reads of this year. In exploring the blurred lines between authenticity and inauthenticity Pyne covers a wide array of subjects, from forged fossils to nature documentaries. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on synthetic diamonds. Some chapters may be more or less compelling depending on your personal interests but all add something to the discussion.
If you're looking for a book that authoritatively tells you what counts as authentic, this is not it. Rather, Pyne is exploring the tumultuous- often ridiculous- lives of objects that do not fit into the "real"/"not real" binary. It encourages us to rethink the way we are taught to understand authenticity and worth. As she writes in her concluding chapter:
"To call something fake is no longer just about whether something is a fraud or phony. Fake has become a label, a judgement and a dismissal... if we are to understand authenticity- the flip side of fake- then fake needs to be more than just a dog whistle."
Anyway, I enjoyed it!
If you're looking for a book that authoritatively tells you what counts as authentic, this is not it. Rather, Pyne is exploring the tumultuous- often ridiculous- lives of objects that do not fit into the "real"/"not real" binary. It encourages us to rethink the way we are taught to understand authenticity and worth. As she writes in her concluding chapter:
"To call something fake is no longer just about whether something is a fraud or phony. Fake has become a label, a judgement and a dismissal... if we are to understand authenticity- the flip side of fake- then fake needs to be more than just a dog whistle."
Anyway, I enjoyed it!
July 19, 2019
This was an insightful and interesting read. I never gave much thought to all the trickery that goes into to so many aspects of our lives. I know about, and wonder a lot, about the artificial flavors in things (I have a cousin who is a food scientist specializing in creating new flavors). Jelly beans come to mind, but I know chemicals, natural or otherwise, are in many foods as enhancements. Fakes of art work have always existed, and I have heard of a few of the fakes selling for far more than the originals. The documentaries on animals always distress me, but I do watch them on occasion. I've often wondered how real they were... Well, this was somewhat of an eyeopener. I think it was a good, if a bit academic, read, but I would recommend it.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
November 15, 2019
This book wasn't quite what I expected.
It was more academic and focused on very specific fakes. It delves into diamonds and artificial flavors and nature documentaries. I was surprised that the focus was on whales and using human characteristics to explain the actions of animals, and not accusations of Disney faking the lemmings footage.
It's interesting, but I was hoping to look into modern fakes as well like shoes and brands. This is mostly about historic art and if casts of whale bones that are smaller than real whale bones are considered fakes. I would have also liked more information on how fakes are verified.
If you want a historical perspective on how common fakes have been this may be the book for you.
It was more academic and focused on very specific fakes. It delves into diamonds and artificial flavors and nature documentaries. I was surprised that the focus was on whales and using human characteristics to explain the actions of animals, and not accusations of Disney faking the lemmings footage.
It's interesting, but I was hoping to look into modern fakes as well like shoes and brands. This is mostly about historic art and if casts of whale bones that are smaller than real whale bones are considered fakes. I would have also liked more information on how fakes are verified.
If you want a historical perspective on how common fakes have been this may be the book for you.
January 14, 2022
This is an exploration of the authentic -- what it is, why and when it is important. There are a couple of quotes right from the end that summarize all the various studies:
"The question of intent fundamentally underlies everything about authenticity and fakes.
and
"Authenticity is fluid."
I particularly liked the discussions of paleolythic art -- the Chauvet Cave. And the chapter on the distortions that come from nature shows (for instance, the idea that lemmings commit mass suicide comes from a Disney film!). Other chapters interested me less. Sometimes I found my attention wandering.
Pyne seems to have read widely; her bibliography is very useful. I've already been digging around in it.
"The question of intent fundamentally underlies everything about authenticity and fakes.
and
"Authenticity is fluid."
I particularly liked the discussions of paleolythic art -- the Chauvet Cave. And the chapter on the distortions that come from nature shows (for instance, the idea that lemmings commit mass suicide comes from a Disney film!). Other chapters interested me less. Sometimes I found my attention wandering.
Pyne seems to have read widely; her bibliography is very useful. I've already been digging around in it.
May 21, 2022
The subject of Genuine Fakes is hard to explain. It's about (1) fake items that are themselves famous because they are fakes - paintings by the Spanish Forger, "fossils" that fooled a professor; and (2) fake items that are known to be fake but are designed to seem real - synthetic diamonds, nature documentaries, the model caves at Lascaux and Chauvet built for tourists because the real caves are too fragile.
The subject matter is interesting, but the book fails to fully engage. There aren't themes or key points - the different fake items are independent chapters and the subtitle is unrealized as I am not sure what I learned about "real stuff" from the fakes. A short book about fakes and "stuff" seems like it should be a light read, but the dry and meandering writing made it a surprising slog even though it's only about 250 pages long.
The subject matter is interesting, but the book fails to fully engage. There aren't themes or key points - the different fake items are independent chapters and the subtitle is unrealized as I am not sure what I learned about "real stuff" from the fakes. A short book about fakes and "stuff" seems like it should be a light read, but the dry and meandering writing made it a surprising slog even though it's only about 250 pages long.
August 8, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. At first I thought it would be some fun stories about counterfeit purses, but it was so much more. The author did in depth and almost exhaustive research into the history of each topic.
For instance, the chapter about food tastes was remarkable, and as I read it, I could see how much sense she made. I had never really considered how our tastes and palates have changed over time.
Sometimes the research is a bit dense and not all that fun, I would really prefer fake purses,
Really interesting and captivating read, I recommend.
For instance, the chapter about food tastes was remarkable, and as I read it, I could see how much sense she made. I had never really considered how our tastes and palates have changed over time.
Sometimes the research is a bit dense and not all that fun, I would really prefer fake purses,
Really interesting and captivating read, I recommend.
May 14, 2020
When is a fake not a phoney? When it is a genuine fake.
Everything from art forgers whose work became accepted as art in its own right, to duplicates of prehistoric caves made so that the public can experience the art on the walls without irrevocably damaging the historical site. Is an industrial diamond real?
Some things really make you think about the word fake and what it means. There are all sorts of grey areas and loopholes in the language. Some very interesting stories and some thought provoking ideas
.
Everything from art forgers whose work became accepted as art in its own right, to duplicates of prehistoric caves made so that the public can experience the art on the walls without irrevocably damaging the historical site. Is an industrial diamond real?
Some things really make you think about the word fake and what it means. There are all sorts of grey areas and loopholes in the language. Some very interesting stories and some thought provoking ideas
.
January 26, 2020
The concept as presented in the subtitle "How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff" seemed interesting enough, but I did not find the author particularly invested in discussing that angle of her topic. She did like getting her teeth into a subject once she'd hit on it -- 30 pages about wildlife documentaries, for example, and their long tradition (she says we can thank Walt Disney) of fakery -- but this wound up being too much, and too much grinding the same points over and over. After three or four chapters, although better educated on certain topics such as industrial diamonds and the Spanish Forger (an artist whose works had heretofore escaped my attention), I was skimming mercilessly.
November 10, 2019
This was a fun look at all sorts of things that we don't often think to consider "fake" and what our attitudes toward them reveal about how we value authenticity. I especially liked the chapters concerning flavor additives and nature documentaries, but there was really a lot to learn about each of the case studies Pyne selected.
July 14, 2019
An interesting perspective of “what is real” “what is fake”?
From art to food to nature itself, society has created the ideal of each... but unfortunately ideal is also fake. Well researched and entertaining.
From art to food to nature itself, society has created the ideal of each... but unfortunately ideal is also fake. Well researched and entertaining.
April 17, 2021
The first chapter really set a poor tone since I do not a thing about art. A lot of the book was development of whatever topic a chapter covered which was not always as interesting as I hoped.
This book was somewhere between two stars and three stars.
This book was somewhere between two stars and three stars.
August 28, 2022
Bardzo ciekawy dobór historii, podobało mi się szerokie potraktowanie tematu falszerstwa i autentyczności oraz tego jak cienka granica je dzieli. Wbrew temu co można sądzić po okładce, nie jest to (prawie wcale) książka o sztuce.
June 5, 2023
Bardzo przyjemnie się czytało, podoba mi się że tematy były bardzo różne, ale sprytnie powiązane z głównym motywem fałszerstw. Jedynie rozdział o diamentach mnie znudził (nie doczytałam do końca), za dużo w nim chemii. Ale to moje osobiste odczucie.
Czas pokaże ile faktów zostanie mi w pamięci.
Czas pokaże ile faktów zostanie mi w pamięci.
February 6, 2020
Genuine Fakes explores a topic I’d never considered before. I learned about a number of forgeries I’d never heard of and was intrigued by the notion of “fakes” turning into collectibles or being created in such a way that they are the best alternative to an original. Some of the cases in the book are amusing; some are mysteries; all are evidence that reality can sometimes be a little messy and fuzzy at the edges. Occasionally the book got a little slow or I wasn’t sure where the author was going with an example, but overall it was educational and interesting.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com:
https://ratedreads.com/genuine-fakes-...
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com:
https://ratedreads.com/genuine-fakes-...
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