Debord's Society of the spectacle and Complicity in Art
The spectacle: description of consumer driven capitalism.
. the language of separation
. social relations mediated by images
. a visual reflection of the ruling economic order
. a total colonization of social life by commodities
. capital accumulated to the point it becomes images
. alienated production and alienated consumption
All of our basic needs are taken care of, but in order to maintain 'the spectacle' - the fabrication of 'pseudo needs' must take place.
-problems we didn't have until they are pointed out by the manufacturers (ipad, kindle)
- Automation drives growth of service industries
- Distribute and glorify the latest commodities
- Provides employment for consumers
The image of the object is what we are made to believe we require, Fetishism;commodity replaces religion - The attribution of mystical qualities to inanimate objects.
Statements of definitive perfection pervade - advertisers promote products as being the absolute, prime example - gillette - the best a man can get
Spectacular time - false conciousness of time; co-modified time - time as a linear progression of homogeneous continually dividable units of labour and production - 'time is money'
Pseudo cyclical time is perpetual present that give the illusion of time passing dominated by vulgarised pseudo festivals: halloween or christmas
Spectacular time - offering an image of time that doesn't really exist; white sandy beach holidays.
Celebrities become the agents of capitalism: defined by their expend-ability
. Offer an Illusion of freedom
. Inaccessible results of social labour
. Spectacular abundance
- real qualities like love anf happiness are replaced
Tiger woods made public apologies to his sponsors rather than his wife.
The Art world as spectacle - the art world becomes dominated by social relations mediated by the spectacle. Qualitative measures of art become replaced by quantity as price becomes more important.
-artists become concerned about their market profile and the value of their works at auction.
- Chinese and Russian billionaires drive up prices of art in the pursuit of capitalist appreciation. For them the purchase of the artwork is a purchase of an image of themselves as possessing attributes such as taste power and intellectual superiority. It provides them with status in the art world and underpins their relationships with other powerful people.
Hedge funds have started to promote art, comparing diversification benefits to assets and bonds, investment analysts develop new metrics allowing them to track the performance of different artists and sectors of the art market.
Government ministers justify money spent on art in terms of invetment in the culture industries and the benefits of a thriving art world for advertising and media companies.
Art Provides a spectacle in which countries can engage in international relations without having to talk about war or trade disputes.
- biennials
German pavillion at the venice 2009 hired the scissor sisters for their launch party, social relations mediated by the spectacle.
Even in art the 'spectacular image' can outstrip the reality - New York Waterfalls (Artist’s Impression), Olafur Eliasson, 2009
Complicity in art -
Is it really such a problem?
- if the spectacle is already an all encompassing totality, is it possible that someone can take up a position in or outside in opposition to it.
- complicit formalism canters as the basis on which autonomy could be assumed while returning respect for the aesthetic properties for works of art.
- fine art, artists and critics exist under a condition of complicity with the institutions and values of contemporary culture rather than in opposition.
Why is the spectacle bad and should be resisted?
- falseness of social life
- the idea of a living as a spectator where the only way of communication is a one way monologue with the speakers of the image.
- vision of neoliberalism, the best way we can help each other is by helping ourselves
- freedom is defined by opportunity to recruit capital as it opens up more possibilities of what we can buy.
- we can invest in an image of ourselves and change the image of ourselves through the investment in goods and services; fashion, gym membership, cosmetics
- its the ethics of greed
The spectacle makes it impossible to rise up against it.
Detournement - re appropriation of media for radical purposes. Similar to a parody but uses the original to generate new meaning.
After Detournement (recuperation) - example, Gordon Matta-clark - splitting. Critique of the spectacle, what we're left with is a repetition of the image that blunts it's impact. We forget what the actual experience of the piece might have been like.
St. Pauls protest - fashion shoot at the anti-capitalist protest.
Documentation of the spectacle - Fish Story, Alan Sekula, 1989-1995
Documentation as the spectacle - Manufacturing #18, Cankun Factory, Edward Burtynsky, 2008
(edition of 30)
The Inside job , if we're gonna be part of the spectacle, we may aswell go the whole hog- Beautiful Inside My head Forever, Damien Hirst, 2008. ultimate act of complicity.
Superflex, flooding macdonalds
The destruction of the spectacle as spectacle - disaster movies
