Consumerism
Within todays lesson, i learnt about the ideology of consumerism. Here, it was noted that Advertising played a big part in this and uses the media as a way to control societies consciousness, as it is one of the major factors in keeping the public consuming, as when the public is too busy consuming, they are less likely to worry about social issues and politics. Thus in turn disabling any threat of an up raw or riot.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Thursday, 6 February 2014
24th/31st Jan
ART AND CONSUMERISM
Towards a culture of Postmodernism
During todays lesson, i learnt briefly about the history of art and how some artists during the 1930's committed to social politics through the form of art. These painters such as Pollocks, Rothko and Newman painted about the social issues that surrounded their world, which in Pollocks case, had heavy references to America's economic crisis, where many americans migrated throughout America to find work. His painting in my opinion expresses the struggles and journeys of those who are desperate to find work and means of employment to survive. The America depression, as it is commonly known meant that a large part of society were severely deprived and that food was scarce, this forced people to rob, and fight for food and other recourses for survival, as well as increasing racial tension. This began in August of 1929, when the United States economy first went into an economic recession. However, it was not until the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, that the effects of a declining economy were felt, and a major world wide economic downturn ensued.
Mark Rothko- Subway
This painting features a Stretched expressionistic style, featuring social criticism , in the way the figures are stretched and separated
Change in attitude through art
Art having a social value
If you were a modernist you were engaged in society
Artists were employed by the state to produce art for the public.
- Subways
- Schools
- Hospitals
- Prisons
They were about the Avant-guard. Soldiers at the front line. Looking forward
 |
Post modernism
. Popular
. High culture
. No longer a divide between class
ART - Went from elite to public Cinema - Went from public to elite
Towards Abstract expressionism
Abstract is for the elite, you have to learn about it to understand it
Expressionistic
Expressing or projecting a mood Piet Mondrian (1925) Abstract: Has no external reference point no representation By 1940, many socialists became repulsed by Starlin's rule in the USSR and social realism became discredited in the US in the early 1940's. Greenburg: Illusionist art. Pretends to be real. He detested consumerism and hated popular culture as he was an elitist Abstract expressionism freed those from the ideological struggles of society.  Pollock 1950 - ' The Avant garde should be about the physical, the sensorial, absolutely autonomous and entitled to respect for our sake, and not merely vessels of communication.' An existentialists drive behind the work. A response to a post war ( Post- holocaust) hostility of the age. Plot own path through life because i exist for myself. Post modernism coming to terms with Pop art Pop art - Popular - Transient - Expendable - Low cost - Mass produced - Young - Whitty - Sexy - Gimmicky - Glamorous - Big business 
1962 Andy Warhol
Warhol wanted to eradicate the idea of a hard made art altogether and used images based on photographs  |
31st jan Writing workshop
I learn what a Haiku is. A poem with 3 lines 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables with a twist or surprise
on the last line.
I had to write an email to my tutor about what i felt about the lesson.
' I really enjoyed todays lecture on Post modernism, where i felt that i thoughroughly understood the meaning and difference between post modernism and the other art movements. I also developed my understanding on all the other sub cultures that are within post modernism. However, although i personally prefer the opinion of using art to tackle social issues, it was interesting to see Warhol's decorative style of art.'
7th Feb
Key words
- Industrial culture
- Mass consumption
- Modern advertising
- Mass culture
- Progress
- Development
Mass consumption and modern advertising = mass culture
Culture became a commodity
Before art was reproduced, it was always related to where it was not what it was, but then it became important because it was the original thing not for what it meant.
Phycological methods attempts to turn the consumers critical function away from the produce and towards herself to build an identity.
14th Feb
Key Terns
Beginning of modernity / Establishes what was important
- (Pre modern) Gutenburg galaxy Focus
Stuff being produced - Had to be consumed
Enlightenment Production - Consumption
- (Modern) Modernity - Focus was on production
The machine - To do with commodities
The factory - To do with commodities
Industrialisation - Time/ Clock became important. What happened to time: symbols
Industrisal capitalism
- Modern idea to post modern
Industrial rationality
Modern ideology - (Ideology) of (consumerism) - Post modern
Advertising is all about this time
Advertising started in America, but their problem was that they had different types of ethnicities so to control them was important. America had to rationalise and advertising had to infiltrate into these different group.
Advertising was important in terms of the press/ Media
Advertising maintains the media, as within a newspaper or magazine you are paying for the cost of the adverts not the magazine.
Proletarianisation
Proletariate - Name of a worker in an industrial environment
Wanting to control societies consciousness - Cultural hegemony
Advertising is one of the ways to keep people consuming 'propaganda model'
- Industrial tool
- Social control
- Keep the media distracted so that they are not concerned about other things such as politics and other serious topics which would cause up raw.
- Manufacture consent
Commodities - buying - commodification
Re - commodifies into someones fashion or style
If you can get the commodities you make to sell into different markets/ in different contexts, it will sell to more people. Re- commodification - What the consumer defines us as a person.
28th Feb
Film - The american underground scene
The tacit gay sexual liberation activities and their film subverted heterosexual, same race sexual norms
The underground scene became the overground and it was changed to a midnight sitting
watching cult films
7th March
Todays lecture was about the music industry and how it is repetitive and reuses the same notes to create a different harmony. Thus enabling people to feel that their music taste is individual and essentially 'elitist' when in fact they are very similar to each other which in turn gives the audience a false sense of identity. After showing us what he meant by using the guitar and singing songs right through history to the current day, he showed us a video of a group of comedians who pretended to be a band and sung a lot of well known songs up until todays music. The comedians within the video were saying how you can use 4 cords and replicate most songs from the past 40 years.
14th March
21st March
Friday 25th April
Within todays lecture, we were made to look through the marketing criteria for our essays, so that we could all understand how to achieve the top grades, and what are the differences between a good essay and a bad essay. Along side this, we were handed out previous essays, and we had to mark them using the marketing criteria so that we thoroughly knew the ins and outs of what is expected to make a good essay.
Within the writing workshop, we were asked to free write for five minutes about what we wanted our essay to be about, and during this session, we weren't allowed to stop writing, and we had to write down the first things that came into our heads, and this was my response.
' I don't really know what i want to write about exactly, buy i think I'm going to do the question 1 which is the one where you pick a man made object, which can be a building and write about that. I'v decided what building i want to do, and that building is the Gherkin, but I'm not sure which angles i want to talk about it from. However I'm almost certain that one angle will be from a feminist point of view, explaining how the structure of the Gherkin itself is a phallic symbol that states man's power and how men have the power in society. Although it isn't seen to be as clear within todays society, men's dominance is still prevalent and obtained through architectural structures such as the Gherkin itself. However, because their power is insinuated and not stated as such it allows them to maintain power without the up raw of woman saying that men have the power, as the claim can be easily denied, if the subject about the shape of the Gherkin was brought up.'
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