Task 4 - Essay Propposal

Title
- A discussion on the works of photographer Ryan McGinley in relation to the definitions of portraits and nudes.

Points
- Basic definitions of the terms nude and portrait and introduction of photographer
- Nudes as an object - Berger
- The presentation of an image and its effect on the way it is received
- Artists own feelings
- Implied nudity
- Neither definition is applicable - snapshots?
- Specific series - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
- Photographs

Book List
- Ways of Seeing, Berger
- The Nude, Clark
- Arts in Society, Rayner, Berger, etc
- Photography After Fank, Gefter
- The Pleasure of Good Photographs, Badger
- How to Take Good Pictures, Kodak

Possible images to explore

Walter Benjamin and Mechanical Reproduction

Richard Miles

Walter Benjamin – The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Frankfurt School – Critical Theory
University of Columbia New York, 1933-47
University of Frankfurt, 1949
others – Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, Lowenthal

‘The Ancient Craft of the Beautiful’
‘In Principal the work of Art has always been Reproducible’ – Guttenberg Press
Manual Production/Technical Reproduction
- reproduction results in the demeaning of the value of Art

Technological reproduction of art removes –presence, authenticity, authority – Aura

Taken to another stage by digital reproduction an the internet
- best example – The Mona Lisa – reproduced worldwide in various ways and forms, defaced and even put onto t shirts and tea towels etc
- ruins your impression of it – no longer, ‘look at this piece of artwork’ but more – ‘its that photo I saw on a coffee mug’
Dependant on the copies you have seen and creating your own interpretation of the given art work

Cult Value
essentially putting something onto a pedestal
art galleries – not dissimilar in architectural values to that of religious buildings
large stairs, lifted from ground level, plinths etc
Rothco’s depressing paintings, followed by his suicide, crying ritual in Tate

Louise Lawler – ‘Pollock and Tureen, arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine, Conneticut’, 1984
Warhol – Marilyns, 1962

To an even greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility

Taking a photograph of a photograph, demeaning the original picture
Walker Evans, Hale County, Alabama, 1936
Sherrie Levine, After Walker Evans, 1979

the internet changing out interpretations of the world?
The Mongrel Project - hacked the Tate website and replaced artists pictures to that of syphilitic sores, text also replaced

The Cult of the Beautiful

Exhibition Value
The invention of photography meant that painting had to change, it was threatened with irrelevance, thus resulting in a move away from realism in painting and an attempt to revive its aura

Ad Reinhardt
‘Abstract Painting’, 1960-1961

‘Mechanical reproduction changes the reaction of art, the reactionary attitude toward a Picasso painting changes into a progressive reaction toward a Chaplin movie. The progressive reaction is characterized by the direct, intimate fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert.’
Collective Experience

Meaning can be produced at the point of consumption, consumption is political?

‘A pastime for helots, a diversion for uneducated, wretched, worn-out creatures who are consumed by their worries…, a spectacle which requires no concentration and presupposes no intelligence…, which kindles no light in the heart and awakens no hope other than the ridiculous one…’

‘Communism responds by politicizing art’

Key Points
- Aura
- Originality
- Cult Value
- Exhibition Value
- Auratic Culture to Democratic Culture

Task 3 - Constructing the Other

The photo above is taken from Vice Magazine Volume 9 Number 12.

On the bottom of the left page we have a boy with his arms folded above his head clutching a gun, the article it supports is entitled Trivial Pursuit: Terrorism Edition. The article is about a local radio station in Elasha Biyaha, a suburb of Mogadishu, that held a children's competition based around reciting the Koran in which the 1st place prize was 'an AK-47 and £450', the runner up would receive also receive an AK-47 and £300 and 3rd place "two live hand grenades and £250'. The article continues to explain that the competition was "sponsored by Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shebaab, which is basically Somalia's version of the Taliban' which is followed by a quote from himself reading 'Youths should use one hand for education and the other for a gun to defend Islam'.

In contrast with this on the right we have an advert for the Sonos wireless hifi system, a system that apparently allows you to play 'all the music on the earth wirelessly in every room,' this is the point at which the concept of othering or 'the other' comes in. In one case we have audible media being used to encourage violent activity and almost as a sort of enrolment in contrast with a leisure time activity of listening to music as a form of relaxation. For most people listening to the radio is relatively stress free whereas on the left it is presented as a much more sinister scenario, furthermore the point is driven home by the previously mentioned image of a child wielding a gun, a image that most of us would find very surreal but is being presented as somewhat normal. It is here that we subconsciously create 'the other' as a person, or persons, whose ideals and past times are different to that of our own. Buying a new hifi and/or sound system is not necessarily an everyday task but something much more normal or down to earth to the readers and target audience of this magazine which are likely to be student and adult consumers.

Marxism and Art

Contextual and Theoretical Studies
Marxism and Art
Friday 25th November

‘Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various way; the point, however, is to change it.’ – Marx, K (1845) Thesis on Feurbach

Marxism is – a political manifesto, leading to socialism, communism and the twentieth century conflicts between capital and labour.
- a philosophical approach o the social sciences, which focuses on the role of society in determining human behaviour, based on the concept of dialectical materialism.
Philosopher also wrote the communist manifesto

Capitalism – control of the means of production in private hands
- a market where labour power is bought and sold
- production of commodities for sale
- use of money as a means of exchange
- competition / meritocracy

Marx’s concept of Base / Superstructure
BASE
forces of production – materials, tools, workers, skills, etc
relations of production – employer/employee, class, master/slave, etc

SUPERSTRUCTURE
social institutions – legal, political, cultural
forms of consciousness - ideology

‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’ Marx, communist manifesto

base – determines content and form of – superstructure – reflects form of and legitimizes – base – CIRCULAR THEORY

See handout for three substantial quotes – Marx, (1857) ‘Contribution to the critique of Political Economy’

The State
Instruments of the State and Ideological and Physical Coercion
The Bourgeoisie
The Proletariat

Ideology
- system of ideas or beliefs
- masking, distortion, or selection of ideas, to reinforce power relations, through creation of ‘false consciousness’

What is Culture?
- ‘one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’
- aesthetic judgement is a social faculty
- The Kantian ‘pure aesthetic’ is a stylised and mystifying account of the particular experience of the bourgeoisie
- aesthetic senses and associated lifestyles in difference to one another
- ‘taste is first and foremost the distaste of the taste of others’

Art Production – Marx on Art
see handout for more quotes but essentially only a certain class people were making art or even enjoyed it

‘Artwork as social interstice.
The possibility of a relational art (and art taking its theoretical horizon the whole of human relations and their social context, rather than an independent and private space…’

‘…anything that cannot be marketed will inevitably vanish. Before long, it will not be possible to maintain relationships between people outside of these trading areas. So here we are summonsed to talk about things around a duly priced drink, as a symbolic form of contemporary human relations. You are looking for shared warmth and the comforting feeling of well being for two? So try our coffee…’ – Bourreriard

Conclusion
Marxist philosophy sees culture as emerging from, and reflecting, economic factors and related class antagonisms – materialism
‘Art’ could be thought of as a form of ideology. That produces ‘false consciousness’ and maintains the status quo
Political Art Practices seek to challenge the ideological and institutional discourses surrounding and legitimising ‘art’

Task 2 - The Gaze

‘according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ (Berger 1972, 45, 47)

Discuss this quote with reference to one work of art and one work from the contemprary media.

Hans Memling - Vanity,
'The Gaze' is often thought as the objection of women, making them an object within art as opposed to a subject of art, this reinforces the prescribed power given to me and the that they are allowed and/or supposed to look. As stated in Berger's quote above 'women appear' and this implies that it is fine for men to look at them, however the women in these works do not look at themselves but 'watch themselves being looked at.' In saying this Berger is reinforcing power of man as somebody that is entitled to look, by objectifying herself and letting herself be looked at the women is succumbing to the concept of ownership and mans control over woman. In Vanity the subject is holding a mirror and looking at herself and thus reflecting 'the gaze' and taking pride in her own presentation as something to be looked at, essentially this is confirming 'the gaze' as opposed to questioning it. Essentially I would argue that this picture not only represents the gaze but reinforces it in the way the subject is obviously watching herself and has no qualms with this.


Ryan McGinley - Lily (Black Eye) 2005
Here we have a photo by Ryan McGinley in which the subject is obviously a naked woman lighting a cigarette, upon closer inspection we can see that she has a black eye. It is obvious that she is appearing in a certain way however here it can be said that McGinley is challenging the idea of 'the gaze' as we are looking at her and find ourselves questioning the location and context of the image, not necessarily her nudity. One of the most important factors of this is the way she is looking, obviously she is avoiding eye contact and this implies that she knows she is being watched and thus is refusing to return 'the gaze', however the fact that she has a bruised eye is also a comment towards the gaze. Her facial expression and bruised eye imply that she is a victim, both of 'the gaze but also of something else, this may be from a friendly play fight that went wrong or could be something far more sinister but given the scenario we cannot tell. I feel this picture questions the role of 'the gaze' as the nudity of the subject is far less important then other aspects of the image, obviously the subject is aware she is being looked at but it is not for her nudity and thus it could be argued that this image would have the same affect be the subject a man or a woman.
looked at - presented
black eye, smoking, nude, location - set up scenario - presenting herself
showing she doesnt care- knows shes being looked at but dismisses this

Popular Culture

Richard Miles

Aims
Critically define ‘popular culture’
Contrast ideas of ‘culture’ with ‘popular culture’ and ‘mass culture’
Introduce Cultural Studies & Critical Theory
Discuss culture as ideology
Interrogate the social function of popular culture

Keyword definitions - Raymond Williams
culture - ‘One of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’

popular -
well liked and wins the favour of the public

popular press vs quality
popular cinema vs art cinema
popular entertainment vs art culture

Caspar David Friedrich - Monk by the Sea, 1809
Jeremy Deller & Alan Kane Folk Archive, 2005

Matthew Arnold - Culture and Anarchy 1867
defines culture as -
‘the best that has been thought & said in the world’
seeking ‘to minister the diseased spirit of our time’

Collapse of traditional authority comes at the same time as mass democracy - anarchy
Popular culture offers addictive forms of ditraction and compensation

Frankfurt School - Critical Theory
Theodore Adorno
Max Horkheimer
Herbert Marcuse
Leo Lowenthal
Walter Benjamin

Adorno and Horkheimer
define culture industry as 2 main products - homogeneity & predictability
- 'all mass culture is identical'
- ‘As soon as the film begins, it is quite clear how it will end, and who will be rewarded, punished or forgotten'

Marcuse
popular culture vs affirmative culture

Authentic culture vs Mass culture
authentic - real, individual, imagination, european
current contemporary - hollyoaks, x factor, che guevara t shirts

Williamson - Decoding Advertisements, 1978

Walter Benjamin - The Work Of Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction, 1936

Concluding points
- culture emerges from anxieties about social and cultural tension
- Frankfurt School emerges from Marxist tradition
- ideology masks cultural differences

Task 1 - Panopticism

In 300 words describe one aspect of contemporary society that you consider to be panoptic or influenced by panopticism.

I feel that the most obvious example of Foucault's theory of panopticism in current society is that of CCTV, it is forever present and we are constantly aware of it, it takes the ethos of the Panopticon and brings it to our streets. Foucault states 'surveillance is based on a system of permanent registration' and this is exactly the case, in a public place we are constantly aware of CCTV and feel conscious to act in a certain law abiding way, even if that is our unaltered nature.

This links directly to another of Foucault's points about the Panopticon, he states that 'power should be visible and unverifiable'. In this scenario he is talking directly about the centralized towers within the Panotpicon, they are the symbol of power and they are constantly visible, however due to the nature of the lighting and the blinds there is no indication as to whether or not the station is manned at any time.

The concept of CCTV is, in theory, for our own safety but it leaves us in a state in which we feel 'perfectly individualized and constantly visible', making us feel that 'visibility is a trap'. It makes us feel that we are secure but also that we cannot act how we may want to due to fear of being seen, this is because 'surveillance is permanent in its effects'. Although we all know that there isn't somebody constantly watching the feed from every CCTV camera we do not know when they are, thus resulting in a constant awareness that we may be being watched.

This brings me to a fairly succinct conclusion that CCTV is the most apparent example of panopticism in our society as it is the exact process of the Panopticon but applied to the general public.

Identity

James Beighton
James.beighton@leeds-art.ac.uk

Theories of Identity
Essentialism – biological make up makes us who we are
- an inner essence that makes us who we are
Post Modern Theorists disagree – anti-essentialism

Physiognomy VS Phrenology
Cesare Lombroso, 1835-1909 – founder of Positivst Criminology – the notion that criminal tendencies are inherited – ‘Luomo Deliquente’
Physiognomy legitimising racism

Historical phases of identity
Douglas Kellner – Media Culture: cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the post-modern, 1992
Pre modern identity - personal identity is stable and defined by long lasting roles
Modern identity – modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles, possibility to start ‘choosing’ your social identity rather than being born into it, people are aware of ‘worry’ about who they are
Post-modern identity – accepts these changes?

Pre-modern identity – institutions defined identity
marriage, the church, monarchy, government, the state, work, patriarchy

‘secure identities’ – related institutional agency with a vested interest
farm worker – landed gentry
the soldier – the state
the factory worker – industrial capitalism
the housewife – patriarchy
the gentleman – patriarchy
husband and wife (family) – marriage/the church

Modern Identity, 19th and early 20th centuries
Charles Baudelaire – The Painter of Modern Life, 1863
Thorstein Veblen – Theory of the Leisure Class, 1899
Georg Simmel – The Metropolis and Mental Life, 1903

Baudelaire introduces the concept of the ‘flaneur’ – gentleman-stroller
Veblen – ‘conspicious consumption of valuable goods in a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure’
example – Gustave Caillebotte, 1876 – Le Pont de L’Europe
Simmel – The trickle down theory
- emulation
- distinction
- the ‘Mask’ of Fashion
example – Gustave Caillebotte, 1877 – Paris Street, Rainy Day
Georg Simmel
‘the feeling of isolation is rarely as decisive and intense when one actually finds oneself physically alone, as when one is a stranger without relations, among many physically close persons, at a party, on the train, or in the traffic of a large city’
Simmel suggests that because of the speed and mutability of modernity, individuals withdraw…

Post Modern Identity – ‘Discourse Analysis”
Identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us
‘a set of recurring statements that define a particular ‘object’ and provide concepts and terms through which such an object can be studied and discussed’
- age, class, gender, nationality, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, income etc
Class
Nationality
Race/Ethnicity
Gender and Sexuality – All considered as otherness

Class
Bourdiou – talks about the idea of classes and the notion that one can have class, implying they are upper class
the concept of ‘taste’ and the history of it – essentially a history of distaste and the need to distinguish ones taste from another

Martin Parr, Ascott – 2003
‘”Society”… reminds one of a particularly shrewd, cunning and pokerfaced player in the game of life, cheating if given a chance, flouting rules whenever possible”
Think of England/Berlin/etc Documentary photography of a place

Alexander McQueen, Highland Rape Collection, Autumn/Winter 1995-6
McQueen claims that the rape was of Scotland, not the individual models, as the theme of the show was the Jacobite rebellion
Vivienne Westwood, Anglomania Collection, Autumn/Winter 1993-4

Las Vegas – 73% of americans don’t have Passports
Victor Papnek – ‘I didn’t’ like Europe as much as I like Disney World. At Disney World all the countries are much closer together, and they just show you the best of each country…”

Chris Ofili – No Woman, No Cry – 1998 (Stephen Lawrence)
- Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars - 1994

Gillian Wearing – ‘Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that
say what someone else wants you to say’, 1992-3

Emily Bates – dress created using her own hair
‘hair has been an issue throughout my life…it often felt that it was nothing more than my hair in other peoples’ eyes’
Gender and Sexuality
masquerade and the mask of femininity
Cindy Sherman – Untitled Film Stills, 1977-80

Sam Taylor-Wood – Fuck, Suck, Spunk, Wank, 1993
Sarah Lucas – Au Naturel, 1994
Tracy Emin – Everyone I have ever slept with 1963-95, 1995
Wonderbra – I can’t cook. Who cares?
Gillian wearing – I can’t cool but I’ve got great breasts

The Post Modern Condition
Identity is constructed through our social experience
Erving Goffman – The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

Zymunt Bauman – Identity, 2004
Liquid Modernity, 2000
Liquid Love, 2003

‘Introspection is a disappearing act’

Darley, 2000 – Visual Digital Culture
Tom Hodgkinson, 2008 – ‘With friends like these…’ Guardian, 14/10/08
Second Life Marriage story
Charles Handy, 2001 - ?
Bauman, 2004 – Identity
‘”Identity” is a hopelessly ambiguous idea and a double edged sword.”

The Gaze in the Media

Helen Clarke
Helen.clarke@leeds-art.ac.uk

‘according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome – men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.’ – John Berger 1972
commonly misunderstood quote? - implies hat women are vein?
what he means – women cant get away from this complex based on the female heavy imagery

Hans Memling – ‘vanity’ 1485
title itself makes a moral judgement, as does the placement of the mirror
woman presented as desirable by painter, mirror makes it seem like she wants to be looked at. The painter wants us to look at her body, not the woman. Recreated in various advertising campaigns, women presented, mirror implies vanity, mirror shows what we cannot see.

Alexandendre Cabanel – ‘Birth of Venus’ 1863
stature of venus gives permission to look, shielding of the eyes implies shyness or self-awareness.

Sophie Dahl – Opium
body arranged in a much more sexual manor.
Image turned vertical and thus deemed allowed to be shown in public, horizontal image gave too stronger level of sexual connotations.

Titian’s – ‘Venus of Urbino’ 1538
Reclining nude, giving a contemplating look. Complete awareness of us looking at her but also a level of modesty with the crossed legs and hand placement.

Manet – ‘Olympia’ 1863
Very Similar position but subject is a prostitute, selling herself – not presenting the beauty of the female form. Doesn’t acknowledge the gift of flowers, but body is adorned with jewellery. Black cat – powerful femininity and independence?

Ingres – ‘Le Grand Odalisque’ 1814
Guerilla Girls – Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Musuem?

Manet – ‘Bar at the Folies Bergeres’ 1882
Barmaid stood at bar, see the rest of the bar reflected in the mirror. Barmaid holds eye contact as if we were the customer. Manet also shown in the reflection, looking her in the eye, we are seeing the scene through Manet’s eyes.
Jeff Wall – ‘Picture for Women’ 1979
Modern recreation of previous example. Camera is central, both subjects presented either side of it – however if they were in front of the camera it wouldn’t work. (really not that similar)

Coward, R 1984
‘The Look’ – the camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets. – normalisation of nudity implied. Wearing underwear and sunglasses, juxtapositon of clothing choice but also the sunglasses take away her returning gaze.

Wonderbra Campaign – ‘Eva Herzigova’ 1994
‘Hello Boys’ – printed on billboards and busses. Looking at her own breasts, empowerment of herself or looking away to avoid returning the gaze? OR massive billboard woman looking down on you? She’s aware people are looking at her but it is wonderbra that want you to look, not Eva.

Coward, R 1984
The profusion of images which characterises contemporary society could be seen as an obsessive distancing of women – a form of voyeurism

‘Peeping Tom’ – 1960

Men Objectified in advertising too – Calvin Klein
However the quantity and frequency of images shows that women are objectified much more frequently and severely. (Gender Ads website)
Marliyn: William Travillas dress from The Seven Year Itch 1995

Artemnisia Gentileschi – ‘Judith Beheading Holofernes’ 1620

Pollock, G 1981
Women’margianalised within the masculine discourses of art history’.

Cindy Sherman – ‘Untitled Film Still 6’ 1977-1979
she is the model and the photographer – creating and viewing the image

Barbara Kruger – ‘Your Gaze hits the Side of my Face’ 1981
found imagery and text, playing at the preconceptions and understandings of the gaze, satire imagery

- ‘ I Shop Therefore I Am’ 1983
Consumer society forming identity on physical objects and not morals and ethics.

Sarah Lucas – “Eating a Banana’ 1990
low-fi black and white photograph of person eating a banana, sexual connotations? Are normal everyday activities objectified by sexual undertones?

‘Self Portrait with Fried Eggs’ 1996
Ridiculous

Tracy Emin – ‘Money Photo’ 2001
‘stuffing money inside herself’

The Gaze IN the Media
Amanda Knox case
Joan Smith – Guardian Article – Accused of being a Witch, medieval?
The Mail esposes itself as guilty of fabrication
Susan Sontag – ‘On Photograaphy’ 1979

Paparazzi shot of Princess Diana
A market created by the public, they want to see images, paparazzi must provide them.

Not dissimilar to the concept of Reality TV – Big Brother
- gives the feeling of an all-seeing power
- allows a voyeuristic passive consumption of a type of reality
- editing means there is no reality
- contestants are aware of their own representation

The Truman Show

Victor Burgin – ‘Looking is not indifferent’

Panopticism

Richard Miles

Institutions & Institutional power

Principles of the Panopticon - Jeremy Bentham
Michael Foucault's concept of 'discipline society' - 1926-1984

Panopticon - round
- Foucault - allegory of the way the world is
- Madness and civilisation
- Discipline and Punish - Birth of Prison

Great Confinement, late 1600's
- 'Homes of Correction' to curb unemployment and sickness
made to work with the threat of physical punishment

Birthplace fo the Asylum - treated like children, rewarded/punished accordingly
physical control turns into subtle mental control

emerge of Knowledge - biology, psychiatry, medicine - legitimise the role of the doctor
- careers created - who decides who's healthy?

The Pillory and historical stocks
- public humiliation and degradation
- shows the kings ultimate power over your body

Disciplinary power and disciplinary society
-"discipline is a technology to keep someone under surveillance and how to control his conduct' - Foucault
- The Panopticon Building - perfect institute, multipurpose building, school, hospital, prison

Jeremy Bentham - design 1791
Foucault - metaphor 1970

Panopticon - internalises the individual, the conscious state that he is always being watched
- not actually watched in theory, they become self regulating

'The major affect of the panopticon, to induce the inmate to a state of consciousness and permanent visibility that confirms the automatic function of power' 1975 Foucault

allows scrutiny and permanent visibility and a chance to experiment on subjects
aims to make them more productive

Panopticon - a model of how modern society organises the knowledge, its power, in the surveillance of bodies and its training of bodies

Modern examples of panopticons
open plan offices - closed offices
open plan bars - traditional pubs
the register as a record of attendance

Uni cards, surveillance cameras, cctv
cameras in classrooms - panopticon gone too far?
- has a damaging affect on learning?
- uni can see your computer files/visited websites
- keystrokes per minute etc

"But the body is also directly involved in a political field; power relations have an immediate hold upon it; they invest it, mark it, train it, torture it, force it to carry out tasks, to perform ceremonies, to emit signs. This political investment of the body is bound up, in accordance with complex reciprocal relations, with its economic use; it is largely as a force of production that the body is invested with relations of power and domination; but on the other hand, its constitution as labour power is possible only if it is caught up in a system of subjection…the body becomes a useful force only if it is both a productive body and a subjected body” Foucault 1975

Disciplining society creates 'docile bodies'
self monitoring, correcting, regulating, obedient

Foucault and Power
- his definition is not a top-down model as with marxism
- power is not a thing - it is a relation between individuals and groups
- the exercise of power relies on there being the capacity for power to be resisted - where there is power, there is resistance

1984 - George Orwell
Winston Smith

Vito Acconci - Following Piece 1969 - stalking
- Seedbed 1972 - masturbating under the floor

Chris Burden - Samson 1985
- pushes the building apart via turnstile and vice

Key Points
- Foucault
- Panopticism as a form of discipline
- Techniques of the Body
- Docile Bodies

Year 2

All posts from now on will be in relation to tasks set in the second year.

Essay Redemption Task

In no more than 500 words describe the Seagram Building in relation to Louis Sullivan's "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered".
Mies van der Rohe - Seagram Building 1969

In this text Sullivan breaks down "the tall office building", used as an enveloping statement to apply to any building in this category, to its most basic elements and the reasons for them. He states that essentially "offices are necessary for the transaction of business" and that the invention and construction of elevators makes vertical travel "easy and comfortable". He continues to talk about materials and advances in technology that make the construction of such large scale buildings completely normal and that with limited ground space the only way to build is up. This reigns true with the Seagram building and its thirty-eight floors. It was originally erected as the home of Canadian distillers Joseph E. Seagram's & Sons, also fitting in with Sullivan's idea that an office building is "necessary for the transaction of business".
He continues to talk about the floors within a building, a basement for boilers and power supplies etc, a ground floor for the friendly face of a shop or bank, a second floor for offices that is split into various sub divisions, this floor can be repeated numerous times before the final floor. He then states that the 'circulatory system completes itself and makes its grand turn" at which the attic is the top room, it too is filled with various pipes and paraphernalia to ensure the building is light, heated, safe etc.
Obviously a building must have an entrance and he describes this as "a main aperture or entrance common to all the occupants or patrons of the building". This continues his notion that there are a number of specific things that are present in all tall office buildings that give them the same characteristics; he presents them almost a recipe for building. Again these things reign true with the Seagram building in that its first floor is open to the public while its upper floor are delegated to the office workers arguably the actual business of the building. This is exaggerated further by his formula that "all things in nature have a shape, that is to say, a form, an outward semblance, that tells us what they are, that distinguishes them from ourselves and from each other." Essentially this is stating that the shape and form of the building, as is the case with a persons body or facial features, defines them as what they are which in turn means that we can tell them from one and other. This should also be linked with one of Sullivan's most notable quotes that "form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change, form does not change."
The Seagram building is a perfect example of modernist architecture and cannot be viewed in any other way, it can be seen in the light of Sullivan's text as a "tall office building" because it is. Its initial design and build was for the purpose of business and it still stands today for these reasons, its form follows its function and its function is business.

Portfolio Task 5 - How to Read a Photograph

In general we think of text for reading and images for viewing, but we do in fact read photographs and this can be recognised by anyone familiar with the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words". Having read "How do we read a photograph" ( Clarke, G (1997) ‘The photograph’) this has become abundantly clear to me, as stated in the first paragraph we do in fact read pictures and this involves "a series of problematic, ambiguous, and often contradictory meanings and relationships between the reader and the image", this is referred to widely throughout as 'photographic discourse'.
The first main point made is about the "problematic nature of the photographic image as both arbiter of meaning and trace of the "real"', essentially the problem that becomes apparent when people think of pictures as depicting the truth. In reality a photograph can only show what was present at the time and that itself is accurate, but everything outside of the frame that has bought about the culmination of that image cannot be seen and herein lies the problem. A photo is essentially a product of a photographer and thus shows one side of the situation they are portraying, by default a photograph cannot be biased. This is how photographer's adopt styles that can be defined by certain traits, however as stated in "How to read a photograph" "The image is as much a reflection of the "I" of the photographer as it is of the "eye" of the camera".
Roland Barthes explains that there are two levels to a photograph, the "denotative" and the "connotative", and they can be broken down in their simplest form to the literal appearance and meaning of elements of a photo and the connotations that can be derived from these things. For example a picture of a person stood alone, they are the only person in the picture and that is a fact, but it could be seen that they are alone in the world or an outcast, this is a connotation that can be interpreted in various ways.
The text continues and speaks about Lee Friedlander's photographs, explaining that he has "broken up the surface of the photograph so that an ordered, three-dimensional space is simultaneously questioned and altered". Essentially this is making the point that we are not really looking at a landscape, or at a person, or at a bowl fruit but that we are looking at a photograph of that particular thing and it is only a representation of that.
Essentially it can be said that even by acknowledging the subject matter of a photograph, let alone the intricate details, we are in fact reading it and making our own judgements on the meaning of it. These judgements may boil down to preconceived stereotypes or relate to a persons own views on any given subject matter but as soon as a link is made between these things in a person's head this is how they perceive it and in fact how they have read it. Due to this two people can be shown the same picture but derive complete different meanings from it depending on how they interpret the given image. It should also be remembered that a photograph is only a select frame of an overall bigger picture and that although you can only see what is shown you, it will have undoubtedly have been affected by its surroundings.

Ryan McGinley (2005) "Lily, black eye"

Initially this we can say that this is a portrait of naked, at least from the waist up, woman with a bruised eye that is about to light a cigarette, on a beach. In relation to Roland Barthes' terms these are the "denotative" elements of the picture, they can be seen by anyone instantly and would not be questioned however it is the reasoning behind them that brings about questions and in turn the "connotative" thoughts or connotations that these elements imply. Is this woman completely naked, why is she naked, why does she have a bruised eye? etc.
The subject seems to be actively looking away from the camera, this may be due to the wind, which appears to be blowing her hair and possibly sand in her face, or it could be linked with her bruised eye, Is she avoiding eye contact to avoid judgement from the photographer or is she simply looking at something else? Although the subject is shown alone we do not know if other people were present and/of they were in fact in the same situation as her. Again a picture is as much about what it shows as it is about what it doesn't show. Although the contents of this image can be easily seen and aren't really disputable the reason for them and the situation that bought it to fruition is left entirely to the person looking at the photograph. If paired together, the bruised eye and the subject being alone, the viewer conjures up various emotions in relation to these factors and may start to question the bigger picture. This is when it becomes apparent to them that the photograph they are viewing is only a small part, that the photographer wanted to convey, of a much larger series of events and that alone it cannot tell us more than the "denotative" elements described earlier.

Portfolio Task 4 - Postmodernism

Postmodernism is essentially a reaction to the happenings of the modern era, it is characterised by complexity and an unapologetic mix of different styles. It also celebrates what otherwise may be thought of as kitsch and otherwise tacky. However due to its roots in questioning conventions it also questions the boundaries of communication and the legibility of text, in the eyes of the postmodern era ornament is not crime.


Wong, A (1980) "Women In Transition", http://gds.parkland.edu/gds/!lectures/history/1975/postmodern.html (30/62)

Here you can see the use of a traditional grid system but with the addition of a twist by splitting the text in half and altering its size in order to to distort it. It still reads and communicated appropriately but requires a little more than a first glance to see what the designer has done.


Greiman, A (1983) "Your Turn My Turn", http://gds.parkland.edu/gds/!lectures/history/1975/postmodern.html (23/62)

Here is use of the popular typeface helvetica, however it has been used in italics and also printed numerous times offset in different colours to give an image similar to that of a drop-shadow.


Poynor, R (2003) "No More Rules, Graphic Design and Postmodernism"http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/62/52/no-more-rules-graphic-design-and-postmodernism.jpeg

Here is use of various texts and colours overlapped, a convention that would normally be frowned upon in terms of communication but has been used here, interestingly enough the focus of the book is based around Graphic Design in relation to Postmodernism.


Klein, S (2006) "Folding poster about the work of Wolfgang Weingart" http://www.skrm.de/portfolio/wwfaltblatt.html

This poster shows use of left aligned text and a very formal gird layout, however it is overlaid with large green circles, again the content of the piece is about the work of Wolfgang Weingart and his approach to postmodern typography.


Carson, D (2011) "Little White Lies" http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/

Here is an example of text overlaying image, furthermore the islands within some of the letters are filled in, taking away from the initial communication of the text. However the overall design is stripped back to a simple black and white colour scheme.

Portfolio Task 3 - Avant Garde

The Avant Garde is a term applied to schools of thought or works thought to be innovative and forward thinking, essentially things considered as avant garde could be considered as the "cutting edge" of a given movement. It is regularly thought about especially in relation to art, culture and politics and traced back to the Dada movement. The term avant garde essentially translates to "advancing guard" or vanguard" which would have been the most forward part of an advancing army, it would include highly skilled sodliers attempting to pave the way for the substantial movement behind them and so artistically this is the practitioners breaking boundaries and pushing things forward ahead of the initial crowd.

De Stijl, Dutch for "The Style" and sometimes known as neoplasticism, is an example of an avant garde movement. It is often focused around abstraction and a simplification returning to basics of form and colour. Though produced a long time after the De Stijl movement in the Netherlands the artwork for the White Stripes album of the same name echoes this style. As previously stated components of an image tend to be abstract and composed of bold colour and geometric lines, this is evidenced further in the text and imparticular the way the letter "E" has been simplified to three horizontal bars but is still recognised as the letter it portrays.


Another example is the constructivist movement often assosciated with Kasimir Malevic, a Constructivist working between the period of 1878 and 1935. Constructivism is often based around art and or architecture and is recognised for its simple and bold imagery however this is not to be confused with a lack of detail or though, but a considered collection of shapes and colour. The image below by Kasimir Malevic embodies an even more stripped down style of work reduced simply to shapes and colours that are unrecognisable as an actual form.

Essay

Is it possible to describe any aspect of Visual Communication as Post Modern (ist?)?

In order to address this question in an affective manor it is important to really have an understanding of the terms Visual Communication and postmodern, in turn this also calls for knowledge of the term modernism. Visual communication is notoriously awkward to explain without using either the words ‘visual’ or ‘communication’, but as the name suggests is the presentation or portrayal of a message via ocular transmission. Essentially you can see something and take away information from it. Visual communication can take many forms, most notably in graphic design, typography, printmaking, illustration, photography, product design etc.

You can not understand postmodernism without modernism coming first, Modernism became a movement of questioning and experimentation often resulting in the production of abstract thought and imagery; it also focused on the new cutting edge materials and processes available to the world, choosing a ‘form over function’ attitude. The distinction between modernism and post modernism is both obvious and blurred as technically ‘modern is always post-something’ (Appignanesi, Garrat (1995) Page 19). Postmodernism for Beginners states that ‘The modern ends up being at war with itself and must inevitably become post-modern.’ (Appignanesi, Garrat (1995) Page 19) Admittedly this makes sense technically but also seems somewhat paradoxical at the same time. A simpler way of looking at this is that postmodernism is ‘in fact merely a continuity of modernism’ (Appignanesi, Garrat (1995) Page 164) and that modernism, by definition, must always come first.

In contrast with this postmodernism is a conscious step away from the ideals and viewpoints of modernism; Glenn Ward describes the term postmodernist in ‘Postmodernism’ as ‘an apt description of our new period of disillusionment.’ (Ward (2003) Page 4) Unlike other things ‘Postmodernism is not, strictly speaking, a school of thought” (Ward (2003) Page 4) it is more a direct reaction to the whole ethos of modernism; it is a rebuttal to all things modernist. Ward also argues that postmodernism is so hard to attribute that if something is seen as postmodern ‘You are bringing an idea to it, rather than discovering a quality in it.’ (Ward (2003) Page 15) this sits well with the idea that aspects of things can be perceived as being postmodern as opposed to a product itself being postmodern.

When thinking about postmodernism most people thing of architecture as having taken the most notable change, previously in terms of modernism architecture there had been an excess of the ‘form follows function’ attitude that was put forward by Louis Sullivan, essentially a truth to materials and an absence of ornamentation. In direct contrast with this postmodernist architecture is characterized by its return to ornamentation and an unapologetic mix of styles and designs spanning all eras. Postmodern architecture often involved the ‘juxtaposition of something old and new, or the witty inversion of the old’ (Poynor (2003) Page 19) into a completely new building in an unapologetically ironic way. A prime example of M architecture can be seen in the Seagram Building (constructed in 1957) in New York with its large glass panels, rigid structure and overall utilitarian appearance as a building. Again a direct comparison can be made when this is compared to the Sony Building (formerly the AT&T building, constructed in 1984) that strangely enough is also located within New York. Instead of large glass panels as stated previously it boasts large columns on the buildings faces from top to bottom, furthermore its arched entranceway that spans seven stories in height with an almost cathedral-like design. However its most notable attribute is its ornamental top, directly identifiable in the skyline. These are obvious examples but stand as proof that postmodern affect on architecture is undeniable, however it is important to acknowledge that the design of a building is a form of visual communication in itself. Though architecture received the most notable and recognized change it still essentially boils down to visual communication and the impression the building gives off from the outside, be this a professional working environment or a consumer store.

However my main point is that visual communication changed in itself, graphic design took on various changes in terms of the modern and postmodern eras. First embracing the new processes and dramatic changes in technology in terms of modern design, this can be seen in the London Tube Map - a collection of geometric lines, pantone colours and sans serif text. Rick Poynor states, as the pivotal focus of his book ‘No More Rules’, that ‘one of the most significant developments in graphic design, during the last two decades, has been designer’s’ overt challenges to the conventions or rules that were once widely regarded as constituting good practice.’ (Poynor (2003) Page 19) this is essentially the epitome of postmodernist theory applied directly towards graphic design. Essentially it marked an ignorance to the rigidity of modern Graphic Design and a complete disregard for the rules that had become a paradigm for graphic design as a practice. As present in architecture it lead to a mix of styles and somewhat an abolition of the ‘form follows function’ ethos to design. Rick Poyner also describes graphic design as ‘a prime example of a popular, accessible medium exhibiting symptoms of postmodernism.’ (Poynor (2003) Page 10) This strengthens my point that graphic design, as a form of visual communication, can be seen as postmodern as it shows these symptoms, however it also implies that it is not postmodern in itself.

Postmodern Art is another example of the affect of the postmodern era on visual communication, as ever it is characterized by the rejection of modern tendencies. In terms of popular culture this is most recognized in the form of Pop art most notably associated with, but not restricted to, David Hockney, Roy Lichenstein and Andy Warhol etc. Pop Art is known for taking the imagery and processes affiliated with consumerism and displaying it either in a different way or in a different context, this fits with postmodern ideals as it rejects the paradigms of modern art and design. An example of this is Andy Warhol’s’ Campbell’s Tomato Juice Box. In reality it is a representation of what is normally a stock case of a consumer product, as it would be delivered to a supermarket, however as soon as you reproduce this and put it in a gallery it becomes art. This is exactly what Warhol did, he ‘turned mechanical reproduction into art’ (Appignanesi, Garrat (1995) Page 39) This not only mocks the practices involved in modern theory and art and design but also the social value attached to art as it is seen in a gallery. It has been said that ‘Warhol’s look perfectly sums up the cliché slogan of postmodern wisdom. “What you see is what you get”’ (Appignanesi, Garrat (1995) Page 40) this fits perfectly with the tongue in cheek demeanor of the postmodern attitude. Typically art, as seen in a gallery, is thought of as being of a higher social standard in comparison to the underrated design you may see on packaging, in this case tomato juice. Whereas in this situation Warhol is making a direct rebuttal to this by attaching a much higher value to the packaging by presenting it as artwork and not design. This shows that the idea of postmodern theory has definitely affected what people perceive as art or arguably what people can get away with calling art.

All in all I think that it is fair to say that visual communication as a practice has taken many influences from the postmodern era and that due to this it can easily be described as postmodern itself, but in reality it is not solely post modern. This boils down to not only the final product of various excursions of visual communication but also in the theory behind it. Postmodernism’s most notable success is its undeniable affect on architecture which as stated previously still lends itself to theories of visual communication and the impression that a building portrays purely by its shape and design regardless of its interior or having stepped foot inside. Secondly Graphic Design has quite clearly taken pointers from the postmodern era and benefitted from it, although this change is not ever present it is definitely relevant. The same applies to art in the sense that it is not purely postmodern but that it can have postmodern aspects. This brings me to my final concluding point and that is that aspects of visual communication can be referred to as post modern but that visual communication itself is not postmodern.



References

Appignanesi, R. and Garrat, C. (1995) ‘Postmodernism for Beginners’. Cambridge. Icon
Appignanesi, R. and Garrat, C. (2003) ‘Introducing Postmodernism’. Cambridge. Icon
Ward, G. (2003) ‘Postmodernism’ London, Hodder Headline
Poynor, R. (2003) ‘No More Rules, Graphic Design and Postmodernism’. London, Laurence King Publishing.

Background Reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_communication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_art