Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts

Exploring Visual Culture ~

Diflnitions, Concepts, Contexts

Edited by Matthew Rampley,;\''<:~'

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Edinburgh University Press

rp t13,S­ .e.élS­ © in this edition Edinburgh University Press, 2005 © in the indivielual contributions is retained by the authors Eelinburgh Uni versity Press Ltd 22 George Square, Eelinburgh Typeset in 11.5! 13.5 Perpetua by Ser vis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester, and Printeel and bound in Spain by GraphyCems A CIP recorel for this book is available fram the British Library ISBN O 7486 18457 (paperback) The right of the contributors to be identified as dUthorS of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Dcsigns and Patents Act 1988.

Every c1fort has been maele to trace the copyright holders, but if any have been inaelvertently overlooked, the publisher wi/l be pleased to make the necessary drrangements at the first opportunity.

Acknowledgements List of Figures Contributors Introduction Matthew Rampley

Visual Culture and ti Matthew Rampley

2 Def1nitions of Art an Neil MulholIand

3 Concepts of Craft Juliette MacDonald

4 Design and Modern Juliette MacDonald

5 Fashion: Style, Identi Fiona Anderson

Contents

Acknowledgements List of Figures Contributors

VII VIII XII

Introduction Matthew Rampley

Visual Culture and the Meanings of Culture Matthew Rampley

5

2 Definitions of Art arrel the Art World Neil MulholJand

18

3 Concepts of Craft

34

Juliette MacDonald

4 Design and Modero Culture Juliette MacDonald

so

5 Fashion: Style, Identity and Meaning Fiona Anderson

67

vi

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

6 Photography and Film

85

Glyn Davis

7 Architecture and Visual Culture

102

Richard Williams

8 Representation and the Idea of Realism

117

Neil Mulholland

9 Visual Rhetoric

133

Matthew Rampley

10 The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Author

149

Matthew Rampley

11 The Ideology of the Visual

163

G!yn Davis

12 Visual Practices in the Age ofIndustry

179

Matthew Rampley

13 Technical Reproduction and its Significance

There are many peop acknowledged. These

197

Ruth Pelzer

14 From Mass Media to Cyberculture

214

Glyn Davis

15 Visual Culture and its Institutions

Zurbrugg. Thanks are for supporting this pn

229

Fiona Anderson

Index

Richard Braine, Nick

Sutherland Hussey An Reay -Young, Alison

It is also importan1 whose indirect contri] be mentioned. They ir

246

David Michael Clark, McRobbie, Keith Mo Glass and Peter York. Lastly, thanks are d unstinting patience an

Acknowledgements

There are many people whose role in the development of this book needs to be acknowledged. These include: Amy de la Haye, Corinne Day, Susan Babchick, Richard Braine, Nick Knight, Jake Harvey, CIen Onwin, Donald Urquhart and Sutherland Hussey Architects, Martin ElIiott, Janet Morton, Karin Muhlert, Helga Reay- Young, Alison Britton, Takashi Murakami, Paul Rennie and Nicholas Zurbrugg. Thanks are also due to the Research Board of Edinburgh College of Art for supporting this project.

It is also important to thank the various visitors to Edinburgh College of Art whose indirect contributions to this book, through debate and discussion, should be mentioned. They include: Judy Attfield, Rosemary Betterton, Norman Bryson, David Michael Clark, James Elkins, Michael Ano Holly, Hubert Locher, Angela McRobbie, Keith Moxey, Maria Orisková, Donald Preziosi, Charlotte Schoell­ Class and Peter York. Lastly, thanks are due to Sarah Edwards of Edinburgh University Press, whose unstinting patience and support have helped make this book possible.

r

List of Figures

4.4 ObsessionJor Me © Adbusters. 5.1 Richard Braine Braine-PYMCJ 5.2 Anonymous ph © Roger-VioU 5.3 Corinne Day, ~ Day. 5.4 Nick Knight, A Dazed and Corji

1.1 Carl Andre, Equivalenl V111 (1978). Tate Gallery, London. © DACS. 2.1 Martin Elliott, Tennis Girl (1970). © Martin Elliott. 2.2 Jeff Koons, Michael jackson and Bubbles (1988). San Francisco Museum of Modcrn Art. © Jeff Koons. 2.3 Morris Louis, Bela Lambda (1960) New York, Museum of Modern Art. © Photo Scala, Florence. 3.1 Janet Morton, Cozy (1999). Ward lsland, Toranto. Photograph © Bruce Duffy. 3.2 Alison Britton, Black and Green Pot (1999). Photograph courtesy of Barrett Marsden Gallery, London. 3.3 Caroline Broadhead, Suspend (2001). Photograph courtesy of Barrett Marsden Gallery, London. 3.4 Karin Muhlert, untitled small works from Sea Ce1l series (1999). Photograph © K. Muhlert. 3.5 Helga Reay-Young, Autumn Feelings. Photograph from installation at Cochrane Gallery, London (1999). 4.1 Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh. Author's photograph (2004). 4.2 Ettore Sotsass, CarIton Bookcase (1981). Photograph © MEMPHIS. 4.3 Philippe Starck,juicy SalifLemon Squeezer (1990). Author's photograph (2004).

8 19 20 25 42 44 45 46 47 52 59 60

6.1 Eugene Delacrl 6.2 Harold Edgert( Photograph COl 6.3 Paul Strand, m of the Paul StrJ Strand Archive 6.4 Richard Billing Photograph COI 6.5 Still from Geor © BH stills. 7.1 Bicycle shed, V photograph (2C 7.2 Lincoln Cathed Edinburgh Uni' 7.3 Ludwig Mies Vi Exhibition, Bar photograph (2C 7.4 Citroen DS21 ( 7.5 Frank Gehry, C (1991). Author 8.1 Gustave Courb 8.2 Takashi Murak, Poe. Reproduc Kaikai Kiki Co. 8.3 Georg Braun al (1582). Nation 9.1 Anonymous, A; From L'JIluslral 9.2 Edward McKru Photograph co

L1ST OF FIGURES

4.4 ObsessionJor Men. Fram Adbusters magazine (1993). Photograph

© Adbusters. 5.1 Richard Braine, The Roxy Club (1977). Photograph © Richard

Braine-PYMCA. 5.2 Anonymous photograph of a Parisian drapery store (ca. 1860).

© Roger- Viollet, Paris. 5.3 Corinne Day, Kate Moss, the Third Summer if Lave (1990). © Corinne

Day. 5.4 Nick Knight, Aimee Mullen wearing Alexander McQueen, fram

Dazed and Corifused Magazine (1998) © Nick Knight. 6.1 Eugene Delacroix, Odalisque (1857). Private collection. 6.2 Harold Edgerton, Shootina the Apple (1964).

Photograph courtesy of Gus Kayafas and Palm Press. 6.3 Paul Strand, Wall Street (1915). Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift

of the Paul Strand Foundation. © Apcrture Foundation Inc., Paul

Strand Archive. 6.4 Richard Billingham, Untitled (1995). © Richard Billingham.

Photograph courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London. 6.5 Still fram Georges Mélies' Voyaae to the Moon (1902).

© BH stills. 7.1 Bicycle shed, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. Author's

photograph (2003). 7.2 Lincoln Cathedral, twelfth to fourteenth century. Photograph,

Edinburgh University. 7.3 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German pavilion at the International

Exhibition, Barcelona, (1928-9). Reconstructed 1986. Author's

photograph (2003). 7.4 Citraen DS21 (1972). Author's photograph (2003). 7.5 Frank Gehry, Chiat Day Mojo Advertisina Buildina, Venice, California

(1991). Author's photograph (2003). 8.1 Gustave Courbet, The Stonebreakers (1851). Now destrayed. 8.2 Takashi Murakami, Hiropon (1997). Photograph courtesy Blum &

Poe. Repraduced with permission. © 1997 Takashi Murakami/

Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. 8.3 Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, Map if the Ci~ if Edinburah

(1582). National Library of Scotland. 9.1 Anonymous, An Aerial Baptismfor Dancers]raID Indochina (1931).

From fIllustration magazine. 9.2 Edward McKnight- Kauffer, Advertisina PosterJor BP (1934).

Photograph courtesy of Paul Rennie.

IX

63

73

78

80

82

87

89

91

93

95

104

105

107

110

112

118

122

125

140

141

x

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

9.3 A window of a shoe shop in Paris, with a painting by Ingres as part 142

of the display. Photograph: Ruth Pelzer (2003). 9.4 Jacques Louis David, The Oath e:f the Horatii (1785). The Louvre,

143

Paris. 9.5 Marcel Breuer, Wassi{y armchair, Model B3. Dessau, Germany (late

1927 or early 1928). New York, Museum of Modern Art.

145

Photograph © photo SCALA, Florence. 10.1 Henry Fuseli, StudyJor Seif-Portrait (1780s). Photograph courtesy of

Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 150

11. 1 The front cover ofthe Sun newspaper, 26 November 1993.

Photograph courtesy of News International. 167

11.2 Jan Van Goyen, Ruined Church at E8mond van Zeefrom the East (1633).

Private coHection. 172

11.3 The hairy angler fish from The Blue Planet. Photograph © David Shalel

175

naturepl.com. 12.1 Josef Albers, Cover of the exhibition catalogue Machine Art, New York,

Museum of Modern Art (1934). Photograph © SCALA, Florence. 187

12.2 Illustrations 75 and 73 from Machine Art catalogue, New York,

Museum of Modern Art (1934). Photograph © SCALA Florence. 188

12.3 David E. Scherman, World's Fair Locomotive (1939). Photograph

courtesy of Time & Life Pictures. 189

13.1 Newspapers reporting 11 September 2001 on a newspaper stand

in London. Author's photograph. 201

13.2 Gustav Klucis, design for a postcard for the AH-Union Olympiad

in Moscow (Spartakiada) (1928). Photograph © State Museum of

Art, Riga, Latvia. 205

13.3 Robert Rauschenberg, Press (1960). © Robert Rauschenberg/VAGA,

New York/DACS, London 2004. 206

13.4 Postcards from a kiosk stand, Paris. Author's photograph. 208

13.5 T-shirt with detail from Michelangelo 's ceiling to the Sistine Chapel,

Vatican, Rome. Photograph: the author. 209

14.1 Ang Lee's Hulk (2003). Image © Universal Television and Networks

Group. 216

14.2 9 April 2003. A statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in

Baghdad's Firdus Square. Photograph courtesy of AP Photo/Koji

Harada, Kyoto. 222

15. 1 Walter Gropius, The Bauhaus, Dessau (1919). Photograph courtesy

of RIBA Library Photographs Collection. 233

15.2 Pavilion de L'Intransigent, architect Henri Favier, from the Paris

Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels of 1925. Photograph

courtesy of F. R. Yerbury I Architectural Association. 238

15.3 Skinhead outfit p Skinheads publica Image courtesy e

LlST üF FIGURES

XI

15.3 Skinhead outfit photographed for the Su1érs, Soulies, Skacers and Skinheads publication that was linked to the Streetstyle exhibition. Image courtesy of the V&A PictUTC Libraq'.

240

Contributors

Neil Mulholland i Edinburgh College 01'

rary art, criticism and ' ZUr

Kunst, Untitled and

Art in the Late 20th (em aJso curated Leayjna Gh

Ruth Pelzer is a [eeh As a practising artist he

printlnaking) and thc in practice. She has exhibil Mica, Portugal and So

Matthew Rampley i College 01' Art. His res,

and historiogTaphy of al

Res, Kritische Berichte, A Aes
Glyn Davis is a lecturcr in Sí.TCen theory and history at Edinhurgh CDllcgc uf iht. Thl' ('o-editor (\vith Ka)' Dickinson) of J:en TV (nFl. 2004-), his rescarch focuses on fépresentJtions üf gcnocf <md .sexudlit)' in tclc\'lsion and film, Recent "....ork indudes articles Oll 'Youth
Richard Williams is a has publishcd widcly on The AnxlOus 00' (ROUl

Urriversity Press, 2000).

CONTRIBUTORS

XIII

Neil Mulholland is a lccturcr in contcmporary art and visual culture at Edinburgh College al' Art. His research i5 currently centred 00 global contempo­ rar)' art, criticism and visual culture. He is a regular critic fOl" Frieze, Flash Art, Texte /'ur Kunst, UntJtled and Flux. Rcccnt work ¡neludes: The Cultural Deyolution: British A,t in the Late 20th Centu')' (Ashgate, 2003); E" ... Sh'ig!e)' (ChanneI4, 2003). He al 50 curatcd 1.eaving Glasl'egas at the Praguc Biennale (2003).

Ruth Pelzer 15 a iecturcr in art and visual culture at Edinhurgh CüIlcgc üf Art. As a practising arti5t her research focuses on reproductive technologies, especially printmaking, and thc interface het...."cen theorics of rcproduction and print-making practice. She has exhibited her \,'ork in exhibitions and galleries in Germany, South Afriea, Portugal and Seotland.

Matthe'w Rampley is director of thc Graduate Research School, Edinhurgh College of Art. His research has focused on aesthetic theory, and the philosophy and hislOriography of arl. He has published ...videl)' in journals sueh as Ari Histar)', Res, Kritisehe Bedehte, ATl Bulletin amI ¡-}(nd and ¡mage. Books inelude: l\iiet7sche, Aesthctlcs ami Madernl'J' (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and In Remembrance?f Things Past: On Ab)' H'arburg and H'alter Benjamin

(Harrassov~'itz,

2000).

Richard Williams is a lccturcr in art history at thc Univcrsit} ofEdinhurgh. He has published widel)' on late modern art and urban culture. Publications inelude: The Am-iaus Cit.y (Routledge, 2004) and .ytcr ,Hadan Swipturc (Manchester Univcrsit)' Prcss, 2000).

Introduction

Matthew Rampley

This book is an introduction to visual culture. Its aim is to explore the various forms uf visual culture, to analyse sorne of the key ideas used in lt5 interpretation and to outline sorne of the socíal contexts in which the forms of visual culture are produccd, distributed and consumecl. It is intended as a primer that traces the life of concepts that have become central to tJle engagement with visual culture, in arder then to point towards ongoing and possible future dehates surrounding their present and further use. As an introductor} text, it cloes not claim to give an exhaustive account of thc topies; it aims rather to highlight salicnt points and indi­ cate where the reader may wish to pursue more detailed and in-depth discwision. The term 'visual culture' has had considerable prominence ovcr the past five to ten ycars, and there are many excellent studics af the subject. 1 Why, then, acld another book to an already burgcuning Iist? There are various reasons. First. many studies oI' visual <.~ulture equate it ,"vith the study oI' the imagc. Indced, the stud), of ·visual culture has often heen sccn as ¡denticai to the theory oI' the image. \Vhcrc art history is concf'rned with paintings, drawings and engravings, the proponents

01' \"isual culture argue that what is necded i5 a recognition oI' the role oI' tJ1e much broacler range al' ímages. In an age where the majority of imagcs encountered will he photographs in magazines, on advertising hoardings, films, television and other technologies oI' mass-production and reproduction, including personal holida), photographs ancl, most recently, digital videos, thc traditianal concerns 01' art history have been seen as culturally elitist. Art long ago ceased to be the most important visual expression oI' cultural identity.

2

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

I I

Thcre is much force to this argument; while in Britain ano America the tcrm

i

'visual culture' (and 'visual studies') is most commOn, dsewhcre, in Franee and

secono reason is lo do

1

Germany fur cxamplc, the link betwccn 'visual studies ano the imagc is mane

range 01' possibilities I fOCllSCO on in this boa

cxplicit b;' the rise of so-called image theor)' or the science 01' the image

twined and have often

(Bildwisscnschaft in Gcrman).2 Thc authors of this book, however, helicvE:' that this

lS too narrow a focus. Not 001)' does art consist of practices other th.:m the making

ofimages

ane should mention sculpturc ano, more recently, in1\tallatLOIl or text­

based conceptual art - but also material artefacts playa crucial part in the visual articulation ol' cultural nlues amI idcntit)'- These rangc from fashion designs to

I

I

in otht'r ways too. Eari' of art, f()r cxample; in:

its re]ation to art and it

roweo heavily from fil n

eraftcd objeds, designeo eommooities or buildings and entire dties. Indeeo, one

The study of visual approaches. These inch

could arGue that visual culture begins with the human hao", with bodil\'¡ aoornment b '

of ic1eoIogical intcrpelL:

and the language ofbodily gesture. Most of these practices are Llsually abscnt from

tcchnology; scmiologic

accoLlnts oí" visual culture, v,/ith thcir fOCLlS on the mass media of photography, tele­

writings of Julia Krist(

vision, film ancl the Internet. J Wherc this hook attempts, in It5 own mode~t "vay,

Ettinger; the postcolon

to make an onginal eontriblltion to the Jield, therdore, IS in its interpretatiun 01'

not that these thcorie~

\\"hat the krm entails.

reterred to here. Howe

1t could be objected that such a notlon makes Visual culture an impossibl y broad

even principal methods

subj('ct. lndeed, visual culture c(Julo he expanded to includc othcr practices,

af the authors mentionl

induoing thcatre, opera, hallet, musical performances, tourism,landscapc design,

Tions

road ancl motorway dcsign, gardcning, spectator sports, haute cUlsine. AH of these

somethíng more than th

comprise,

a grcatcr or lesser extent, visual display. Thcre may \\"ell be other pos­

tion to 'canonkal' theOI

sibilities. There js undoubtedly some truth in tms e/aim; visual culture might con­

It is often argued th crosion of traoitional bo·

lO

sequ('ntly cneompass practically aer:yrhmg, ancl a thcory of cverything is neither

images

ano gil

possibk nor nccessarily clesirahlc. N everthelcss, given that the generation of visual

'archÜecture' , can no 10J

meaning involves complex interactions bet\\'een images ano material artcfaets, and that the various practiees uf visual culture frequently rdy on su eh interaetions,

the v.llues af popular cuJ 'high culture' opera)

exclusive attention to images is open to interrogation.

appear to struggle to su

Thc question then ariscs as to whcre onc ora\,·s the limits and why this book

same time it is prematu

focuses 'onl)" un design, crart, art, cinema, television, the Internet ancl arehitcc­

romantic ideas of .lrt as

ture. [n one sense there is no such thing as visual culture. There is no cultural prac­

are no longer credihle. f

ticL' that is entird)' visual. AH cultural praetlCcs fundion using a variet} of means,

view, thc division hetwel

involving visual perception amI communication, but al so others, such as hearing,

lo\\' art 1S a readily den

lanauaoc bodilvo ano tactilc expcrience ' ami taste. Fashion is meant not onlv.' to be b b'

endemic in Western soei

seen, but also to he worn on the body. An opera or concert of popular music is as

Boulez or Olivier Messia

much a visual spectacle as a musical experience. A film may oftcn involve spcctac­

shO\v, fur example. Inde

ular visual dleets. but it also relies on a soundtrack, not to mentíon a narrative

practices ami social instit

seript and dialoguc hetween its cast. This hook often highlights ano analyscs those

CIl.'mre that they maintaiJ of formal education an

'non-visual' factors that inform the production ano consumption ofvisu.ll culture. Then' are two principal reasons why this hook foctlses on a narro\.\·cr sct of prac­

\'enues and various pub:

tices. Thc hrst is pragmatic; given thc impossibility of pro\'iding an account of

Cotlncil separat(' [rom

c\'erything, this book limits it.~ subjcet matter to something more feaslble. The

galleries and dealers,

t SL

INTRODUCTION

3

sccond reason is to Jo with thc landscape of cultural practicC'. For amongst the vast

rangc al' possibilities the tcrm 'visual culture' might cncompass, the practices focused 00 in this hook have long shared histories. They have often beeo ioter­ n... .ined and have ohen borrowed [rom each ather, c.xmceptually. aestheticaHy and in other \vays too. Early thcories al' film were consistentl), modellcd 00 the theory uf art, for examplc; indced, a m<:ljor prcoccupation for earI)' dehates on film was its rclation to .1rt and it5 validity as an art formo More rccently, art theory has hor­

rowed hcavily from film theor;'. The stuJy uf visual culture has come to be dominated by certaio thcoretical approaches. These indudc: Lacanian notions of the gaze; Louis Althusser's notíon ofideological interpellation; v~lalter Benjamín's conceptions of aura, fetishism ,1no technology; scmioJogicaJ conceptions 01' meaning and representation; the feminist writings of Julia Kristeva, Judith Butler, Luce lrigara)' and Rracha Lichtenberg Ettinger; the postcolonial writings of Ga)'atri Chakravurty Spivak and others. lt js not that thcse thcorics are unimportant; they undouhtedly are, and the)' are referred to here-. However, this book cloes not assume that these are the onl)' or even principal methods hy ""híl'h

Ool'

should explore visual culture.lm.leed, man)'

01' thc authors mentioned ahoye conccrn {10m

thcm,~elves

with solcly visual representa­

ímages - and given that this hook undt'rstands visual culture as involving

something more than this, it is dear v\lhy it does not ncce-ssarily offcr an introduc­ tion to 'canonical' theorists in visual studies. Jt i:-; ufLen argued that the fluid statc of contcmporary society has Ice! to an

erosion ol' traditional bounclarics and conccpts. Older concepts, including 'art' and 'architccturc', can no longer be seen as hc:vond s('rutiny. particularly in anera \\·hen the values 01' popular culture seem to he ubiquitous and v,,,hen traditional forms 01' "high culture' opera, classic..11 music, avant-g.1rdc .1rt, experimental cinema appear to struggle to survivc cconomically. This is wldüubtl'dly true. hut al the same time it is prcmature lo speak 01' the end of high art, for example, cven if romantic ideas ol' art as somehO\'v standing aloaf from the rUn 01' popular culture are no longer creJihle. As James E1kins has argucd: 'From a sociologist's point of vie\v, the division betwrcn people \....ho adhere to high art and those who consume 1mv art is a readily demonstrahle f
statistically spcaking, the division is

endernic in West<'rn sodety.'4 The audienee for the musical eompositions of Pierre Boulez or Olivier Mcssiaen is Jistinct from the stue!io audiencc for the Jcrry Sprin8er shO\.. , foI' cxample. IndC'ed. art, or craft or arehitccture persist as distinct visual practices and social institutions. Even if they frequcntly interact, numerous Jactors cnsure that the;' maintain separate centres of grJvity. This bcgins with the procf'ss ol' formal cducation and continues on to professional associations, exhibition venues and various public bodies. The faet that there exists in Britain a Crafts Council scparate from the Arts Council, for cxample, ....·¡lh parallel networks of gallerics and dealers, suggests such a Jifference. Consequently, trus book also

-4

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

examines the ways in which the activities of visual culture are organised amI definen

both with and against each other, .lnd how dif[erent practices have emerged as social institutions.

1.

This book also makes its own cxclusions. It could aIso have included medical

imagcry, astronomical charts, scientific diagrams, the charts of statisticians. Therc have beco a number 01' important studies 01' these kinds of visual Tepresentations. 'i Yet, as Wilh the case o[ the other possib¡lities mentioncd earlier, attention to these

would make this book impossibly broacl and lacking coherence. Many of these rep­ resentatians are ticd to specific scientilic discoursc:'i, the anal)'Sis of those líes beyond thE' scope al' visual studics. In most cases this book will be referring to the yisual culture o[ Britain and America, as bcflts its role as an introduction for an English-speaking reader~hip. We readily acknowlcdge thc limitations of this approach. In a postcolonial context the problems that besct such a [ocus on the West are ver)' apparent. As Elkins has noted, visual studies has ),et to engage seriously with non-\\'estern cultures. 6 However, this book do es not and should not aim at an all-encompassing, encyclo­ paedic account; man)' ofthe social and historical dcyelopments that have impclled thc interest in visual culture are unique to Wcstern societies. It 15 doubt[ul that one coulrl or even should spcak of thc visual culture 0[, [or example, Mali, Inrlonesia or Zambia, as ir it were comparable to Western notions of visual culture. We there­ fore leave it for rcaders to decide the wa)'s in \\/hich the issues explorcd in this book might be applied to the undcrstanding of othcr cultures and societjes.

Of the various questio

edly the most compl,

Notes

meaning has be en inte

sorne sense of the po

2

4- S

6

Sorne of the more recent introductory books include: James Elkins, )'¡,oua! Studies: a SkeptJcaJ lnlH'JuctlOn (New Yurk and London, 1993); Richard Ho\'"rdls, ¡'HUO} Culture: an Introducuon (Clmbridge, 2003); Makolm Bacnard, Appw(Jches w VJsual CuJwre (London, 2001); Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwrighl, Practl(fS dLookm,q: an lnlroductíon lO Visual CuiflJre (Oxford, 2001); Nicholas MirzuelJ, An lntroducciun 10 Visual Culture (London, 1999); John Walker and Sarah Chaplin, Viw,JI Culture. An fmroductlDn U...1anchester, 19q7). To this ¡ist one can also M"ld the recent\y establishC'd journall:?I VJSUo.1[ Culture (2002- ). See, for cxample, Hans Bdting, B1JJ-Anthrupolo8ie, Ent ... ii~fe fur eme BildJ-l.'is.I'ens.-h4t (Munich, 200 J ); Gernot Ri-)hmC', Theone des Ri/des (Munich, 1999); GottfricJ B
imrnersed immediate1y

to a more basic questio

The idea of culture has . linked inextTicably witl synonymous with cu]tw

will be explored in gro treated as having the sa

English language in th, number of other ideas,

!

still fundamental to hov arose partIy in response

partly as a result ofEnlil' sodety. but there was al:

l. Visual Culture and the Meanings of Culture Matthew Rampley

Introduction Of the various questions raised hy rhe emergent tield of visual studies, undoubt­ edl)' rhe most eomplcx is rhe understanding of rhe term 'visual culture'. Its meaning has he en interpreted in various ways. This chapter \-viII attempt to give sorne sense al' the possihlc meanings af rhe term, hut rather than becoming immerscd immediately in recent debates ahout rhe sense 01' ',,¡su,]l culture", ir turns to a more basic question: What 15 rhe meaning al' 'culture'?

Concepts of Culture The id ca uf culture has a complex histOT)', and debates abour its meaning have been linked inextricably with rhe parallel concept al' 'civilisation', regarded by many as synonyrnous wirh culture, and hy othcrs as its antithesis. The rdatian hctween them will be explored in grcater detail shortl)'. but for the time being the tv·m can be trcatcd as having the same sensc. The term 'culture' onl)' began to appear in the English language in thc late eighteenth century and (:ame into use alongside a number of othcr ideas, such as 'industry', 'dcmocracy', 'class' and 'art', which are still fundamental to hm\t societ)' is understood. 1 Within Britain the idea of culture arose partl), in response to the impact of thc Industrial Revolution in England and partir as a result of Enlightcnmcnt speculation on the origins and meaning ofhuman society, but thcrc was also a wider Europe
6

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

was .lIso .ln invention 01' the late eighteenth century, while in Franee the ter m 'cj"i!­

ing efTeets of modern in,

isation' nrst appearcd in 1766. 2 Yct while thc ¡dea of culture ü; rclatively recent, the

MacDonald (1906-82) d

origin~

ofthc word are r.lther oklcr, for it comes [rom the Latin cultura.

Mass culture. argued Ma,

Cultura originally denoten the cultivation ofnature. This mal' seem distant from

above. lt is fabricated by·

the eontemporar), unrlcrstanding of culture, hut man)' tcrms associated with the

consumers, their particip .. ,'6 A similar critique

development of nature still function as metaphors for human society. The Dotion

of 'cultivatian' , originalIv¡ describlng land husbanrlrv, has long becn associ'lted with the rlcvdopment of the individual; being 'cultivatcd' orten implies a proccss of per­ sonal rdin('ment. Similarly, 'hrccrlíng' was traditionally used in Britain to denote .1

....

writers such as TheodoT stressed the role of mass

sivity in the audience, inc

thc establishment and preservation of a distin(:t class ioentity, This mctaphor also

creating 'false' needs for

underpinned the association of culture ami civilisation with progress ano refine~

audience from being able

ment. From the Enlightenrnl'nt onwanls, they ha\'(' heen sccn as a proo.'SS ol' devcl­

mindless escapism. 7 We

1

opment and perfection, both of society as a whole and of the individual. As the

Arnold's concerns aboutt

French historian Fram;ois Guizot stated in On Civilisation in France (1829): 'the idea

tices still take place wit

of progress, of devclopment, seems to me to be the fundamental idea contained in

regarded as 'lower' than

the word "civilisation'" . j Furthcrmore, the mcaníng ol' 'culture' and 'ci"ilisation'

Godard or Krzysztof Kiei

has also been shaped by their implicit opposition to harbarism nr savagcry; wherc

Dumb and Dumber (1994),

civilisation is a proccss of retincment, 'saxagery' is the ra\\' state ol' nature or, liter­

Harry Potter novels and fi example, the poetry of Jel

a]]", living in thc forest. 'Although 'culture' initially dcnoted a proccss - the intcllectual and spiritual cul­

hierarchy aften feeds inte

tivation ol' an individual or social groups - it carne to be scc.'n in the nineteenth

be the recurrent argumen

centur)' in material terms. No longer a quality 01' individuals, culture consisted of

vision. particularly in the

the outcornes nf such (:ultivation: artworks, poems, philosophical texts, literaturc, and so forth. Tbis shift has underpinncd many of the most contentious debates

dance at an art galJery mi~ These illustrate a broad

regarding culture, which have oftcn centred on the status nf individual objects and

expeeted to elevate theiT a

l'orms, and on \vhether or not they count as cxamples of 'genuine' culture.

them. Those that do not

Second, implicit in both the inca nf culturc as a process nf cultivation and in its

denied the status of 'genu

opposition to 'savagery' i5 its dependencc on notions of value; within W'cstern

and a potent case is the r

thought 'culture' has invariably functioncd as an aaluative ami hierarchical

tbere has been a recurrent

concept. A l'amous examplc can be scen in Mauhew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy

expectations of the publico

(1869), which dcscribed culture as involvjng the cultivation nf 'sweetnc.'ss and

Edouard Manet's painting

Iight'.4 Only what improved the human eondition was representati"c oI' 'true'

OVer the Tate Gallery's puro

culture, aecording to Arnold, a delinition that reJegated many social praetices to

or in reactions to Martin

I

the realm of popular cntertaínment. 1ndeed, for Arnold the greate ...t threat to

work has included a ball (

genuine culture carne from the Industrial Revolutian, which, with its introduction

(rlork # 81, 1993) and a li gallery space (Wolk # 227,

of mechanical prorluction and mass popular culture, threatencd to plungc European sacicty into barbarismo

dismay. While some of the

Arnold's views mar seem distant l'rom our own, but they informed a long intel­

healthy scepticism toward~

Icctual tradition. In Britain, for instan<.:c, the literary seholar F. R. Leavis' widely

Madonna to award the priz

influential study Thc Great uadition (1948) identified authors whose works formcd

tion that art should ha"e a h

01' a 'genuine' culture that "vould aet as a bulwark against the dchumanis­

Indeed, one of the most iJ

the basis

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS OF CULTURE

7

ing erfecls oI' modern industrial society.5 Likewise, the American theorist O,"vight MacDonald. (1906 -82) ore\v a sharp distinction bet\veen 'high' and 'mass' culture. Mass culture, argued MacLJonald., is a dehaseo form ofhigh culture 'imposed from aboye. lt is fabricated hy tcchnicians hired by busincssmen; its auniences are passive consumers, thcir participation limited to the choice between buying ano not buying .'6

A similar critique was mountco by the Frankfurt School al' critical thcory;

writers such as Theodor Adorno (190369) and Herbcrt Marcuse (1898-1979) stressed thc role of mass popular culture in encouraging a statc al' unthinking pas­ sivity in the audicncC', inculcating unthinking acceptance al' consumer culture ami creating 'false' needs for consumer goods. Such a s),stem ,lIso prcvented the mass audicncC' from being able to engagc with 'authcntic' art ami culture, offcring instead mindless cscapism. 7 We may no longcr see popular audiences as oupes, nor share Arnold's concerns about the growth of popular culture. Nevertheless, cultural prac­ tices still take place within a hierarchy, the mass products of popular culture regardco as 'lower' than high art, opera or litcrature. Thus the films of Jean-Lue Godard or Krz),sztof Kidlowski count as cxamples of 'high' culture in contrast to Dumb anJ Dumber (1994) ano other comedies by the Farrell)' Brothcrs. Likewisc the HaTT'y Potter nuvds and filrns eount as popular entertainment, in contrast to, for

exarnpk, the poetry ofJeremy Prynne, which is counted as 'scrious' literature. This hierarchy oftcn feeds into hasic debates ahout culture. An obvious cxample rnight be the recurrent argurne'nt about thc 'damaging' cffcets ol' watching too rnuch tele­ vision, particularl)' in the case of children. Nobody would suggest rcpcated atten­ dance ,1t an art gallery rnight have ncgative consequcnces. Thcse illustrate a hroader hahit ofthought, ,",vherc 'genuine' cultural practiccs are cxpeeted to ekvate their audiences and place intellectual and aesthctü: demands on thern. Those that do not are rclcgated to a lm.ver place in the' hierarchy

01"

even

oenied the status 01' 'genuinc'. Such expcctations can be observed in man)' areas, and a potent case is the response to art\\'orks; since the rnid-nineteenth century there has becn a recurrent tension hetwccn the challengc of avant-garde art and the expectatiom; ol' the publico This can bc seen in the initial public revulsion shown to Edouaro Manet '5 painting

OJ.ympw when first cxhibited in 1865, or in thc outcry

over the Tate Galler)"s purchase in 1978 of Carl Andre ',<,; Equivalent VIl! (Figure 1.1), or in reactions to Martin Creed, winner ofthe 2001 Turncr Prize. Creed, whose work has induded a ball of Blu-Tack (Wo,k (~tork

# 79, 1993), a plee" oE masking tape

# 81, 1993) and a light switching on anO off every fiyc seconds in an empty

gallery space (Hork # 227, 2001), was th(~ ~ource of considerable hemusement and dismay. While sorne of the criticisrns 01' the 2001 Turner Prizc were the result ol' a hcalthy scepticisrn towards its infatuation with the media - inc1uding thc choice of Madonna to award the prize - much crítical cornmcntary drew on the tacit assump­ tion that art shoulrl have a highcr, purpose not immediatcl)' (~vident in Crcco's ....v ork. Indeed, on(' ol' the most important art critics of the t\\'entieth century, CIernent

8

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

own 'cultivated' status

culture. Social sta tus al term 'cultural capita

(1930--2002), illustrat, a form of sj'mholic weal There are numerou

asked who decides wh:

issue; 1 have already mI

dition, and the issue w, Bloom, whose book Th

posedly indispensable' invited the reader to re:

not iTItend to criticise a

disagreement that highl whether there can be a

art and literature. The" Figure 1.1 -" Cad Andrc, Ec¡wvalent VlJI (1978). Tate Gallery. London. © DACS.

Grcenbcrg (1909-94), coined the term kItsch to distinguish between 'bagus' culture and genuine avant-ganle arto Kitsch was meant, he argued, for those \vha are 'insensible to the yaIues 01' genuine culture', offering \:icarious expericncc and fakcd sensation'. 8 In contrast, the role of avant-garde art \vas to 'kcep culture moving' and hen<_'e maintain cultural progress. As noted earlier, 'culture' has come to denote not mercly the process of indi­

vidual and social development, but also the thm,gs- noyels, artworks, musical com~ positions, pocms, buildings - a socicty has produceci. ThE')' stand, in sorne sensc. as its monuments, and according to this view the process of cultivation, 01' becom­

ing 'cultured', consists in an ncr-dccpening acguaintance \\.'ith the-sf' cultural artc­ facts. In Britain, the origins 01' this not10n can again be placed in the eighteenth ccntury, Jn nnportant role being played hy the Grand Tour. The purpose of the Grand Tour, which flourished between approximately 1700 and 1790, was to Jcguaint young aristocratic meu \vith the great an.:hitecturaJ and artistic monu­ ments 01' I:.uropc and, In particular, Italy. It funcLioneu as a substitutc for univcrsity cducation at a time when England had an underdeveloped university system in cornparison with other Furoppan statcs.lt was also designed to cernent the central role 01' classical culture - in particular ancient Rome - in providing the standards of refercnce for all judgements 01' taste. It also affordcd the gentry the opportunit)' to acguire through purchase or plunder the artefacts they encountered, thus con­ firming their 'cultured' status. Although the Grand Tour [eH into decline in the late 17005, thc idea that acguisition of ceruin kinds of artcfacts coulcl confirm orre's

dispute tht' indusion of be huge areas for disa: Valado n , fOf example, ~ Jane Campion it is not ¡ whether they formed p' Fcminist writers haV! privilege male artists, al !he [aet that most rustori, fact that the features vah 'masculine'. These have on individual autonorny; (heroes). In addition, m, often hf'C'n rt'garded as '[t in relation to the exciusif Snch "rguments highL be necessary to agree a e Russian cultural theorist no socicty has a single cu plurality of cultural voie 1930s and 1940s, and if t cultural and economic gl Indeed, it has proved evel all as constituting a sban ¡onger possiblc which ult would hr: that he was co

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS OF CULTURE

9

own 'cultivated' status has remained a powerful and persuasive one within Westcrn culture. Social status and class are no longer defined exclusively hy wealth, hut the tcrm 'cultural capital'. coincd by thc French soeiologist Pierrc Rourdicu (1930---2002), ¡llustrates clcarly the extent to which education and culture rcmain a form oL~l'mbohc wcalth that continues to define and structure social hierarchics. 9 Thcre are numerous problems with this vicw. Mast irnmediatcly. it has to be asked who decides what is to count as genuine culture. This has been a perennía] issue; 1 have already mentioned Leavis's attempt to identify the grcat cultural tra­ dition, and the issue was raised again in the 1990s by the American critie Harold Bloom, whose book The Western (anon (1995) included a list ofthe great and sup­ posedly indispensable \yorks ol' world literature. lO This was a bold tache, for it invited the reader to reflect on Bloom's criteria l'or inclusion <1nd exc:1usion. 1 do not intend to criticise an)'

01'

Rloom '5 individual judgements. It ¡s the possibiliy' of

disagrecment that highlights the central dil'ficulty ofhis approaeh: it is questionable whcther there can be a general consensus as to what counts as the great works of art and litcrature. There ma)' he considerable areas of consensus - few would dispute the inclusion ol' Shakespeare or Picasso in such lists - hut equally there will be huge arcas for disagreement. When it comes to the paintings

01'

Suzanne

Valadon, for example, or the photomontages of Romare Bearden or the films of Jane Campion it is not at aH dear that there would he universal agreemcnt as to whethcr they l'ormed part of the Wcstcrn cultural canon or noto Feminist \..: riters havc been particularly critical ol' the canon. It has tended to privilege male artist5. architeets. writers, and so forth. 1I Partly, this has reflected the faet that most histories ol' culture have been written hy men amI partl)', too, the fact that the features valued in the formatíon of canons, havc tended to he seen as 'masculine'. These havc induded. l'or examplc: a strong artistic identit)'; a stress on individual autonom),; an interest in narratives that privilege masculine actors (heroes). In addition, mass culture, and the consumerism associated \vith it, have 01'ten

been regarcled as 'femininc'. 12 Similar criticisms have becn made ofthe canon

in relation to the cxclusion ol' the culture of ethnic minorities. Such arguments highlight the l'aet that societies lack the unil'ormity that would he necessar)' to agree a common canon. Indeed, since the pioneering work ol' the Russian cultural theorist Mikhaj] Bakhtin (1895-1975) it has becn recognised that no societ)' has a single culture and that instead one must always think in terms ol' a pluralit)' ol' cultural voiees and values. 13 Rakhtin made such ohservations in the 19305 and 1940s, and if this was the case, then it is doubl)' so in the present, where cultural and economic glohalisation have rendered societies increasingl)' divcrse. Indeed, it has proved ever more dil'ficult to identil'y a hody ol' works recognised by aH as constituting a shared cultural tradition. It is the anxiet)' that this seems no longer possihle which ultimately motivates Bloom; an uncharitable interpretation would be that he was concerned by the fact that American East Coast literature

f 10

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

!

profcssors such as himself can no longer determine what counts as great art or

not by reference to son

culture, and that their judgerncnts are no longer automatically followcd or shared

classical antiquit)' or Fr<

byathers.

Herder is often cred civilisation as a singular

Culture without Values

each of which has to be 1

concerned to legitimise

Behind the TIotion üf culture as something of qualit)' to be achieved or possessed

tradition in Europe at ti

lies a complex set 01' social expectations and values. The Grand Tour again offcr~

German national consci

.lD important examplc, for its PUTraSe \'''as not onl)' to educatc the gentry and the aristocrac)', hut .lIso to ensure that the)' rctaincd social prestige arrd dominancc

with nationalist ideolol

notion of ethnically 'p

through their access to a culture unavailable to athers. It ¡s no coincidence that the

endorsed such ideals; h

Grand Tour declined in importance in the late cighteenth centur) as It bccarnc

resisting cultura.l domin

affordable for larger numbcrs of the middle classes to visil Ital)'. Moreover, the

inition 01' culture. [terrr

\veaknesses of this evaluative notion of culture are further evident \vhen consid­

with its roots in thc stuc

ered in the context of contCrTlflOrary Western society. Whilc

su eh soeieties on their

\'\T

may aH have

varying degrees of familiarity with the canonical works of \Vestern culture, far

Western societies. Of ('1

more infiuential and prevalent m contemporary European and AmerIcan societics

is itself open to questic

are forms of popular culture - from film and tclevision to ('omie books or com­ puter games - which writers such as Arnold, Leavis and Eliot would not cven con­

strated, there are gool observer. 15 N evertheles

sider as examples of 'culture'. Yet fev.' would maintain that ours is an age with no

able for two important

culture. Its values and concerns have changed in important wa)'s deplored this faet

ami man)' have

hut that is a different question. In other words, the definition

tures and valucs whil superiorit)' of certain

Cl

of l-ulture nccds to be separated out from qUl'stions of CJualitr This ma)' appear to

Although such debat

he a ver)' contemporar), issue, hut it was alrcad)' being artieulatcd in the cightecnth

problems of the eighteer

century by the Gcrman philosopher Johann Gottfricd Herder (1744-1803).

is of a ver)' direct kind¡

Herder objected to the fact that European culture \\:as ddined largdy in terms

ter Silvio Berlusconi, th<

01' ancient Greecc and Rome and its persistence in the literature and art of se\cn­

Carey, the former Archl Arabic culture highlight

tccnth- and eighteenth-ecntur)' France, \víth a eonsequent disregard for national cultures from othcr, non-classícal traditions. Herder proposed an alternatin~, more

cultural value and diffel

democratic notion of culture that was no longcr Iinked to the classical traclition or

manifestation of these d

more generall), to judgemcnts uf quality. Indeed, until now 1 have tended to treat

been taken up by various

'culture' ami 'civilisation' as interchangcahle terms, but in raet Herder introduccd

ccrns with high culture.

the notion of 'culture' (Kultur) in opposition to the dommancc of the classically

Thc idea of a visual c

inspired civihsation of France. 'Culture' designatcd for Herder the \'\/a)' oflife of a

historian Michael Baxal

particular eommunity, y."hich included ever)'da)' customs and hahits, beliefs and 'civ¡lisation'. 'Culture' \Vas now a purel)' descriptive term that madI..' no judgement

f!fieenlh Century lta!y. 16 works of art was to esta the artistic intluenees on

about the moral, intdlcctual or aesthetic qualit)' of a cultural practíce. One can

complex symbolíc imag(

traditions alongsidc the great artistic and intcllcctuai monuments Jssociated with

think again of biological metaphors, for where the hrst dehnition of culture \jcws

oso phi cal and theologicc

it in terms of a process of cultiyation, Herder sees culture as the organic and nat­

consulted to establish its

urally gro"ving expression of a givcn cornmunity. In other \\'ords, a culture grows

the artist would also be f

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS Of CULTURE

11

not by reference to sorne artificially imposcd standards drawn from elsewhere classical antiguity or Franee - hut spontaneolisly according to its own impulses. 14 Herder is often credited with being the first cultural rclativist; in the place 01' civilisation as a singular achievcrncnt he propasen the idea al' a plurality of societies, cach oI' which has to be understood in terms nI' its

0\\'0

cultural valucs. Herder was

concerned to let7jÜmise Gnman culture as difIerent fram the dominant classical
notion 01' ethnically 'pure' culture. Herder himsclf woulo not have remotel), endorsed !'uch ideals; he was concerned aboye aH with promoting pluralism aud resisting cultural domination. His approach al so emphasised an anthropolo8ical def­ inition of culture. I term it 'anthropological' because contemporary anthropology. with its roots in the study oI' non- Western cultures, has long sought to understand such socicties on their own terms, without projecting onto them the values of Western societies. Of course, the idea oI' a neutral description 01' another culture is itsell' open to question, ano as the anthropologist James Clil'ford has demon­ strated. there are good reasons to doubt the authority ol' the ethnographic ohserver.1'i Nevcrthelcss, thc anthropological definition 01' culture has he en valu­ able for t\o\·o important reasons: it has ensured rcengnition ol' the plurality of cul­ tures and valucs while also challenging long-held assumptions about the superiority 01' certain cultures over others. Although such debates aprear root<..~d in particular political and intellectual problcms ofthe cighteenth centur)'. their relevance to eontemporary visual culture is of a ver)' direct kind; the recent, unpromptcd outbursts by Italian prime minis­ ter Silvio Rerlusconi, the British television presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk or Gcorgc Carey, the former Archbishop of Cantcrbury. concerning the alleged inferiorit)' of Arabic culture highlight the continued existence oI' deep-seated prejudiccs about cultural value and dHTerence. Thc rise of the notion ol' visual culture is a fllrther maniI'cstation nI' thesc dehates over the dehnition 01' culture. In particular, it has bccn takcn up by various authors to counter the elitism oftraditional scholarly con­ cerns ,.. ., ith high culture. The idea ol' a visual culture "vas first explorcd system.ltically by thc British art historian Michacl Baxandall, in a widel)' read work, l'ainring and Experience in F!ftecnth Ccnwr'y ltatl,.16 The traditional art-historical appro3ch to interpreting

works ol' art v,'as to establish its rclation to other artworks, in order to asccrtain the artistic inHllcnces on the painter or sculptor. In addition, if the \vork relied on complex symbolic imagery, contemporaneous literar)' sources, ranging from phil­ osophica! and thcological texts through to c1assical works of m)'thology. would be consulten to establish its meaning. Frequently, the role 01' the aristocratic patron 01' th .... artist would .lIso be examined in oroer to analyse the process of its production.

12

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

and the possibilit)' oI' tracing an artwork back to its point oI' origin wouId dcmon­

graphic design, cornic 1

strate its authenticity (and enhance its monetary value).

such popular forms o

Baxandall undertakes much ol' this kind al' scholarly analysis l but in addition he

beliefs and values as ti

suggests that \Ve look bcyond the confines al' art and al' the high culture ol' thc

recent examples, Anne

Renaissance in arder to understand the paintings 01' the fifteenth century. For

design aml material cu

cxample, he argues that thc invention ofperspective by Filippo Brunelleschi in thc

hairstyles, while Kirsti

carly 1400s, with its obsessive attention to mathematical proportion, has to be coo­

which the dcsign of (

sidered in relatian to the dominance al' the practical mathematics oI' cornmercial

washing machines offe]

transactions 01' the time, in which rncrchants wouId need to pcrform complex cal­

the 1950sand 1960s.1'

culations on a daily basis. In a society that invcnted double-entry book-kceping, a

The art historian H

predisposition to attend to mathematical guantities and proportions also informed

ago that the design of ¡

visual experience, including pictorial representations. Baxandall also compares

ieval European cultun

representations of the human figure in painting ""ith manuals on dancing of the

Wülffiin was emphasisi

same time.

such items are taken f(

Baxandall tried to change thc context in which artworks \verc seen. Instead of

tions underlying a cult

the exclusive focus on 'high' artistic and literary culture, he hrought in other

role in the rise of cu

aspects ol' cultural life that egually informed the making ol' artistic images. üf cour~e, one has to be eautious here; in Renaissanee Ital)' paintings were accorded a

Rayrnond Williams ex practices. 19 Wülffiin's

higher value than man)' othcr kinds oI' artefacto Neverthcless, Baxandall indicated

are often sorne of the

how significant other apparentl), minor and peripheral cultural practices \.\-'ere when attempting to understand the art of the time, and numerous others have 1'01­

This applies not only clothing for aH sorts O

lowed his example. Svetlana Alpers, 1'or example, compared seventcenth-century

forms. As Fiona Ander

Dutch paintings - the so-ealled golden age 01' Dutch art -- to other kinds ol' visual

markers of cultural ide.

representations such as maps and scientific illustrations, as well as examining

sexes, between social (

various ideas about vis ion prevalent at the time. 17 Alpers \.\-·as also the first to use

Many have thus turn

the term 'visual culture'. However, for both Baxandall and Alpers, artworks

the eHtist cultural vah:

remained the centre ol' interest, and the broader context of visual culture \\-'as

book art remains an im

explored in order better to illuminate the understanding of individual paintings or

tant than a century agc

artists. In other words, both privileged works 01' art beeause they werc secn to be

order to enable a propl

more important expressions 01' a culture than otber kinds ofimage-making. In addi­

understand a culture ir

tion, while he moves beyond the domain of art, Baxandall was ultimately eon­

is to be discOllllted as

¡

cerned with the bcliefs, ideas and values - in short, the culture -- 01' the \\-'calth)'

the Rocky films starring

prnducers and consumers ol' painting in Renaissance Ital)'. We are therefore still in

eters of American cult

the shadow 01' the cultural elite 01' Italian societ)'. More recen ti)', the idea of visual culture has come to involvc a broader perspec­ tive, in \vhich the object of study is no longer the concerns of a cultural elite, but

the paintings of Julian This does not mean

tJ

Scorsese 's Haaina Bull

rather the much wider set of ideas, beliel's and customs of a society and the wa)'s in

masculine identity thar

which che)' are Hiven visual expression. This has a number o1'important consequences.

and taste it was probab

Most immediatcly this means that visual culture is secn as consisting not only 01'

tural and historical sig

works of art, but al so ol' aH other kinds ol' visual imagery; in relation to the twen­

and aesthetic quality.

tieth century tbese would indude, for example, cincma, television, advertising and

In certain respects

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS Of CULTURE

13

graphic design, eomje books oI' photography. [o attempting to understand a. society, 5uch popular forms visual image-making offer just as important clues to its beJiefs and valucs as the traditional sphere of high art. Thus, to take arre ol' two

or

recent examples, Anne Massey has examincd the impact of Hollywood cinema on design and material culture in Britain, from architecture to ffiakc-up, fashion and hairstyles, while Kirstin Ross's study Fast Cars CJean Badies has analysed thc ways in which the design of cars, women '5 magazines, films, popular fiction and even washing machines ülTer a due as to the formation ofFrench cultural identit)' during the 19505 and 19605."

The art historian Heinrich W,llfflin (1864-1945) argued more than a eentur)' ago that the design of a shoe eouId be as important an index of the values of med­ ieval European culture as the great Gothic eathedrals of Chartrc~ or Strasbourg. W¿)lftlin \'las emphasising the importance ol' cveryday objccts; it is preeisel), because sueh items are takcn for granted that the)' reveal so much about the tacit assump­ tions undcrl)'ing a culture. A concern with the everyday also played an important role in the rise of cultural studies, \\Cith authors sueh as Henri Lcfebvre and Raymond Williams cxplieitly turning to the ordinary, in contrast to elite cultural practiees. 19 Wülfl-lin's mention of a shoe highlights the faet that dress and fashion are orten sorne of the more \\'idespread means of visual expression in a culture. This applies not onl)' to the self-conscious products of haute couture, but also to clothing for aH sorts of purposes, from casual drcss to work wear or military uni­ forms. As Fiona Anderson argues in ch.lptcr 5, dress and fashion scrve as powerful markers of cultural identit)' -and difTerence world-widc, distinguishing between the sexes, between social classes and between gencrations. Manv 01' visual culture out of dissatisfaction \\-' ith , have thus turned lo the analysis , the elitist cultural "alues associated with the study of art. For the authors of this book art remains an important constituent of visual culture - although less impor­ tant than a centur)' ago - but what is requircct is to place it in a broader contcxt in order to cnable a properly eritical analysis. [t is aIso necessar)' to loo k beyond it to understand a culture in aH its facets. It fo11o\\'s, thcrefore, that no cultural practice is to be discountcd as a legitimate object of cnquiry on qualitative grounds alone; thc Rack), fílms starring Syl"estcr Stallone, for example. were as important barom­ eters of American cultural values ol' the 1980s as the no\'els ol' Thomas Pynchon, the paintings of Julian Sehnahcl or the architectural projccts ol' Michael Graves. This does not mean that one should suspend all judgements of qualit)'; Martin Seorscse's RagIng Bull (1980) undoubtedly ofl'ered a more penetrating study of masculine identit} than the Rack), films, but as an indcx of American cultural vatues and taste it was probably less significant. Herc we come to the recognition that cul­ tural and historical significance are to be separatcd out from questions of artistie and aesthetic quality. In certain respccts the antagonistic attitude that the stucly ol' visual culture

14

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

VIS

adopts tO\\'ards art typifies a much ....... ideT debate

QVcr

the definition

or culture, and

visual alone. Neverthcless

the attempt to reasscss what counts as 'Iegitimate' cultural practice has cncoun­

pre-emincnce, and the

tered ficrce resistance. Orre particularl)' prominent example . .v ithin Rritain has

dependent on the produc

or univcrsíty degrecs in media studies.

(1956), bascd on Shakespe

heen the widespread criticism ol' the grüwth

COl

At the roo! of such ohjections is the notion that rhe mass media - newspapers, radio

Austen 's Eruma. Much of ti

and television - together with other forms al' popular culture such as film, do not

the impulse to make it ever

meTít scrious scholarly attention, that they are intrinsically 'inferior' to the great

invention ol' colour film or

...y orks of 3rt and literaturc. The arrogan ce of such vicws hardI)' needs cornmcnt­

format ol' cinemascope.

ing on, hut it is intcrcsting to note thar in the t 920s similar criticisms \Vere made

enhanced the visual speeta

01' thc notion that the study ofEnglish Htcrature was as valíd as the stud y ofthe das­ sical Jiterature 01' Greece and Rome.

viewing the cinema, l'rom ..

ro..

numerous writers have sf certain deep-seated psyc

Visual Culture and the Culture of the Image There is a further dimcnsion to the iJea 01' visual culture, and this is linked closel)'

Television, too, having on viewing expcrience l'rom t the development of 'hom

to the idea that the visual image has become central to contemporary cul tural prac­

quality 01' the OVO- Furthe

tiee in the West. For most of its historvo Western soderv.' has been an oral socíetv' o'

tainment provided h y corn

the dominant forms uf cultural expression \'o'cre oral, the principal form of cultu­ ral transmission the passing on of stories, legends, histories b): \vord ol' mouth.

contemporal'Y lil'e in geneT ol' the closcd-circuit TV ca

lbere are, ol' coursc, numerous \vritten monuments l'rom the oral period of

sorne form ol' video surveil

European culture, but thesl' were oftcn the summation ol' a long oral traJition or,

the video camera either pr<

as in the great courtly epics and romances of the Middlc Ages, transcriptions of

indiviJuallives, the most s

poems originally composed to be recited to .ln audiencc. At a time of Imv literac)',

programmes such as You've

and when the process ol' producing manuscripts was enormously costl)' and slo\\',

accidents and pratl'alls, test screen Uves.

cultural values Jnd traditions were circulated and handed dmvn primarily by oral of texts such that the written \vord gradually became the central form of cultural

In general, therefore, ' culture, facilitaten and prob

communieation. This gave rise to cultural forms such as the novel, directed

suggested that a l'urther rea

towards the reader as opposed to the listener, or the mas.,,-circuiation newspaper in

speetacle. Walter BenjamÍl

thc late 1800s, which could only have come into being \vith a general rise in liter­ ae)'.20 Ol' egual signifieance was the invention of the woodeut, and later of increas­

early ninetecnth-century' F

means. The invention nf printing in the fi.fteenth century increased the circulation

ingly complex techniques for the ma.'is production of printed images. induding

magical spectacle - what B( 21 Th­IS 1-d ea was t sumpt lOn.

engraving, lithography and photography. Such technologies cnsured that the distri­

highlightcd the extent to w]

bution of images beeame increasingly widcspread, l'rom the political and religious

which not only underlies tl

pamphlets of the t 500s to advertising in the 1800s. This intcnsified in the twenti­

ates aU social relations. Thi

eth century with the invention 01' cinema, tclevision amI the computer, and in par­

argucd that in aH aspects (

ticular the WYSIWYG interface familiar from Applc and \Vindo",-/s-based personal

replace real experienee of

computers. One might add to this list the uhiquitous computer gamc, from the

Raymond Williams, for ins

Nintcndo Gamchoy to the Son)' Play Station.

the past two eentudes. In th

Such media havc not completely supplanted traditional 'literary' cultural

based but developed an inc

forms; eyen computer games have a narrative structurc that is not reducible to the

cable in tcrms of the a'

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS OF CULTURE

15

visual alone. Nevertheless, the novel, for cxample, no longer enjoys its former pre-eminencc, and the continued popularity al' man)' literar)' 'classics' is often

dcpcnncnt on the production of filmie adaptations, from The Forbíddcn Planet

(1956), based on Shake'pcarc', Thc 7émpest, to elueIess (1995), adapted from Janc Austen 's Emma. Much af the history oi' postwar visual culture has bcen nriven by the impulse to make ir ever more vísually spectacular. Here ane might think of the invcntion of colour tilm or of the use, in the 19505 and 19605, uf the wide-screen formar of cinemascopc. More rcccnd)', too, the rise al' digital tcchnology has enhanccd the visual spectac1e inyolved in vie\ving the cinema. The conditions al' viewing the cinema, from within a darkcncd room, also emphasise this aspect, and numerous wríters ha....c spcculatccl on the way that this process engages ,vith certain deep-seated psychological processes on the part of the viewer. 21 Television, too, ha....ing once been seen as involving a rather differcnt kincl of vie\ving experience from the cinema, ís now movíng in the same direction, with the de\'elopmcnt of 'home cinema', wide-screen television and the cincmatic quality of the DVD. Furthermore, one need not rcfcr onl)' to the torms ol' enter­ tainment provided by commcrcial procluccrs. As Nicholas Mirzoeff has argued, contcmporar)' life in general occurs on screen; in \\/estern socjl'lics th(, ubiquity

01' the closed-circuit TV camera mcans that most of Jire i5 now carried out undcr sorne Form of viclco surveillance. 22 Similarly, the proHferation nI' photography and the video camera either produces or gratifics an urge to record e....ery detail of our individuallivcs, thc most significant the most banal. The popularit), nI' tclcvision programmes such as You 've Been Framed, in which vicwcrs submit footage of family accidents and pratfalls, testitics to an insatiablt:' appetite to watch each other's on­ scrcen lives. In general, thcn:forc, Wc:-;tern society has become a predominantl), visual culture, facilitated and probably even initiated by certain tcchnologics. Others have suggested that a funhcr rL'3son ma)" he the clependence 01' consumerism on visual spectaclc. Walter Benjamin (1892- t 940) analysed the first shopping arcadcs in earl), nineteenth-eentur), Paris, the primaq' function of which ,\'as to create a magical spcctaclc - what Bcnjamin termed a 'clream landscape'

to promote con­

sumption. 21 This idea was taken up by others such as Guy Deborn (1931-94), who híghlightcd the cxtl'nt to which Western society has become in thraH to the image, which not onl)' underlies the basis of contcmporar)' consumerism, Dut also medi­ ates aH social rclations. This thesis 'vas popularised by lean Baudrillard, ,vho has arguecl that in aH aspects of Western society imanc.\ of the worlcl have come to replace real experience oI' it. 24 Historical stuclies have confirmed such claims; Raymond WiIliams, for instance, explored shifts in the nalure of advertising over the past two centuríes. In the earl), 1800s aclvertisements were predominantly text­ hasecl hut cleveloped an increasing relianee on images. ~'j Par tI)' tbis shift is expli­ cable in lerms of the availabilit)', of technologies that permitted the easy

16

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

reproduction al' images. But it i5 thc significance of such a shift that is al' primary

¡nteTest, ror in its current form consumerism wouId be lll1thinkable without the plethora al' advertising imagery selling ever)' imaginable product and service. This

i5 evident, too, in thc ubiquity ofthc logo, from the Nike swoosh to the golden arches of MacDonald's, which adds a distinctive visual marker to the product bcing sold, indeed ha:-; come to be more important than the commodity ir denotes.

Conclusion

11 See, for example, Gri: AH 's H1Stories (London 12 See, for example, And Huyssen, .'!fiu the Gr. 1986), pp. 44---64. 13 See Mikhail Bakhtin, 7 14 For a dear outline of tJ HJStC'q ~r Ideas (Londo' 1S James CliIford, 'On Et

EthnflgUlphy, Literatme e ~ 6 .Micha el Baxandall,

This transformed landscape al' contcmporary Western saciet)' i5 central to the approach of this book. Given such changes ir i5 no looger tenable to holel on unquestioningly to traditional notions of culture, art or creativity. Nevertheless, whilc such old~r cultural forms and boundaries are increasingly open to qucstion, we proceed on the assumption that thcy still play an active and vital role in the popular imagination and hence in popular culture. Although an artist such as Andy Warhol was already eroding the boundaries betwccn art and popular culture in the earl)' 1960s, .art' is still a scparatc cultural practice, and there are numerous cul­ tural instltutions, Jrom museums, public and commcrcial gallcrícs to art col1eges, academics amI media rcprcsentations, which treat it as such.

Further Reading

POI

17 Svetlana Alpers, The Aj 18 Anne Massey, Hollywo

Rodies: Decolonisation al

t 9 Rayrnond WilIiams, '( (London, 2002), pp. ~ 1991 ). 20 On the impact of litera Lireracy (London, 1982 21 A useful overview of ! 2000). See especially ': Spcctator' (pp. 229-3~ 22 Nicholas Mirzoeff, An J 23 Scc \Valter Benjamin, study by Thomas Ric Specracle 1851-1914 (1

24 Guy Oebord, The Societ Yock, 1983). 2S Rayrnond WiI\iams, 'A. and Culturc (London, ti

Eagleton, T. The IJea ?ICulture (Oxford, 2000).

Mir7ocff, N. An IntroauctlOn to Visual Cufrure (London, 1999).

Strinati, O. An Inrroaucuon ro Theones?I Popular Culture (Landon, 1995).

\Villiams, R. Culture ona Sociery 1780-1950 (Lomion, 1958).

Notes 1 Raymond Williams, 'Culture', in R. Williams, Keyltoras (London, 198~), pp. 87 9,. 2 See Lucien Febvre, 'Civilisation: Evolution of a Word and a Group of Idcas,' in L. felH re, ..1 '\'CI\" K¡nJ?I HíslOr)',Jrom the ~Vnt¡ngs ifFebvre, ed. E Burle (Lomion, 1973), pp. 219--57. 3 CileJ in AJam Kuper, Culrure: [he Anthropo1oBlsts' AccounI (Camhridge, MA, 1999), p. 26. 4 Matthew i\molel, cited in John Storey, ej., Cultural Theor)' ana Popular Culture (London, 1994), p. 8. S Frank L .'avis, The Greot Trodition: GeoIfle EllOl, Henr)'James,Joseph Comad (Londnn, 1948). 6 Dwight MacDonald, 'A Thcory nf Mass Culture', in R. Ro~enberg and D. W. \Vhite, eds, Mass ClJ/rure: ¡he Popular AHS in Amenca (New York, 1957), pp. 59- n. 7 Sec, for example, Theodor Adorno, [he Culture fndu.'iuj" (London, 1991); Herbert Marcuse, One-DimenslOna/ ilIon (l ondan, 1964). 8 Clement Greenberg, 'Avant-Ganlc and Kitsch' [1939]. in F. Frascina, ('J., Ptlllock anJ j~¡rCI: the Critical Debate (LonJon, 1985), p. 24. 9 See Pierre Bourdieu, DlStmctJOn: a S(lchJI enoque oJ che Judgemenr C}f TaSf!! (LonJon, 1984). 10 Harold Bloom, The Wesw!n Canon: {he Boo1<., ana Sch(lfl[ oJrhe ABes (London, 1995)

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE MEANINGS OF CULTURE

17

11 Sec, for cxample, Grisclda Pollock, Diffirencma the (unon. Feminist Dente and the rVririna rf Art 's H15toms (London, 1999). 12 Sef', for cxamplc, Andreas Huyssen, 'Mass Culture as \Vornan. Modernism's Other', in A. Hu)'ssen, A.¡ter {he Grear DiYIde: Modernism. Mass Culrute and Postmodermsm (Basingstoke, 1986), pp. 44 64. 13 See Mikhail Bakhtin, The DiaJo8JCal lmoajnalion (ALJstin, TX, 1981). 14 Far a clcar outline ofthe work ofHerder, see Isaiah Berlin, Vico and Herder: Two Srudles In the Hisrory ~flJe<1s (Lancion, 1976). 15 James CIifford, 'On Ethnographie Authority' , in The Predicamenl c1 Culrure. Twencierh Century Erhnosraph)', Literarme and Aa (Cambridge, MA, 1988), pp. 21- 54. 16 Michael Baxandall. Paintlna ond Expetience in Fifteenth CenrulJ' Ital;' (Oxrord, 1972). 17 Svetlana Alpers, The Aa 4 Describin8: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth CenrulJ' (Chieago, 1983). 18 Anne Massey, Holl;'lwod be.yonJ the Saeen (Oxrord, 2000); Kirstin Ross, Fase Can, Clean Rodies: DecolomsatlOn anJ the Reorderine ifFrench Culture (Cambridge, MA, 1996). 19 Raymond Williams, 'Culture is Orninary', in B. Highmore, ed., The EvelJ'day Lifé Reader (London, 2002), pp. 91-100; Henri Lefebvre, The Critique qfEvelJ'day Lije (Cambridge, 1991). 20 On the impact ofliteracy and printing in European sodeties, see Walter J. Ong, Orality and J.¡rera(j" (London, 1982). 21 A useful over ....iew of such aecounts can be found in Roben Stam, Film TheolJ' (Oxford, 2000). See espeeially 'From Linguistics to Psychoanalysis' (pp. 158-68); 'The Birth ofthe Spectator' (pp. 229-34); and 'Cogniti.. .'e and Analytic Theory' (pp. 235--47). 22 Nicholas Mil"zoeff, An lntroduetion to Visual Cultllre (London, 1999), p. 1. 23 See \\'alter Benjamin, The Arcades ProJea (Han'ard, MA, 1999). See, too, the more recent study by Thomas Richarns, The CommodHJ Culture if Vicwrian Ene/and. Adt'enisine anJ Speaacle 1851-1914 (London. ]990). 24 Cuy Debord, The SocJety ?f the Speetacle (Detroit, 1986); Jean Baudrillard, SimulaUons (New Ymk,I983). 2S Rayrnond Williams, 'Advertising. the Magie S)'stem', in R. Williams, Problems In Materialism and Culture (London, t 980), pp. 180-96.

2. Definitions of Art and the Art World Neil Mulholland

Introduction

If someone C'alls it 3rt. it's art. (Donald JucId)1

Donald Judd's statement

SCCffi:i

:iclf-cvidcnt. If someone wants to cal! something

'art', who can stop thcm? While such

.lO

assumption appears common sense, it

leads into challenging disputes. Toda)', molo)' people wouId consirler Martin Elliott's postcr 7Cnnü Girl of t 970 (Figure 2.1) to be in poar taste. Thcy may

Of

mol)'

not regard this attrihute posltivci)'. hut the)' \-,,'ouId generall), be unlikely to think it was .ln cxample of a .serious \\'ork al' art. Wc mal' decide to make preciseI)' the solme evaluation of Jefr Koons' sculplure Michael Jackson and BubbJes (1988) (Figure 2.2). A senior art world representative, su eh as the Director al' New York\i Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), would, howt"vef. be ver)' likely to accept Koons' sculpturc as a significant work 01' art, while rcjcctíng EJliot 's postcr. We rna)' object to the art world represcntative's "'icws, hut what \\'ould lhis objection achievc? If it is reaIl} a case that ir someone says it's art, it's art, why is the art world representative takcn more scriously on such matters than most? \Vho (Jr what has the power to proclaim sorne things works of art and not

- .. '6 ~,

others l

These are difficult questions to ans"'er in the abstract, sincc what can be said to

(

f

he art has changecl throughout history along with its conditions ol' display and con­ sumption. Today's professionaI art representativc is very different frorn sorneon('

Figure 2,1 - Martin Elliott,

DEFINITIONS OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

Figure 2.1 ­ Martin Elliott, TenJl!s G/ti (1970). © Martin Elliott.

19

20

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 2.2 - JeffKoons, il1ichaelJackson and Bubbles (1988). San Francisco Museum ofModern Art. © Je1f Koons.

who would have been in a position to commission an artist 500 years ago. The audi­ ences for Elliot or Koons also differ dramatically trom earlier audiences. When audiences and institutions mutate, art changes as different cultural possibilities emerge. What i8 important to note is that these possibilities are fimté at any given historical moment. This is one rcason that onl)' a limited number of people have been able to proclaim something to be art and have their opinion taken seriously. Moreover, this authority has only been vested in artists themselves [or a relatively short period of mstory.

The Rise of the Idea of Art In the earlvj modern era , laroe mural commissions provided bv the Church and rich (::) rnerchant patrons gave artists greater responsibility for the production of intellec­ tually and technically ambitious works. In Rome, Michelangelo Buonarroti pro­ duced murals for the Sistine Chopel Vault (1508-12), paintings that were symptomatic o[ the artist's new sense of authority. Michelangelo 's control over the intellectual content and practical execution ofthe murals signined that he was not simply a proficient technician, but an individual who could respond to Christian doctrine on bis own terms. By conceiving and painting his work alone, j

Michelangelo distanced ~ workers such as rnasons, tailors, watchmakers and pendent realm, unconstr< In pan, ihis sense of ir directors and collectors, Michelangelo a sense of church patronage began t unsurprising that durillg t counted amongst the libe) craft skills, skills which ~. the labouring c1asses. Thi people today use the term a relic of a much older un Michelangdo, however, t,l higher order ofhuman prc independent) and religiOl Protestant attack on ima~ merchants, iconoclasm cr from thc need for ari to ~ freedom. Fonns oE display in the did not come into existen, '""hite cube' exhibition v consumption. 5 Stimulated into natural history in the eties, religious orders ar encouraged by the devel0f of 'new' worlds, they collf their 'cabinets of curiosi Wundcrkammer).7 The majoj turies consisted of compe Works of art were not va sums. These cabinets forrr earth, sea and air to be COl jmagine humanity and uat\ or odd objects representin vegetable world and the m art!ficialw, or human achi, world, collectors soughtto tacle and fantas)' in microc

DEFINITION5 OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

21

Michelangelo ~istanc('n his practice from that of feliow craftsrnell ami collective \,",orkers such as masons, house huildcrs, locksmiths, tinkcrs, wea"t:"rs, spinners, tailors, watchmakers and jcwt:"llt:"fS. Michdangclo was ."leen to perform in an incte­ pendent rcalm, unconstrained b)' rules. In part, this sense of indcpendent 'genius' was an illusion. Like today's gallcry direL'tors and collcctor5, rieh patrons \\,'ere in a po.''iition to gi"c artists such as Michclangelo a sense of frccctom. At the same time, Financial autonorny [rom church patronagc hegan to alto,,' artists to explore secular themcs. Given this, it is unsurprising that during the carly modern era, painting ann sculpture began to he counted amongst the liheral arts sueh as poetr)'. 2 Art became separated from other eraft skills, skil1s whieh were now perceived to be the province of merchants ami the labouring c1asses. This division of lahour marks the origins of the wa)' man)' people toda), use the term 'art' , yet to man)', art is still shorthanct for 'well crafted', a relie of a mU<..:h oldcr uncterstanding al' the term.:l To a Renaissance artist such as Michclangclo, however, this was insufficient. Art was aboye eraft; it was part of a higher order ofhuman proctuction. This clivision hetween secular art (scholarly and inclepL'ndcnt) anct religious art (a tool of Christian propaganda) was aictcct hy the Protestant attack on images in the IS00s. Bolstercd b), the wealth of Protestant merchants, iconoclasm ereatcd the locale for the urbane art-lover to break away from the need for art to serve an overt ideological funetion. in seareh 01' artistie frcedom. Forms of display in the early modern period hindcrect this quest. Art gallcrics did not come into existence until the mid-eighteenth century;4- today's uhiquitous 'white eube' exhibition venues are a product 01' twenticth-century eonspicuous consumption. 5 Stimulated by the rebirth uf humanist seholarship ami its insights into natural history in the earl)' sixteenth eentur)'. princcly eourts, scientihc soci­ eties, religious ordcrs anct laypersons startect to colleet curiosities. 6 Further encclUragect b;' the developments in transport that led to the European exploratiofl of 'new' worlds, they collectect objects from arounct the \,"orld and placed thcm in their 'eabincts of curiosity' (also 01't en referred to by their German name, Wunderkammer).7 The majority of the eabinets in the sixtecnth and sevenleenth cen­

turies consisted of composite objects and seldom contained onl)' wurks af arto Works of art were not valuect as highl)' as sorne curios anct often fetehed lower sums. These cabinets formed s),nopses of the "·orld, allO\~ring the proctuce of the carth, sea and air to be eomparect with the produce of mankind. using wonder to imagine humanit)' anct nature. The cabincts of curiosities were co\lections of rare ar ocld objccts representing the threc elements of naturalia: the animal ,,¡orld, the vegetable world and the mineral world. In addition, collectors would accumulate art~ficiaj¡a,

or human achievements. Amassing the most curious artefacts in the

wodd, colleetors sought to illuminate the secrets of nature by reproducing its spec­ tacle and fantas)' in microcosm. The cahinets were non-scientific in the sense that

• 22

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

they prirnarily encapsulated the sen,e 01' wonderrncnt that lay at the heart 01'

enment reason, Roman

Christian creationist doctrine. As such, the objective o1'the early modero cahincts

too complex to be map]

was not to produce a logical, enc)'clopacdic map of cvcryday naturalw and art!fi­

of rigorous scientific m

cialia, but to support and promote religious knowledge. Thc early Wunderkammer

the irrational and the

weTe primarily produced for spiritual ami ritualistic purposes.

SI

understood or represer

Curiosit)' cahinets began to disappear in the follO\\ling centurics whcn thcir coo­

ral, political, social and

tents became subsumed as explicahle objects of scientific enquiry rather than relig­ ious rches or puzzling \....onders. The objects considercd most intcresting were

example, in Critique ef works of modern aes'

relocated to museums nf art and natural history. The transformation of the princely

central to aesthetic eXI

gallerjes of Eurape into museums was one that scrved the ideological needs of the

impossibility of reducin

middíe c1asscs and nation states, providing secular civic rituals. Museums bceamc

At the same time, for K.

one means by whieh emergent imperial states sueh as Britain, Franee and Germany

not delibcrately so, it w

could represent, justify and take pride in their global authority Public mw;eums not

of modern kno"t'ledge.

unir displa1'ed the nation's power and wealth, in thc form nf objccts taken from col­

play involved in ,lrt rel

onies, but providcd a platform upon whieh to establish an historical canon of

classes. 12 It has also bee

'national' culture. s Viewing 'indigenous' artefacts imparted a strong sense 01' civic

states that non-Europeil

and national continuity, ritualising the acquisition of national idcntit)' while surrep­ titiousl)' nurturing the coloniallogic of intcrnational cultural superiority. Museums applied cnlightenment logie to these collections, c1assifying them scícntífically and placing them into appropriate dcpartments.. Such museums were public rather than

The conditions of the pI

prívate; they were often statc-owned and had an educational role and responsibil­

development ol' mercar

ity. " Thev , were crcrlitcd with the ahilitv, to escort an unsophisticated public into a

money creatcd new tas1

ncw eomportment and higher echelon of moral amI civiliscd behaviour. Public and

l'rom the world. Artists

moral policics nursed the modern museum out of the curiosity cabinet, to take part

ol' art dealers and the al

in new schemes ofbiological categorísation and museological speetacle illuminated

merchants, the Chureh,

h y exubcrant collisíons 01' visual teehniques and concepts.

for the market. Toward

By the late 1700s, thcrcforc, artists ,vere given further reason to define their

their rejection of the e:

activities systematically in terms ol' what they were noto Likc natural scicnce, art

suceessful in establishin

beeame increasingly exclusive, a professional activit1' engaged in as a form ol' spe­

Pre-Raphaelite Brother

cialist knowledge. The formation 01' artists' academics, follo"t'ing the model 01' the

Rifusés and the Vienna

Académic Royale founded in Paris in 1648, al so cemented this process. Modern

amplifying the sense th,

industrialised societ)' of this period was dcdicated to the pursuit of knowledge to

ating the rclated illusiOl

a("hicve order. Modernity relied increasingly on establishing binar)' oppositions

Artists and philosopf

between 'order' and 'disorder', constructing 'disorder' as a foil. As the Polish soci­

tions from moral and p

ologist Zygmunt Bauman has pointed out, a central rt:'curríng feature 01' modern

thetic COnct:'rns - havir

societ)' has been its attempt to margínalise the ambiguous, the ambivalent. 9 Art

began to materialist:' eXF

occupied a complex position in this situation. ln choosing the terms by which they

reached a sophistic,lted

wishcd thcir work to be reeeived, artists rejected numerous um...arranted associa­

works as having no relat

tions. In the Renaissance, this meant differentiating 'high' art from the merely artis­

Oscar Wilde stated: 'A

anal. By thc late eighteenth century, ir meant separating art from 'science'. Rather

purel)' on her 0'.\~1 Iine5

than support the tot,llising c1aims of science and the industrial 'progress' of enlight­

symbols, her retleetion.'

DEFINITIONS OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

23

enment reasnn, Romantic conceptinns of art .md the artist held that the world \-vas too complex to be mapped out in its cntircty. 11) Faced by the dernystifying challenge of rigorous scientit-ic methüd, art increasingly becarnc a haven for the imaginatian, the ¡rrationa} and the sublime, it becamc a rneans of dealing with things not casily undcrstood or representcd in rational terros, providing distraction from the cultu­ ral, patitical, social and economic changcs '\vrought by the industrial rc\'olution. For l'xample, in CntIque

if lhe

Powcr c:IJuJgcment (1790), onc

01' the most important

works of modern acsthetics, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) made imaginatioll central to aesthetic experlcncc and the production of art, insisting, too, on the impossibility of reducing judgements ofbeauty or the sublime to logieal eoncepts.

11

At the same time, for Kant, aesthetic appreciation of art denoted taste, and although not deliberate])' so, it was soeiall)' exclusive, a rcjection 01' the demoeratising daims of modern kno\'.dedge. lt has been argued that his emphasis on the free imaginative play involved in art reprc5ented the ideals of thc late eighteenth-century middlc classes. 12 It has al so been pointed out that it was raeiall)' motivated; Kant explicitly states that non-Europeans are incapable of appreciating art aesthctically.l'

Aesthetics and Art Theory The conditions of the production and reception o[ art \'Vere l'urther mutated by the deve]opmcnt of mereantile eapitalism spawned by the industrial revolution. New money created ne\\- tastes, bringing an even greater sense 01' the artist's autonom)' from the world ...o\rtist5 were able to split [rom their patrons with the introduetion o[ art dealcrs ano the art market. Patronage no longer had to be sought froro rieh merehants, the Chureh or the state; artists eould begin to make works speculatively [or the market. Towards the end o[thc nineteenth eentury, artists becamc vocal in their rejeetion o[ the cstahlished acaoemies ol' arto Artists were al so increasingly sUl'cess1'ul in establishing their own s),stems of support and education such as the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, thc New English Art Club, thc ,o-called Salan des R~fusés

and the Vienna Secession. In aH, thesc devclopments had the e[[eet o[

ampli[ying the sense that art was a separate realm from the Test of culture, gener­ ating the related illusions of aesthetie autonomy and artistie self-sufficieney. Artists and philosophers also made inereasing efforts to separate al'sthetic <jues­ tions trom moral and politieal debates. By the mid-nineteenth eentury, these aes­ thetic eonecrns -- having be en developnl to an immensely sophisticatcd level ­ hegan to materialise explicitly in the fine arts. Trus quest [or artistie self-sufficiene), reaehed a sophisticatcd state of self-a\vareness '\... hen artists began to think o[ their works as having no relationship with the outside wOTld. As one o[ the characters 01' Osear Wilde stated: 'Art never expresses anything but itself . . . She develops purely on her own lines. She is not symbolie 01' any age. It is the ages that are her symbols, her reflections, her echoes.' 14 James Abbott McNeil \Vrustler is a good

24

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

example 01' an arti~t seeking to make their work self-sufficlcnt, demanding that it be observed by a gazc unobstructed by bourgeois values 01' practical efhciency

(whar cloes it Jo?) aod morality (what cloes it teJJ us?). Whistlcr famausly defended his painting in court, arguing thar its maio conecro

\\'a5

not with the reliable dcpic­

tion al' the visible warld, but with forms (colours, tines and masses) and relations

üf forms. He later statcd that art should 'stand alone arrd appeaJ to the arti5tic sensc nf eye or ear. without confounding it .....,¡th cmatíans entirdy foreign to 11, as devo­ tion, love, patriotism arrd the Iib.~. AH these havc no kiod of conecrn with it, arrd . w hy l·mSlS! . 00 ca ti·mg my wor k s "arrangements" an d "h armomes . " .'i 5 t h at 15 Conspieuously, Whistler's conception of art is ha~ed on a further set of exciusions: he excludes the sentimental, moralising literary eontent popular in his day, perhaps for fcar that sueh associations are insufliciently pirraría!. In place of literary de­ ments, \Vhistler alludes to music, an art form he belicvcd had no representational value, one apprcciated lar its formal or aesthetic values a1one. Whistler \vas in favour of art being used to denote visual cultural production, and as sueh he expli­ citIy rejeeted the intelleetual, polítical and moral functions previously thought to be central to art. This notion of formal visual experimentation can be found in many artworks in the ensuing eentury. For cxample, Monis Louis' 1960 acrl'lie painting Bera Lambda (Figure 2.3) was, in his own words, about 'colour and surfacc. That's a1l.' 16 Such a definition is related to the theory 01' aesthetic formalism, an idea assodated \\-'ith

Figure 2.3 - Morris LouJ Scala, Florence.

figures such as Kant and critics sueh as Clivc Bell. Clement Greenberg and Miehael Fried. Despite thcir insistence on pure form, their theories of art also tended to

nature, the aesthetic e

promotc the idea that something b('comes art becausc it performs particularIunc­

aesthetie coneerns. R

[jom. Indeed, numerous peoplc hold 'functionalist' theories of art without realising

feeling elated, can be

it. For example, to claim that art should makc one happy or should produce a feeling

or rust, which possess

of elation is to require that it fulfil these functions in order to daim 3rt status or

experiencing an artefa

'arthood'. To come hack 10 the specific case 01' formalism, the c1aim that art is

Nor is it possible to e

defined and unoerstood by 5ight alone seems rdatively easy to understand. In this

essential quality of a v

sense, it might have a demoeratising cffeet sinee it secmingly requires no knowJeogc

dasses of objeets'.

01' art history or theory, providing al1 with a system of comprehending art from aH

essarily mean that we \

periods of history. As sueh, formalism also sccms to eonfirm our most hasic

objeets aesthetiealIy nc

responses to art. As a universal theory of art, however, it is wrought with problems.

Artists and (,Tities 51

18

1

For Kant, an artwork was produced 'through a capadt)' for choice that grounds

an intellectual elite, n

its aetion5 in reason', 17 which is to sal' that artwork~ are man-made, dcliberately

art in the faee of 'POpl

Jcsígned objects. This suggests a dissimilarity hctween our experience of art and our

amongst cultural elite

expnienee of naturl', namely, that thc experience of nature involvcs the experiencl'

the middle classes and

01' 'free bcauty', ,",vhereas art is producefl by conscious human subjects. Hence, while

(or kitsch as Greenberg

01' nature is based on a non-conceptual aesthetie response, the expc­

In tms sense, claims 1'0

the experienee

rienee of art cannot help bllt involve consifleration of what kind of a thing the paint­

autonomy or elitism p

ing, seulpture or drawing is meant to be. Kant thus concluded that in contrast to

group in society able t

DEFINITION5 OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

25

.........

-~-_.-_

Figure 2.3 - Morris Louis, Bcra Lambda (1960) Ncw York, Museum of Modern Art. ~) Photo Scala, Florence.

naturc, the aesthetic expericnce of art i5 oot entircly 'free', since it 1S ticd to noo­ aesthetic conn~rns. By the same token, it is cIear that aesthctic effects, such as

feeling c1ated, can be promptcd by natural phenorncna, such as noises, landscapes or fust, which possess formal propertics but are not artworks. As such, the aet of expcricncing ao artefact acsthetically would oot justify classifying it as an artwork. Nor i5 it possible to claim convindngl)', as Bell does, that 'significant form i5 the essential quality 01' a work oE art, the quality which distinguishes it from aH other classes 01' objects'. ItI To l'ail to experience .ln artwork aesthetically wouId not nec­ essarily mean that we were not witnessing an artwork, sincc thc v\-'aY ..\'e experience objccts aesthetically need have nothing to do with how ,"ve classify them. Artists and critics such as Whistlcr, Bell or Greenberg 53\\' themselves as part nl' an intellectual elite, regarding it as their duty to defend and promote challenging art in the facc ol' 'popular' opposition. This attitude carne l'rom the growing sense amongst cultural elites in the nineteenth and twenticth centuries th.lt the rise ol' the middle classes and the spread of democracy vulgarised and commcrcialised art (or kitsch as Greenberg described thc popular productions ol' the culture industry). [n this sense, claims l'or the autonomy ol' art were tied to covert claims ol' cultural autonomy or elitism perpetuated by a particular dorninant or strategically located group in society able to project their views as impartial. Exclusion, the regulation

26

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

of art against weak imitations, was a dominant fcaturc of such a thcory of arto

mento The faet that Man2

Although such decisions are clearly historically relative and specific, formalist the­ ories tend to present such cxclusions as inevitable. For example, according to

senting it as art suggests the mundane and everyd(

Fried, 'the history of painting from Manet through Synthetic Cubism and Matissc may be characterised in tcrms of gradual withdrawal of painting fram the task of

is it required that the me siblc to call something 'al

representing reality - or 01' reality from the power al' painting to represcnt it - in favour of an increasing preoccupation with problems intrinsic to painting itself' .19 By providing a highly selective causal and continuous history of painting's separatc­

If this is so, then perhaps

How things acquire n, dren 's l'able Throllgh the

ness from the world, Fried inadvertently reveals that such values are historically spe­

Carroll famously formuh

cifle products and practiccs rather than socially transcendent. To see such painting

as something concerned mainly with its own problems, as Fried does, we would need to have recourse to a body of knowledge that lies outsidc what we see bcfore our eyes. As such, the democratic claims made by sorne formalists are jeopardised, for ,",ve never do simply 'sec what ,\.'C get'. As a theorv , ol' art ' formalism turns out to be too narrow. Bell even went so far as to claim that most artefacts that we most commonly think of as art were not: '1 cannot believe that more than onc in a hundrcd nf thc works produccd bctwccn 1450 and 1850 can be properly described as a work of art.'20 Bell's foeus on the appearanee ol' art over its role exc1udes works ol' art and ways of lnterpreting it that are primarily focused on issues of history, ideas, meaning and representation, seeing the past as an inevitable preview ofhis prescnt-day interests. In this, formal­

ism is essentJalist, an attempt to isolate 'art' artificially l'rom the way it is revealed to us in experience in order to locatc its m)'Stcry ingredients. Works of art are not necessarilv autonomous objects; they are record s ol' culture, or the world as seen

­

,

by particular peoplc at specific times. Formalism systematically obscures and denies its social and historical determinants, perceiving art and artists as extraor­ dinarv and timeless. Clearlv, art is acleasr the product of the historical events 1have

-

,

described. The simple l'act that formalism cannot account l'or the way that art has always been experieneed bears testimony to the faet that it is not a universal defi­ nition of arto While formalism is thus Hawed, it does at least provide a direction for artists to pursuc by pcrsuasivcly forcgrounding ccrtain dcvclopmcnts in art as paradigmatic and seminal, at the expense ol' others, which are deemed unimportant. Where does this Icavc us in rclation to Judd's definition ol' art? His exasperated comment was an attempt to validate and enfranchise the art of the 1960s, a period of rapid cul­ tural and political experimentation in ,",vhieh a narrO\v and inhospitable modernism '\'as supplanted by wbat Rosalind Krauss latcr callcd an 'cxpandcd ficld' for art. 21 The so-called de-definitional impulse that swept through art practice in the 1960s Icd to a transformed conception of art based on altcrnativc philosophical premises. Judd realised that l'ormalist theories were inadequate to explain the status of works such as Picro Manzoni's Artist's Shit (1961), a tin can containing thc artist's cxcrc­

'When I use a

WOI

means just what 1 el

Humpty Oumpty is a rela tive standards of authorit \\'ords. It may be that we

communication to take p constraint upon the use oJ il' it is to he uscful. Manzc

by his social investment i

cxeremcnt for future gen

knowledge 01' tbe hjstory

of found ohjects), l'actors as an artist. Anyone can ( would secm to dcmand ti

which this authority is ac~ dictum, something that su art that was multiplc and

One important theory th theory of art, or procedur

dated wüh the philosoph:

ol' Picrre Bourdieu. 23 Wh thcir views, although we 1

only in an historieal and cr Art is not, in this view, pr

or procedures. 'To see so the eye cannot decry - an of art; an artworld.' 24 FOI

DEFINITIONS OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

27

ment. The fact that Manzoni gave his signature to such an ohjeet as a means of pre­ senting it as art suggcsts that he, and not just anyone, had the power to transform the mundane and everyday into a work of art. If we are to sal' that something is art, is it required that the meaning of the term 'art' have sorne limits? Must it be pos­ sibil' to cal! something 'art' and be wrong ifthe word is to have an)' meaning at all? II' this is so, then perhaps Judd ,vas Y,irong in an important sense. How things acquire names has puzzled philosophers for centuries. In his chil­ dren's fable Throuah the Lookina Glass and What Alice Found TheTe (1872), Lewis CarroIl famously formulated this logieal problem: 'When 1 use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornfu] tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean neither more nor lcss.' 21 Humpty Dumpty is a relativist, one who daims that there are no external or ohjec­ tive standards of authorit)' by which an individual might veril'y or refute the use 01' words. It may be that we cannot find an absolute form of authority, but, if ' . . 'e wish communication to take place, we can at Icast dcmand that thl're he sorne form of constraint upon the use 01' words. In this sense, the term 'art' must have constraints if it is to be useful. Manzoni's US(: of thc tcrm 'art' sc(:ms to han:- been constrained by hi.<; social investment in art in:'ititutions (signified by his desire to preserve his excrement for future generations to ('njo)), its authorial signs (signatures) and his knowlcdge 01' the history of art (that Cubism and Dada \\'ere precedents for the use of found objects), factors which helped him manuf.:lctLIrc his 'professional' repute as an artist. Anyonc can daim arthood for what they do, but to do so convincina{v wouId seem to demand the tailored acqui~ition of an air of authority. Thc ways in which this authorit)' is acguired are far more complex and negotiable than in Judd's dictum, something that su~g('sted that a new theory of.:lrt was ncccssary to explain art that was multiplc and open-cndcd.

Art as an Institution One important theory that emerged in the 1960s was known a.s thc institutional thcory 01' art, or proceduralism. Proceduralism is a theory 01' art most dosely asso­ ciated with the phiIosoph), of Arthur Danto and George Dickie and thl' sociology

01' Pierrc Bourdieu. 23 While these writers are contemporaries, they also differ in their views, although we couId 5a)' that they share the idea that art can be defined onl)' in an historical and critical contcxt that makcs it rclevant to social institutions. Art is not, in this view, produced for ~ffictj it is created by following a set of rules or procedures. 'To see something as art,' wrotc Danto, 'reguires something that the eye cannot decry - an atmosphere 01' artistic theory, knowledge of the history of art; .:In artworld.'24 For Danto, art worlds havc always bl'en construeted from

28

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

the interrelated efforts al' artists, the history al' art, changing conditions of display,

10 helow on authorship. "

critical writings and the responses ol' audiences. For Danta, the production ol' art

socio-historical character

is highly dependent on such funden expericnce, what is possihlc in art

00\'"

being

histor)' merel)' contradk1:s

ingfulness have difhculty'

reliaot on what has come hefore. Proceduralism has a number of benetits. First, ir allows ar~thin8 potentially to

to elude making sense, su

becornc art, although there are limitations. Danto c1aims that at aoy specific time,

level, [rom a proceduralis1

the art world allows only esteerncd figures to propase sometmng as arto In addi­

This largcly dcfeats the in

tion, ",hat they might propase to be art will, in turn, be limitcd by the course that

posits that the neo-avant-g

su eh an artist has directed the artworld. To illustrate this paint, he argues that Paul

01' art in its own right.

Cézanne would not have been able to prescnt his tie as a readymade, whereas Pablo

Another oh"ious weakr

potentially to become an

institution. It cannot be el

artist by following rules. In this sense, it ma)' be more egalitarian than formalist

the poli ce . ~ince it has no s

accounts sincc it does not s"ek to mystif)' art by referring the Yicwcr or artist to

tion ofartists, crities, deal(

Picasso might hav" been.)5 Proceduralism a110ws

the immeasurable

an'y0ne

tj}eets 01' the work. This means that intuiti"c dehnitions of art are

politieians and others. Son

ruled out explieitly; the 'innocent e:'e' found in formalism is regan-lcd as a sociall)'

We discuss the art \'mrld

prnduced myth. MoreovCT, it is ah1c to account for conceptual artworks, works of

of the media when confraI

;<

art that had no tangihle material or visual form and readily adapt to the expansive

Icmatic in its emphasis on t

ehanging character of arto As Danto puts it:

could be seen to be respor

occurred sincc the 1960s. i The greatcr the variety of aesthetica1ly relevant predicates, the more complex

in:-titutional theory contai

thc individual members of the artworld become; and the more one knows of

illto rhetoric by encouragit

the entire population ol' the artworld, thc richer one's experience with any

duction f]uestioned many e

of its members. 16

entered into the rcalm of r

This raises the qucstion ' Such a theory eliminates the necd to think of art as exclusive, since it transforms

of art in contemporary het

art into a descriptive rather than an evaluative termo Art i5 no longer 'hne'; it i5

eduralist dehnitions of art ¡

simply a \Vay of descrihing something that carries no sensc ol' inhercnt value.

of complexit)'. David Wils,

Indeed, alt art can be judgcd under the same criteria since proceduralism rejects

California, for example, 'h

'n~alíst'

as we1l as th" qucstion of' orate art installation'. 28 F(

theories of rcpresentation, holding that a11 artworks refer to other art­

works via the historv of' art and ib social institutions rather than

lO

thc 'world' .

Proceduralism has it problems nevntheless. Since the theory is concerncd with

faet, overblown truths and

art as a form of communication, it rules out the notion that art might fail to signify.

demonstrate unusual or ct

For Danto, thc inability to interpret an art\.vork marks its failurc to achic"e art

that can fly through lead

status. Artists havc to prove that they intend to make statcments through thcir

ingesting prongcd stink an

\\'ork, that they are not simply manipulating signs for thcir own sake. Therc are two

Mary Davis of Saughall, el

main problems with this causal view of art. First, it assumes that we can determine

history of display:

our judgcments oi' artistic intention on the cvidence of objects alone, when material effeets and aets ha\o'e no essential m<.~aning other than those that wc bring to them. This is partícularly oifficult when C'onsidering found art ohjects, many

01'

which, being mass-produced an~ identical, bear little trace of intentional produ<.> tion. In this, Danto risks committing the 'intentional fa1laey' exploren in chapter

To put sacred works i aesthetic significance

chronological order f relation oE earlier to l;

OEFINITIONS OF ART ANO THE ART WORLO

29

10 heloV\' on authorship. This is partly avoided, perhaps, by Danto's stress on the socio-historieal eharaeter of art, but trus endeavour to projeet 'meaning' into history merely contradi(·ts his emphasis on cause. Second, Danto's eriteria ofmean­ ing1'ulness have ditticulty aeeounting for irrational and ahsurdist art that strugglcs to elude making sen se, sueh as Darla, surrealism or Fluxus. Moreover, at a basie level, from a proceduralist point of view, llllCl-art is unquestionably regarded as art. This large1y defeats thc intentions of anti-artists 01' the 1960s and earlier in that it posits that the neo-avant-garde assault on the eonventions of art constitutes a form of art in its own right. Another ohvious weakness lies in the assumption that the art world rea1ly is an institution. It cannot be claimecl that it is regulatcd likc othcr institutions such as the poliee, sinee it has no set consensual values. The art world is a loose eonfigura­ tion of artists, critics, dealcrs, curators, collectors, eommissioners, administrators, politieians and others. Sorne 01' these individuals share sorne ideas, others do not. We diseuss the art \vorld as a rnonolithic institution, and this is a popular pursuit of the media when eon1'ronted hy art that they do not like. Proeeduralism is prob­ lernatie in its ernphasis on the power of the institutions ofhigh art and in man)' ways could be seen to he responsible for the inereased bureaueratisation 01' art that has occurred since the 1960s. In heralding the 'cnd nf art' as far hack as 1964, Danto 's institutional theor)' eontained the seeds 01' its own destruetion, transforming art into rhetorie by encouraging a 'linguistic turn'. Thc cnsuing pcriod of artistic pro­ duction qucstioned man)' of thcse assumptions, while showing that sueh ideas haye entered into the realm of reeeived artistie ideas. 27 This raiscs thc qucstion 01' whcthcr or not it is dcsirablc to seek a general tht:>ory 01' art in eontemporary heterogeneous visual culture. Sinee the early 1960~, proc­ cduralist dcfinitions 01' art havc heen thoroughly absorbed and taken to IWW levels ol' eomplexity. David Wilson's Museurn of Jurassie Teehnology (MJT) in Culver, California, for cxampIe, 'has lcft visítors puzzling over the veracity of its exhibits as we1l as the question 01' whether it is an actual museum or sorne kind of elab­ orate art insta1lation'.n Formcr spccial cffeets dcsigner Wilson mixes together faet, ovcrblown truths and hoax. In the MjT, emphasis is plaeed on objeets 'that demon.strate unusual or CllrlOllS technological qualitics'29 such as rainforest bats that can By through lead wa1ls, MeBolaponera Foetens (funga1ly-infeeted, spore­ ingesting pronged stink ants of the Cameroon) and a horn grown on the head of Mary Davis of Saughall, Cheshire. The MjT tackles a number ofkey issues in the

history of display: To put ,'iacred work.'i in a secular setting assumes that these artefaets possess acsthctic signifieancc o\'cr and aboye their religious meaning. Placing them in chronological order presupposes that this is the best way to understand the rclation oI' carlicr to later art. Segrcgating artworks from minerals, shells and

30

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

animals implies that artefacts have a special ¡dentitl" Preserving these arte­

today? In 1995 in the nc

facts implies that they are best seeo as historical records. 30

that they had liule oppo

crcate theirown institut The system of organisation found in the MJT questions these very assumptions by

artists saw themselves

aping the organisational systcm of the curiosity cabinets, drawing no clcar lioe

othcr time ami space in

between art and non-art, fact and fiction, authority and imagination. Wilson sees

varied and generally nor

no prc-cxisting. csscntial arder to history; arder emerges onl)" within thc MJT's

The evcnts were organi

¿¡

peculiar narratives. In this, Wilson aims to make seeing oracular again, to reinte­

Programme' , as a mean

gratc people with wonder ,..., hile dra\'/ing attcntion to the muscum's idcological

autonomous artists, 'Ti

role in a self-conscious way that has 001)' recently become possible in wake ofproc­

cgy succeedcd in Manci

eduralist theories of arto

establish their own mic

This has been explored by major modern and contemporary art museums such

to know what thev, weI

as the predominately privatcl)'-funded MOMA in New York and thc mainly state­

self-proclaimed autono

funded Tate Modern in London. Both institutions have abandoned the linear and

Sccession of the late n

historical models of display that once dominated the historical exhibition and of

attitude. This had a part

Western art, modcls that MOMA was influential in forming. In their place are thc­ matic devices that seek to elaborate important issues within twentieth- and t\.venty­ first-century art practices, looking 'at the art of the last hundred years from the vantage point 01' four separate themes that cut right through history'. 31 The

While Enlightenment 1

'Anxious Objcct' room in thc Tate Modern, for exampie, displays \\'orks by major

today', local and globa

artists in vitrines in order to rehabilitate and remind audiences of the cabinets of

rnented than before. D

past displays. The works in this space seem to be located bctween objects deliber­

calI), anywhere in the

ately fabricated as \-\'orks of art and found objects of curiosity. To sorne, this exem­

audience they wish to a

plHies art as an institutional game to be played out by curators and organised like

the world, allowing ar

a stamp collcction, cut offfrom any sense 01' living culture in an entertaining state­ endorsed spectacle. 12 Perhaps this is an unfair criticism. Tate Modern has learned

audience instantly. It w(

its lcssons from critiques ol' the authority ano exclusivity 01' museums inaugurated

recourse to well-establ

by the disciplines of art history, art theory amI museology. Unfortunatcly, its

justification. In sorne w

authoritative stance on its chosen issues seems to unoerrnine the element of sur­

nominate something as

prise and anti-establishment readings 01' art that it seeks to achieve. This is evident

Unlike Danto's idea of ¡

tion to oeclare that

~

in Herzog & de Meuron's commanding architectural conversion of Giles Gilbert

inately by theories of art

Scott's Bankside Power Station and also in Tate Modern's propensity towards a

an overabundance of

didactic curatorial approach. B Architecturally, Tate Modern is modelled on artist­

of their roles. In this di

aa

initiated warehouse exhibitions popular in London and elsewhere in the late 1980s.

describe any number 01

In this, it attempts to ape more contemporary conditions of oisplay favoureo by

articulation. As such, ti

artists who founo themsclves exduded from the pantheons 01' arto However, like

tinue to revolve around

man)' major contemporary art museums around the world, Tate Modern wants to

arthood. They cannot

remain the official national British institution of contemporary art and be perceived

art's definition will ev(

as a major world player, lending this power to everything it sanctions. 34

terrns of what it is not.]

1

Are such grandiose venues and their accompanying bureaueracies really required

more challenging quest

for bestO\ving the appropriate context in which to produce or display \·vorks of art

demand more of their e

DEFINITlüN5 üF ART AND THE ART WüRLD

31

toda),? In 1995 in the northern English eit)' of Manchcster, a group af artists, finding that thcy had Httle opportunity to exhibit their \-vork in their municipality, dccided to create their own in5titution.'O ''''ithollt the sanc:tion ofthe leading artworld figures. Thc artists saw themselves as their 0\\'11 bes! crities, a pccr group that could award each other time and spacc in which to show their work on their own terms. Venues \-vere varied and generall)' non-sanctionecl, ranging from pcoplc'shouscs to the Tmvn Hall. The ('vents weTe organiscd around the ironically distinguished legend 'Thc Annual Prograrnme', as a means ofattracting attcntion. 35 As a group nl' self-organised, quasi­ autonomous artists, 'The Annual Programme' were far from unique, but their strat­ egy succeeded in Manchestcr, providing them with the infrastructure they needed to estahlish their own microcosmic art world, thereby allO\\'ing the rest of the world to know ","hat they were accomplishing. lndecd, their strateg), had its roots in the self-proclaimcd autonomy to be 1'ound in avant-garrle movements from the Vienna Secession

01' the late ninetecnth ccntury to punk's pop/anti-art 'do-it-yourself'

attitude. This had a particularly strong heritagc in ManchcstL'r..H"

Conclusion While Enlightenment models

01' institutional and thcorctical authority ~till exist,

torlay's local and glohal art \\'orlds are bigger, more Huid, multivalent and frag­ mented than before. Due to travei and technology, artists can make work practi­ eall)' anywhcre in the ,...'orld, ,,"ith virtually anything, l'or almost any pcn:eived audience they wIsh to attrad. Digital mass communication is rapidly transforming the world, allowing artists to rilsseminate their cultural productions to a global audiencC' instantl),. It would scem that today's artists are, more than ever, in a posi­ tion to declare that ",hat they do is art (persuasivcly or otherwise) without recourse to well-estahlished, centrally sanctioned authorities or meta-theorctical justification. In sorne ways, perhaps, Juod wasn't so wrong after aH. The power to nominate soml'thing as art has come to be seen as dispersed rather than possesscd. Unlike Danto's idea ol' a limiten and ddinahle art world that is inhabited predom­ inatcly hy lneurie:i ol' art, today's art world is a rapiol)' cxpanding spacc occupied by an overabundance ol' Qgcnts, mediators who constantl)' seek to redefine the limits oftheir roles. In this climate, 'ar1' beco mes an increasingly vacuous term, used 10 describe any number of activities, regulating art onl)' at the moment of each new articulation. As such, the important questions presC'ntly do not (and cannot) con­ tinue to revolve around ohlique and circuitous de-bates ofho'\\' something achicves arthood. They cannot continue sincc, as Danto argues, continual broadening ol' ar1's dcfinition will eventually make it impossible to define art scmantically in terms of ".·hat it is noto 17 Torlay's highl)' visually litcrate audiences ask trusting and more challcnging questions of artists and what they do, ,.. ·hile artists c'Ontinue to demand more 01' their ever-diversil'ying audienccs.

32

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Further Reoding Duncan, Carolo C1V1lismg Riwo!s: InSlde Pubhe Art ;l1useulIIs (Lonuon. 1995.\.

Harríngton, Austin. Arr and Social Thwry (OxforJ, 2001).

Shiner, Larry. Thc lnventJOn Art: a euhum! Hucory (Chicago, 2001),

Williams, Robert. A.rr The0r.r:an HistonúJJ InlfoJuetlOn (OxforJ, 2004).

#

Notes Donald Judd, 'Arl after Philosophy " , StudlO IntematJOna], Oclober 1969, pp. 134-7. "2 Scc l::rnst Gombrich, 'The Rf'naissance Conccption ol' Artistic Progrcss', ;\'orm and /wm (London, 1966), pp. 1-10.

In classical antiquit)' th..:- terms for 'art' (0'5 in Latin and rechne in Gn'ck) Jenoted skill, and art \\-'as dccmed une (low-ranking) skill amongst many ather:;. For a hricf sketch of the con­ notations of thc t('rm, see Ro)' Harris, Thc .1I..!cccsw)' C?IArtspeak (Lonoon and Ne\-\' York, 2003), pp. 15-2H. 4 See Susan L. Feagin ano Craig Alh~n Subler, 'Showing Picturl.'~: Aesthetics and thl.' Art Galler}', The jouma] c:.fAes[hetie EJw<J/lon, Vol. 27 (1993). pp, 6J- 72. 5 See Brendan O'Doherty, InsJJc rhe l[hile Cube: the lJeoloa}" rif [he Gol/er) Spacc (Los Angeles, 1999). SI.'I.' too Russellllelk, Collecrina Jn a Consuma Societ)' (London, 199S). 6 See Paula f.indlcn, PossessIn8 .I\¡'ature: Museums. Collcctlrl,g and SCJentific Culll.H" m l:.'ar~r Modem lt'Jly (Los Angeles, 1994); and Lorraine Daston anO Katherine Park, ~t(>nders anJ rh.: Order c:fNawre, 1100 1750 (New York, 1998). 7 Sl.'e -Iom Barringcr, C%nwhsm and [he ObJeer (Lonoon, 1998). Set~ too Ton)' Bennett, The Bmh cf [he jfuseum: HHfory, Theory, PO!JtlCS (London, 1995); ano Oli..·er Impey and Arthul" ~1acGregor, eds, 7he Ori8Jns ?fMuscum.\.' Th.: Cobinet q[Curwsltle.\ In Sin.:enth- and Sel'enteenlh­ Ccntur.y Europe (Oxforo, 1985). 8 For a recent account ofmuseum in relation to lhe nation state. see \lil'k Prior, it.fU'ieUm.l tlnd .+loderml} (Oxford, 2002). 9 Zygmunt Bauman, MoJemit)' and A.mbIvolence (Cambrioge, 1991). 10 Sec Annr('v.' Bowie, AesthetlCl anJ Sublee/lVIt)' (Manchcster, 2003). 11 See hnmanuel Kant, The CrH14ue q[ the POlVer c:IjuJ8ement, transo Paul Guyer and F.rie Matthews (Cambrioge, 2002). 12 S..' e Terry Eaglcton, The ldeolo.qy rif the Aesthetle (Oxford, 1990). See espccially 'Frce Particulars' (pp. 13-30) and 'Thc Kantian Imaginary' (pp. 70- 101 ). 13 A thorough critique' of the racial bias of dghté'enth-centur), acsthctic theories, including that of Kan\, ha~ been ofTcred by Daúo Bindman, From Ape w Apollv' Aenhetics anJ ¡he IJeG vj Raee Jn ¡he b8hreenlh Cenrur) (London, 2002), 14 'Vivian', in Osear Wilde's satirical manifesto, 'The Dt'ca} 01' Lying: A Dialogue', in Janh's Knowles, ecl., The Niner.eenth Centur:,r:a /rfonth~r ReneM, Vol. XXV Oanuary June 1889), p.S1. 15 james Ahhott McNeill Whistler. 'kn (1 'C/ock Lee/ure al Pnnres Hall, PiecaJJ!lj·, London (l ondon, 1S85¡ 16 Cited in Ellen H. John~on, Amencan Artists fln Arr: FrvfT] 1940 1980 (\lew 'York, 1982), p. 50. 17 Kant, Crmque c:l rhe PVH'"Cf c:fJud8emem, § 43 p. 182. 18 Clive Bell, Aa (Oxfonl, [90S7), p. 8. First published in 1914. 19 Miehael hieo, Thrcc .'!.makan PQlnrers: Kennclh No}anJ,jules Ohtsb, Frank Stella (Camhringe, MA, 1965), p. 5 20 Rcll, ArI, p. 46.

21 Sé'C Rusalino Krauss, '5 22 rhe Pensuln Complete Lel 23 See Georg,e Dickie, :Ir Pierre llounlieu, [)iscin

24 Arthur Danto, 'The Ar 25 See Anhur Danto, 'Tl (1973), pp. 1-17. 26 Danto, 'The Artworld' 27 See Reesa Greenherg, 28 RalfRugoff, 'Rulesofl his nrst permanent Ml Vcnice Roule,'an.1, Cut Ernst Osthaus Museurr Mr. W¡}son's Cablnc¡ rifH 29 David Wilson, IntroJuci 30 David Carrier, The D (19S7), p. 83. 31 Lars Nittve, 'Director'. 32 Sec i\1atthew Collings, 33 See Carol Duncan, Cin H '[Tate Modero] aims t( one of the premier glol Local', 7(1[e Modem: The 3:. See Richard J. William! JI GooJ In Mancheslet (N 36 See Howard Slater, 'G Issue 3 (1998). 37 As Danto states: '',\'he art,\'orld ha.~ shadeJ inl The lranllsurQtlon if th.

DEFINITION5 OF ART AND THE ART WORLD

33

21 Sec Rosalind Krau~s, 'Sculpture in the Expanded Field'. Oetaba, No. 8 ([ 979), pp. ~ 1 44. 22 7ne Penguin Complete ¡ ewis (arwJl (Harmonds,\'orth, 1983). p. 196. 23 See George Oickie, Art and tne Aesrhetlc in fn)"rirWlOnal AniJ[ysis (Ithaca, NY, 1974); ami Pic:rre l-{ourJieu, Dístinc/Íon; iJ SOCÍal Cntulue oj"rhe judgemenl '!.F [aste (Cambridge, t 984). 24 Arthur Danto, 'The Arh\'orld.',journal ?fPhllosophy. Vol. 61 (1964), p. 580. 25 Sec Anhur Danto, 'The Last Work 01' Art. Art\\'orks ,md Real Things', lheona, VoL 39 (1973), pp. 1-17. 26 Danto, 'The ArtworlJ', pp. 581 4. 27 St'e Rcesa Greenberg, Thinkln8 aboLlt Exh¡bilil>rls (London, 1996). 28 RalfRugofF, 'Rules orlhe (;amc', Frieze (Januak (London, 2000), p. to. 32 ~e Matthe\.... Collings. ,~rr (uu)' .""atíon (Lundon, 200 [). 33 Scc Carol Duncan, CJl1fumg R/t!lals: 1m/de Pub}¡c Art MW'eums (Ne\\' York, 1995). 34 '[Tah' Modero] aims to be "a tlagship for London", "a ne\\' landmark for the nation", and one uf the premier' global centres uf modcrn art.' Doreen Massey, 'Banksick: lnternaüona] Local', Tate .Modern: The Handbook, p. 27. 3~ See Richard J. \ViHiams, 'Anything is Pos.~ibk: The Annual Prugrammc 1995-2000', in lS Good in .11anchester (Manchestcr, 2001). 36 See Howard Slater, 'Graveyard & Ballroom: A Factor)' Records Scrapbook', BreakIFl¡'w, IssuE' 3 (199H). 37 As Danto states: 'Whcn philosoph),'s paintíngs, gre), in grey, are pan ol' the artworld, the art\\orld has shadcd intu its O\\'n philosuph)', ancl hy definition, gro\\ n old.' Arthur lhnto, The Tranifí811rmjon c:/the Common pldce (CambriJge, MA, 1981), p. 148.

'iJe

trast to heing industrial

3. Concepts of Craft

based on manual produc erally associatcd with in bascd production of the

Juliette MacDonald

During tbis period, valuC's rclating to ideals historical continuitv , and

hy the growth of moder: comp1ex and tense relal twentieth-century art an than a prívate hobby tha! conscqucnce al' this is th it)', in contrast to fine art

central part of cultural a as many feminíst critics

inhercntly jeminine pursu w hich has again made it 1 more 'masculine' practic These multiple defini

Introduction

raised nurnerous probler havc objccted to heing rf

Thc meaning of the tCTm 'eraft' has undergone numcrous transformatlons. Its var­

ignated as eraft, because

iable senses havc had long-term lmplieations for both praetitioners and for ~uhs('­

They prefcr instearilo be

quent critical analysis. Une of the most oiffieult problcms for the erafts centres on

enable them to distance t

the evolution of the meaning uf the word itself. Long estahUshed in the English lan­

the expectation that wh

cra:.fr ean be traeed hack to earl)' medieval times wherc ir su~ested

üthers have found the ter

guagc, the vvord

a combination 01' intelligenec, skill and strength, a set oI' eonnotations retained in

as a eraftsperson. As th

the cognatc term 'eraft)". Although eraft is no\\' usually cquated wiLh applied art,

example: '1 am a potter, al

dccorative art or l~Vcn handicraft, these notions are relatively reCl~nt. Even in the

which belong

lo

a long h

late the eivhteenth eenturv it had a mueh broader se! of meanings. As Paul

cven no\\'. Just as the gay

Grecnhalgh has stated: 'eraft did not imply speeific methods, or trades or objeet

time for us to cclebrate a

.

'"

types ... It had no eonstitueney, ir couId he applied to an)' form of practice within

conecrning the terminolc

the culture. It ' ....as not a thing in itsclf.' 1 The eoncept of eraft is thus a modern one,

craft as a practice continu

('ven if many ol' the practiccs it refE'rs to havc a mueh longcr history; indeed, the

term denotes has been su

coneept of eraft signifies a fundamental re-interpretation of the meaning oI' the applied and dccorative arts prompted by the aovent of industrial modernity.

The meaning oI' 'eraft'

often heen defined in ter 'design'. At times, eraft ~

eraft. Art and Modernity

ano at other times it

Undoubtcdly the most irr During the eourse of the ninetccnth century 'eraft' gradualIy bccome more spc­

.

cHic sueh that by the end of the 1800s it dcnoted somethinv made by fJ,md, in eon­

,

'"

bet",,'ecn art and eraft. In I the arts and erafts was

Ul

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

3S

trast to bcing industrially produced, and 'craftsman' a persan whosc living was bascd on manual production. Indecd, the ter m 'manufacture', wbich i5 now gcn­ erally associated w¡th industrial output, originally denoted the small-scale, hand­ based production 01' thc craftsman. During this period, too, the hand-crafted object came to be endo'v\'Cd with valucs relating to idcals of a pre-industrial societ)' in which vernacular processes, historical continuíty and the scnsc of communal belonging had yet to be displaced

by the growth o[modcrnitr On this account alone 'eraft' has undergone an often complex and tense relationship with modern culture and man)' oI' the values of t\ventieth-ccntury art and designo In addition, craft i8 freguently seen as Httle more than a private hohby that functions as an outlet for private ereativit)'. A significant consequenee of this ís that eraft is widel)' pereeived as a rather ínsignifieant activ­ it)', in eontrast to fine art, for example, \\'hieh has long been regardcd as forming a central part

01' cultural and sociallife. A further dimension to this is rhe raet that,

as many feminist erities have pointed out, 'crafr' has heen seen eonsistently as an

inherentlyJeminine pursuit linked to the sphere uf domestie life, a eharacterisation whieh has again molde it dithcult for eraft to be seen as of equal ímportance to the more 'masculine' praetiees 01' art. These multiple dcfinitions have 01't en been the souree 01' confusion and have raised numerous problems within the practice of eraft itself. Some practítíoners have ohjeeted to being reterred to aS a 'eraftsperson', or to their work heing des­ ignated as eraft, beeause they feel the term is patronisíng and bclittles their skíll. They prcf('r instead to be known as artists or designer-artists heeause these tcrms cnahle them to distan ce themselves from notion5 of amateur aetivity and to avoid the expectation that what thcy produce will be traditional. utiHtarian objeets. Othcrs have found thc term less prohlematic and indecd, are proud to be deseribed as a craftsperson. As the Canadian eeramieist, Paul Mathieu, has argued, for exarnplc: '1 am a pottcr, and what l do is eraft: I have no problem \\'ith those words. vvhieh belong to a long history that has no reason to envy any other eraft or art, even no\\'. Jusr as the gay communit)' has appropriated the term "queer", so it is time for liS to celehrate anew certain terms that define what we do.' ~ The debate eoneerning the terminology for makers eontinues. What is clear, however, is that eraft as a praeticc eontinues ro dcvclop and change, and as a eonsequence what the term denotes has been suhjcct to the same shifts in meaning. The meaning of 'craft' is given further eomplexit)' h)' the faet that it has most often been dcfined in terms 01' íts relaríon to two other concL'pts: 'fine o1rt' and 'design'. At times, eraft has been seen as indistinguishablc from one or the other, and at other times it has heen defined through its diffirence from them. llndouhtedly the most important development was the gcncsis 01' the distinction between art and eraft. In classical antiquity and the Middle Ages thc separation of the arts amI erafts was unknown; índeed rhe Latin term alS from whieh 'art' i5

36

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

derived denoted a particular skill or eraft. Within the medieval system ofknowl­

edge what we would now consider to be art and eraft both fell under the category üf thc liberal arts (artes liberales), which included grarnmar, rhetoric, dialectics, music, arithmetic, geometry and astronorny. As Umbcrto Eco has statcd, art 'meant construction, whether it was al' a ship or al' a building, a painting or a

hammer. The word artifex applied alike to blacksmiths, orators, poets, paintcrs and sheep-shearers.' 3 A divisioo between fine and decorative art, or between art and eraft, emerged during the Renaissancc in thc fiftccnth and sixtccnth ccnturics, hut it was not until the eighteenth century, the age al' Enlightenment, that an absolute division bctwccn thc two hcgan to opcn Up.4 This was givcn philosophicallcgiti­

macy in Kant's Cntique i:!f the Power i:!fJudgement, which insisted on the distinction hetwcen thc 'fine art' of 'gcnius' on thc one hand, and thc applicd arts, or what Kant terms 'handicraft', on the other, which he regarded as based on mere tech­ nical skill, undcrtakcn primarily for financial remuncration. 5 This process had also been evident at an institutionallevel when, during the same period, painters and sculptors lefL the 10ng-esLablished medieval guild s)'stem and joined the ne"vl)' formed Academics of fim' arto

Edward Burne Jones an orative arts and to infh:

highlighting the equalir

In a lecture entitled dangcrs to al! forms aL

I shall not meddle

the great arts eorn] mind quite sever t

havc to speak abou ditions ol' lifc, thal

when they are so p: trivial, meehanica" upon them hy fash practised l'or a whi sure to lose their d

to unmeaning porr

By the earl)' 1800s an established hierarchy was in place which distinguished between painting and sculpture on the one hand, and the decorative arts on the other. 6 At the same time, however, the relative position of the decorative and the fine arts remaincd a subject ol' constant dcbate. Many \\-'fiters on cral't or the dec­ orative arts argued eloquently in their defence and agitated for their inclusion within the field of fine art and high culture. For cxamplc, thc art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) even went as far as to state: 'There is no existing highest-order art

Clearly, Morris belicved to the whim 01' fashion ­

value within socieLy. MI the popular culture bee< thc cultural elite. Here

tion that has persisted ir

hut that it is decorative. Get rid then at once of any idea of decorative art h(~ing a degraded or a separate kind 01' art.'7

aH)" rigorous practice ir guestion of materials.

lt is impossible to talk of the formation of modern discourse on craft without mentioning William Morris (1834-96). Morris was a designer, social reformer and poet, and he remains the most famous and influential figure in thc British crafts movemcnt. He agreed with Ruskin's asscrtion that decorative arts were as valuahle as fine arts, and he also fought vociferousl)' against the division between the two. Following Ruskin's ideas, he looked hack nostalgically to the Middle Ages when there was no dHference 01' prestige among the arts and crafts, and he warned of the danoers to aH forms of art from this hierarchy. Linked to this was a social concern D , with the dehumanising effects 01' modern mass produetion, in the face of which Morris argued for a return to a more organic, non-alienatcd form of work. In an attempt to put his ideas into practice, he formed what was to beeome a highly suc­ cessful eraft: business, Morris and Co. The aim of this firm was to bring together artists, designers and arehitects with complementary skil1s to \York on decorative art projeets. The ambition of Morris and his eolleagues (who, when the firm was first set up in 1861, included the Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti,

It cannot be denied t erafts, partieularly thrOl thc essential characterist

of the highest aesthetic s utopian amI, despite the

practicc to that accorde( Whv , did Morris and

One of the principal di¡¡¡

merits of hand- and mac

the 1850, the Industrial

life; the feudal strueture é capitalist and industrial

middle class and urban c

with everyday domestic, replaecd by mass-produc

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

37

Edward Burne Jones and Ford Madox Brown) was to sct new standard s in the dec­ orative arts and to influcnce the general public in terms of good taste, as well as highlightjng thc equality of craft production with that of art. In a lecture entitled 'The Lesser Arts', Morris spoke 01' his corrccrns about the dangers to all forms of art from the split betwccn arts and crafts: I shall not meddle much with the great art of Architecture, and stillless with the great arts commonly ealled Sculpture and Painting, yet! cannot in my own mind quite scyer them from those lesser, so called Decorative Arts, which I have to speak about: it i5 only in lattcr times and under the most intricate con­ ditions ol' Jife, that they han: fallen apart from one another: and I hold that, when they are so parted, it is ill for the Arts altogcther: the lesser ones become trivial, mechanical unintelligcnt, incapable of resisting the changes pressed upon them by fashjon or dishonest)'; while the greater, howeyer thc)' mal' be practised for a ,,,,hile by men ofgrcat minds and wonder-working hands ... are sure to lose their dignity of popular arts and become nothing but dull adjuncts to unmeaning pomp or ingenjous lOys l'or a few rich or idle men,s Clearl)', Morris belicved that ifthe division continued, crafts ,,",ouId become subject to the whim of fashion - am) al so lose their intcllectual oasis - thereby losing their value within society. Mcanwhile, art would simultancously cease to bE' rooted in the popular culture because it v<'Ould become no more than an ¡dIe amusement 01' the cultural elite. Here one sees the restatement of a familiar conceptual distinc­ tion that has persisted in Western culture, whercby art was seen as an intellectu­ aHy rigorous practice in contrast to eraft, which \\'as oricnted primariI} to the question 01' matcrials. It cannot be denied that Morris succl'cded in injecting a new vitality into the crafrs, particularly through his renewed emphasis on the importance of retainjng the essential characteristics of the medieyal idiom. Yet his attcmpts to create crart of the highest aesthetic standards werc perceived by mao)' as merely idealistic and utopian and, despite the force ofhis arguments, he failed to raisc the status of eraft practice to that accordcd to the fine arts. Wh)' did Morris and his supporters not succeed in achieving their objective? One of the principal difficulties was that during the njnctccnth centur)' the relative merits 01' hand- and maehine-made products werc a subject of fiercc debate. '1 By the 18505 the Industrial Rcvolution had transformed British economic and social Jife; the feudal structurc and dominancc of agrieultural, ruralliJ"e was rcplaeed with capitalist and industrial mode ol' production, engendered by an entrepreneurial middle class and urban centres. Thc artisan or craftsman providing communities with everJday c1omestie, utilitarian goods quickly beeame redundant, his products replaced by mass-produced eommodities. Competitiveness in trade promoted an

38

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

increased consciousness af the rangc 01' machine- made products amI of hoth the speed and cos! at \vhich thc)' couId be produced. It

\\,'3S

no longer eornmercially

viable to produce well-crafted hand-mane goods when they couId be mass­ produced by machinc much more cheap1r Furniturc which had once beco hand­ craft<.~d [roro

salid woad couId now be maJe [roro cheap deal, nailcd together and

covered \vith a thin, machjne~cut veneer. Ruskin anJ Morris regarded such prac­

tices as ¡rnmaral, and emphasis<:d the value and morality 01' ,..dl-made anJ, more often than no!, hand-produced goods, \vhdhcr those objects be furniturc, textiles

It has been argued tha

social critics was largel:

temporary culture. T~ had to deal with the no tive outlook. Whilst Futurists to thc Bauhat

or ceramies.

tion and engage with

Although it \.. . as arguably the demand For cheaper gooos that len to an expansion in the quantity of mass-proJuceJ, machine-based proJuction, it was freguently th<.'

rnodern technology - 1 in nostalgia and ideals ( art or archit<'TtUr<.~, cr

technologv itself that \...·as criticised. Furthermore, debate between the respective values of::raft versWi mass production was in turn linkcd to a division between Ver­ nacular and industrial urban societv. For critics of industrial development, towns gradually became synonymous with deprivation, soruiu ucpravity and the destruc­ tion ofheauty. More generally, industrialisation was .
1

present, a genre hest th historical traditions rai nalitv. [n the first decad

use on(y the simplest to 'glorious art, madc by t and the user' .12

This location of eraH continued to have a prol

reception of eraft obje( dra\\-n attcntion to the 1 the twentieth century I 't<'T}mological imaginati

chance, spontaneity, asse crucial to the identity o deemed to be diametricé to be 'too indebted to tJ nal" objects'. 14

Such belief.. made it ( art world, and craft and

twentieth century witnc.: theoretical writing On t writers, curators and thc.:

bypasscd within traditio: art-historical practice, rt:

pro"enance of the indi\' en5un~d that it could not

objects represented the division of labour, the loss 01' creative freedom and the suspension of mental processes, whereas crafts signified the culmination 01'

tional art-historical disc( serious eritical and theon

individual produetion, independent crcativity and even moral virtue.

as a whole has been deva

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

39

Cran: in the Twentieth Century It has beeo argued that this emphilsis on the vcrnacular by nineteenth-ccntury social cribes \\'as largcly responsíhlc for the dislocarian of craft: practice from coo­ temparar)' culture. Throughout the twentieth ccntur)' eraft practitioncrs have had to cical with the TIotion thar eraft is the cxpression of an essentially consen'3­ t¡ve outlook. vVhilst avant-garde artists, designers and thcorists from the Futurists to the Bauhaus, Dada amI others 50ught to free themselves from tradi­ tion and engagc ,",vith eontemporary socícty - in particular, the possibilities 01' modern tcchnology eraft practicc and theory appeared to be static, caught up in nostalgia and idcals ofruralism. lnstead ofkeeping pace with dcvelopments io art or arehitccture, eraft practiec became the vehicle for a retreat from the preseo!, a genre hest thought of in terms of its adhcrence to local, vernacular ancl historical traditions rather than to social and aesthetic innovativenes.s and origi­ nality_ In the first dccades of thc twentieth ecntur)', man)' eraft: workers tended to use onl)' the simplest tools and procedures in order to rollow Morris's visioo of a 'glorious art, made hy the people aod for the pcople, as a happiness to the maker ami the user'. 12 This location of eraft in the imaginar)' prc-industrial past of Western cultures eontínued to have a profouod dIeet on its practitioncrs, ancl indeed on the popular reception oI' craft ohjccts. Both Raymoncl vVilliams and Andreas Huyssen have dra"vn attention to the fact that protagonists 01' the avant-garde 01' the tlrst hall' of the t\ventieth eentury foeused on radicall)' transforming ever)'day life through 'technological imagination'. 13 Modernist artists and designers utiliscd teehnology, ehance. spontaneity, assemblage and originality in their work. These elements were crucial to the identit)' 01' modernism and the avant-garde inasmueh as the)' were deemed to he diarnetrieally opposed to tradition and eraft praetiecs, which scerned to be 'too inclebted to the past, and too lacking in spontaneity to produce "origi­ naP' objeeb' .14 Such bcliefs made it difficult for craft: to gain acceptanec in the contemporar)' Mt

"vorld, ancl eraft and critical practicc "vere, on thc ",,'hole, ignored. vVhile the

twentieth eentury \"'itnessed an cnormous growth in the ,,-olume of avant-garcle theorctical "vriting on the nature, scopc and function 01' art ami, Jater, design. writers, curators and theorists tended to overlook eraft \vork. Moreo\'er erart was bypassed within traditional art criticismo Connoisseurship, once the rnainstay of art-historieal practice, rclied on the establishment of the artist's signature and the provenance 01' the individual work. The anonymity of rnuch eraft procluction ensured that it could not he easily accornmodated v.'ithin the boundaries of tradi­ tional art-historical discourse. This lack of attention rewlted in a marked lack of serious critieal and theoretical writing on eraft, a consequence of which is that eraft as a who}C' has been dcvalued. As Rowley has argued:

40

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

. the modernist history of modern art organised the experience al' artists

The Crafts Committl

al the sarue time as it disol8anised and negated the mode 01' expcricncc (lf the

01' presenting and writ

erafts practitioners. In this way, twcnticth-ccntury eraft has either becn

through thc eneourageJ

cxduded from historical and critical study or transforrncd in the proce.'is 01'

publication Crqfis whid

A visil lo almost any hook shop will demonstrate the

diseoursc, with curaton

incorporatían.

outcome 01' trus process.

e ounterpoint to the maoy, maoy diffeTent kinds of

questions for an approF

historical l eritical and thcorctical studies of art are the endless handbooks and

garde fine art praetice a

manuals of eraft.

crafts, such as WiIliam

.. \Vhat is lacking is the reflectivc, critical, theoretically­

informed dialogue that Ii~s at the heart of a discipline. j ~

erar! practice was secn as invohing the produetion 01' objeets intended merely for

referred to, eraft history porary eraft. Crqfts maga remove nostalgia and ru

praetkal use in contrast to art, whieh has 01't en been regardcd as a vchicle for com~

In spite of sueh diffic

municating important insights into the social and human condition. This division

gaining rccognition alo

het'.\·een the two has also created a dilemma for many practitioncrs, affeeting how

A. ttempts are now made

thcy perceive thcmsd ves, how their vvork is 1'unded and the status it achicvcs within

using methods drawn, fa

the world of art and in the eycs uf the puhlic. As earlv as the 1970s the Crafts Advisorv Committee - now known as the erafts Council

~ acknowlcdged this problcm ami attempted to establish high-level criti­

practiccs are now acknm

ral contexts, and the risl notion that craft has an

Ce

cal discourse on the subject, ,vhich would in turn improve the standing of craft.

to rai:-e the standard of

Following the advent 01' conceptual art in thc 1960.'1 art practice often seemed indis­

Reviva!' and a renewed

tinguishahle from art theory, whereas it \vas apparent that writing about crafts was

helel clichés concerning e

SI

lagging far behind, indeed that eraft was in general under-theorised. An exchange

Gcnder in particular h

of ideas on craft practice did take place, hut it tended to he within small enclaves,

to contend, and, more sJ

involving, for example, ceramicists wriüng ahout their ,\'ork in journals for othcr

fernale activity in terms o

ceramicists. It is true that journals aimed at specific disciplines within eraft prac­

gatcd this assumption so

tice providcd an arena for like-minded individuals to discuss their work and the state 01' their own particular discipline, hut there \"'as little room for progression

which considers the classi nificant art form. 17 She al

and expansion and, more importantl)" Httle e"idence of a cross-pollination of ideas

when ""omen embroider í

from other related cultural practices.

their femininity. Because (

The Crafts Advisory Committee aimed to provide better critkal eoverage for

as craft. Parker argues tha'

thc crafts, not just in what might he argued as paroehial single-discipline craft: puh­

tuted whereby 'art made

lications but in fine art journals and on the arts pages of newspapcrs. This aspira­

unegual: that the former

tíon proved to he an uphill strugglc, with continuing resistance from the media to

fortunatcly not as acrurat

gh'e significant space and attention to eraft praetice. [t proved immenscly difficult

come to be recognised as '

to convincc the national press of the true nature of the work being produced hy the

The vicw 01' needlewor

contemporary artist-craftsman. Craft was rarely revicwed in the .'lame critical

has had grave reperrussiol

terms as painüng and seulpture; its perception, intensity and relationshíp to a

sewing, emhroidery and rr

changing social order were seldom eonsidered. 16 Instead, the erafts \\-'ere (and sadly

for family needs, and the!

still are) viewed as ideal subjects for lively reHef 1'eatures on the womens' pages 01'

nantly, though not exclus

magazines or in consumer-oriented puhlications such as Counrry Living or Jlc}men

moncy. Uf course, there a

and Horne,

hut rather than acknO\'lled.

,

CONCEPT5 OF CRAFT

41

The Crafts Committee set about improving the situation by initiating a Ile\\' way of presenting and writing about the erafts, partly through its own exhibitions, through the encouragement of regional exhibitions and through its bi-monthly puhlication CTC!fts \-",hich was launched in 1973. The aim of Creifts was to create a diseourse, with curators and commentatoTs able to frame and ans\'\'er constructive qucstions for an appropriate audicnce. The model . .,.:a5 cssentially that o[ a\'aot­ garde fine art practice and criticism, ami whilst the great ancestral figures of the erafts, such as William Morris

OT

Charles Robert Ashhee, were occasionally

referred to, eraft history was oflittle ¡nteTest and the focus was firmly 00 contcm­ porary eraft.

Crqft5 magazine \\'as an irnportant and mueh necded puhlic attempt to

remü':e nostalgia ancl ruralism from the crafts. In spite of :iuch difficulties, howcycr, craft thcory is gradually cleveloping and gaining rceognition alongsicle other critical discourses within visual culture. Attempts are now macle to hring to hcar various analytical insights to the crafts, using methods drawn, for examplc, from feminism, semiology or Marxism. Craft praetices are now acknowledgcd as being firmly embedded \vithin multiple cultu­ ral contexts, and the rise ol' interdisciplinary research has further promoted the nOÜon that eraft has an equally valid placc alongside fine art and designo The move to raise the standard uf critical dehate and the erafts coincidecl ,"",ith a 'CraI'ts Revival' and a r('n('v'/ed sensc ofprofessionalism. Makers began to challengc long­ hcld clichés concerning craft, gencler, materials, function and utility. Gendcr in particular has long been a prohlematic issue with which eraft has had to contend, and, more specifieall)" the notion that craft practice is a specifically fcmale activity in terms ofboth acsthetic and production. Rozsika Parker interro­ gatcd this assurnption sorne twenty }l'ars ago in her book The Sub~·er.live Stitch, which considers thc c1assihcation of embroidery as a skillecl [raI't rather than a sig­ nificant art formo 17 She argucs that thc erux oI' thc problern líes in the belief that when wornen embroirlcr it is secn not as art but rather as entirel)' au expression of tbeir femininity. Because oI' this patriarchal view, such v.'ork is crueially categorised as eraft. Parkcr argues that the corollary oI' this thinking is that a hierarch)' is insti­ tutecl wbereby 'art made with thread and art marle with pajnt are intrinsically unequtll: that the former is artistically less significant' .18 Parker's cornments are fortunatcly not as accurate as they once w('re; tapcstry and textiles have slowly come to be recognisecl as 'serious' Jrt forms, but this is not universal. l ':! Tbe yiew of nccdle\vork as craft (ancl thcrefore as lcss eonsequentiaI than art) has had grave repereussions for wornen. The prejudiee stcms from the fad that sewing, ernbroidery and many otber erafts arc produccd in the horne, by women for farnil)' needs, and therefore not for mone)'. ",hereas painting was predomi­ nantlJ, though not exclusivel)', producecl by men in the publie sphere and for moncy. al' course. there are huge cliffcrcnces between painting and embroidery, but rather tban aeknowledging that simple differenee, ernbroidery Jnd indeed thc

42

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

to be an acti ve area of re lenging preconceived id craft and its status as art of the Bulgarian artist (

ranging from the Pont j\ tioned the traditional be Function has always b container that is incapah notion of utilit)' both ele

venting crafts from bein: tice of avant-garde art a outcome of an)' practice and the tangible form 01 quarter of the twentietl funetíon and their relati

Figure 3.1 - Janet I"\orton, Cozy (1999). Ward Island, Toronto. Photograph © Bruce Durry.

wider practice of crafts carne to be associated with the 'second sex' and with lower social classes, and were accorded a lower value.

Rethínking Craft There remain many misconceptions and misplaced prejudices about the place of craft, domesticity and gender even toda),. Canadian textile artist Janet Morton (Figure 3.1) frecluently addresses these issues in her work. Cozy was an event that took place on Ward Island, Toronto, in November 1999. In much of her work, Morton reconsiders the traditional relationships between knitting, domesticity, family, function and craft. For Cozy she gathered numerous discarded, hand-knitted garments and sewed them together to form a complete covering (rather like a giant

point. The ceramicistAIi interrogated the idea of j The Maker's Eye catalogue

My work in the fut say that trus group or an idea of a pos final presence of tl preoccupation, wh out as a distinct COI Britton's Black and Crw

playing with ideas of tral the long-standing dichol functions as a container, question the nature of il with subversion and re-e ture than a utilitarian oh The critic David W

tea cosy) for one of the single-storey houses on the Island. The result was a com­ bination of craft, sculpture and parody. The completed object had a nostalgic quality about it, the house resembled a childhood fantasy, reverberating with notions of securit)' and nurture; in other words, sentiments that tend to come so easily to mind when thinking about craft practice within the 'feminine' arena. Yet this 'cozy' was exposed to the elements for over a week and left to stretch and dis­

functional domestic obje combined with an inte ceramic surface, she not an essay for the catalogue

integrate: the resulting object was a far cry from the hackne),ed expectation of female domestic craft. The discussion of textiles, their processes and their connec­ tions with materials and contemporar), culture in the light of feminism, continues

In man)' people's TI parable to the split

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

43

to be an active area of research for both makers and theoreticians 20 As well as chal­ lenging preconceived ideas on craft and gender, Cozy also questions the function of craft and its status as arto In particular, it can be seen partly as a parody of the work of the Bulgarian artist Christo, renowned for wrapping large buildings and sites, ranging from the Pont Neuf in Paris to the Reichstag in Berlin. Cozy thereby ques­ tioned the traditional boundary betvveen art and craft. Function has always been a key issue for the crafts. After all, what is the use of a container that is incapable of holding anything, or a teapot that doesn't pour? This notion of utility both defined and limited the crafts, and played a key role in pre­ venting crafts from being included within the spheres of critical thinking and prac­ tice of avant-garde art and architecture. An insistence on function as the ultimate outcome of any practice is bound to have a limiting effect on the intellectual content and the tangible form of the finished object. For many makers working in the last quarter of the twentieth century, a thorough questioning of form, meaning and function and their relationship to art and craft practice was an essential starting point. The ceramicist Alison Britton and textile artist Caroline Broadhead have both interrogated the idea of function and its relationship to craft. Britton's comment in The Moker's Eye catalogue highlights her concern with notions of function: My work in the future may be seen to have belonged to a 'group' ... 1 would say that this group is concerned with the outer limits of functionj function, or an idea of a possible function, is crucial, but is just one ingredient in the final presence of the object, and is not its only motivation. I think that this preoccupation, which can be perceived in various fields and materials, stands out as a distinct contribution of the last ten years 21 Britton's Block ond Creen Pot of 1999 (Figure 3.2) demonstrates her interest in playing with ideas of tradition, function and innovation as well as commenting on the long-standing dichotomy between art and craft. Block ond Creen Pot certainly functions as a container, but the two disparately shaped funnels lead the viewer to question the nature of its function. Indeed, the pot seems to be more concerned with subversion and re-organisationj it is more akin to a three-dimensional sculp­ ture than a utilitarian object. The critic David vVhiting has described her work as consisting of 'non­ functional domestic objects'. 22 Because ofher deliberate move away from function, combined with an interest in integrating architecturaJ form with decorated ceramic surface, she not so much confronts the art/ craft divide as suspends it. In an essay for the catalogue ofthe Beyond the Dovetoil exhibition Britton commented: In many people's minds there is a split between skills and ideas that is com­ parable to the split between craft and arto Furthermore, they think that skill

44

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 3.2 - Alison Britton, Black and Creen Pot (1999). Photograph courtesy of Barrett Marsden Gallery, London.

belongs to craft and ideas belong to arto And tradition belongs to skill and craft, and innovation belongs to ideas and arto To sustain these notions you need to be thinking of skill as a manual thing, the gnarled and noble hand. But in reality the manual and the mental are seamlessly combined in the opera­ tion of skill whether you are ploughing a field or painting the Sistine Chapel. 23 Caroline Broadhead's work has also examined function, and in particular the rela­ tion between objects and the human body. Her initial enquiries centred on items of jewellery, but she progressed to cloth and her work has became more sculptural in fOl-m. Suspend (Figure 3.3) formed part of an installation that reAected Broadhead's interest in cloth and how it might function as a metaphor and memory of the body (or at the least, a human presence). All the garments in the installation were barely palpable, dissolving into painted shadows and highlighting the relationship between visible and invisible, questioning the real and the tangibility of memories. One element of the installation Web consisted of a fragile net barely visible to the naked eye; the outline of a garment could just be perceived, whilst Suspend was a tulle piece crudely hung by a large number of threads. This garment also had a ghostly presence

Figure 3.3 - Caroline Broa< Gallery, London.

and asked the viewer nol tion the nature of mero, roents of this installation Another significant e shaped objects froro a VI­ roany of the forms are c cling. The size and the ( process; the paper can b

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

45

Figure 3.3 - Caroline Broadhead, Suspend (2001). Photograph courtesy of Barrett Marsden Gallery, London.

and asked the viewer not on1y to reconsider its apparent function but a1so to ques­ tion the nature of memories as either fixed and indelib1e or, líke the ghost1y gar­ ments of this installation, fragiJe and precarious, gradually fading from sight. Another significant maker is Karin Muhlert, who creates organic, coch1ear­ shaped objects from a ""ide range of materia1s including brass and sandstone, but many of the forms are created from rolls of paper which were destined for recy­ cling. The size and the density of the roll of paper tends to dictate the working process; the paper can be twisted by hand or hammered with mallets and shaped

46

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 3.5 - I-Ielga Reay-' Callery, London (1999).

Figure 3.4 - Karin Muhlert, untitled small works [rom Sea Cell series (1999). Photograph © K. Mublert.

with angle grinders and chisels. Sorne of the sculptures are small, shell-Iike shapes, such as the Sea Cell series (Figure 3.4). These three-dimensional paper objects were created as non-functional containers, but whilst they look Iike bowls, they could never function as such. When asked what they are, their creator Karin Muhlert replied, '} don't Iike to labe! these things, they are non-figurative pieces guided by nature and chance.' 24 As can be seen from the few examples given here, function is no longer a nec­ essary constituent of craft; craft objects are now frequently sold for their aesthet ic 'Iook' or concept rather than their function. This move away from function has had economic as well as critical and aesthetic repercussions. By freeing themselves from the ties of functionalism, craft practices have Iiberated themselves from the traditional Jciinition of craft, to the point where they are frequently indistinguish­ able from arto This in turn has allowed practitioners to break free from perceived class boundaries. No longer a trade, craft has taken up a place within visual culture in which it is seen as the expression of artistic identity, produced for an audience with a desire for functionless objects demanding complex aesthetic and conceptual engagelnen·~. Such a description could easily be applied, of course, to arto Gradually, the critical development of makers and the perception of consumers has changed, and long-held beliefs are continually b<.:ing challenged. These new

approaches have resull modern materials and the spaces between art no-longer so easy to m;

Helga Reay- Young as p:

Autumn FeelinS5 consisls

for the space. Hung on buildings, road and tret

the opposing ideas of n craft depends primaril: selves may be indisting1 and content, craft still ( other institutions qUití remain limits to the o persist in spite of the p

Craft histories are beiI theoreticians who are 'celebrities' such as Wi

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

47

Figure 3.5 - Helga Reay- Young, Autumn FeeJinas. Photograph from installation at Cochrane Gallery, London (1999).

approaches have resulted in a broader experimental synthesis of traditional and modern materials and forms. Practitioners and theorists have been interrogating the spaces between art and craft, and their work has ensured that the boundaries are no-longer so easy to map. For example, Autllmn Feelin85 (Figure 3.5) was created by Helga Reay- Young as part of a glass installation for the Cochrane GalIery in London. Alltllmn Feelina5 consists of 19 metres of Float-glass, wire and leaves specially created for the space. Hung on the first floor of the gallery and overlooking the pavement, buildings, road and trees, Reay- Young's intention was for the work to bring together the opposing ideas of nature and the city. The identification of a work such as this as craft depends primarily on where it is exhibited. Indeed, while the objects them­ selves may be indistinguishable in terms of medium, aesthetic and intellectual form and content, craft still operates within a network of galleries, exhibition spaces and other institutions quite distinct from that of arto In this regard, therefore, there remain limits to the overcoming of boundaries between the two, and these may persist in spite of the properties of individual craft practices and artists.

Conclusion Craft histories are being deconstructed and reconstructed by makers, critics and theoreticians who are trying to dispel the myths that have bu.ilt up around craft 'celebrities' such as \Villiam Monis, Charles Rennie Mackintosh or Bernanl Leach,

48

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

and high-profile groups induding the Bauhaus and de Stijl. They have also set out new agendas fOf crafts not based on old arguments but qucstioning wideT socio­ cultural issues. Craft practice has endlessly redcfined itself and devcloped new forms in new media as a response to fine art, design, modernism, postmodernism, educatian, patterns of consumption, dass, politics and all sorts of currenb in social and cultural historr The identity of eraft 15 vcry fragile, but its practices have con­ tinued to cornmand respect. Debates over its meaning and dchnition continuc, and it i5 precisely this protcan and fragile quality tbat a1so makes it so interesting.

Dormer, Peter, ed. The Culture ?f Crqfr- (Manches ter, 1996). Greenhalgh, Paul, E'd. The Persmence r:ifCIrift (1 andon, 2003). Harrod, Tanya. CI~/is if BIltain in the TWentlelh Centurx (Lomlon, 1999) Pye, David. The l.. .:uLUre anJ Arr ~f,ioIkmanshlp (Cambridge, 1968). Rowlcy, Sue. CI~ji and Contemporar}' Theo~~ (St Leonards, Ne\\ South \\'á.ies, 1997).

qI

Notes

ne

Paul Greenhalgh, 'The Hi:'ltorj' of Craft', in Peter Dormer, ed., Cuhure l?I Cra/i (Manchester, 1997), pp. 20-52, at p. 22. Paul Mathieu, 'The Space of Ponery: an Investigation of tbe Nature (Jf Crart:', in G. A. ,11eanlna In lontempllrJr)' CI
Sec PauJ Grt-·enhalgh, 'Thc Histor) ofCraft'.

lmmanuel Kant, The CrH1que i!.j'th,' POl'ier r:if}udacmen[, transo Paul Guyer amI Eric Matthcws

(Cambridge, 2002) § 43, pp. 182-3. On the de"clopment uf the modern systcm of the arts, Sl'(' Paul Oskar Kri.steller, Renawan(c Thuu,qhr amI/he Arr.\ (Ncw York. 1965). John Ruskin, 'Modern Manufacture and !)esign', in Sesame and 1¡líes (London, 1859), p.

4

3 4 5

6 7

Contempora'J Bnwh Tal

20 Texb sueh as .Halmal, cal discussion witrun th The Art anJ CU/fIlIe

if e

21 Alison Britton, The Ma 22 David Whiting, 'AlisOI

p.5J. 23 Alison Rritton, BeJondl 24 Karin Muhlert, 'Sea Cl

Further Reading

2

18 lbid., p. 5. 19 Scc, ror example, the

In. 8 William Morris, 'The Lesser Arts ofl ife' (1882), in W Morris, Thr Cplleclc'J Work ~.n'Villiam .Homs, h,¡. 22 (London, 1910-15), p. 27. 9 See Adrian Forty, 'Design and Meehanisation' ,in A. Fort)', Objeas c:fDesire. Deswn and .~o(Íe9 since 1750 (London, 1995), pp. 42---61. 10 Thomas CarJyk, quoted in G. Naylor, Arts ami CI~¡rS ,Hl'~ement (london, 1980), p. 26. 1 I John Ruskin, 'The Lamp of Ufe', tmm The Seren l.amps uF Arc"hltecture [1849], c¡uoted in Na)'lor, Arts and CI~/r.s MOI'l'mcnt, p. 26. 12 William Morris 'The Art ofthe People' [1879], quoteJ in T. Harrod, The Cr'ifts In Bnrom m (hr 20th Centu'J' (New Haven, CT anJ LonJon, 1999), p. 16, 13 Susan Rowley, 'Craft, Creativit)' and Critical Prac:ticc', in Relnventina Tc.\tiles· TradlflOn and Inno~atIOn (London, 2000), pp. 1 16. 14Ibid.,p.2.

15 S. Rowlc)', CI, Ncw South Wales, 1997), p. niii.

16 Scc HarroJ, The Crafts In Bmaln, p. 386.

17 Roszika Parkcr, The Sllbl'CISive Stit(h (London, 1984).

CONCEPTS OF CRAFT

49

18 ¡bid.. p. 5. 19 See, for example, thc c
22 DavId "'Vhiting. 'Alisan Britton's Ncw C('"ramics', in Crtifts, No. [69 (March/ April 200\),

p.53. 23 Alisan Britton, Bep>nd che Dovetml (Lomlon, 1991).

24 Karin Muhkrt, 'Sea Changcs', in Crqfi8, No. 162 (januar}/Fcbruarj' 2000}, p. 3.

4. Design and Modern Culture 'Design' has multiplc m( user and the eontext

Juliette MacDonald

oE

\vhich meant to draw, bu The ability to produCl Renaissanee when the ri: use of models and plans. lain vvhieh wcre exporte< onwards, Europe. 2 It \\'a sented hefore being prO( Thcre have heen num and one 01' the mast ele dct1ned design as a unifyi Dcsign is what aH f the intelligenee, ttH terro desiBn is a thl \'\.. hether in grapruc

Introduction

or the largcst integl In addition

Thc ver)' word 'dcsign' is a mystery to the cornmon man,l

lo

its definitil

and desirability and as

SUl

magazines. Telcvision pr' This earoment, made in 1938 by the British cTitic Anthony Bertram, ís initially

puzzling given that 'design' had long been in common use. Yet his cornment remaios appositc: design rcmaios .ln elusivc termo Not rncrcly concerncd with the surface appearancc uf things, it ma} be a value-free expression to describe

all¡Jroducts , or it can convcv .1

IUXUT)',

exclusivitv and elitism. The dichotOffiv) \-viII ./

design as .ln ever)'da)' wa sentation of de sigo, whetl they offcr a panicular fao use of the ter m .

proddc the context for this discussion as it raises thc most pertinent issues relat­

The disciplines of desi: vioed tbe theoretical disc

ing to design Jnd the undcTstanding and cxpcctations nf it üvcr the last 150

and the processes of a give

years. Tbis charter commcnces with a hrid' consideration uf the cornmon mean­

the historv of stvle and de

ings of de5;ign and ho.." approaches to the profession haye altcred. It then consid­

ries nI' art as a conceptual

ers the rclationship bct\vcen design amI societ)' in the carl} decadcs of the

neld .lnd encompasses in

tWl'ntieth century hy focusing on thc pioneering work of industrial dcsigners and

cultural stuclies, sociolog

their collahoration with larllc American corporations. Finally., it assesscs the b ,

argues for it to he undel 'dcsign culture', which 'a

emergencc of design as an icon of wcalth and good taste, eoncluding with an cxamination of consumer culture and the role of design within global powcr

tures: not just ones 01' mm

structurcs and consum(:rism.

Europeanity, consumer en

sion oI' hranded leisure su

visitor's ."vhoJe t'xpericnce

DESIGN AND MODERN CULTURE

51

The Concept of Design 'Design' has multiple meanings, which can shift depending upon the identity of the user and the context of use. The word itself is derived from the Latin desianare which meant to draw, but had connotations of planning, eomposing and producing. Thc ability to produce well-drawn concepts (disesno) became vital in the Renaissance when the rise of tracle hetween distant urban centres neeessitated the use of models and plans. China, for example, produced large quantities of porce­ lain which ,\-'ere exported to India, the Miodle East and, from the sixteenth century onwards, Europe. 2 It was, thcrefore, crucial that concepts could be clearly repre­ sented before heing produced 1'or a particular market or a specifie customer. There have been numerous attempts to providc pithy descriptions of the term and one of the most cloquent was formed by theodst Richard Buchanan. who defined design as a unifying system: Design i!'\ what a1l forms of production for use have in common. It provides the intelligenee, the thought or idea - of course, one of the meanings of the term desisn is a thought or plan - that organizes all levels 01' production, whether in graphic design, engineering and industrial design, architecture. or the largcst integrated sJ'stems found in urban planning. J In addition to its definition as a process. 'design' can connote luxury, modernit)' and desirahility and as such is found in the 'lifest)'le' pages ofweekend papcrs and magazines. Television programmes that centre on home improvements portray design as an everyday way ol' tife accessible to aH. Each interpretation and repre­ st.'ntation ol' design, whethcr it i5 as a plan, a concept or commodity. i:'i valid because they ofFer a particular facet of meaning. and together they contri bu te to the m'erall use of the termo The disciplines of dcsign history, design studies and material culture have pro­ vided thc theoretical discourscs used to describe the connections between design and the processes of a given society. The early study ofdesign was preoccupied with the history ol' style and decoration, and was heavil)' influenced by formalist histo­ ries orart as a conceptual model.o} More recently, howe\-'er, it has he come <1 broader field and cncompasses interdisciplinary interest in the social sciences. including cultural studies, sociology and anthropology. [n The Culture qf Desisn Guy ]ulier argues 1'or il to be understood within the context of an increasingly pervasive 'design culture', which 'appropriates and employs a wide range of discursive fea­ tures: not just ones ()f modernity, but also risk, heritage, sub-cultural, public space, Europcanity, consumer empowcrment and many others'. ') For example, his discus­ sion ol' branJed Icisurc such as theme parks and visitor attractions shows how the visitor's \vholc C'xperience has bccome the subject of design strategies. Julier notes:

52

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Design o\ves much of its italist one where eonsun For example, within the restock their wardrobe i to think that Western-s' lution of thc nineteenth life for many Europeans hetween consumerism al design historian Adrian prohJems to designers:

What is described • mous with the ran~ the henents are m güüds. Rut it is a pe hrings a sequ~nce o so that, in the name

Figure 4.1 - O[¡r D)'n'lmic Earth, Edinhurgh. Author's photograph (2004).

tantly related and p 'kisure spaces providc a veritahlc 8csamtkunsrwerk [total art1 of cxpcriences '. lo Thc

Dynamj( farth created in Edinburgh in 1999 (Figure 4.1) 15 a

Thc SUCTess ol' sueh pr

prime cxample of such ao experienn.'. In addition to text, video clips and static

to its ability to inspire a d.

cxhibits, the intcrac-tiye displays including \vork hy Michael Wolchover's campan)'.

engine in the ninetecnth

exhibition centre

OUT

A Slight Shift, simulate cvents in lhe Earth's evolutÍon, whilst lhe striking music

upon the creation of a me

anJ sound design hy Pete Sto\lcry and sophi.<;ticated lighting design fuse the

induce. Again, Forty note

encountcr into an impressive ""hole. Thc visitor's ongoing C'xperience is al.<;o con­

design, through its capaeit

sidcrcd as part uf the design proccssj the exhihitían contextualises sorne glohal

important. Design alters 1

phenomena ín terms uf th<.' loeallandscape, such as Arthur's Seat, the ,-o\canie hill

In Europe in the first (

that forms the backdrop to the centre which visítors see when they leave. Thc

to conlTrn themselves wi

huilding itsclf, designed by Michael Hopkins and Partners, contains a larg<.' fore­

the müdernist movement

court that functions as a public spacc as ,",veH as a foycr for the exhihitíon. The spacc

predominant issues, and

1

D__v namj(

basic dcsign vocabulary. T

Eartn promotes the architecture as having aH extended role: just as 'Holyrood ical evülution. so the Dynamic Earth Projcct uses afl·hitccture to conncet natural

by the American arehitecl pervading la,," 01' aH thing! 01' aH thin(15 hum , C> P hvsical,

history to human and civic Jife'.7 Taken together, thcse elements provide a can'­

of thc h('ad, ofthc heart. (

full)" designed contenl <'Uld contcxt for the visitor. Designcrs have a crucial role in

form c\"er follovvs functio

can he used as an amphitheatre for performan<.T events, and here again

OUT

Palace and lhe ne,"' [Seottish¡ Parliament building use architecture to suggest polit­

shaping the media

as well as the user interface and it is ckar from this, and

ticalíty 01' an objcct was p.

from othcr examples, that dcsign possesses a \vide-ranging role in contemporar)'

functionalit\'. Surbce deta

Western societ\', lhat arvuablv I)enetrates aH sl)heres of Jite. C>,

of the object"

(ontent

DESIGN AND MODERN CULTURE

53

Design, Consumption and Capitalism Design owcs much 01' its ubiquity to the fact that Westcrn society is a liberal, cap­ ítalist one where consumerism relies on design to fud ever greater consumption. For example, wjthin the fashion industry ever)' 'season' requires the consumer to rcstock their wardrohe in the seasons 'new' colours. It would be wrong, however, to think that Western-style consumerism onl)' began with thc lndustrial Revo­ lution of the nineteenth century. Consumerbm had become an established wal' of life for man)' Europeans by the seventcenth century.8 Consequcntly a relationship hetwccn consurnerism and design in the West was aIread)' established. Yet, as the design historian Adrian Forty points out, capitalism brought its o\\'n particular prohlcms to designers: What is descrihed as progrcss in modern societics is in fact IargeIy s)'nony­ mous with thc range of changes brought ahout by industrial capital. Among thc henehts are more food, hetter transport and a greater abundancc 01' goods. But it is a pcculiarity 01' capitalism that each beneficial innovatian also brings a sequence of othcr changes, not al! oi' which are desired by aH peoplc so that, in thl:" turne of progress, we are compdled to accept a grcat man)' dis­ tantl), rdated and possibly unwantcd changes. g The success of such progress, despite its attendant problems, can he attributed to lts ahilit)' to inspire a desire for dlJ.nge. Any new product. whether it be a steam engine in the ninctccnth century 01' nanotcchnology in the twenty-first, depends upon thc creation 01' a mood of acccptance for the product ami any changes it may induce. Again, Forty notes that: 'Among thc ways in which this acccptancc is \Von, design, through its capacit)' to makc things seem other than they are, has been most important. Design altcrs the ways people scc commodities.' 10 In Europe in the first decades 01' thc twentieth century man)' designers began to coneCTn themsehes \vith the moral and political dimensions of designo Within the modernist movement utility, standardisation and mass production became the predominant issues, and the rdation between form and function provided their basÍC' design vocabulary. The phrase 'form follows function' dedved from an essa)' by thc American architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), who argued that 'It i5 the perlfading la", of aH things organíc, and inorganic, ol' aH things physical and meta­ physical, uf all things human and aH things super-human, ol' all true manifestations of the head, ol' the heart, of the soul, that life is recognisable in its expresslon, that form ever follows function.' 11 In terms of the design process, the utilit)' or prac­ ticality of an object was paramount and the form was a consequence of achieving funetionalitl" Surl'acc (ktail was not aHowed to impinge upon the functional design of thc objcct.

54

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Designers such as 'lv'alter Gropius, the hcad of the Bauhaus School in Germany, Pierre Jeannerct (better knO\.. .m as Le Corbusier) in Franee, members of the De Stijl group in the Netherlands and the Constructivists in Russia forrncd a reper­ toire of abstraet geometric forms from mudern materials which they believed ",erc the most suitahle functional dcsign for standardiscd mass production. For cxample, Warwawa Stepanova, J lcading proponent ofRussian Constructivism, believed that

art and design could be combincd to create potent, progressive forces in the De\\' machinc~age saciety and her textile and clothing design... reflectcd thi5 aim. Amongst the ruany designs she crcated were sports clothes adorned with hold geo­ metric designs which could be easily mass-produced in clothing fadories. Avant­ garJe furniturc simHarly reHected these utilitarian belicfs and chromium-plated tubular stee1 became a popular choice of material because it was light, durable anJ produced in standardised parts. These parts were then formeJ to shape flUlctional chairs, tables and lamps, which again required no additional decoration. Modernist acsthetic notions of form and function \VtTe gradually superscded. None the less. these ideas were significant bccause they provideJ an ideology for the role of dcsign in a modern industrialiscd societ)'. Whi]st designers in earl)' twenticth-centur)' Europe concerned themselvcs with a body of design theory which emphasised form and practicality, and their signifi­ cance for sodety, in thc United States thc emphasis centrcd more on the potential of technology itself. The ke)' factor was the unshakcable belief in tcchnology and its ability to transform the world into a bcttcr place to líve. Thc theme 01' the New York \Vorld's Fair of 1939 was 'Dcsign lar Tomorrow', and it pnwided an ideal opportunit)' lar industrial designers and large American corporations to work together to sell their ideas to the general publk and 'to situate themselves as pow­ erful economic forces in the quest to stimulate consumer dcmand' .12 Man)' of the displays were conccrned \vith specd and travel.ln thc 'Transportation Zone' visi­ tors could l/iC\v Raymond Locwy's ideas on improving travel betwecn London and Ncw York in the form of a passenger rocket being fired from a gun, with the pro­ jeeted journey time being one hour. lnside the Ford Motor Compan)" Ruilding, 'A-'alter Dorwln Teague's -Ford Cycle of Production' was on \'iew, and vehicles such as Lincoln-Zephyrs were availahlc for road-testing on the spiral 'Road ol' TomorrO\v'. Visitors could \vitness the bcnefits of a Westinghouse electric dish­ washer in Wcstinghouse's 'Battle of the Centuries'. Having been \\'elcomcd into the exhihit by the se\'en foot-high robot, Electro, and his robotic dog Sparky, visi­ tors were invited to watch a Jishwashing contest bet".'cen Mrs Modern, \vho uscd the company's latest model dishwasher, and Mrs Drudge, who washcd by hand. The collaboration bctween industrial dcsign. corporate idcntity and branding \'.'as clearly evident in the Fair. Thcrc \'.'ere, of couTSe, financial benefits to be gained lrom this rclationship, but dcsign had an additional role to play in American socicty through its contrihution to the formation 01' a national amI cultural identity. The

United States had witne begjnning 01' the twenti of races and nationalitit: all of whom wished to estahlish an American id and comfort carne to rel Kryk wrote Economic Prc Protection of heal and longevity - is This motive with( Physical comfort í American standarc the widespread sy eas)' chairs. 1 J Alongside hygiene anl abundan ce of commodit reflected these ideals al

an emphasis on charac American. Such comrnOl

ities capable of achieving Raymond Loewv's de~ example of the way a desi He received the comrnis

estahlishcd cornmodity o generall\' foC'used on tht: could pnwidc. However,

whilst they workcd effic

reflcct the hygienic imag' Coldspar "f 1936. In place taller, .streamlined versior concealed hinges. Certair handJes, this appliance ~

fas:ade and brilIünt \vhitt The design's emphasis DI Corbusier, and it was the.

also la id down the paraml from rddgerators to was] Ret\\'een the first and 5 on]y other designcrs hut \

DESIGN AND MODERN CULTURE

55

Unitcd States had \\'itncsscd large-scale irnmigration at the end of thc ninctccnth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. America "\-"as thus eomposed of a wide range al' races and nationalities cach ,"vith their

0\\'0

traditions, culture and languag<.', out

aH of whom \\'ishcd to be considered American. lt was, thcrefore, important to

cstablish an American ideal \\rith which cvcryone could ¡dentify. Hygiene, cleanlinc:-;s and comfort carne to represent important characteristics of this ideal. In 1933 Hazel

Kryk ,"vrote EconornJc Problcms ?fthc Fami{r in which she set out key American values: Protection 01' health - everything promoting physical bealth, badil), vigour and longcvity -- is a]so undoubtedly on the list of values rated rclatively high. This motive without question justífies any expenditure of time and mone)'. Physical comfort and oodily cleanliness too, ... rank relativcly high in the American standard of living.... The physical comfort motive shows itself in the \'videspread systems of central heating, electric fans, refrigeration amI eas)' chairs. 13 Along~idc hygicne and health sat a fundamental belief in material wealth and the

aoundance of commodities. 14 Design played a central roJe in creating objects that rd]ected the~c ideals and thus appealed to the many minoríty groups through an emphasis on eharacteristics which immediatel)' molde them identifiable as Americiln. Sueh eommon dcnominators molde the objects into desirable commod­ ities cilpahlc uf achieving mass sales and prornoting the idea

01' prosperity

Rayrnond Loewy\, design for a new rcfrigerator for Sears Roebuck ofIers a good example of the wa)' a dcsigner could incorporate suc'h ideals into a domestic ooject. He receivecl the cornmission in 1935 and oy this time refrigerators were a well­ established commudity on toe American market. The advertising relating to them generally focused on the hygienic and hl'illth-giving properties the refrigerators could provide. However, the)' were normaJJy encased \"ithin a wooden cabinet and, whilst thc)' worked eHiciently and efTectivel)', Lheir appcarance did not readily reHect the h)'gienic image of the advertising campaigns. Loew)"s solution was the Coldspot of 1936. In placc of the large l angular wooden cabinet Loewy produced a taller, streamlined version molde fram pressed stecl. It al so had a smooth finish with concealed hinges. Certainly, withaut the extrusions 01' hinges and numcrous door handles, this appliance was much easier to clcan. More importantl)" the s]eek fac;'ade and brilliant \-"hite finish exaggerated the elements of hygiene and purit)'. The design's emphasis on cieanliness coincided \\·ith the modernist ideas of Le Corbusier, and it was the epitome of the American design ideal described above.lt also laid down the parameters for the design of aH subsequent kitchen appliances frorn refrigerilLors to \,,'ashing machines and dishwashers. Bctween the first and seconrl world wars such innovatary dcsigns inspired not onl)' otber rlesigners but WesLern so cid)' in gcm:ral. S<.'veral writers, for example,

56

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

have noted the inHucncc of the strearnlined shapes of aircraft, traios and domestic

appliances of Normal Be! Geddes, Rayrnond Locw)' and Walter Dorwin Teague on the imagined spaccships of science fiction. As Woodham notes in his hook no twen­ tieth-century design:

famous notion of the

they used psycbology

huying whatever the a( Fuller, (me of America'

ical of both the growi Coneepts such as speed and changc, and the exploration ofthe possibilitics o[

intended to last a Jiret

new material s, together with the deve10pment of new modes of transport

of time - and .lIso the ~

and appliances werc abo common to both the more extravagant futurcs por­

energies into developi

trayed by Be! Geddes and many science-fiction writers, illustrators and film

benefit from mínimum

makers. 15

'Dymaxion', attempte

mathematics to produl Henry. Ford's Motor Company . clearly articulated the relationship hctwccn

ecologically sound. Ur

society's fascinatian with speed, technology, mass production and consumerism.

to achieve widespread

Establisberl in 1901, Ford's Model-T cars were bigbly sougbt alter. Tbcir popular­

tions in which he artic

jt)' necessitated changes in production which were to have a profound effect

and marketing were t,

throu(1hout the industrjalised world. In 1908 Ford introduccd thc production-line

cxample, in 1950 he al

to

re~ace nodal

assembly. Tasks were divided into smaller unÍts and machines

replaccd handv·."Ork wherever possible. The single-purposc dcdicated machinery

industrial design

resulted in a vastly incrcased scak of production, which, in turn, resulted in

company will let

cheapcr cars. By 1927 a total of hfteen million cars had tollcd off the assembly

Industrial desigm

lineo 16 The \'lorkers

awardcd higher wages as compensation for the deskilling

torso Ancl yet. I'v

and monotony the)' endured, but the real change to consumer history brought

the steamship, Un

WCTC

about hy Ford was not so much the production of the Model T, hut tathcr the

that the industria

company's introduction 01' the cíght-dollar, five-day working \'leek. What la)'

:;ailing clown Nev

behind thc pay-packet \Vas the recognition that mass production reguired mass

cloucls and brie­

consumption; Fonl was cteating a matket for his goods \'lithin his O\'ln workforce

together. 20

since they" could no\\" afford to buv , his cars. The consequences of Fordism for design \Ver e enormous and it ttansformcd numerous sectors of manufacture from

The second world war (

food ,md dothes to furniture and larming. Tt also had an impact on advcrtising, Cor­

lcscence, hut it also enc(

potate ¡dentit)' and hranding, all of \vhich were required to ensure the stcad), con­

design continued as a

sumption of goods.

markets. Scandinavian (

Superficially, the cxtravagant exhibits at the World Fair and contcmpotaty domestic commodities rdlccted thc hencfits of the collaboration bet""'ecn

1

oversea.-; consumptlOn. simplicit)'- Ital)' similarl

dynamic dcsigners and magnanimous corporations. It was also apparent, however,

Europe. Th" ltalian gOVt

that the 'well-designed future' would incrcase a compan)"s profit margins. As a

establishment of three-'

result, companies in the 1930s frequentl)' used a sttateg)' of 'consumer engineer­

raised the pro lile of its

ing' whieh shortened the cycle of consumption by placing an emphasis on stylc

'ltal)' at Work: Hcr Ren

rather than function.

17

N ot evervone ho\Vcvet, agtccd \..-ith this ovcrt dependence "

L

However, the succes

ol' eapitalist production un designo In the 19505 the sociologist Vanee Packard

out the 1950s and 196C

argued that advertiser.'i w-ete manipulating public desire fur nc\..- goods by creat­

they perceived as capita

ing artificial necds in comumers. Ueseribing advertising eompanies with thc now

in common with PackaJ

DESIGN AND MüDERN CULTURE

57

famous notion of the 'hiddcn persuaders', Packard analyscd the \-vays in which they used psychology as a means of stirnulating the consumer into desiring and buying whatcver rhe advertiser wished them to. 18 Similarlv, , , Richard Buckminster Fullcr, orre al' America's most radical designers of rhe perioo, was particularly crit­ ical of both the gmwiIlg treno towards bujlt~jn obsolescence - goods \'Vere not ¡otended to last a Iifetime but rather to becomc outdated within a limited space

of time - and also rhe snperficial styling of many consumer products. 19 He put ros energies into devdoping a 'design sciencc' thar ,..'ouId offer maximum human bencfit [roro minimum use of material and energy. His concept, ,""hieh he termed 'Dymaxion', attempted to combine a visionar)' Yiew of design with sc\encc and mathematics to produce yehicles Jnd houses ..vhich were economical to use and ecologicall)' sound. Unfonunately, the majorit)' of FulJer's design projects failed to achie\'c widcspread acceptance, Perhaps of more use were his many publica­ tions in which he ;¡rticulated his strong belicfs that industrial desjgn, advertising and marketing were too closel)' associaterl ,.... ith each other and dishoncst. For exampk, in 1950 he argued thato industrial tlesign is a ver)' tarnishcd affair I assure you that no aircraft: company willlet an industrial designer through its engineering front door. Industrial designers are considereu

to

be pure interior and exterior necora­

torso And yet. I've listcned to industria! designen,: asscrt that they designed the steamship, United States. If you were tu exhibit sehematicalI)' aH the items that the industrial designers creatcd for the United ,)fate" )'on would have sailing down New York Harbour an arra)'

01' window curtains, ehairs, paint

clouds and bric-a-brac Hoating in space, '\\-ith nothing to reaHy hold it together. 20 The second world war C'urb"d thc tendencics uf styling for profit and built-in obso­ lescenee, but it also encouraged much more efficient modes of production. Similarl)" design continued as a useful tool with which manufacturers couId develap new markets, Scandinavian countries, for cxample, promoted 'Scandinavian Desjgn' for overseas consumption. The objects the)' produced for export empha~jsed functional simpliC"ity. ltaly similady attcmpted to cultivate its identity as the design centre of Europe. The Italian government activel)' promoted its country's designs through the establishment of three-year JesigIl exhibitions (Triennalc) in Milan, and in 1950 it raiscd thc profile of its designcrs by sending a majar travelling exhibition entitled 'Ital)' at Work: Hcr Renaissance in Design Today' to the United Statcs. Hov.'ever, the suecess of Italian dcsign brought its own problems and through­ out thc t 950s and 1960s members of the Italian avant-garde began to dislike what they percC'ive-d as capitalist expectations of their work. Their accusations hacl much in common v.'ith Packard's hcliefs that dcsign had bccome a cheap marketing ploy,

58

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

an<1 as a rcsult they were trapped into producing fashionable, elegant dorncstic commodities. Manufacturen, they argucd, wcn~ merely 'responding to the eco­ nomic dictates of the market-place rather than the imaginative ami crcativc pos­ sibilities

01'

design as a mean S (lf cnhancing the quality of Jife' .21 As a result,

avant-garde designers such as Ettore Sottsass Jr ami Gaetano Pesce set out to rcclc­ hne Italian dcsign hy rcjcctíng rationalism and elegance and exploring kitsch, eclec­ ticism and nostalgia. Yet this solution "\'as rncrdy a changc of dcsign rathcr than a changc of the natuH.' (lf dcsign and its relationship to manufacture and consump­ tion. Many 01' the designs produced as a part of this anti-design movement were dccidedly un-chic. Pescc's Sit Down eh.1ir ol' 1970 for the Milan-based eompan)' Cassina is an ideal examp1e of the anti-design attempt to undermine market-lcd expectations. Inspired hy Claus Oldenberg's work and anthropomorphic in form, the SIt Down attempted to defiect attention away from styk, form and blatant con­ sumcrism, and focus instead on design's broader socio-cultural functions. Similar1y, Sottsass's questioning of the status ami meaning of objeLts .lIso played a pivotal role in the avant-garde dimate of the late 1960s and 19705. He forged a long-standing relationship with Olivetti for whom he designed office furniture and machinery. His "vorks combined technical adjustments with an exploration uf the nature of taste and thc percei....cd status of objccts. His Va]enrine typc""ritt:'r of 1969, for example, was small, eompact and made ofred plastic. This mcant it was light, cas)' to move and keep clean and, therefore, ideal for the ofhce environmt:'nt. Yd its decorative appearanee suggested it was more of a fashion acccssory th.1n a func­ tional office appliance. Sottsass's establishment of the dcsign group Mcmphis in conjunetion with Michele De Lucehi similarly provided a stimulating ethos ror dt:'sign throughout th(' 1980s. Found('d in Milan in 1981, Memphis ncver fnrmulatcd .1n established design philosophy but none the less attempted to responrl to th(' culture of th(' time by disassociating itsclf from cstablished notions of design .1nd the homogenisation

01' mass markets: 'For Sottsass the use of imagination and a rieh visuallanguage in dcsign \vas both a means of enhancing the consumer experience and 01' persuading manufac-turt:'r5 to re-examine their understanding nf thc acsthetic possihilities inhcrent in e\"er)'day products.'22 Memphis has been deseribed as the ultimate 'rrult salad' and Sottsas.<; hims('lf commcntcd: 'Anything that ís tamed by culture lost:'s its flavour after a \""hile, it's like eating eardboard. You have to put mustard 011

Figure 4.2 - Ettore Sotsass,

it or take little picccs of canlboard and eat them with tomatoes and salad. It's a

lot bt:'ttt:'r ir you don't eat cardboard at .111.'13 Many of the objccts crcatcd by

Sotsass's Carlton Bookcas/

Mcmphi.~ dcsign"-Ts

were produccd from plastic laminate mat.erials in bright 'tutti­

group's ideas: the bookl

J"rutti colours. In addition, the form of the objeets thcmsclvcs rcvealcd a profound

emphasis Ís sharpl), focus

l

anti-functionalist attitudc, and ideas for their designs \vere drawn f"rom a \vide

Memphis designers w,

range of sourees encompassing everything from ancient civilisation to American

ceramics, and beh"'t:'en th

consumerism as weH as making reference to both high and popular culture.

they wcre united in the bf

OESIGN ANO MOOERN CULTURE

59

Figure 4.2 - Ettore Sotsass, Corlton Bookcose (1981). Photograph © MEMP[-[]S.

Sotsass's CarItan Baakcase (Figure 4.2), created in 1981, is the epitome of the group's ideas: the bookcase hardly looks capable of supporting books and the emphasis is sharply focused on its aesthetic qualities. Memphis designers worked in a variety of media, including textiles, glass and ceramics, and between them they produced a disparate range of objects. However, they were united in the belief that design was an integral part of the fashion process.

60

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

In the catalogue accom¡ designers stated that th style. The irony, as SOlDe imitated, resulting in th This New Design, a~ voice. Objects containiJ to have a particular mar ignation 'high design' along with the price-tal: credentials of an artefa, objects for display and ci found in museums and everyday use. Michael Philippe Starck's lemO! Alessi) are representativ

tional kitchen device it ( prevent pips from fallin spatter until one learns

Novelty has thus apparel process and consequent can, however, be argued

cial styling. Such objcct~ owed by their symbolic sense is a privilege, beca ically conspicuous but rr

taste and culture. This n

of this book, and it has 1 the chief function of a fu

ments this is merely an e something as culturall) rational function (protel cultural value lies in di~ Thus here, and in the

c;

mythologised27 It repre style-conscious consume Jean Baudrillard fashi< consume objects, only ~ Figure 4.3 - Philippe Starck,juic)' SalifLemon Squeezer (1990). Author's photograph (2004).

example, the consumer

OESIGN ANO MüOERN CULTURE

61

In the catalogue accompanying the group's first exhibition in September 1981 the designers stated that they believed that Memphis furniture would soon go out of style. The irony, as sorne critics noted, was that the design group's ideas were widely imitated, resulting in the commercial conformity they had attempted to escape. 24­ This New Design, as it was termed, also laid more emphasis on the authorial voice. Objects containing a celebrity dcsigner's signature carne to be understood to have a particular mark of distinction. These objects generally fall within the des­ ignation 'high design' where 'conscious designer intervention and authorship, along with the price-tag, playa large role in establishing the cultural and aesthetic credentials of an artefact'. 25 Such objects blur the boundaries between designed objects for display and designed objects to be consumed, as they are not only to be found in museums and fashionable galleries but they may also be purchased for everyday use. Michael Grave's Kettle with Bird produced for Alessi in 1985 and Philippe Starck's lemon squeezer, JUieJ 501if (Figure 4.3) from 1990 (also for Alessi) are representativc ofthis trend.JuieJ 501ifhas a striking form, but as a func­ tional kitchen device it does not perform well; users comment that it is difficult to prevent pips fmm falling into the glass along with the juice and the juice tends to spatter until one learns exactly how much pressure to exert.

Critiques of Design Novelty has thus apparently overtaken function as prime concern within the design process and consequently design is often perceived as shallow and superficial. It can, however, be argued that these elements of kitsch represent more than superfi­ cial styling. Such objects function as metaphors; their utilitarian role is overshad­ owed by their symbolic role as an official item of contemporary culture. This in a sense is a privilege, because the owner has something that is functional and aesthet­ ically conspicuous but more importantly it sets her /him apart as a person of good taste and culture. This notion of object as metaphor is explored in a later chapter of this book, and it has led to an important critical reassessment of designo While the chief function of a fur coat, for example, appears to be protection from the ele­ ments this is merely an excuse, 'a way of naturalizing the cultural order, of making something as culturally arbitrary as a status symbol appear to have a natural and rational function (protection) and one that is motivated by reality' .26 The coat's cultural value lies in distinguishing very wealthy men and women from others. Thus here, and in the case of JUieJ 5011, it can be argued that function has been mythologised. 27 It represents far more than utility, in that it signifies affluent and style-conscious consumerism. Jean Baudrillard fashioned similar claims in the 1960s, arguing that we no longer consume objects, only signs. He contended that by buying a fridge-freezer, for example, the consumer is not so much buying a utilitarian object as invoking an

62

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

entire system of meaning. 28 A streamlined Loewy Coldspot refrigerator, through employing acode of modern functionality, can be said to have signified domestic modernity. The sociologist Dan Slater has suggested that Baudrillard demonstrates that 'this systematic semiotic relatedness gives the underlying dynamic of contem­ porary consumer culture, as production, marketing and retailing are increasingly oriented to provide consumers with coherent, coordinated and appealing life-style concepts, ... which give both the consumer and consumer goods a firm social iden­ tity within a meaningful universe' .29 In other words, design can be understood as

1

a symbolic activity representing the consumption of signs (such as function and utility) rather than the consumption of the objects themselves. Over the past few decades consumer culture has witnessed a shift from the Fordist mass production of standardised goods for a homogeneous consumer to a more fragmented culture of specialised production of commodities for a precise consumer group which is c1.efined by Jifesty!C or niche markets rather than by c1ass, age or gender. This post-Fordist system is less concerned with industrial designers and more reliant on design consultants and producers of 'concepts'. Consumption, not prodllction, is the dominating force. lt is abo clear that through an emphasis on lifestyle and consumerism design has become a global commodity. This is unsur­ prising since design consultants and the design press have worked hard to give it a critical econornic role within the market-place. Design has played a central role in creating corporate identities, logotypes and branding associated with specific prod­ ucts and companies. This in turn has 'been a powerful testimony to the perceived ability of design to communicate particular cultural values, as well as to engender corporate profitability'. 30 Global brands are said to be the top wealth creators in the world. However, their ability to enrich society has often been challenged. In Seattle in 1999 at the World Trade Organisation talks, the street protest at the dominance of global brands erupted into violence. Naomi Klein's book No Loao abo offered a challenge to global consumerism and raised the leve! of debate regarding the worth of global branding and the role of multinational corporations. 31 The role of designers became a crucial isslle. It was widely recognised that design was a powerful too!. As the designer Tibor Kalman commented, for example, design has the potential to make oil companies look clean or a tomato sauce appear to be made by someone's grandmother 32 The Adbusters Media FOllndation based in Canada sim­ ilarly issued a challenge to the international design community by creating 'uncom­ mercials' and spoof advertisements (Figure 4.4). They abo publishe
Figu re 4.4 - ObsessionJor ¡l·

Whilst Adbusters ir

ticular, drew much sUF of designers retaliated

Aaoinst Future Retro-Ma

tricable links between

would not change even objectives. 34 Some of these issues

ogy of the culture that F

OESIGN ANO MOOERN CULTURE

63

Figure 4.4 - Obsession Jor ¡Hen. From Adbusters magazine (1993). Photograph © Adbusters.

Whilst Adbusters in general, and the First Things First 2000 manifesto in par­ ticular, drew much support they also had their critics. In England, a small group of designers retaliated by producing their ovv11 manifesto entitled A CaIl to Arms Against Future Retro-jJ;Janifestos from the DisiIlllsioned, which pointed out the inex­

tricable links betweCll design and capitalisrn and argued that this relationship would not change even if designers thernselves were to re-evaluate their airns and objectives. 34 Sorne of these issues concerning the relationship between design and the ideol­ ogy of the cultUl"c that produces it have been addressed by the design historian Peter

64

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Dormer, who has often spoken up in defence ol' designo In The Meunings c1J11oJern

Design he argued that design and manufacturing do not have their roots in advertis­ ing OT television but in human expericnce, and that achicving the continuity 01' progress should be the fundamental desire of cvery designer. 'The point for dcsign­ ers i5 that, in .ln agc of scepticism. mOTe and mOTe weight is being givcn by soci­ eties to the social rules, obligations and institutions that providc continuity and service in al! its moral complexity.'35 In other words, Dormer \t\'as highlighting the need for design to offer practica} ser vice to institutions and cornmunities and to truthfully represent the ideals and values of people within those groups. Dcsign's social responsibility has al so been debated in Tdation to the environ­

ment. This aspiration is clearl)' articulatcd in the l'ollowing comment which appeared in Green PaBe.c The Business t?I Sm'inB lhe World: 'The grccn consumcr is likely to be an increasingly important inHuenee in the world of product designo Designcrs who ignore the l'act, or who allow their clients to ignore it, risk losing out on sorne ol'the most exciting marketing opportunities of the eighties and nine­ ties.,j6 Such av,,'arcness has resulted in the development ol' environmentally driven clesign agencies such as 02, a glohal collectivl' that l'ocuses on ecological concerns such as sustainabilit)', and ,",'orks with tracle and industry to minimise an)' destruc­ tivc impacto 37 Oesignen; within the group have produccd a wide variety ol' prod­ ucts. These range from Droog Design plant pots made l'rom cattle dung, which simultaneously use \,"aste material whilst l'ertilising plants as they grow, to Trevor Ba)'liss's wind-up radios for countries ¡n Africa, where battcries are not ahvays availahlc, but where dissemination of information to comhat AIDS, for example, can he crucial.

Conclusion Clearl)', design is integrated into the \vider patterns ol' consumerism and society. Yet designers can be active participants in debating these critical issues through a eombination of theoretical discourse and dcsign practicc. Despite the numerous criticisms, design is clearl)'· not merely' a matter of the surface appearanee of objects; i1. is dcepl), rooted in 1.he strueture and the evolution of society. 11. shapes and, indecJ, is shapcd by the cultural, political, economie and sodal environment in which it evolvcs.

Further Reading Fony, Adriall. ObJeas ef Desire: DC;J8n and Sourty SinO: 1750 (1ondon, 1995).

Heskctt, John. '/;JOthPICks <1nd 108[15: Dc.'l8n In Erc~lJay 1 iJé (Oxford, 2002)

Julier, Guy. Thc Culture 4Des18n (London, 2000).

Margc1lin, Victor, cd. [)c>J8n Discoursc: Hntor!. Thcor:v, CrifirHm (Chicago, 1989).

Woodham, Jonathan. Twentterh-Ccmury DcsJ8n (OxEon1, 1997).

I Anthony Bcrtram, DesiBI 2 On the rising lrade bctw, ([ ondon, J 99S); Lisa Jar anJ lH!st (London, 200( i}Jichdangf10 (Oxfonl, 20 3 Ric"hanl Buehanan, cited

(Chicago, 1%9), p. 3.

4 On the dnelopmcnt of (

¡he 1-{¡st(l~)' uIDesign (1on( S Cuy Julier, ]"he Culture ej' 6 Ibid., 1'.147. 7 Scc wW\"".dynamicearth e 8 Simon 'lch;ma, Emharra:'s (London, ¡ 987) offers a gl Ndherlands. 9 Adrian Forty, OhJccls ofDe 10 Ibid., p. 1I 11 Louis Sullivan. 'A Tall 01 Kindergarten ChrliS (rfJlised 1 12 jonathan Woodharn, Tirent 13 H. Kryk, circe! in Forh, Ol 14 Ibid. .

J 5 Woodham, Twcntietn.(entu. 16 Sec.'\ ldou.s lfuxlcy, Bran: N disation by imagining a mI: film ,110dem rlm~s oE 1936 17 Sel' Kay Shddon and E~ (Nc\',' York, 1932). 18 Sce Vallce PaC"kard, The }¡ 19;7

19 See james Meller, eJ., The j 20 R. Buckrnimter FulJcr 'Th Uni\ersity of Orcgon ¡'n 19 21 \Voodharn, ljventlrth.Cenrur; 22 Ibid .. 1'. 196. 23 Ettore Sottsas.'>, citC'd in Mid 1986), p. In. 24 Sce Volkcr H.~chcr, ed., Oesj 25 Julier, The Culture qfDcs/8 n ,; 26 Don Slater, Consumer Culture 27 See Roland Banhc.'i, J~)'lholq 28 lean Ballrlrillard, fhe' Systcm. 29 Slater, Consuma Culture and ,i 30 Woodham, 7¡'¡'·entieth.Century 31 Naomi KJein, No '.ogo (Lond. 32 Alkn Case)', 'Tibor Kalrnan: 1998), p. 25. 33 First fhm8s Fmr .lfan!festo l{lC

OESIGN ANO MüOERN CULTURE

65 Notes

3

4 5 6 7 8

9

la 1J

12 1i 14 15 16

17 1S \9

20

21 22 23 24 2')

26 27 28 29

30 31 3~

33

Anthony Ikrtram, Dcsl,qn (London, 1938) p. 1\. ()n thc rising tl"ad(· Dctwecn Europe and Asia, see Craig Cluna:'., Chmese Export Art and Deslfln (London, 199B); Lisa jardinc am)jerry Brotton, Glohal InlCTóh Renaissance An bClll·ú'n East .m J HesT (London, 2000); Jerr)' Brotton, The Renl1l.lxonce Ra7QQr: hom the Silk Rood ro .lúdle!anlje!o (Oxfonl, 200i). Richanl Buchanan, cited in Vic10r Margolin, ed., De,I'18n DiscoulSe: HlSrO~", Theo"r, Cn/lCIsm (Chicago, 1989), p. 3. On lhe deve!opm('nt ol' Jesign history as a diKiplitle, see John Walker, DC:ilgn HmofJ cmJ lhc HHro"r rif Deslljn (London, 1989). Gu)' Julier, lhe Cu!lure ?IDi!sIBn (Lonclon, 2000), p. ). [hid., p. 147. Se!.: \\w\v.dvnalllÍC"earth.co.uk. Simon Schama, [mbarTassmenr o/ RH'hc,': ,m Imerprewllon of Dureh Cuflure In the Colden /Ifle (London, 19~7) otTl'r~ a good account of' the consumerist hoom in the sC\cntccnth-century Netherlal\rls. Adrian Forty, ObJens ?J De.wC." De.';JBn and SOCIél} .IWü' 1750 (London, 1995), p. 11. Ihid.,p.l!. Louis Sullivan, 'A Tal] Ofticc Building Artisrically Comidered' (\896), jn 1. Atlw\', ('d. KmJ.:rjarten ChClls (m ¡,ed /918) ilnJ Otha ll"lItlllfls (New York, 19+7), pp. 202 13. Jonathan \Voodham, TwcntIClh-Cenrury DC.i13n (Oxl'ord, 1997), p. n. H. Kr)'k, cited in Fony, Obleet., arDes/re, p. 245. Ibid. \Voodham, 7i~rnllerh-CenruryDeslgn, p. 71. Sel' A]dous Huxley, Bmre :\ew ¡f;Jrld (1932), which Jtta<..'ks such meciunisation and ~tandar­ di~ation by imagining a nwd1<1ni~tic socicty devoid 01' (,lllotion. AJso, t1lí' Charlic Chaplin ti]m .l{oJan Times of 19 3b, which ~imilarly attelllpts to portr"y these ideas. Se!' Ray Shddon ami ....gmont Arens, Comumcr LnBIneenno· /1 \'cw 7echmque Jor Prospl'lJt) (New York, \932). Sce Vance Packard, The H1JJen Perwl1Jers
hnI Thin8s First ,ll<.lTl!fesro 2000, ww\v.adhusters.org.

66

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

34 'Th(' Rt'.ldf'TS Repl), to First Things First Manif('sto 2000', in fm'Wé, \lo. 2S (Fall, 1999).

35 Pc:kr Dorrner, The MC¡JnJtl8S ?f/ffoJcrn De.\'18n \Lonc1on, jqqO), p. 181.

~6 Elington, Burke ane! Hail('.~, Lited in vVnodharn, TwcFltieth CenftJ~1 Des/8n, p. 239.

37 Scc ww\\.o2.org.

--------------Fashion i~ one of the fastest eh culture. h a150 has widespre..:

much greater accessibilit)' thar

alent designer industries. Sine

profile within acaciemic thougl cver bcfore. This chapter (00 fashion that have de\'dopecl e writer... in the area such as EH: Christopher Breward. Their w of sdf-fashionino, fro ro its rolé b to cornmunicate and challenge signihcancc al' fa:--hion as both

with the reaHtics nf fashion as"

------------1

Bcfore cxploring fashion in gre

Should the ter m 'fashion' be ap

hi:"tory? Cenainlv" all human el , body in sorne wa)', as Elizaheth

5. Fashion: Style. Identity and Meaning Fiona Anderson

Introduction Fashion ís one of the fastest changing sourccs af new ideas in contemporary Yisua! culture. lt also has ",...idespread popular appeal; evcn designer-k ...·el fashion has much greatcr acccssibility than the equivalent products, images and tcxts af equiv­ alent designer industries. Since the mid-1980s fashion has also enjoyed a higher profilc ,,,'ithin academic thought, international exhihitions and popular media than evcr befofc. This chapter looks at multidisciplinar)' approaches to the study of fashion tha! have dcvelopcd during this periad, and discusscs the work 01' key "Titen in the area such as Elizabdh WlIson, Fred Davis, Joanne Entwhistle and Christophef Bre\\'anl. Thcir work will he uscd to highlight debates on aH aspects oI' self-fashioning, from its role in thc negotiation 01' gender rclations to its power to communicatc and challcnge accepted social and political ideals. It explores the significance of fashion as both a historical and contcmporary phenomenon, along \\'ith the realitics ol' fashion as a commercial industry and economic conccrn.

Definitions

------------------------Before exploring fashion in grcater depth it is uscful to considcr some i;lefinitions. Should the tcrm 'fashion' be applied to all meaDS ol' aoorning the body thr'Oughout histor}? Certainly, aH human cultures and societit:s have uecorated or adorneo the body in .'>ome way, as Elizabdh Wilson states:

68

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

In aH societics thc horly is 'dressed' and cvcry"\vhere dress and adornment play

in modern weste

svrnholic, communicati\'(~ .md aesthetic roles. Drcss 1S ahvay.'i 'uDspeakably

terms of all sart<

~1e<mingful.' Thc

carllest forros of 'clothing' seem to have bcco adornments

wcar clothes that

such as hod y painting, ornarncnts. scaritlcations (scarring). tattooing, masks

To he unfashional

and often constricting neck and "".list hands. Many 01' these ddormed, reforrncd or otherwise modificd the hody."

thc parameters. 4o

The questioD of \\,hether these earlicr forms of 'dressing' the hüd y should be vicwcd in a similar wav to historieal

This is c~rtainly true o fashionab]c drcss and in

contemporarv, fashionable dress dcscrves further investigation. This is particularl)' due to the recent popularity of 'tribal'

century thc expansion e

adornments such as tattooing and multiple piercings \vithin mainstream contcm­

ities took on new mor

porar)' appearam.:cs. Mmt eontemporary \\:riters descrihe fashion as a specific

earlier restriction to eo'

.'iystem of dress that emergcd \".. . ithin Europe in Lhc late Middle Ages. It... deve1op­

until the 19305 , hv, whi, which eyeryonc, or aIm

Of

~

ment \vas linked to the cxpansion 01' cities and thc gro...v th of mercantilc capital­

sumers on])' sorne tim

ism. Whilst earlier forms of ciress and adornment have sorocthing in common \\,ith fashion - the)' also express important meanings within speeific societies and cul­ tures - one should not consider tlwm in the same wal' as the distinctive s)'stem of drcss known as Llshion. So what js unique to fashion as a \vay 01' adorning, thc hody? Elizabelh Rousc has suggested lhat 'fashion seems to be about change for changl''s

The increasing importa: ti . . . e criticism from mor

sake , and thc illusion of non·ltv'. , 2 Ulrich Lehmann has made a similar point,

toonists. Sen··.. een the fe

arguing that 'Jn itsclf, sartorial fashion stands, almost b)' definition, for the abso­

creation of sumptuary la

lutel)' ncw - for permanent non'1ty and constant, insatiable ehange.' \

restríct the consurnptio

This appears to be a highly appropriate way to distinguish hctwccn Western dress froro the late Middle Ages onwards and modes of apparC'] such as Lhe lndian sari or ]apanese kimono, which have remained rdatively unchanged for ccnturies.

practicc thcy , were rarel'. betwecn the spread of f tures. s Criticisms of fash

Yet although Wcstern fashion has unquestionabl)' been hascd on a ceaseless ami

ter within mid-scventee

rapid turnoyer 01' styles, ciress in the rest ofthc world has not remained complete]),

period, whi<.:h states:

untouched by change. Neyertheless, in broad terros such a characterisation ol' fashion rcmains extremely useful. It also leaos to further questions, such as

A woman which is

whether (]11 Western dress from thc fourtecnth century onwards should be con­

worme, which is bl

sidered as fashion. Surdy Lhere must bE' sornc exceptions that stand outsidc thc

gras5e Iyeth hid the

relentlessly changing cycle of new styles. For instance, WE' aH are a\varE' 01' individ­

po)'son: and in the (

uals who takc HttlE' interest in their appearance or who through taste, age or

some filthiness in h

OLTU­

pation seem to be rathcr disconnected from contemporary fashion styling. But even if one considcrs an example like Rritish police uniforms since the 1960s, it

Such criticisms had se¡

is eas)' to identify changcs in design informcd hy deyelopments in fashion. The

pursuit, hut tbey belped t

need for the policc to communicatc social authority means that their uniforms

trivial and jéminine. SUbSf

have to show symbolic links with the societ)' being policcd. The most logical \Vay

or Georg Simmd (1858

to do this is to adhcrc to sorne of the codes of contemporary fashion designo

thE'ir writings were often

Consideration of su eh aH examplc makes it eas)' to concur with Elizabeth Wilson 's

icisms of tashion. Por e:

\'¡ew that

fashjon, as feehle beings

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

69

in modern westcrn societies no clothes are outside fashion; fasruon sets the terms of al! sartorial bchayiour . . . Even the determincdly unfashionablc wcar clothes thar manifest]y represent a reaetían against what is in fashion. Tú be unfashionable is not to escape the whole discourse,

OT

to get outside

the parameters. 4 This is certainly true al' contemporary dress and saciet)', but unlimitecl access to Fashionable dress and information abour new styles became a reahty for most con­ sumers ooly sorne time after the late Middle Ages. From the mid-eighteenth century the expansion al' the mass consumption al' fashionable styles and commod­ ¡ties took on new momentum. Fashionable ciTess began to move a\vay from ib earlil'r restriction to court society and wealth)' merchants. This process continued until the 1930s, by which time it \vas possible to speak ol' fashion as something in \vhich l'veryone, or almost everyone, could and did take parto

Debates on Fashion The increasing importancc ol' fashion has inspired considerable debate and nega­ tivc criticism from moralists, government and religious figures and political car­ toonists. Between the l'ourtcenth and sixteenth centuries its emergence led to the creation 01' sumptuary laws in several European countrics. These werc designed to restrict the consumption uf certain textiles to the upper echclons 01' societ),. In practicc they '.\-'ere rarcly enforced, hut their introduction is indicative of eonfliets between the spread 01' fashion consumption and cxisting social and moral struc­ tures.:; Criticisms of l'ashion took on a particularly extreme and aggressive charac­ ter within mid-sf'venteenth-century Britain, as illustrated by a pamphlet ol' the period, which states: A woman which is faire in shew, is foule in condition: shc is like unto a glow worme, '\vhich is bright in the hcdge, and blacke in the hand; in thc greenest grasse lycth hid the greatest serpents: painted pottes commonly hold deadly poyson: and in the c1eerest water the ugliest Tode; and the fairest woman hath sorne filthincss in her. 6 Such criticisms had scant effcct

OIl

the rise uf fashion consumption as a popular

pursuit, but they helped to create a penasive view 01' fashion as immoral, wastcful, -. trivial andIemmme. Subsequently, thcorists such as Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) or Georg Simmel (18 ~8 1918) formulated more sophisticatcd approaches, but their writings were often underpinned by negative stanees that echoed earlier crit­ icisms of fashion. For example, Veblen's writings depict women as objects of fashion, as reeble beings whose prime motivation is to decorate themselves as a

70

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

means of displaying their husbancl's wealth. 7 ~ggativ~ vicws uf fashion have per­

articulate more subtle, 1

sisted even until relatively recent times, and this has been despite the declining influ­

moods, aspirations and el

ence of religious moral views

Oil

the body and rhe fa(:t thar in the West rhey have

largcly becn replaced by a consumerist-inspircd c-e1ebration ol' bodies, pleasure and

By social identit)', 11

erotÍC' visual cli::.play. Thc follüwing excerpt [rom The Face of August 1997 highlights

to which sorne soc

the contradictor)' vie\\'s

Oil

rhe body, consumption and pleasure prevalent in coo­

temparar)' saciety. It statcs:

within the concept' through symbolic rr through predominaJ

Many people have becn paying fashion more and more attention throughout

this fast, hright, jumbled-up decade

however imprecise ,

. Thanks to the designer boom, oft­

identit)' points to thl

controversial fashion photography, in the forro of adverts, no\\' looms largc

and actually do con

e atwalk shO\vs are no longer the province 01' the cog­

ahvays the same).lO

in our towns and cities.

noscenti, but staple light--entertainment fare. Reporters analyse the shows and the stories and turn them into nevvs, so often that we no\v think nothing

Fashion encapsulates c(

of seeing a story about a modcl's age or weight on the front page of a national

with other characteristics

m·wspaper. Al! this means that fashion has nO\v accrucd all the celebrities,

speciflc historical develof

merchandising, empty spectacle, duhious morality and media coverage that

mid-eighteenth ccntury o

it no\\-' takes to bccome a fully-Hedged entertainment mcdium. 1l

from the countryside to

although by the nineteent Oespite the continued promincnce of similar views in contemporary media,

Individuals, whose exper

recent critical and theoretical writing on fashion has tended to move awa)' from

highly personal ba,;s withi

such condemnation. The so-called 'ncw fashion history' has focused on a more

radically ncw expericnce~

rounded analysis of fashion, acknowledging nc-gative aspccts such as the exploita­

ers, unknown and anonyr

ti..-c nature of clothing production. hut also embracing its positive characteristics.

from thcir dressed outer :

Elizabeth Wilson's work, in particular. AdorneJ in Drearos: rashion and Modcrnuy

fashion made possible by 1

(19gS), has he en iclentitied as somcthing

01' a turning point in the development of

new approaches to fashion. It typifies the tendency within n::(:ent rescarch to explore fashion 's ability to articulate identitics in a pleasurable and empowering

to-wear c10thing industry, ne\\-' forms of sociallife. A related phenomenon

way, as well as its potential to provoke debate about wider social and political con­

led to widespread anxietie:

cerns. Such writing draws on a range of academi(: disciplines, induding sodology,

about the possibility tha~

cultural studies, material cultural studies, psychology and gender studies."

" essay 'Fashion' (1904), Sir to ncgotiate thc ne\'\' ten sil

Fashion and Identity

distinctive, sense of indivi(

Our public and private selves are expericnccd on a dail), hasis as inseparable from

fasbion is the imitatie

fashionable dress and adornmcnt. Even in tlw most intimate moments we are

adaptation ... at the

usually 'dresscd' through hairstyling, je\vellery or other bodily adjustments related

fercntiation, the ten

to display, such as hair removal, dieting or exercise. Thus when one considers the

changC' ami contrast.

formation Jnd cxpression 01' social identities, fashionablc appearances playa crucial role. Fashion has the potential to interact with primary social categories such as gender, age, race, dass and nationality. Self-fashioning a1so has thc potential to help

As our b()(tie.s circulate they are drosed provides

t'

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

71

articulate more subtlc, though equa)))' important, aspects al' ourselves such as moods, aspirations and emotions. As Frcd Davis states:

By social idcntity. 1mean much more than the symbols of social class Of status to "\vhich sorne soeiologists are inclined to restrict the concepto 1 inelude within the conccpt's purview ao)' aspcct uf self abau! which individuals can through symbolic means cornmunicate \vith athers, in the instance al" ciress through predoffiinantly non-discursive visual, tactile, and olfactory symbols, howc"cr imprecise and elusivc these may be. In .lny case the concept of social identity point.s to the configuration of attrihutes and attitudes persons seck to and J\._tually do cornmunicate about themselves (obviously thc two are not always the samc).IO Fashion encapsulates complex and contradictory aspects of our identities, but as with other characteristics of t~1.shion this nccds to he considered in conncction with spccific historical developmcnts. The development of industrialisation from the mid-eighteenth ccntur)" onwards led to the movement 01' vast numbers of pcople from thc countryside to largc urhan centres. This happcncd first in Britain, although hy the nincteenth century it

,:\'.1:--

occurring throughout most of Europe.

lndividuals. whose experience of social contact h
I1

Thesc changcs, along with the wider acccss to

fashion made possible by re]ativcly larger ineomes and an cxpansion in the ready­ to-wear clothing industry, helped to position fashion as playing a crucial role in th(· new forms of sociallif'e. A related phenomcnon was the emergence uf thc crowd in urban contexts. This led to widcspread anxieties amongst city dwellers, who becamc incrcasingly feariul about the possibHity thatthe·individual might 1)(.> overwhclmed by the mass. In rus ~"- essay 'Fashion' (1904), SirnmeYpinpoints thc role

01' fashionable dress as a mcans

to negotiate the new tensions hct\veen fitting in "\vith thc crowd, and expressing a distinctivc, scnsc of individuality. He statcs: fashion is thc imitation of a given examplc and satisfies the demand for social adaptation.

. at the same time it satisnes in no less degrcc thc need of dif­

ferentiation, thc tcndency towards dissimilarity, the desire for constant changc and contrast. 12 As our bocHes circulate ......ithin societ)', the fact that they are dressed and haw thcy are dressed prmides the opportunity either to eonform socially or to express

72

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

OUT

individuality. In practice, most people aim to satisfy both thcsc contradic1:ory

social and psychologícal drives simultaneously. Fashion provides a means of forming ana articulating identity in relation to the various social groups we cncounter in

OUT

lives, as weH as the wider social cornmunity. As Lehmann .'ltates,

'ir i5 precisdy sartorial fashion that establishes the depieted as a social hcing, as a waman or man who is sct \\o'ithio progressing time'. 13 This sacül dimension of

¡.shion has bccn explored by other authors, including Norbert Elias (1897 1990) amI Picrre Bourdieu, who trau' the links between distinctions in bodi'íy adornment and the maintcnance of dass, status and püwcr by certain groups.l+ Adorning the body provides a means of nmnccting with others, but it may also be used to exclude them if thcir appearance indicates that the)' do not belong to the appro­ 2iatc social group for a speeific contexto When attending a public school parents' day, a pub after a football match, or a hip hop dub, most people dress to fit in, for fear that they might othen\,'ise be excluded from social contact hy the rest 01' the gathering. Even when people deliberatel)' sd thcmsclves apart by exhibiting a par­ ticular taste, tbey al so often simultaneously show membership of specific social groups. A goocl example of this is youth subcultures in which individuals use style as a means of asserting a group identity that is in sorne way cliffercnt from main­ stream tastes and values.

Ir is also important to consider the constantly shifúng nature of the rclationship betwecn social identity and fashion. This has beco me increasingly complex since the 19605, when traditional social categories of dass, race, gender amI sexuality began to be debated and contestcd by polítical mo"ements such as feminism and the civil rights movemcnt in America. The appearancc orthe punk girl at the ,.'entrc ofRichard Brainc's photograph of The Roxy Club vividly illustrates punk's rejection of cstablishecl notjons of fcmininity and femininc heauty. (Figure 5. 1). The radical campaigns by these movcmcnts for greater social status and freedom for minorit)' groups have to a large extent now hccomc accepted witrun main­ stream societrJ Elizabeth Wilson argues tbat fashion is an important means by which ,ve negotiate the complcxities of contemporar)' societ)'l stating that 'our culture of global mass media feeds us so mucb information that a massivc cultural ec1ecticism is the on1)' possiblc response'. 15 The attempt to form a cohesive sense of identity ,",,,,ithin this cnvironment becomes extreme!} difhcult, and hcncc sclf­ adornment becomes a means of articulating a sense 01" ambiguity and ambivalence. However acute the sense of relentlessly shifting reaHty in contemporary life, in earlier periods fashion displayed a crucial ability to knit togcthcr contradictor), aspccts of our social selves into visual and tactite formo Probably the most impor­ tant social category dcfined by dress is gcndcr. Despite significant changes in the gendcr roles 01' men and womcn since the 1960s, maintenance of gender identity remains a predominant feature of contemporary social Jife, and this is primarily gauged through appearances. Uniscx garments such as jeans, trainers and T-shirts

Figure' 5.1 - Richard Braine,

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

73

Figure 5 1 - Richard Brainc, The Ro~y Club (1977). Photograph C1l Richard Braine~PYMCA.

74

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

are no\\' woro and accepted within a variety of social contexts. However, most

endeavours could lie onl­

people wearing these t)'pcs al' garments use hairst)'ling, make-up, je\,\rcllery or

elegantly or claborately ¡

remale gendcr idcntity. From the 19705 on\vards, and particularl), sincc- thc 19805, promincnt fashj()~ dcsigners such as Jean Pa01 Gaultier and Vivienne \Vestwood have explored

rcyealed the previously míddle-class maje consul

thc persistencc of gender coding conventions and stereot)pes through thcir

in male dress ol' the peric

designs. In mast contexts nonconformity to gender roles through drcss tends to

nm'elty and sartorial disf

othcr iteros of clothing as a meaos of reasserting a srecifie maIe

üf

signallack of social conformity in a broader sensc.

This idea has recently

not onl)' hetween men ar

Becausc üf its cruC'Íal role in cornmunicating gender, dTess has had a strong pres­

Due to the hinary relatio

eoce within political and social campaigns to changC' the status nf vmmen. Thi." has

and masculinitics cannol

included thc ('ad)' American feminist movcment of the mid-nineteenth centur)'

engagement with fasIDo!

whích, through thc campaigns 01' AmeBa Bloomcr, directly chalknged the incvita­

domain in the period frOl

hility 01' men being the only gender literally and also metaphoricalIy lo 'wear the trousers'. 16 The second wave feminist movement 01' the 1960s and 1970s took at

on the relationship betwl

hest a rather disdainfuI view 01' fashion. Most \-vriters were 01' the opinion that fashion objeetitled \\'omcn and that it played a key role in reinforcing fcmale stereo­ types and therefore femaIe oppression by meno However, a si.gnificant shift in fem­

A focus on the capacity 01

inist thought in the 1980s encouraged new attitudes to sexual pleasure, whieh werc

nifieant social and cultur;

soon translaled into new approaches to a range of media connected to female plcas­

that it is alsü t'erJ big busi! it is essential to acknowle

ure, including cinema, romantic hetion, make-up and fashionabIe dress. 17 Most writing on drcss and adornment has until reeentlJ focuscd on the relation­

nomic conU.Tn. Large 1',

ship between the femaIe gender and fashion. Furthermore, the majority ofwriting

make huge profits froro d

on men's dress has tended to 'underplay ir not den)' the phenomcnon of men's

for fantas)', sdf-realisatic

fashion' .\S Since the 1980s, however, such assumptlons have been challenged, for

fashion, does one begin

fashionabIe consumption has had an equally important role in the formation and

fashioJ1 business and alsl

express ion 01' maIe identities. Most rcsearch in this area has focusea on the perlod alter thc second world war, highlighting the role- of fashion in men 's lives in an era

devcloped understandin~ society, the mode! 01' the

üf cxpanding consumerism. The key dehate has been whether this shift was linked

Cllsses it in the following

1

purel)' to new cornmercial strategies on behalf 01' marketers, advertisers Jnd retail­ ers, or whethcr it reHeeted genuine shifts "'ithin mJinstream masculinity. Much has

Understandíng fas.hi

revohed around the concept 01' the 'Ne\\' Man', a model 01' cJring, nurturing ano

different boclies ope

narcissistic mJsculinity widely touted in media and advcrtising 01' thc 1980s. These

dcnts, dcsigners an

challenges to the simplistic and all-cmhracing assumptions that fashion is primar­

photographers, as

ilv J feminine pursuít, and that men enjo), a predominantly practical rclationship

buyers, shopsandec

~ith their dothes, led, in

the late 19905, to a wider re-examination of the histori­

there would he no (

cal relJtionship betwecn men and fashion. This eentred principall), around a ques­

cultural intermedial

tioning 01' the theor)' oi' the 'Creat Masculine Renunciation' proposed by the

psychologist

J.

C. Flugd in 1932. Flugel argucd that from the late eighteenth

\'/Ould not be tTansn

i'ashionable dress w(

eentury onwards men renounced any ¡ntcrest in fashion and fashionable disphv:

~t

This model is particuL

being onl)' useful. So far as c10thes remajncd oí' importance to him, his utmost

necting individuals, inst

'Man

~hJndoned his

c1aim to be

co~sidered beautiful.

He hcnceforth aimed

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

75

endeavours could lie únly in thc (Hrection of being "correctly" attired, not ofbeing elegantl)' or elaboratcly attired.' 19 This idea has recentl)' beco guestionecl. For example, Christopher Breward has re\'ealed the previousl)' hiel den connections betvveen vt'Orking~clas!' and lower ~ middle-class mal e consumers ano fashionable display_ Alongsidc a ('ertaio sobricty in male drcss al' the period there also existcd a ¡h'el)' engagcment vliith Fasbionable novelt)' and sartorial display.20 This has led to

Dew

pcrspectives 00 the relationship

not únl)' bctween men and fashion, but al so het\veen men and women ana fashion. Due to the binar)' rclationsrup betwccn gender amI dress, changing vicws on men and masculinities cannot hclp but affeet our vie\\-'s on fernininity and ferninine engagcrnent with fa~hion, 11' fashion ('annot be sccn as an exclusi"cly ferninine dornain in the periad from the late eighteenth ccntury to thc 1950s, then our vicws on thc rclationship het\\'een women and fashion must change too,

The Fashion 5ystem A focus on the capadt)' offashion to encap~ulate eomplex, intangible but highly sig­ nificant social and cultural meanings can sometimes lead to myopi,a about the faet that it is .lIso ver)' big business. [n order to study fashion in any kind of apposite ""vay it is essential to acknowledge that it is a commercial industry and therefore 3n eco­ nomic eoncern. large fashion companie:-. such as Cahin Klein, Gap amI Gucci make huge profits from the precarious business of appealing to consumers' desires for fanta.s)', sclf-realisation ana the next hig thing. How, thcn, when studying fashion, aoes one hegin to embrace an understanding of both the rcalities 01' the fashion husiness and also it.s wider social and cultural significance? For a more devclopcd understanding of the complex series of roles that fashion plays within societ)', the modcl of the fash¡on s)'stem 1S a usdul starting point. Entwhistle dis­ cusscs it in the following \Va)': Undcrstanding fas,hion reguires undcrstanding thc rclationship betwccn these difIerent bodics operating within the fashion s)'stem: fashion colleges and stu­ dents, aesigners and design houscs, tailors and scarnstresses, modcls and photographers, as "vell as fashion editors, distributors, retailcrs, fashion buycrs, shops and consumcrs ... without the countless scamstresses and tailors there would he no dothes to comume; without the promotion of rashion by cultural intermediaries, sueh as Jashion journalists, 'fashion' as the latest st)'le would not be transmitted ver)' rar; ana without thc acceptance 01' consumers, fashionahlc dress ,,,,,ould lie unworn in factorics, shops and wardrobes. 21 This mode\ i.'i particularl), revealing as it traces thc complex series of intercon­ necting imliYiduals, institutions and preoccupations potentially involved with

76

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

fashion. The fashion system is al50 llseful as it embraces hoth the positive and neg­

dd ven hy new, more so

ative aspects nf fashlon. It allows us to conceive of ao industry that shamefully

ing goods. 26

exp\oits Asian workers in ugly sweatshops, whilst at the same time creating objects

The nineteenth centu development of a mode

ofgreat heaot)', e1<.'gance and charro. This rundel also provides a good starting point for thinking about haw to study [a5hion. Although Ent\vistlc's examples mainI)'

the nineteenth century t"

relate to rhe eontemporary fashion system, she al so maps out the broad pararnc­

the development of sciel

ters for rescarching historical [a5hion, namely design, production, consumption

such as the chest is used

and social amI cultural contexts. Within fashion studies rhe word 'collsumption'

curves arouna the undere

implies the whole sphere of activity connccted to rhe sale of fa.'Ohion from market­

and dothing sizes a pos

ing, advertising, distrihution .1ml ret
machinc in the 1840s, gr

think about it .1fter purchase.

c1otrung. By the late n:

Roland Barthes (1915 80) unclertook the first significant study ofthe repn:scn­

expandcd tu involve pot(

t.1tion of fashion, or the transl.1tion of clothing into language in The Fashion S)'stem,

middlc-class consumers.

\vhich was first published in 1967. In this semiotic analysis of fashion texts in mag­

Since the e.1dy t\vent

azines, Barthes providcs a det.1iled interpretation uf one specific slice uf th<..' f.1shion s),stem. 22 Huwever, the term 'fashion system' here embraces wider .1speets of thc

distinguished by its low industries. This is due

fashion inclustry and dothing in ever)'day use. It i.'O therefore important to examine

machine, which remains

briefly some key developments ,.... ithin the fashion inclustry from the mid­

done much to shape the

cighteenth centur)' tu the presen!. This is not

attempt to provide .1 comprehen­

with most production fo.

sive anal)'sis of a vast .1nd complex set of intcrconnecting developments. It is merely

most design and marketi

to highlight how variuus aspccts of the iashion s)'Stem are shaped by and aIso hclp

01" the "Vest.

ID

to shape the wiclcr dynamics ofsocial, economic, political ancl cultural change. This

The relatively hackwar

also hclps rcinforce the notion that the study of fasruon is a hybrid subject, which

tr.1st to the aggressive ar

involves consideration uf consumption, technology, cconomics, politics and social

advertising. From the lat

ancl cultural contcxts, as weH as the actions ofindivicluals. H

stimulated by the develo}

Frum at le.1st the 1750.'0, fashionable consumption began to shift from hcing

ing and retailing techniqu

centred .1lmost cxdusively on court socict)' ancl wealthy merchants, to being a

dt::partment stores of the '

widcspread popular conccrn. New clevelopment.s in manufacturing ancl t('chnol­ og)' also hegan to impact on the produC"tion of fashion. 24 Recent rese.1rch on

In Shoppi1l9 jor Plcasurl popul.1r lcisure actiyity ce

inclustri.1lisation has lecl to a rC.1ssessment of classic notions of the Industrial

nincteenth century there

Rcvolution, .1S inv(llving rapid and wiJesprcad mcch.1nisation in Hritain in the late

v.1riety 01' popular medi.1, ,

eightccnth ccntur)'. Man)' inclu:-itrics were in fact sIn", to meehanise, and the

inclu:-itry amI the way tha.t

vvúh.'spreacl clomin.1tion oI' maehine manuf.1cturing within British inclustr)' did not

"'as not just about clothes

happen until the nineteenth centur)'. ~5 Howeyer, the fashinn textiles inclustr)" par­

lwcame inseparable from t

ticularl)' eotron, \V.1S rapidly transformed hy the introduction of powered machin­

By the Ctul." twcntieth cen Fair offercd "·omen regule potential to providc fanta~ crucial to the dcveJopmenl sumer culture, to v,,·hich n ity were integral.

ery in the late cighteenth centur)'. At this time the reacly-madc clothing tr.1cle also cmlTgcd, which initially involvecl the production of simple, unfitted garments sueh as chemises, aprons, caps and sleeve ruH-ks. Fashion.1ble noveltics 01' thi5 kind becamc widC'l)' accessible to the midclle and lower social c1asses. This formed p.1rt of an overall expansion nf 1'a.shionable consumption amongst thc middle sections of society. This was in part facilitatcd by gre.1ter levels of wealth and was aIso

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

77

driven by new, more sophisticated means of distributing, retailing and advertis­ ing goods. 26 The nineteenth ccntury brought furthcT technological changcs, cnhancing the development al' a modern, democratic fashion system. Around the beginning of the nineteenth century the tape measure carne into use, which subscqucntly led

lo

the developmcnt of scientific cutting systems. In these systcms a certain measure such as the chest is used lo calculate others more difficult lo measure, such as the

curves around the underarm. These advances helped lo makc standardised patterns and clothing sizes a possibility and, along with the introduction of the sc\.ving machine in the 1840s, greatly eontributcd lo the growth in the mass production ol' clothing. By the late ninetccnth centur)', the ready-made clothing trade had expanded to involve potentially the entirc wardrobe for working-class and lower­ middle-class consumers.?7 Since the earl)' twentieth century, the fashion industr), has been increasingly distinguished hy its low le\cel of technological developmcnt compared to other industries. This i5 due to the dominance of the índividuall)'-operated sewing machine, \\!hil'h remains at the centre of clothing production toda),.28 It has .lIso done much to shape the global structure ol' the nmtemporary fashion industry, with most production rocused in the Far East, ""here labour costs are cheap, and most dcsign and marketing activities carried out close to the consumer markcts of the West. Thc rclatively backward status of fashion manufacturing stands in marked con­ trast to the aggressi\'l~ and innovatory profiic of modern fashion marketing and ad\ertising. From the late nineteenth ccntury fashion consumption \\'as further stimulated by the developmcnt ol' increasingly sophisticated marketing, advertis­ ing and retailing techniques, as epitomiscd hy the new overwhclmingly luxurious dcpartment stores ol' the era (Figure -5.2). In Shopping Jor Plcasurc Erika Rappaport explores the rise of shopping as a popular leisure acti\ity central tn modern conceptions of puhHc Jife. 29 In the late nineteenth century therc- was J.lso an expansion in the protile of fashion withln a \ariety nf popular media, which had a significant impact on the naturc ofthe fashion industry and the

\\'J)'

that consumers engaged \Yith fashion. Increasingly, fashion

"'las not just about clothes; the idealised illustrations ol'fered by fashion magazines bccame inseparable from thc hcady experience of fJshion as part 01' daily sociallife.

By the ead)' twcntieth century publications such as HOl1Jdn's Own, l0guc and l/émisr Fuir

offcrcd \vomen regular opportunities to engagc with fashion imagery and its

potentiJ] to providc fantas)', escape or sclf-rcalisation."lO These publkatioTl'i were crucial to th(' development and promotion of the values of twenticth-century con~ sumer culture, to which ne\v conceptions oflwauty, gender, the bod)' and scxual­ itj' \.....cre

integral.

78

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

advertisements. Anotl the fashion system by the fashion industry, i~ After the second w a distincti Vl' social cat! the 1950s, a host of di mods, skinheads, punl tion of specific group j in sorne wa)' oppositio plified the pot ntial e Lurie argues: Youth cultures al meaning in a ral dress, demeanor, these eady interj of defiance, polit

However, subcultur of pure or 'authentic' values. This was partiCl in the 1970s, such as D in th e debates was tI writel-S tended to see 1 tive influence on subcL various forms of media tures. As McRobbie st,

ligure 5.2 - Anonymolls photograph oF a Parisian drapery store (ca. 1860).© Roger- Viollet, Paris.

The Fashion System and Contemporary Fashion Consumption The model of the fashion system leads away from notions of the fashion industry as an inescapable controlling force that dominates our thinking about our bodies and ourselves. Although the fashion industry and allied media have a powerful and per­ suasive influence on th public, it is incorrect to :¡ssume that people simply swallow wholesale the imagcs, attitudes and actions proposed to them by fa:;hion market­ ing. For examplc, Diesel clothing may currently be fashionable, yet fey\, pcople wear it hcad to toe or strÍ\'e to look precisel} ¡ike the mod -ls in the company's

youth cultures m the text through fanzine-, video, al this and alongsid, taminated by thc provoke the react The relationship of.} than has been acknowk gence of The Face ane! I 1980s, hank Mort idel consuDlption. The dos tian are indicative of tl

FASHION: STYLE, IOENTITY ANO MEANING

79

advertisements. Another leading example of how consumers play an active role in the fashion system by contesting the mainstream meanings and values proposed by the fashion industry, is the phenomenon of youth subcultures. After the second world war, youth subcultures and youth carne to be treated as a distinctive social category, as a group vvith its ovvn tastes, styles and values. Since the 1950s, a host of different youth subcultures have emerged such as teddy boys, mods, skinheads, punks and skaters. These have been characterised by the forma­ tion of specific group identities, based not merely on age, but also on sets of values in sorne way oppositional to mainstream culture and society. They have thus exem­ plified the potential of dress lo express dissidence and social critique. As Celia Lurie argues: Youth cultures are thus .'leen here as the .'lites of struggles over the control of meaning in a rapidly developing consumer culture, struggles played out in dress, demeanor, music and language. The notion of resistance vvas central to these early interpretations of youth sub-cultures - style was .'leen as a form of defiance, political protest or semiotic guerrilla vvarfare. 31 Hovvever, subcultures are often vievved in a rather romanticised way, as a form of pure or 'authentic' resistance against mainstream social, polítical and cultural values. This was particularly the case in the early studies of subcultures undertaken in the 1970s, such as Dick Hebdige's Subculcure che Meaning1Seyle. 32 A central issue in these debates vvas the role of the media in relation to youth subcultures. Early writers tended to .'lee the media as having an antagonistic and ultimately destruc­ tive influence on subcultures. However, it has been recognised more recently that various forms of media play an integral part in the formation and spread of subcul­ tures. As McRobbie states: youth cultures make an explosive entrance into the world of the image and the text through a frenzy of communication, in style, in sound, in posters, fanzines, video, and in flyers and other publicity information. Without al! of this and alongside the pretensions of preferring to remain pure and uncon­ taminated by the media, youth cultures require this kind of self-publicity to provoke the reaction they do. 33 Thc relationship of youth subcultures to consumption is also far more complex than has been acknowledged in most texts on the topic. In rus analysis of the emcr­ gen ce of The Face and ID magazines, subsequently termed the 'style press' in the 1980s, Frank Mort identifies a form of youth cullure obsessively focused on elite consumption. The close relationships between youth, style, media and consump­ tion are indicative of the fact that 'the history of post-war British youth culture

80

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

displayed an ongoing as: other words, youth ClIlt tíon, and sub-cultural, ( kind of engagement wit placing youth at the cen rary culture 35 The complex Iinks 1; have also had significan' photography since the 1< quoted stat 'ment that 'f; fashion' became more J] photography to display a ral comment grew out ( ments in magazine pul-: magazines to feature 'stl club culture in one pub strong commitment to a ship from the mainstrcan of the 1980s these maga" ing new approaches to fa: in the 1990s. The commissioning pe and Duren have highlighte designers, photographcr: Many of these individuals on contemporary societ) phy, violence, death ancl 1990s, the neo-realist "c side aspirational, idealis("( ín the pages of Tne Face an dictory nature of the relat Hence, fashion encapslIl; culture, yet it may also ar

Figure 5.3 - Corinne Day, Kate Moss, ¡he Third Sllmmer '?f Lave (1990). © Corinne Da)'.

Fashion is defined by its e¡: Sdm~ time it plays the con of individuality or self-idc to fashion an identity thal development of industrio

FASHION: STYLE, ID· TITY ANO MEANING

81

displayed an ongoing association between commerce and popular aesthetics'.34 In other words, youth culture has always taken place within the sphere of consump­ tion, and sub-cultural, or other youth identities have never existed without sorne kind of engagement with consumer markets. Lurie takes this argument further by placing youth at the centre of new developments in consumerism and contempo­ rary culture 35 The complex links between media, youth cultures and fashion consumption have also had significant, if not transformative, effects on the nature of fashion photography since the late 1980s. 36 In that period Susan Sontag's erudite and oft­ quoted statement that 'fashion photography is much more than the photography of fashion' became more apt than ever before. 37 The increasing tendency of fashion photography to display a significant and self-conscious element of social and cultu­ ral comment grew out of and was facilitated by earlier groundbreaking develop­ ments in magazine publishing. The Face and ID emerged in 1980 as the first magazines to feature 'street-style' fashion, popular music, political comment and club culture in one publication. In the early years of publication, despite their strong commitment to a focus on style, they had a somewhat distanced relation­ ship from the mainstream fashion industry and from fashion advertising. By the end of the 1980s these magazines began to emerge as the breeding ground for challeng­ ing new approaches to fashion photography that were to become firmly established in the 1990s. The commissioning policies of magazines such as !he Face, ID, Dazed and Corifused and Dutch have highlighted the work of a young artistic and cultural elite of fashion designers, photographers, stylists, make-up artists, art directors and journalists. Many of these individuals have taken up the opportunity to make critical comment on contemporary society by raising issues such as racism, drugs, child pornogra­ phy, violence, death and confused sexual identities through their work. In the 1990s, the neo-realist work of Corinne Day and Davide Sorrenti coexisted along­ side aspirational, idealised advertising imagery from firms like Versace and Chanel in the pages of The Face and ID magazine, thus epitomising the complex and contra­ dictory nature of the relationships between fashion and young people (Figure 5.3). Hence, fashion encapsulates the desires and anxieties connected to consumer culture, yet it may also articuJate a refusal of, or challenge to, its inherent values.

Conclusion Fashion is defined by its ephemerality and constant dynamic of change, whilst at the same time it plays the contracJjctory role of 'fixing' or grounding our fragile sense of individuality or self-identity. The use of fashionable commodities by consumers to fashion an identity that is attractive or acceptable to others was integral to the development of industrialisation. From the mid-eighteenth century onwards

82

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

fashion became increas con test, accepted social uality. Fashion has been Western consumer cult sexuality are integral. H potent critiques of main temporary fashion desig Nick Knight (Figure 5.4 tal issues such as death a

Breward, Christopher. Fash¡, Entwistle, Joanne. The Fashío Taylor, Lou. Esrablishing Dres Wilson, Elizabeth. Adorned i,

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

,..J

(14 15 16 17 Figure 5.4 - ~ick Knight, Aimee Mullen wearing Alexander McQueen, from Dazed and Corjílsed Magazine (1998) ~.) Nick Knight.

18 19

Elizabeth ""ilson, Adol/)( Elizabeth Rouse, Underst, Ulrich Lehman, Ti8erspn Wilson, Adorned in Drearr. Negley Harte, 'State Cor in Medieval Europe (Londo (Manchester, 1995), pp. Archer, 'The Arraignme Christopher Breward, Th Thorstein Veblen, The Th 1899). Editorial in The Face, Aug See Joanne Entwhistlc, (Cambridge, 2000); and J Fred Davis, Fashion, CU/tlll Entwhistle, The FashioneJ Georg Simmel, 'Fashion' 1971)

Lehman, TiíJerspllln8' pp. ( Norbert Elias, The CivilisÍl Critique of the Jud8ement <J' Elizabeth Wilson, 'FJ.shiOl eds, Chic Thrills (London, En twhistle, The Fashioned ¡ See Jane Gaines. 'lntrodu( eds, Fabrications: Costume al Jennifer Craik, The Face of John Cad Flugel, The PSYCl

FASHION: STYLE, IDENTITY AND MEANING

83

fashion became incrcasingly available to aH as a means by which to express, or contest, acccptcd social norros rclatjng to gender. wealth, status, ethnicity or scx­ uality. Fashion has been central to the developrncnt

ano promotion of the \"alues of

Western consurncr culture to which conceptions of gendcr, bcauty, the bod]' and sexualit)' are integral. Howcvcr, the objects ano images of fashion ma)' aIso involve potent critiques of mainstream values amI idcals. Hence the tcndcncy of sorne con­ temparary fashion designers and photographers, such as Alexander Me Queen anO Nick Knight (Figure 5.4), to use an ephcmcral medium to cornmcnt 00 fundamen­

tal issues such as death and the yulnerability of the body.

Further Reading Rre\\3rd, Christopher. Fashi(ln (Oxford, 2003).

Entwistle, Joanne. The FashlOTleJ Btl~v. Fashion, Dress anJ Mojan Socia! Theor)' (Cambridge, 2000).

Taylor, Lou. Estahlishin8 Dress Hmory (ManchestcT, 2004).

Wilson, Elizaheth. AdorneJ in Dreams: FashlOn In Jfodemit'y (London, 198 S).

Notes I 2 3 4 S

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Elizabeth Wilson, AJomeJ In Dreoms: Fashion and MoJcrTllry \ London, 198 S), p. 3.

Elizabcth Rouse, UnJerstanJln8 Fushion (London, 1989), p. 69.

Ulrich Lehman, TI8ersprun,q: Fashl0n In ModerTll~r (Cambridge, MA, 20(0), p_ 9.

\Vilson, AdomeJ 1n Dreams, p. S.

Negle)' Harte, '5tate Control ofDress', in N. Harte and K. Ponting, eds., Uvrh iJnJ Clothin8

m "-tedieva! Eurape (London, 1983), pp. 139---47; Christopher Breward, ne Culwre ~r Fashwn (Manches ter, 1995 J, pp. S4-S. Archcr, 'The i\.rraignmf'nt of 1 c\·.. d, Idle, Froward ami Unconstant Womcn,' cited in Christopher Brewarrl, !he Culture 0IFalhion, pp. 91-2. Thorstcin Veblen, The Theo~y ~r the f.ei)·ure Class: An Economl\: SwJy (?{lnsWutions (Ncw York, 1899) Editorial in The Foce, August 1997, p. 18. See Joannc Entwhistle, The f(l.Ihioned Fh,Jy: FashlOn, Dress anJ Modcrn 5o<"iul Theory (Camhridge, 2000); and Lou Taylor, The StuJ.-r cJDre5s Historj" (Manchcstcr, 2003). Fred Davis, Fashwn. (l/lrure unJ lJcntltj" (Chicago, 1992), p. 16. Entv"'histle, The FashwneJ B(l~¡:, pp. 115-16. Georg Simmel, 'Fashion', in D. Levinc, cd., On lnJH"lJualir)' onJ SNlal Forms (London, 1971 ). Lf'hman, TJ8e"prun,q, pp. 6-8. :i\orhert F.lia~, The' Cmhsm8 hocess (:'Je\o,-- YOI'k, 1978); Pícrrc Bourdieu, Dl.ltinctlOn A Sodal Cmutue (:1" the luJgement c!f Toste (Camhridge, MA, 1984). Elizaheth \Vil~on, 'Fashion and the l'ostmodern Rody' , in Ju[iet Ash and Elizabcth \-"'¡[son, ed~, Ch¡c rhrills (London, 1992), p. 6. Ent\-\histlc, The FashlOnrJ 800/, p. 164. See Janc Gaines, 'lntroduction: Eahricating the rema le Bnd)", in J. Gaines and C. Herzog, cd~, FJbT/ca(lOns: Costume anJ fhe Fenwle 80'!)' (Londnn, 1990), pp. 5-7. Jennifa Craik, The Faee oJ"Fashwn (London, 1993), p. 176. John Cad Flugt'1, The P.~vcholo8Y qfClorh,'s (Londnn [1931J, 1966), pp. 110 11.

84

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

20 Christopher Breward, rhe Hlddcn Consuma: MascuJimtJes, Fashion and CIt.? Life 1860-/914 (Manchester, 1999). 21 Ent\\'histle, rhe Fashioncd BoJ.-r, p. l. 22 Roland Barthes, rhe Fashion Sy,um (london, 1985). See too Paul Jobling, FashlOTl Sprrads: WorJ ,md ¡mua!? in Fashion PhDsumprion and ¡he WorJd 4Goods (London, 1993). 25 Maxine Berg, The ABe 01 MamifOL'rures 1700~ 1820: Indust'f, Innovation and ~olk Jn Bn/mn (London, 1994). 26 BC'ierly Lemire, 'Developing Consumerisffi and thc Ready-made Clothing Trade in Britain, 1750--1800' , in Textile HJstor)', Vol. 15, No. I (t 984), pp. 21--44; John Brev,'C'r and Ro)' Por ter, Consumpuon and the World ?! Goods (Lomlon, 1993); 8re\..-ard, Thc Cultur~ ~j'FashlOn, p. 110. 17 Lemire, 'Developing Consumerism and thc Rcad)'-made Clothing Trade'; Christopher Breward, 'Manlincss, Modernit)' and the Shaping of Male Clothing,' in Joannc Entwhistle and Elizabeth Wilson, eds, Bod)' Dressina (Oxford, 2001), pp. 165-81. 28 EIlen Lcopold, 'The Manufacture of the Fashion Sptem', in Julict Ash amI Elizabcth Wilson, eds, ChIC Thnlls, pp. 110-15. 29 Philippe PeHot, Fashionina the BoulaeolSlc: A Hist0I.-r '?! Clochina m che NJneteenth Century (Princeton, Nj, 1994), pp. 58 79; Erika Rappaport, ShoppJnBIor PlMsurc: Homen in ¡he .tfakJnB ?! rondon's West End (Princeton, N J, 2000). 30 Christopher Breward, FashlOn (Oxford, 2003), pp. 115-27. 11 Cdia Lurie, Consuma Culrulc (Cambridge, 1996), p. 197.

32 Dick Hebdige, Suhculture: the Meanina oJ .'(yle (London, 1979).

33 Angcla McRobhie, POS(mOdcrlll5m and PopuIJr Culture (London, 1994), p. 214.

34 Frank Mort, Cl1!ttuCi?! Con;l1mption: MJsculinitJes and Soc101 Space Jn Late Twentieth-Century

Britain (London, 1996), pp. 27-8. 35 As Lurie ~tates, 'the stylization of eonsumption is in large pan the outcome of cTeatiw prac­ tices by )'oung pcopk'. Luri(', Consuma CU}I_urc (Cambridge, 1996), p. 197, 36 Charlotte Cotton, lmpeJ:/;'a Beaucr che .lfJkJna ?! Contempolary FashlOn PhotoBraph~ (London, 2000), p. 6. 37 Susan Sontag, 'The Avedon Eye', in British ~óaue (December, 1978), pp. 104--7.

Photographic and cinem

pace. Digital forms of ir in thc \Vestern cultural: such as Í1'ünsxtc (2000) al older forms of film stod

cost of 'home entertainn

and photographic techne ablc priees. This ubiquity

a Jarge perccntage of the ' duction - prohlematises

photography. For

ir takiJ

many, idcntifying the ma

ingly diflicult. This eh,1p bcen, and continuc to be

cinema, in thc process hig daims regarding either ~ dcvelopment, the first h cinema,

6. Photography and Film Glyn Davis

Introduction Photographic and cinematic technologícal advances continuc to occur at a rapid pace. Digital forms of imag(~ capture, for instancc, have p]anted a firm foothold in the Westcrn cultural sphere and dscwhere, with films shot on digital video ­

such as ivansxtc (2000) and This is ¡VOC a Love Son8 (2002) - screening in cinemas, older forms of film stock sueh as 16 mm hcading towards obsolescencc, and the cost or 'horne entertainment' digital cameras constantly dropping. Indeed, fi]mic and photographie tcchnology is now widdy available, accessible at fairly afford­ able priccs. This ubiquity which cngenders a 'point and click' culture in which a large pereentage of the workl's population has aceess to the means of imagc pro­ duction

prohlcmatises an)' attempts to idcntity 'artistic' examplcs of film and

photography. For if taking photographs and making movies are now open to many, identifying the markers of photographic or filmic 'art' beconws increas­ ingly difficult. This chapter introouces a range of specific guestions that have been, and continue to be, debated about the 'artistic' nature of photography and cinema, in the process highlighting the diUiculties of attempting to make concrete claims regarding cither medium. Taking them in thc chronological order of thcir de,,'elopmcnt, the h.rst half of the ehapter examines photography, the second cmema.

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Photography: The Artist's Tool? Many tine artists sinc~ the dcvelopment of photography in the first half of the nine­ tecnth ceotur)' have uscd photographs as records to assist thcm, aids to the process of working in stone, on a canvas) and so oo. To take just ane example, Eugene Delacroix used photographs of anude remale modcl as a visual tool whcn painting

rus 1857 Odah,qué (Figure 6.1). Similar records al' working practice exist for Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, Paul and man)' others. For sorne critics, writing in rhe mid-1800.~, this was a fair use al' the camera: photography ('QuId not be seco as ao emergent art form, hut rncrcly a rncchanical rccording dcvice. Sir William Ne\\'ton, for instance, in the Na~h

inaugural issue of the journal ef tne Pnorograpnic 5ocJefj' "!f London, published in 1853, argued that the limitccl types of images that couid (at that time) be produced hy photographers militated against the mcclium's artistic status. Incleed. he suggóted that onl)' images that were purposefully out of focus, or that had been tinkered with in the darkroom, might stake some daim to Jn 'artistic impulse'. Otherwise 1

photographs were hest conccptuaHzed as an artist's tools: 1do not consider it neccssary that the whole afthe subject should be what is caBed in}XU5; on the contrary, 1have found in many instances that the object is hetter ohtainecl by the ,vhole .'luhject heing a Httle out l1joCU5, thereby giving a greater breadth of efIeet, and conscquently more 5lJgBesthe ofthe charactcr of nature. I wi.'lh, however, to he understood as applying these observations to artists only, such productions heing considered as private studies to assist him in his compositions ... 1 Despite sueh scepticism, photography was admittecl into gallery spaccs fairly sWiftly: photographs appearecl in the 1859 Paris Salan, for instance. However, man} of the photographie images attempting to attain artistie credibility for the medium \Vere 'High Art' photographs - a specific form of photograph that had scorn heaped upon it by cantcmporary cnmmentators such as Charles Baudelaire. As Mar)' ~rarner Maricn ,,,Tites: High Art photographs hlcncled theatre, printmaking, and palnting with photography. Actors or other pla)'('rs were posed singly or in a lableau vivanl. Interestingly, specific paintings werc only occasionally replicated in High Art photography. For the most part, these images rendcred original conceptions, illustrating religious ur moral precepts orten in the manner 01' rnaudHn genre painting ana popular Victori;m prints. By partaking in the established didac­ tic runction of the fme arts, High Art photographers attempted to skirt objec­ tions lo the mcdium's inartistic vcri.similitude-. 2

Figure 6.1 - Eugcne Delo

Although 'High Art' I of fme art, they tended Their pale lIllitation 01 photography as

él

roed:

PHOTOGRAPHY Mm FILM

Figur 6.1

87

[ug' tl¡> Delacroix, Odalisque (1!l57). Private colJection.

Althou h 'I-ligh Art' photo al hs lricd to display som of the key ch raet'ri tic, of fine art, they tended to resemble littlt' more than painters' photographic studics. Th<'ir pak imitatíon of arti:try faiJl'd t capit,lJize 011 lhE' spt'cific eh ra teristi . of photography as a mcdium.

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Photography and Painting Throughout photography's history, tbe artistic status of individual images has often been judged according to criteria drawn from tbe critical discourses used to eval­ uate painting. Terms such as 'tone', 'composition', 'contrast', 'framing' and 'texture' recur in comments on the work of specific photographers. In one sense tbis is understandable: due to its extensive history, painting has long remained tbe yardstick by which al! still, framed images tend to be measured, and many of the critical terms used can be applied to botb media. Relating photographs to tbe realm and lineage of fine art may also result in the attribution of 'artistry' to the work of particular photographers - thus according (to some degree) a 'respectable' status to the medium. The work of some photographers can clearly be compared witb, or related to, specific fields of fine art practice: these images may thus be more open to interpel­ lation as 'art'. For instance, the photographs of Bill Brandt include a large number of studies of nudes shot in a surrealist fashion. Resembling the distortions of fair­ ground mirrors, tbese pictures position women's bodies - and tbe camera - in such a way that specific facets of the body seem to swell in size: a hand and forearm 100m across a table in front of a passive sitter; the curve of a buttock monopolises the framed space. In a related manner, the decision of respected artists to use photog­ raphy as a facet of tbeir working process may also help in raising photography to the critical status of fine arto David Hockney's photomontages, for example, build complete collaged images from photographic fragments. The photographs provide the completed pieces of work witb a glossy texture - a shine arguably appropriate for the pictures of cinematic American landscapes and city spaces that Hockney has produced utilising this method. Such uses of photography, however - in relation to established art movements or as a tool available for use by knovvn artists - fail to acknowledge the character­ istics tbat mark photography as a distinct medium. Exploitation of chese can result in striking imagery no other medium is capable of producing, requiring evaluation as photographs. Moreover, if the critical terminology and discourses available for such evaluation remain somewhat limited, still at an immature stage in their evo­ lution, tbis is due to the persistence of photography's historical positioning as fine art's lesser relative. One of photography's key characteristics is its ability to capture instantaneous, fleeting moment; exposure times have been calibrated in fractions of a second since the 1880s. Not only can photography reveal details imperceptible to the human eye - the movement of a bullet as it passes through an apple in Harold Edgerton's famous image (Figure 6.2), 01' the splash of fluid as a droplet hits a placid surface­ it may also capture symbolic, significant events in a manner beyond painting, for instance, due to its necessarily lengthy production time.

Figure 6.2 - Harold Edgertt Kayafas and Palm Press.

Photographs ofthe Hi ument the spectacular fir seemingly captured the J war in 1936 3 Indeed, photography' 1859, among the mediuI

It is an attribute, to parallel; to whose course, not attemp spiritual quality of quite independcnt ( to our readiest SYIT tion, tbe most mim special attention, h

crtainly, tbe ahility I physiognomy and appeaI

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

89

Figure 6.2 - Harold Edgerton, Shooting che Apple (1964). Photogl-aph courtesy of Gus Kayafas and Palm Press.

Photographs of the Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst in 1937, for example, doc­ ument the spectacular fire and fury of the airship's destruction, while Robert Capa seemingly captured the moment of death of a soldier fighting in the Spanish civil war in 1936. 3 Indeed, photography's documentary capacities are, as Francis Frith noted in 1859, among the medium's 'chief peculiarities': It is an attribute, to which, we believe, there is, in the whole rangF of Art, no parallel; to whose uses and delights we can assign no limits, ancl shall, of course, not attempt to enumerate them .... We protest there is, in this new spiritual quality of Art, a charm of wonderful freshness and power, which is quite independent of general or artistic effect, and which appeals instinctively to our readiest sympathies. Every stone, every little perfeetion, or dilapida­ tion, the most minute detail, which, in an ordinary drawing, would merit no special attention, becomes, on a photograph, worthy of careful study."" Certainly, the ability of photography to capture swiftly a record of a person's physiognomy and appearance, or to document a specific landscape, was quickly

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

recognised as one of the medium 's strengths. It has often been argued that artists, accustomed to producing paintings of landscapes and portraits of sitters, among other subjects, were liberated from their role as recorders of visual reality. The invention of photography allowed painters to diversify and experimento In recent years, the idea of the photograph as impartial document - indeed, documentary's 'rhetoric of immediacy and truth' - has been subjected to sus­ tained interrogation by critics. As John Tagg has argued, for example, photo­ graphs are deeply enmeshed vvithin the society that produced them; even apparently 'objective' images, such as police identity photographs or medical records, are informed by the s),stems of power and representation that produce them. s Likewise, historical photographs now look unavoidably 'dated' and 'aged', due to a combination of factors including camera technology, film stock and the aesthetic and inteJlectual preferences of the time in which they were taken. Photography's position as marker of authenticity, as evidence, is thus often approached sceptically. Readers question the truth-value of photographs that appear in newspapers and magazines, but paradoxically this has not undermined the use of photography as a medium of reportage, creating or capturing images of people and places. It is perhaps no surprise that among the most renowned contemporary photog­ raphers there is a large number of individuals who work predominantly in the field of portraiture: David LaChapelle, Annie Leibowitz, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber. Each has a recognisable style: LaChapelle, for instance, stages gaudily coloured sce­ narios inflected with a pop sensibility, often placing his models in provocative poses. And yet the status of these photographers as artists is open to dispute: their pictures circulate widely in the press and in magazines. Leibowitz regulady shoots for VanitJ Fair, Testino for V08ue, Weber for lnterview, and this mass availability inter­ feres with the purported non-reproducibility and the often desired uniqueness of arto Even blowing up sorne of these photographs to gigantic sizes, as occurred with sorne of Mario Testino's images in an exhibition held at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh in 2003 - as though it is an artwork's sheer size that commands cultural respect - cannot entirely transmute them into arto

The Photographer as Artist Images produced by portrait photographers such as Testino are often commis­ sioned _.- and thus, potentially, 'tainted' by commercialism. Indeed, Testino's pic­ tu res of wealthy, beautiful people dressed in expensive clothing can seem to flaunt overtlya celebration of materialism. In contrast, the artist-photographer, it is often assumed, is driven by different imperatives: the desire to make a statement, raise awareness, promulgate a specific message, to enlighten and enhance the ¡ives of

Figure 6.3 - Paul Strand, Wa

Strancl Founclation. © Aperl

those who come into ca makes a photographer an listic model of the artist­ in a discussion of the iroace ing to this paradigm af ar

a revelatory proccss subject out of a hi~ photographer does 1 tively, no more than be discovered. Thc F a romantic traditian forms a dullliteral rl

Thus, Paul Strand's 1915 aesthetically pleasing ano of the frame, low sunli( ~ smears; aboye the humar status and power of capit

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

91

Figure 6.3 - Paul Strand, Wall Street (1915). Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gi[t of the Paul Strand Foundatioo. © Aperture Fouodation 1nc., Paul Strand Archive.

those who come into contact with the developed prints. In other words, what makes a photographer an artist is, perhaps, the intention of the snapper. This idea­ listic model of the artist-photographer is neatly encapsulated by Graham Clarke, in a discussion of the images of Paul Strand. Clarke describes photography, accord­ ing to this paradigm of artistry, as a revelatory process in which the photographer, through the camera, lifts the subject out of a historical context into its potential ideal condition. The photographer does not record, he creates, and the material world is, effec­ tively, no more than the outward manifestation of a spiritual other waiting to be discovered. The photographer is a seer, vvith all that implies in relation to a romantic tradition based on the artist as inspired ph.ilosopher who trans­ forms a dullliteral reality into something new and ideal 6 Thus, Paul Strand's 1915 image of Wall Street in New York (Figure 6.3) is both aesthetically pleasing and politically charged. Workers scuttle across the bottom of the frame, low sunlight stretching their shadows into dramatic diagonal smears; aboye the human figures towers an imposing bank, an edifice to the status ancl power of capitalismo The image is harmonious and neatly balanced,

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

verging towards the abstract in its composition. And yet it also has a comment to make regarding the position of the human subject in relation to the financial imperatives driving the modern world: Wall Street, a global symbol of monetary might, dwarfs the nameless and faceless individuals exiled to the lower limits of the image. The segregation of 'art photographers' from 'commercial photographers' is, of course, a false one: to so me extent, the pictures produced by both groups are intended to make money. And yet, throughout photography's history, a drive to divide up photographers into specific sub-groups has often surfaced, each popula­ tion identified by markedly different aims and desires. For example, as Nicholas Mirzoeff identifies, Ernest Lacan, writing in 1852 in the photography journal La Lumiece,

sub-divided photographers into four c1asses, corresponding to social c1ass: the basic photographer (working c1ass or artisan); the artist-photographer (bourgeois); the amateur, in the sense of connoisseur, hence aristocrat; and the distinguished photographer-savant, who c1aimed the c1assless status of the artist. Thus those who saw themselves as the photographic elite argued that 'legitimate photography' was that which could be identified as belonging to a specific place, time and c1ass 7 Although the boundaries are increasingly blurred, this attempt at division con­ tinues today: art photographers tend to be segregated from commercial photogra­ phers, images by the latter rarely appearing in galleries or photography journals. In addition, there is a separate realm of 'amateur photographers' - consumers of monthly publications that explore the techniques of taking photos, a group that could be seen as photography's equivalent of the 'Sunday painters' . And then there are the rest of us - camera owners, with sorne degree of technical proficiency, whose image production and circulation occur solely at the local leve!. That this hierarchy exists is evidence of the critical need to categorise the users of a specific creative tool into recognisable groups; what is difficult to discern is exactly who works to maintain this specific hierarchy. Certainly, art dealers, gallery curators and so on playa significant role in attrib­ uting artistic status to the work of specific photographers. Richard Billingham 's pictures of his parents, taken in their cramped, filthy council f1at - overweight mother dressed in a thin nightdress, engrossed in a jigsaw; thin father, face creased with lines (Figure 6.4) - sit on the cusp between 'family snaps' and socially moti­ vated documentary images of working-c1ass life in Britain. And yet these images appeared in the Sensation exhibition of young British Artists (or 'yBAs') heId at the Royal Academy in London in 1997, which led to Billingham's work being discussed in relation to that of Damien Hirst, Tracey

Figure 6.4 - Richard Billingl courtesy of Anthony Reynol

Emin, Sarah Lucas and 01 tures are simply 'snaps ( series of bucolic landscaF to be taken seriously as a

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

Figure 6.4 - Richard Billingham, Unlitled (1995). courtesy of Anthony Reynolds GaJlery, London.

93

© Richard Billingham. Photograph

Emin, Sarah Lucas and others. Billingham, self-effacingly, has claimed that the pic­ tures are simply 'snaps of rus folks'; he followed these images, however, with a series of bucolic landscape photographs, suggesting his desire fOI- rus photography to be taken seriously as arto

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EXPlORING VISUAL CULTURE

Film as Art: Realism versus Fantasy Throughout thc briefhistory al' cinema - it5 birth is usually dated to 1896 with the screening uf images captured by the Lumiere brothers - argurncnts regarding the medium '5 arti5tic status have regularly rcsurfaced. One of the centnl axes around which such discussions have revolved correeTOS cinema's idculJorm; as with sirnl1ar debates ayer painting, a variet}' al' cornmentators have claimcd cinema's dehning characteristics proscribe both what film iSJOl and theJorm it should take. On the

whole, these arguments tend to propase eírher that cinema should be a conduit for realistic types of representation, al that it shoukl aim to produce [arrtas)' narratives. As cinema is rootcd in pbotograprue tcchnology, projecting a succession of still frames at such a rapid rate that the human eyc percei\'C~ the illusüm 01' motion - a trick of pcrception known as 'the persistence of vision' - the potency of film argu­ ably líes in its ability to capture and re-present what is placed in front of the record­ ing camera. That is, as with photography, cinema's aptitude for documcnting the real may be its ke)' characteristic the feature from "... hich it derives its forcc. Certainly, there are (possibly apocryphal) reports 01' early cinema audiences watch­ ing Lumiere brothers footage of a trajn arriving at a station and running from the auditorium in fear that the vehicle was about to career into them. Whether or not these stories are true, they attest to the po\\'er that has often been attributed to cinema's documentar} capacities. An alternative perspective on this topic argues that film, due to its temporal unfurling, its intimate connection to the passagc of time, is an inherently narrative medium. Cinema should be used to tell stories: in order to make best use of the medium's capacities, it should be utilised for the transmission of fantastical (and othcr) tales. In this regard, it is worth noting that probahly the most important con­ temporary of the Lumiere brothers was Georges MéW~s, also a Frenchman, whosc short films used trick effects (time-lapse, multiple-exposure and so on) and elab­ orate staging and set design ro relate imaginati ve yarns. The lasting impact of Mélícs' lOJQBC to the J.loon (1902) is marked; the film provided cinema history with one of its most enduring and iconic images - a grinning, winking moon (Figure 6.5). These two opposing modes of concl'ptualising the purpose of cinem.1, realism versus fantas)" - both in place, notably, at the inauguration of the medium - have been adopted and developed by a rangc of writers and filmmakers ovcr the rast ccntur)'- Perhaps most famousl)', André Ba7in (1918-58) - the author of numer­ ous essays on cinema, and thc co-founder 01' the French film journal Cahlcrs du Cinéma - claimcd that cincma's force was allied to its documentar)' potential. In his writings, Bazin argucd in favour of film directors ,",v hose shooting methods pro­ duced footage that approached or approximated reality, and whosc style rescm­ hlcd, or made use of, tbe specificities ofhuman vbion. Thus, Bazin praiscd ltalian neo-realist directors such as Roberto Rossellini for hlming on the postwar, ruhhle­

figufr 6.5 - StiJ] {mm Georg

strewn strcets of Rome al butions to Citizcn Kane (15 ing Welles' film, whieh me

the 16 mm industry stand.. with the latter, he claimed in a simulation of 'real' vü

to lateh onto. 8 Although h have he en a fan al' several Na,h..,lle (1975), with thei vcntional narrative form, realist model of cinema. F prcsent, it js notable that pO\\.'ers of realism now ~ Rossellini's films, for insté that undercut the verisimi Bazin contrasted his ow and opinions of the Russ (1925), Battle>h¡p Potemki, argued in favour of manip' potential of cinema as a n

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

95

Figure 6.5 - StilJ from Georgcs Mé-Ii¡'s' ~~ya8e ca the Moon (1902). ~:J BFI stills.

strcwn streets 01' Rome and other citiC's. He al so eulogised Gregg Toland's contri­

hutions to Citizen Kane (1941) - Toland developed a 17 mm camera leos for shoot­ ing Welles' film, which more closel)' approximated the curve of the human eye than the 16 mm industry standard. Bazin exal ted hoth the lcngthy takc and the long shot; \\'ith the tatter, he dairncd, the .spectator·5 eye must rove around the cinema screcn, in a simulation

01' 'real' Vi5100, searching for thc most relevant OT important facets to latch onto.1' Although he died before the)' \\rere made, Bazin would thus perhaps

have been a fao nf several al' Robert Altman's films, such as M*A*S*H (1970) and i\,'ashl'ilJe (1975), with their long takes, overlapping dialogue and rejection of (.'on­ ventional narrative formo And )'ct there are problems \\'ith Bazin's support of the realist model of cinema. Revisiting Bazin's argurnents from the perspective of the present, it is notahle that man)' of the films he praised for harne:'ising cinerna's powers of realism now seem hopelessl)' staged and rnclodramatic

Roberto

Rossellini's films, for instance, often resorted to using a syrupy orchestral scorc that undercut the verisimilitude of sorne of thcir irnagcs. Bazin contrastcd hi~ o,"\-'n beBef in the pmver of the realistic image with thc films and opinions ol' the Russian forrnalist Sergei Eisenstein. The director 01' Strike

(1925), Battleship Poremkin (1925) and October (1927), among others, Eisenstein argued in favour

01' manipulating film stock through editing; for him, the creative

potcntial of cinema as a medium could be properly expressed on]y through the

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

directorial assemblage of shot footage. Far Eisenstein, cinematic montage was a

extent, whv , Ridley, Scot

predominant concern: he helieved that the disjunctive juxtaposition of specific

Jlonk (2003) is unherald

shots causeo spectators to forge a meaning from the fragments - a meaning not

The terro 'auteur' or nalists for Cahiers du CiI

Y

¡nherent in the images themselves. Thus, in Ortober, a senior official's vanity is exposed by intercutting images al' the man with shots ol' a pcacock. Similarly, in a sequence from Battleship Potemkin, severa} shots al' stOIlC Iians (Iying clown, starting

Fran)=ois Truffaut and El rigbt. Tbe 'politique de,

to rise, fully alert) follow on from the infamous Odessa Steps hattle sequcnce: the

two LTucial arguments. j

intimatían deduced by the spectator is that the lians symbolise the púBtical avt'ak­

nant in contrast ro that o

cning afthe Russian peasantry. Far 8azin, such montage editing was manipulative,

ary texts: American Cme"

almost heretical, interfering \vith film's abiHty to capture, uncxpurgated, the wonder 01' God's \.. ·orld (Bazin was a very religious man); for Eisenstein, it consti­

Sceond, the postwar gh sereened en mane in Fran,

tutecl and encapsulatcd the true pO\\,'er of cinema.

Ford westerns in one sit

Debates regarding dnema's relationship to reality and fantasy - and pertaining to cinema's 'true form', to what could be called 'pure cinema'

ha\"e not disap­

critics noticed that sorne own identity into the fiIn

pean:d. Indeed, to take just one examplc, they can be seen to underlie the criti­

01' the director was evidl

cisms of Hollywood film raised by the Dogme film movement. Dogmc - initiated

surface style. These direc

by the Danish filmmakers Thomas Vinterherg and Lars von Tricr in 1995 - out­

'artisanal' directors, terIr

lined a ten-point programme for making movies l a manifcsto that attempted to strip away the artifice ofHollywood. Only naturallight and sound weTe to be used;

Thesc tcrms of debate a numher ol' critics in (

cameras had to be hand-hcld; optical tricker), \Vas not allowcd; only diegetic sound

instance, writing in the

and music could be cmployecl. Films produced accorJing to this agenda - an agenda

prioritising thc input of t1l

include Vintcrherg's Festen (1998), Von Trier's

- from set designers to ca

that continues to attract devotees

Ir

The ldiolS (1998) and Harmony Korine's Julien DonkeJ-BoJ (1999). As Vinterbcrg

tributed to a finished Hol

has stated, highlighting Dogme 's preference for a realist model 01' cinema:

scriptwriters are largely w

by cinema 's visual irnpal We "\'dnted to seek a moment of truth, not pnwoking it too much, not iovolv­

attempted in the journal F

ing our own tastes; just to see what happens between actors when we put

tigation to the practice of f

them in this situation. Still it is fiction, we'ye got the script, we've got the

structed lists of 'the best

casting we say 'action' we say do this amI that, but we try and see ourselves

reveal the subjective natUTf

as regarding, and not directing too much, if you understand. So it is like a . agamst . . th·mg. lO reactlOn t b e auteur

rist Timothy Corrigan has"

,

'"

­

Auteurism

i

for Hollywood, a valuable (

this hclps to explain why Kili BilI, Volumc I (2003),

e !

why Francis Ford Coppola' In the search for film art, the attribution of authorial intention and crcativity to

horror film }eepers Creepers (

specific contrihutors to the fihnmaking proccss is often attempted, v,rith certain

On tbe whole, debates a~

individuals isolated as making more significant contributions than others. Crucially,

to the overwhelrningly indl

ir is now largcly taken for granted in both popular and critical discoursc tbat the

ponderance of genre movie,

person rcsponsible for a film's contents and acsthetics is Íts director. Further, from

return, stars paid exorbitan

thc large numbcr of directors presentIy working, only a small percentage 01' those

pation with 'opening week(

are deemed to be 'artists', or 'auteurs', worth)' of comment; this is, to .sorne

their mark' can scem min

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

97

extent, why Ridley Scott's name is well known, but thc director of, say, Bul1etpf(lf}(

Monk (2003) is unheraldcd." The term 'auteur' originated in Franee in the 1950s in the writings ofthe jour­ nalists for Cahlers du Cinéma. Many of these authors - such as Jean-Lue Godard, Fran~ois Truffaut and Eric Rohmcr - cventually became filrnmakers in their O\... n right. The 'politique des auteurs' developed by the journal's crities was rooted in two crucial arguments. First, the)' claimed that French cinema had becornc stag­ nant in contrast to that of America, dependent on dull, stodgy adaptations ofliter­ ary texts: American cinema, it was argued, was quaHtatively better, more cinemaric.

Second, the postwar glut of American fiJms - hcld back during the war, then screened en massc in Francc in a tidal \\"ave - enabled viewers to watch several John Ford westerns in one sittjng, or a number of Howard Hawks films. The Cahiers critics noticed that sorne dircctors working in Hollp....ood were ahle to stamp their own identity jnto the films they worked on: over several different films, the trace of the director was evidcntly present, most obviously identifiablc in relation to surface s~vle. These directors \\'ere lahelled 'auteurs' and contrasted with more 'artisanal' directors, tcrmed 'metteurs-en-set:ne'. These terms ol' debate were subsequently picked up, argued oyer and rcfined by a number of critics in other countries. The British author lan Cameron, for instance, writing in the magazine Movie, critidsed the 'politique des auteurs' for prioritising the input of the director over that of the hundreds ol' other individuals from set designers to costumiers. einematographers to hairdressers - who con­ tributed to a finished Hollywood film. l ! This remains a significant coneern: film scriptwriters are largcly unkno\..'n, for example, a fact that is only partIy explained hy cinema's visual impact. In contrast, the American critic Andrew Sarris attempted in the journal Film Culture to apply pseudo-scientific methods ol' inves­ tigation to the practice of film production; he drew up tables and graphs, amI con­ structed Iists of 'the best directors' - in the process, inadvertentIy managing to rC\'cal the subjective nature of ranking 'film artists' .13 More recentIy, the film theo­ rist Timothy Corrigan has argued that the 'auteur' lS simply a use fuI marketing tool fOT Hollywood, a valuablc device for seducing audiences into cinemas. J4 Certainly, this helps to explain why Quentin Tarantino was predominantly used to promotc KJiJ BJiJ: VoJume 1 (2003), rather than the film', ¡ead actress, Urna Thurman; and

,....h y Francis Ford Coppola's name was so prominently featured on posters for the horror film Jeepers Creepers (2001), of which he was the executive producer. On the whole, debates about auteurism have focused on Hollywood cinema. Due to the overwhelmingly industrial nature 01' Hollp....ood film production - the pre­ ponderance 01' genre movies, sequcls churned out due to their lucrative box office return, stars paid exorbitant fees in proportion to tbór audience draw, a preoccu­ pation with 'opening weekend' figures ~ the possibility 01' any individual 'making their mark' can seem miraculous. And yet there are directors working within

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EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Hollywüoo wha have distinctive authorial styles - Paul Thomas !\noerson, Michacl Mano, M. Night Shyamalan, John Woo. The latter serves as a llsefu] example: Woo 's

handling of generic action material Hard Targct (1993), Broken Arrow (1996), Face/ OjJ( 1997), fV;ndtalker, (2002) - do es not prevent him from inserting his own prcoccupations and favoured symbolism. In almost c"ery Woo film, for instance,

there can be found: a slow-motion gun battle, choreographed like a hallet; imagcry of noves taking Hight; a hero and villain firing weapons through a wall scparating them froro each other, with the wall placed in the dead centre afthe frame; Christ­ likc poses adopted by key protagonists. However. these rlirectors are rare cxamples:

on the whale Hollv\\'ood cinema i5 usuallv seen as faceless, repetitivc, mass-pro­ duced, made 'solel; for thc purpose ol' 'e~tertainment' rather than any higher or alternative aim. Ofcourse, it should also he noted that the stuoios may occasionally

Clearl)', 'art cinema' li,tcd by Pelley high)¡ cinema'. Although lhe for American studios, " with smallcr ere......-s enal imperativc is not as m, scripts) to explore their Art cinema is abo t already established "eld confer art film with a d surrealist cinema - fron of the film, of David L}'I ¡st painting and sculptl

produce 'prestige pieture, sueh as Monste!s Ball (2001) and Tbe Haurs (2002) - that is, the sort of tilms that are awaroed Oscars and used to justify claims for Hollywood as a respectable cultural institution. Howevcr, for substantial traces ol' artistry in cinema, it is perhaps most useful to loo k bcyond the confines 01' the 'dream factory'.

(Robat Wiene. Fritz La and 19 30s is compared \ era. Andy vVarhol's fi]m~

Art Cinema

- are taken seriously du their hand' at making mo

Outsioe Hollywood's powerful 'vertically integrated' system of film production, distribution and exhibition, in which Hollywood product cnds up bcing shown to mass audiences in cavernous multiplexes also owned by the studios, therc is an alternatiyc scheme. Smaller companies (such as Metro Tartan) distribute non­ Hollywood films ('independent' American cinema, 'foreign languagc' ti des) to 'art house' exhibition venues, attracting less sizeable audiences. On the wholc, these films laek the trappings ol' Hollywood: enormous budgcts, overpaid stars, a reli­ arree on digital tric'kery, generic storytelling, huge (Te\VS. Thc)' also have ioentifi­ able formal charactcristics that differ l'rom thosc ol' Holly"mod films. The distinctions bet\,"'cen Hollywood cinema and 'art films' \Vere c1carly artic­ ulaled in the jaté 1970s and 1980s by David Bordwell and Steve Neale, and the terms of debate thev outlined remain dominant conceptualizations even today. As Julian Petley notes, ~hc term 'art cinema' was useti by Bordv,,'cll and Neale to refcr to films such as those of the French ne\\ \,,"'ave, the Ncw German Cinema, Bergman, Antonioni, Fellini, Kurosawa, Ray (Satyajit not Nicholas) ano the like, hut ir was al50 employeo retrospectively to denote such disparate cinc­ matic phenomena as Italian nf'o-realism, German silent cinema, the Soviet ciassics, and the prc-war Frcnch cinema, fromfilms d'art through surrealist vvorks such as Gcrmaine Dulac's La Coquille el le clerBYman (1928), Buñud's Un Chien Andalau (1928) and l.'Age d'Or (1930) to lhe aeuvres of Cocteau, Renoir, Carne, Préyert ano others ... 15

Longo's John~r Mnemonj, hoth critical and box offi Perhaps most significa form of 'art cinema' are - that ¡s, from \-,/hat is oJ

appeal only to an elite a stream. Art films might, social, cultural and politi( Dardcnnes brothers' Ros,

characters Jnd geographi, coastal to\\'n Ohan, and

Manern Callar (2002); 0P'

such as the long take, us instancej a preference for or self-reflexive narration

Of course, dividing th

sweeping and reductiye. ~ which man)' countries (i popular, gencric cinema rr ignores the significant arr occurs; the French new w American studio films'lan multiplexes in Britain may

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

99

Clearl)', 'art cinema' is largel)' a directar's cinema. The preponderancf' af names listed by Petle)' highlights a crucial distinction bctween Holly,vaod and 'art cinema' . Although thc occasional auteur mal' ]cave their mark on films produced for American studíos, 'art film' ís more evidently the work of its directors. Working with smaller crews enabks more control over the finished product; the commercial imperative is not as marked, cnabling director s (who mal' also havc written thc scripts) to explore their concerns and preoccupations with less ínterferenn'. Art cinema is also evidentl y a form of filmmaking \vith sorne affiliations to aIread)' established fields 01' artistic practice, such as fine art ficlds, in fact, which confer art film ,"vith a degree ol' culturallegítimacy. Thus, lnstanLes of Dada amI surrealist cinema - from Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel's work to, perhaps, maoy of the film s 01' David Lynch - are discussed in relation to thc traditions 01' surreal­ ist painting and sculpture; similarly, thc cinema of the German Expressíonists (Robert Wiene, Fritz Lang, F. W Murnau, anrt others) produced during the 19205 amI 1930s is compared with, and connected to, Expressionist painting ol' the same era. And)' Warho1's film s - roany of them, by his own admission, unv.,atchably duB -- are taken seriously due to his status as an artist. Indced, \-\'hen fine artists 'tr)' their hand' at making movies, expectations are high and often disappointed: Robert Langa', johnny Mnemomc (1995) and Cindy Sherman's OJJice Kíller (1997) werc hoth critical and box ol'fice disasters. Perhaps most significantl)" however, David Bordwell daims that the content ami form of 'art ónema' are distinct from those ol' 'conventional' Hoth'wood cinema - that is, from what is often rel'erred to as the 'c1assical realist text'. lt may thus appeal only to an elite audience looking far an alternative to thc generic main­ stream. Art films might, then, display the following characteristics: an intcrest in social, cultural and patitical prohlems such as unemployment and poyerty, as in thc Dardennes hrothers' Rosetta (1999); an 'objective', 'truthful' representation of charaeters and gcographicallocations, such as the depiction of life in the Scotti.sh coastal town Oban, ami the unpredictable actions of the heroine, in Ramsay's Monern Callar (2002); open-endcd narratives; the use of ccrtain formal flourishes, such as the long take, used rather extravagantly in Japón (Reygadas, 2002), for instance; a preference for autobiography, as in many ofthe films 01' Nanni Moretti, or sclf-reflexivc narration. 16 Of coun;e, dh.'iding the \','orld of cinema into 'Hollywood' and 'art film' is sweeping and rcductive. Such an attt:'mpt at categorisation neglects the extent to \vhich man)' countries (including France and, most obviously, India) produce popular, generic cinema modclkd on the template of Hollywood examples. lt also ignores the !ligniflcant amount of Hollywood theft of 'art cinema' stylings that occurs; the French ncw waye 'jump cut', for ínstance, is no\v an acceptcd part ol' American !ltmfio films'language. Exhibition Is no longer as clear-cut as it once was: multiplexes in Britain mal' now regularly show foreign language tides, and regional

100

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

film theatrcs, in arder to stay financialIy solvent, may have to screen studio block­ husters. 'Independent' American cinema, as the film critie Kim Newman has

generated imager)' may characters on the prow

observed, has become almost impossible lo identify.17 And the spread of DVO

tastical creatures - as iJ

technology secms to be inaugurating a new system of film connoi.'i.'icurship - one

2002 and 2003). Such

crucially that erades the noundaries hctwccn 'mainstream' and 'art house' films

guage capahle of assessi

and their audicnccs - in 'which the plethora of extra information packcd onto dises provokes an enhanced interest in moving imagc culture. And yet, of coursc, thc 'mainstream/independent', 'art housc/multiplex', 'mass/elite audience' divisiOTIS continuc to influence general understandings of the field of cinema. Such is the dominance of Hollywood that it is necessary to conccp­ tualisc a spaee outside, or bel'ond the dutches of, tht, machinations

01'

the studios:

this 'space' is often given the label 'art film', As Perle)' argues:

Clarke, Graham. The Phou1j HolJows, Joanne and Janco' Lemagn), Jean-Claude, ed. Slam, Roben, fIlm TheoT)':,

Howcver difficult it mal' he to define art cinema in positive terms, that is, to sal' what it actually is, it is relativell' easl' to define it negatively as simply being 'not Hollywood' or evcn 'anti-Hollywood' . . . . It may he, then, that art cinema is hC:'3t concE'ptualized not as a certain historical pE'rioo of mainl)" European output ... nor as a directorial canon J nor as a set of distinctil.'c suh­ jects and stylcs, but, as 10m Rl'all has suggested, as an institution in \vhich certain films are' assigned defined in terms

01'

J

position within the general film culture and are

a particular mode of consumption'. l¡;

\Villiam Nev,'ton. 'UpO! Ch.lrles Harríson, Pau} , l~r Changmg JJeJs (Oxfor 2 ¡\1
663 4.

Conclusion As was noted at the beginning of this chapter, photographie ano filmic production i:'3 beeoming increasingly digital. This hrings notable benetíts to the users of thc technology: digital cameras can store more material, the editing out oflow-quality material can be done inside the device, ano so on. For the artist-photographer, pix­ Hation reduces the captured image to thousands of tinl' fragmcnt:'3, E'ach capable ol manipulation. That is, the digital photograph can, arguably, be said to resemble a painting: it can be worked on within a computer, using an arral' of SplTific tools, beforc the final image is complete. This removcs photographl' from its hallowed position as a documenta of faets. As a relatively new field of image production, the implications of these developments for photography as an art form remain to be .'leen. For cinema, thc proliferation 01' digital effects also complicates discussions of film artistry. If a film is . ;hot digitalll" with every frame open to digital manipulation, 'real' footage begins to blur with the realm 01' digital animatiou. Thc latter has itself swiftly become the dominant method of industry animatian, replacing the hand­ drawn \'ariety in films such as Findins Nema (2003). Thc additian of computer­

John Tagg, The BUTden cf Graham Clarke, The Phot Nícholas MirzodT, An 1m See Ande" Ha'in, What H q See Sergd Eísenstein, Th 10 Thomas Víntcrberg, quol Cc)'!J¡I.~ed, No, 52 (March 11 for those concerned to k 12 Ian Camewn, 'Fílrns, Dil (London, 19SI), pp. 50-1 1 3 Anrire\..' S.lrris.• Notes on eds" hlm Theorr ond (rirh 14 Timothy Corrigan, A Cinel :'ij,1991) 15 Julian Pt>Uey, 'An Cinet (London, 1999, 2nd editi( 16 David Bordwell, NarratlOn exarnplcs suggested are n( 17 Kirn Newman, 'Independe und Sound Reader (London, 1S Petky. 'Art Cinema', pp. 1 5 6 7 8

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

101

generated imagery ma)' cnhance realism - james Carncron gave 'cold breath' lo his characters on the prow 01' the T¡tanie (1997)

or to envisagc ana bring lo tife fan­

tastical creatuTes -- as in Pctcr ]ackson's Lord ~Ithc Ringo\' trilog)' (relcascd in 2001, 2002 and 2003). Such is the pace nf development in this lield, that a critica] lan­ guagc capable of assessing its form and impact is yet lo be fully developcd.

Further Reading C1arkc, Graham. Th,' Phoruf/Taph (Oxford, 1997).

Hollow.~, Joanne ano Jancovich, Mark. eds. Approochcj lo Popular Film (J\lanchester, 1995).

Lemagny, Jean-Claude, ed. Thc Hl\'tcl~t' ?f PhotoBraph)' (Cambridge, 19R6).

Stam, Robert. Fdm Theory: An InrroduL'tlcln (Oxforo, 2000).

Notes \Villiam Newton, 'Upon Photography in .ln Artistic Vil'\v, and its Relalion lo the Arts', in Charles Harrison, Paul Wood ano Jason Gaiger, cds, Art In Theor)'. 1815-1900:an AncholviL)' qj"Chan8in8'Je¡]j (Oxford, 1998), p. 651. 1 Mar)' Warner Marien, Photo8raph), and m Cntlo: A Cultural H1S¡O~h 1839-1900 (Cambridge, 1997), p. 87. 1 It is worth noting that there are allegations that the image ma)' have been faked. 4 Francis Frith, 'The Art ol' Photography', in Harrison, \Vood and Gaiger, Arl in TheoI)', pp.

663-4. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1+ 15 16 17 18

John Tagg, The BurJen ~f RepIesentafIon: rss,:vs on Phot08raphíes and Hlstones (London, 191'8). Graham Clarh, Tile Photo8TOph (Oxford, 1997), p. 170. Nicholas MirzoeJr, /In Inrrodu(/wn ro VISual C[¡}l11re (London ano New York, 1999), p. 72. See Anoré Ba7in, WhallS Cmema,' Volume 1 (Los Angeles, 1967), See SergC'i bsenstein, The Fllm Sen,'e (London, 1943). Thomas Vinterberg, quoted in Wendy lde, 'No Lights, One Ca.TTu:ra, Action', in Da7ed and ConJused, No. 52 (March 1999), p. 67. f-"or those concerneJ to know, the man rrspomible was Paul HUnler. lan Cameran, 'rilms, Directors and Crities', in John Caugbie, ed., Theoncj c:IAuthOI5hlp (London, 1981), pp. 50 8. Andr(''A SalTis, 'Notes on the Auteur Theor)' in 1962' , in Gerald Mast and Marshall Cohen, ('(1:0,., FIlm Theory tlnd Cf1t1ClSm: Jmroducwrx Readings (New York. 197+), pp. 500 -15. Timothy Conigan, A (memo wlthout Walls: Mmló' and Culture _1jier heln
7. Architecture and Visual Culture Richard Williams

The scale, cost and pt tion, and as a result we 1

critic Walter Benjamin a distraction' , unlike othe]

priate surroundings - o architecture, a difficult, s notoriously hard to dem town planning, or any 01' It is a profession, and as ~ non-initiates. It comes w

arcane and exclusive tech

can we relate to a practi<

architecture degree, the F cated by a middle-elass b. sion. In what way can th, the} stand in relation to s

1 address thcse questi< rathcr more what has be< them. As wilJ bccome cle.a

Introduction Architccturc is the most public ol' the arts. Ir is incscapable on a daily hasis for anyone living in an urban socidy. Works of architecture frame our lives; we inhabit

sional realm as it is a mater as diseourse that one can el

ing three relatcd, but disti art; architecture as a symb

them; they define our movement through cities; the)' moralisc and discipline, or attcmpt too They are arre of the principal m(:am; by- which the public realm is mate­ rially represented amI for that reasan, the)' are al' huge social importance.

ThroughoLIt the industrialised world, this rclationship has been intensified in recent years. An irnmense amount al' spectacular ne\\-' architecture has heen built in the

What i5 architecture? Thü I'orward answer. For the ar

rast two decades, a product of the desire 00 thc part of social and polirical author­ it)' to update the public rcalm in the context 01' unprecedented prospcrity. Important recent cxamples inelude the Guggenheim Museum in Bilhao, the new parliamcnts or assembly buildings in Bcrlin, CardiI'I', Edinburgh, London and

was liUle ambiguity: 'a bi, introduction to An Outline

Strasbourg, the plans hy Daniel Libeskind for the reconstruction 01' LO'l.ver Manhattan aI'ter September 11, and the comp1ction oI' the so-caBed Brunds projcrs in

Lincoln Cathedral [FI that endmes space o building; the term are

Paris. None 01' thcm ha." heen cheap. The public role 01' works 01' architcdure-, not to mention their size and complexity, means that thcy can be I'antasticalIy expen­

to aesthetic appeal . painter's modes 01' vi

sive, and more than an)' other practice oI' visual culture they require puhlic patron­ age. At the time 01' writing, the ne,v Scottish Parliament in Edinhurgh, by Enric Miralles, was estimated lo have cost .t400 miHion. The MiIlennium Dome in

c1aím supcriority over

London, by Richard Rogers, cost approximately L750 million. Thcse figures eclipse those in an)" other field.

This is architccture as arl threc dimensions, but unlik

architecture is the mo

ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

103

The scale, cost and public presence of contemporary architecture demand atten­ lion, and as a result we occasionaHy raise our eyes to 100k at it in detail. But as the critic Walter Benjamin assertcd, it is more Iikcly that we apprehend it in a 'state of distraction' , unlike other practices, which we consume with due attention in appro­ priate surroundings - or try too I This is just one of the problems in considering architecture, a difficult, sometimes daunting area of visual culture. lt ¡s, for example, notoriously hard to define: How does it relate to building, or to urbanism, or to to\'·,.'O planning, or any of thc other mysterious professions of the built environment f lt is a profession, and as such ir is inherently exclusive, resisting interrogation from non-initiates. It comes \vith special institutions and social rituals, not to mention an arcane and exclusive tcchnicallanguage, acquired during a seven-year training. How can we relate to a practice likc this? We rna)' lack the technical skiHs taught on an architecture degree, thc professional cxperience and, perhaps, thc confidence incul­ cated by a middle-dass background, the social class that stil1 dominates the profes­ sion. In what way can they participate in debates about architecture? How might thc)' stand in relation to such a complex, difficult and seemingly exclusive field? 1 address these questions through a consideratíon of buildings, but 1 examine rathcr more what has been said about them; in other words, the dlscourse around them. As win hecome clear, architecturc is as much a philosophical, social or profes­ sional realm as it is a material one, and it is through the consideration 01' architecture as discourse that one can cngage with it as visual culture. 1suggest how by exemplify­ ing three related, but distinct, approaches to architecture: architecture as a form 01' art; architecturc as a symbolic reaJm; and architecture as spatial experience.

Defining Architecture:Architecture as Art What is architecture? This used to he a straightfonvard qucstion, with a straight­ forward answer. For thc art historian and critic Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-83), thcre was llule ambiguity: 'a bicycle shed is a building' (Figure 7.1), he wrote in the introduction to An Outline ?IEuropean Architccwre: Lincoln Cathedral [Figure 7.2] is a piecc of architecture. Nearly cvcrything that endoses space on a scale sufficient for a human being to move in js a building; the term architl'cture applies only to buildings designed with a view to aesthetic appeal ... the good architect rcquires the sculptor's and thc painter's modes of vision in addition to his own spatial imagination. Thus architccture is the most comprehcnsive 01' aH the visual arts and has a right to c1aim superiorit)' over the othcrs. 2 This ls architecturc as arto The architect is a special kind of artist who \vorks in thn'e dimensions, but unlikc the sculptor, he - and tbis is still an overwhelmingly

104

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figun:' 7. 1- BiL)'clc ~hed, Westcrn General Hospital, cdinburgh. Authm\ photograph (2003)

masculine profession - works to enclose spacc as ,..di as simply making objects in space.lt ¡neludes c!emcnts ofthe other arts, but it i5 superior to them becausc it i5 a synthesis of them aH. As ao art, architecture demands a certain kind of apprehen­

Figure 7.2 - Lincoln Cathedr Unh-crsit)' (2003).

sion [rom the beholder, which parallds thar of the other visual arts. Thinking of painting, one may be especialIy concerned with the treatment al' the twü­

stylistie pattern. Like Rlli

dimensional aspects ofbuildings. aboye aH the stylistie treatment ofthe fayade, or

aspects of architecture, its

exterior. This i5 ao approach with a long histor),. John Ruskin, for examplc, saw in

Architccture as art is in

the architecture ofVenice a moral purposc that provided a model for his compatri­

Most critics continue to ......

ots. 3 His coneern was exclusivel)' with the fayades of the buildings. In their Gothic

Glance)' in the Guardian

decoration he found forms he regarded as morally superior to the neoclassical alter­

the New York Times appear o

native. Precisely \",/h)' depended on rcasoning that now seems arcan e . But what ¡s

to think about buildings as

01

important is that Ruskin 's interest in architecture \Vas a t)'picall)' art historical one:

expressions of a single cre,

it began and ended with st)'le.

or sculptor, or author. We

The work of Heinrich \Vülfllin does something very similar. His formalist anal­ ysis of art makes architecturc a central component, but his interest stops when arehitecture no longer accedes to the condition of art. 4 He was deepl), interested

own integrit), reaardless 01 b ing. We expect them to be

creator. We expect them to

in the stylistic qualities 01' building fayadcs and in how the)' articulate formal ideas

expect them, if they are m

in the same way as relief sculpturcs, or pajntings. Pevsner adopts a similar approach

challenge existing assumpti

in his popular series The BUl]dings ~IEngIQnd.

His emphasis is that of an art histo­

that is aehievcd in spite of

rian; he is concerned with the way a building as a set 01' t\Vo-dimensional planes in

words, and we are disappoiI

space, whose stylistic forms articulate an aesthdic purpose related to a broader

The idea 01' architecture a

5

ARCHlTECTURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

105

Figure 7.2 - Lincoln Cathcdral, twelfth to fourteenth century. Photograph, Erlinhurgh Universit)" (2001).

stylistie pattern. Like Ruskin befare him he is not much illtcrested in the spatíal aspects of architccture, its relationship ",.. ith i15 surroundings or its use. Architecture as art i5 in many respects the default mode af architcctural writing. Mast critics continue to work ln this way. The contemporary reviews by Jonathan Glance)' in the Guardian or Deyan Sudjie in the Obst?TYer or Herbert Muschamp in thc New York Times appear on thosc newspapers' arts pages. In this mode, we are lcd to think about buildings as individual works of arto We expect them to be unique exprcssions of a single creative mind, a genius artist of the same kind as a painter or sculptor, or author. We expect them to cxist as diserete objects that ha"c their own integrity regardless of site. Wc expect them to be permanent and unchang­ ing. We cxpect them 10 be expressions 01' their time as '.vell as of their individual crcator. We expect them to be legible as images, that is to say, as a single signo We expect thern, if they are modern buildings, to be revolutionary in sorne way, to chaHcnge existing assumptions about architecture. Wc cxpect a kind of greatness that is achieved in spite of the world. We expect aesthetic brilliance, in other words, and we are disappointed when huildings do not achieve ir. The idea of architecture as art has been manifest in various ways. It continues to

106

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

exist, although attention may perhaps have shifted lrom the building fa<;ade, which, with modernism, has mattercd less and less, to what the architectural historian Kenneth Frampton has caBed the 'tcctonic'. which is to say, an aesthctic coneero with the structure ofbuildings. For Frampton, a building's skin ought not to conceal thc structure, hut be integral to it, )'et his correerns are no less aesthetic, for he i5 interestcd primarily in thc look 01' a building anO how it i5 achieved. 6 Architecturc as art is underwritten hy the \vork nf su eh art historians as those cited abovc. It ¡s underwrittcn too by educational institutions, including univcrsities.

Architectural training still frequently imagines architects essentially to be artists, who wiB not be much involvcd with the construction 01' buildings, but Vv'ill be dra\ving and talking about ideas: doing, in other words, those things that other kinds oC visual artisb might do. This is further underwritten by certain kjnds of professional journals, whieh propagate the same idea. Prc-eminent in the Anglophone world is undoubtedly the Archítecrural Review. In continental Europe Domus (ltaly) and L'Architecrurc d'Aujourd'huí

(Franee) perform the same task. 7 Thesejournals aH function in similar ways. Thcir interest in architedure is Iimited, hy and large, to two building types: the large. gen­ erously funded, public projeet, and the small private house; \vhich i5 to say, the types ofbuilding arehitects would Iike to design, and the ones they would like to live in. The journals tend to imply that the building is a product oCa single (genius) mind, pcrson­

Fi 6rure 7.3 - Ludwig Mies v, Barcelona, (1928-9). Recor

ifying the buildiug's aesthetic in an individual or group of individuals. They relate the building art-historieally to other buildings in the author's oeuvre, and to formall)' similar buildings hy other architects. They illustrate huildings profuscl)" and in colour. Their use ol' photography specifically avoids the depidion of the building in use, except for where this itsclf eonfirms the aesthctic intentions of the architect; indced, there is a long tradition 01' arehitedural photography of this kind. ~ The)' discuss the buildings in mostly aesthetic term~, as formal propositions that must be eriticiscd within their o\\'n terms; the)' include plans and eostings, but these un<;pcctacular amI unaesthetic things are relegated to the back of the artide

kind of reality resel

repose-; a kindofen

of technologieal mi He re, architecture is a t perhaps [utile. rearguard

lt i5 important that the

in these ter m.s. ArehitecD

Architecture as art is neverthcless an incomplcte definition 01' architecture.

vlduals ancl their prestig

Although perhaps the most familiar dcfinition. it is the preserve of a handful of star

eomplcx social and profeso

architects and their pet projects. It expUcitly rcjects the mass of buildings in the

!t:"ctu re may exist. It shoull

worlcl. For Frampton, global capitalism has such pcnvcr that its gencric shopping

than the material prodUCI

malls. petrol stations, moton...ays, skyscrapers and speculative housing have utterly

position in the puhlic rea]

swampecl the business of architecturc. Arehitecturc is not to be found in these things; quite the reverse: it is the business of resistwfl them. Unlike the petrol station, the shopping mall. the motorway or the speculative house it must m'ces­ sarHy be marginal and avant-g.lrde, a force for moral eriti(lue from the sidelines.

exists oecause a client aBe painting, the print or ever patronage. Ancl it is gener its specification, its locatio

01' the Spanish arehitect Ignaelo Sola-Morales, one oi' those

paramctt:'rs. Further, the a

responsible for the rcconstruction in 1986 of Ludwig Mies van der Rohc's Gcrman

city doe!-i not funetion witl

He Guotes the vllOrcls

pavilion, originally made for the Jnternational Exhibition o[ 1928-9 held in

trialised world, this wili h~

Barcelona (Figure 7.3). Sola-MoraJes rcgarcls architecturc as a

buildings that Ola)' be eree!

ARCHITECTURE ANO VISUAL CULTURE

107

Figure 7.3 - Ludwig Mies van dcr Rohc, Gennan p~\'ilion at the Intcrnation<'l} Exhihition, Barcdona, ([ 028 9). Rl.'cullslructcd 1986. Author's photograph (2003).

kind of reality reserve. a plact' where man can still hnd material and spiritl1al repose; a kind 01' enclave capable al' resisting J:-i other the destructivc onslaught al' technological modcrnisation. Y Here, architecturc is él tiny but morally "ital practicc, tightíng a desperatc, and perhaps futile. n.'drguard action against the tsunami of glohal capital. It is important that the business

01' architecture should not be solely represcnted

in these terms. Architf':c1llfe ¡", aher a1l, not only thc bu;.;incss of a handful of ÍmH­

"iduals and their prestigiolis commis:-iions for art gallerics, it is also a dcepl), eomplcx social and professional praetice. Thcre are roany other ways in which archi­ tecturc may existo [t should be l..mderstood first as a praeticc that im"olves mueh more than the material produetion 01' an individual. Architecture, because ol' its uniquc posiLioll in the public reaIm, is a uniquely eompromised art, jl' it is an art at all. It

exists bccausc a client allows it to existo Unlike the novel, the pocm, the play, th c painting, the print or even most sculpturc, architccture can scaTlely t'xbt without patronJge. And it is gennal1y the dient who determines the function uf a project, its specification, its location and ahove aH, it'l cost; the architect worb within the.<¡e parameters. Further, the architcct must work \vithin the Iimitations ol' a location. A city does not function without sorne kind of planning régimc. In most of the indus­ trialiscd world, this wilI be exceedingly restrictive, specifying the size and shape of building, that ma)' he erccted on

J

specHlc site, their colour and materials, and their

108

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

purpose. Furthermore, the architect, unlike any other artist, works in a way that is

Since the seeond worJ

utterly dependent on a variety of other profcssionals: engineers, quantity survey­

this rather simple idea o

ors, building contractors, electricians, property consultants. The architect's work is ncver his, or hers, alone. Furthermore the idea ofauthorship in architecture is highly complexo Even without the presence of these other professionals, the architect is

ular significance: Rolan( For Barthes, the world \

invariahly part of a team. Norman Foster and partners, the firm responsible for so

the requisite intellectuaJ

manyrecent Lancion buildings (the Greater Landon Assembly, thc Millcnnium [oot­

befare. Thc iconographi

bridge across the Thames, the 'erotic gherkin' tower for Swiss Re, the reconstruc­

examplc, was also preoc

tia! in the way that archi

tian of Trafalgar Square and Stansted Airport) employs severaI hundred peopIe its

Panofsky differ crucially

London office, onl)' sorne of whom will be involved in each project. The meaning

mcaning resided. For Pa

of Foster as author of the Greater London Assembly headquarters is very different

greatIy mattered. The m

from the meaning of Vincent van Gogh as author

joh 01' an art historian wa

01' Starry Night. JO

Hence architecture is compromised in ways that other arts are noto The para­ digm of architecture as art ma)' persist, but it is a highly misleading way

01' think­

meaning was not expecÍl

to revisions). For Barthe1

01' an

ing about the practicc. Architccturc needs to he thought of Iess as a set of speeiaI

a legitimate object

material products and rather more as range of social and professional practices that

object, whether an art\\'<

sometimes, but by no means always, lead to buildings. They are practices that

relation with other thing

involve social and commercial networks and institutions as much as thev do indi­

it. Mcaning was therefor

It then becomes

tingent and arhitrary. W}

possible to think about arcbitecture as something in which aH can participatc. One

distinct l'rom that of arch

can hcgin to free it from its professional tieso CruciaHy, one can begin to think about

interprctation, not only 1

viduals. Ahove aH, archítecture needs to be anal)'sed as

it from the point of vie\v

dlSCOllrse.

01' its consumption as much as its production. It is here

A sense

01' how this fd

that the field of visual culture as an approach ma)' have the most to offer in our

antholo gy Mythologíes (fi

undcrstanding of architecture. The consumption of architecture may be thought

a medieval cathedral, i5

01' the understanding of it as sign, or symbol;

(Figure 7.4)." Thcse things take the

about in two ways: first, in terms

second, in terms of it as spatial expcriencc.

tling, Hollywood cinero;;

Architecture as 5ign

cination. In a later essay

to the Tower might say

When 1 refer to the consumption of architecture, 1 mean its apprehension by a non­

Charles Eiflel) and its fOl

specialiscd public. It is important to distinguish between this and the apprehension

same cngineer / artist. B

01' architecture by the art historian. The attentive reader might say that neither

points whích suggest a ri:

Ruskin, Pevsner nor Wülfflin were specialists, being art historians interested in

tíon of the beholder. 'Its

architecture l'or their own aesthetic ends. But none

01' them read architccturc

against thc intcntions of thc architcct. Nonc of them produced, in other words, a

confers on it the v(

critical reading ofit. AH assumed that they were constructing a story about archi­

appcals of our ¡maÉ cation, of science 01

tecturc that had to do with the intentions of an architect, which couId be revealed by careful cxaminatíon of thc building in qucstions amI other historical sources.

Iightning rod or in~

Theirs was a conventional art-historical approach in other words. lt was concerned

thc inevitable sign;

aboye aH with intention as far as it could be knO\vn, and (mc that did not wish to

to encounter it, thl

complicate the business ol' looking.

edge its form and b

ARCHITECTURE ANO VISUAL CULTURE

109

Since the ~econd world war, numerous ~ocial and cultural critics have interrogated this rather simple idea of consumption, and their work has been profoundly influen­ tial in the way that architecture has come to be understood. One figure is of partic­ ular significancc: Roland Barthes (1915-80) 1 mast often associatcd with semiolog)'. For Rarthes, the world was a rorest 01' signs that could be interpreted by those ,"vith the requisite intcllectual tool5. Visual practices had been thought al' in these teTms

hcfore. The iconographical work of art historian Erwin Panofsky (1892-1968), for example, was a150 preoccupied \\'ith the symbolic meaning al' art. 11 But Barthes and Panofskydifl'er crucially in whal thcy considered important, and in wherethey thought meaning resided. For Panofsky, art alone rewarded attentive looking; nothing else greatly mattered. The meaning of an artwork was stable and contained within it; the job 01' an art historian 'Nas to reveal it by care1'ul investigation, and once revealed, the meaning 'Nas not expected to change (although, clearl)", further research might lead to revisions). For Barthes by contrast, not ju.-,t art, but the entire cultural dornain was a legitimate object 01' analysis, and unlike Panof"ky, he felt that the rneaning of an ohjcct, whether an artwork or sorne other image or artcfact, was dependent on its relation \-vith othcr things around it at the time and on what the be holder hrought to it. Mcaning was therefore not fixcd or stable, but the revene: it was mutable, con­ tingent and arbitrar)'. What this implies in terrns 01' architecture i5 an approach quite distinct trom that of architecturc as art. Specifically, it holds architecture as open to interpretation, not on])' by those with a prol'essional interest, but by anJone. A scnsc 01' how this radkal vicw rnight work in practice is provided by his short anthology MytllOJo81es (first published 1957), in which a great architectural work, a medieval cathedral, is regarded ,vith an equal gaze as the Citrocn 0521 car

(Figure 7.4)." These things take their place in a de-hicrarchised world in which aH-in wres­ tling, Holly\-vood cinema, striptease and steakfrites are al] rcgarded wirh equal 1'a5­ cination. In a latlT cssay he writes on the Eil'1'd Tower. An art-historiral approach to the Tower might say something about its origins, its author (the engineer, Charles Eil'l'el) and its l'orm, perhaps relating it to a variety 01' earlier works by the same enginc(:r / artist. Barthes by contrast produces a reckless list al' rcfcrence points \-vhich suggest a radical openness to interpretation, contingent on the posi­ tion of the bcholder. 'Its simple primar)' shape', he writes, confcrs on it the vocation ol' an infinitc cipher: in turn and a<.:cording to the appeals of our imagination, the symbol ol' Paris, or morkrnity, ol' communi­ cation, uf scicnce or of the nineteenth century, rocket. stem, derriek, phallus, lightning rod or inseet, eonfronting the great itinerarie5 ol' our drcams, it is the inevitable sign; just as there is no Parisian glance which is not compellcd to cncounter it. there is no fantas)' \-vhieh Elils, sooner or latcr to acknO\.vl­ edge its l'orrn and be nourished by it. 13

110

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

in terms of architeeture be descrihed in terms of

In the United States, e the architects Robert Vel Like their English count¡; their work. And like thel on the kvel of sign, as we open to multiple interpr

single, authoritarian and • Venturi and Seott Brc

(1963), a sheltered horr ineludes a non-functiona mueh more monumental

London (1991), which n tecture of thc original bl that they do not simplv , UJ ~

a1low multiple readings. works

Figure' 7.4 - CitTf.>en DS2 t (t 971). This is an updatcd version nf th" car that Banhes described on its appcarance in 1gS6. Anthor\ photograph (2003).

oE

architectural Ü

(\ 966) and LearninaJrom 1 posed that architccture a(

The Tmver, as Barthes suggcsts, means an)'thing. 1 \vould not want to argue

the chaIJenge ol' Barthes, although

aH its complexity, in aH it the rarefieo ,vorlo of art b

he was increasingly wiaely read, but there is no douht that during the 1960s,

for whatcver architects di,

there was incrcasing criticism of trarlitional approaches to architcctuTc [rom a

allowed that a building w(

here that any architects havc directl)' taken

Oil

similar paint ol' vie\".. . Sorne- of this was maoc from a stancc sympathetic to Por

public - whatevcr archite.

Art, which undertook a provocati·.. . e blurring ol' the houndaries bctwccn so-called

architcct ~hould acknowI

high ano low culture. In England, important figures in this context ¡nelude the

rich, hut located witrun a'

architects Pctcr (1923-2003) and Alison Smithson (1925-93), Ccdric Price (1934--2003), Archigram (lormed in London 1962) amI the critic Reyncr Banham (1922-88), aH 01 whom attacked the dividc between high and low

cacy of w hat they called mean thc crude signs and

ir onl)'

They are what we ha'

culture, and sought to incorporate the popular rcalm into their work, ('ven in the form of quotation.

will not go away. Or

Banham's 1971 study of Los Angeles is particularly instructive.1+ At the time, the Californian rnetropolis was regardcd \\'ith abject horror hy European aesthctcs,

do not have the

pO'Yi

them \-\'ilh) and becal

\\'ho thought ¡ts heterogencous spraw( the antithcsis of civilisation. What Ranham

needs for variety am

shm..'CrI

it)' and rness wiJI stil

\,..'as that there was not only a pattcrn to its urbanisatioll, but that its huilt

form \Vas of considerable interest. His treatmen! of the commercial architecture

architecture, signific

of the frccways, 01' speculativc housing, of inforrnal architectural phcnomena such

evolutionary as well

as the Watts TO\".. .cr5, not to mentioo the freeways thernsclyes, showed grcat corn­ plexity, irnagination and symholic yalue in parts of the built cnvironment that critics usually ionored. Most of v\"hat Ranharn describcd coulrl not be accounted for ~

'"

In Learnwa. (rolll Las Ve extraordinarily brash urba

ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

111

in tcrms of architecturc as arto But it undouhtedly had symbolic value, and could be descrihed in terms al' ao expanded vicw al' architccture. In the Unitcd States, a comparahle develapment couId be secn in the \\'ork af the architects Robert Vcnturi (born 1925) and Denisc Scott-Erown (boro 1931). Like thcir English counterparts, they sought to incorporate a pop sensihility into thcir work. And like thcm, the)' \VeTe ceTtain that architecture ought to function on the level al' sign, as well as anything cisc - and cTudally, that as signs, they ,,,,'erc open to muhiple interpretatían. The meaning o[ architecture was therefoTe not single, authoritarian and closed, hut multiple, democratic amI open. Vcnturi and Seatt Brown's architecture ineludes such works a<; Guild House

(1963), a sheltered home for thc elderly in Pennsylvania, the fa~ade of which ineludes a non-funetional TV aerial as part 01' a s)'mbolic eomposition. A later and muC'h more monumental work was the Sainsbury wing 01' the National Galler)' in London (1991), which makes playfuI referenee to the formal neo-classical archi­ tccture 01' the original huilding, hut .lIso dcparts picturesquely from it as if to say that they do not simply underwrite the moral message 01' the original huilding, but allow multiple readings. Venturi and Seott BrO\"m werc responsihle for h .....o vital works of architeetural theory, Complexily and Contradicrion in MoJern Arcnitecture

(1966) and Leammafrom Las Veaas (1972). Paralleling Barthcs and Banham they pro­ posed that architeeture acknowlcdge the factual existcnce of the modern wodd, in aH its eomplexit)', in aH ¡t.s ugliness as \yell as hcauty. It could not confine itself to the rarefied world of art buildings illustrated in the magazines, hecause the context for whatever architects did was a eomplcx and heterogeneous modernity. And thcy allowed that a huilding would inevitahly he oren to multiple interpretations hy the public - whatever architects dcsired.Instcad ol' dosing down such possihilities, the architect should acknowlcdge them and provide material that \vas s)'mbolically­ rich, bOl located within a ...v idely understood vernaeular 01' signs. Hence their advo­ cae)' of what the)' called 'honky-tonk' elemcnts in architecture, hy which they mean the crude signs and symhols on commercial buildings: Thcy are what we have. Architcets can bcmoan or try to ignore them hut they wiII not go away. Or the)' will not go away for a long time hecause architects do not havc the pm.. . er to replace them (nor do they kno,,", what to rcplace th.. ' m ...."ith) and because these commonplace c1ements accommodate existing needs for variety and eommunication. The old clichés imolving both hanal­ ity and mess \·..-ill still be the contcxt of our new architecture, and our new architeeture, significantly, will be the context for thcm ... Architeeture is evolutionary as wdl as revolutionan. 1'i In Lellrnmg from Las Vegas, they .lrgucd that thc temporar)', ephemeral and extraordinarily hrash urbanism of the Las Vegas 'strip' should be rcgarded as an

112

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

ironie signifier of arto Thl any product cornmunicate

The interest in architectu curiously it assumes a tr2 fore important to consi approaehes - that exami.l environment. r am refen

number of authors who ] been used by historians a Figure 7.5 - Fr:mk Gé'hr)', Chwt Da)' Mojo Ad,ertmng BUIlding, Venice. California (1991). Author's photograph (2001).

architecture as experienc

a manner paralleling Ban a discourse that may be s

archítectural phenomenon as important and worth)" ol' study as ancient Rome.

and the development of 1

What was ernerging along the high ...vays of the then still infant dty was not to be

novelty and a shock, .ln u

dismisscd as 'sprawl' but was in

raer a ncw kínd of urhanism, radicalIy unlike any­

thing produccd in Europe. 16 Caesar's Pabee, then the biggest and mast spectacu­

behaviour. lts profound

architedural fayade - in (

lar of the casino hotels, was photographcd in detail. Its faux Roman sculptures, it5

not in raer matter much ,

David and irs pastiche Bernini sculptures were all examincd with seriousnc."iS and

architectural CTiticism to

presentcd as evidencc of a new and important phenomcnon.

The earliest example ís

In summar)'. this tendenc)' in architecture shows a development of the category

the Workina Clüss in EnBlan

of architccture beyond the convention 01' architecture as art to inelude aH kinds of

1842-4." Engels' deta¡lec

building never intendcd as 'art'" This broadening of architecture .1llo\-..-s [or differ­

important hints ofhow a c

ent kind~ of interpretation, and led to what \-vas later caIled postmodern architee­

passage, he describes Mar

ture, which in the view of the critie Charles Jencks (horn 1939), aHowed 'double

success generatesextraord

coding' in other words, a dual set of symbolic re1'erences, one 1'or interpretation by 'high' archiLects, the other by the general puhlic. 17

crn .suburban corridor (th(

The devclopments in postmodernism sinee the 1960s show that architecture can

tivel)' do es the dty conee¡

be exp.1ndcd to aIlow for multiple readings and, ostensihl y at least, a more egali­ tarian approach. But they still pre.'luppose that the terms of tbe dehate are set by

st)'le, its focus is space, and

arehitects" If there is double coding in postmodern building, as Charles Jencks has

made oblivious of Manche

account, on the most basic

Engels gocs on to speo

.'luggested, then the architect, it .'leems, decides whieh symbolism is appropriate for

havc on human beha,"íour,

,,,,hich puhHc. This ís a patronising approach that c1assifies jokes according a pre­

Thc German soeiologist Gl

judgcd intelligencc: Dorie ealumns ror the informed architeets, hamburger-joint

read essay 'Thc M('tropoli~

art dcco for the masses, Or in the case ofFrank Gehry's Cbiat Day Mojo offices at

to account for the curious

Venicc, California (Figure 7.5), a rnulti-layered joke: the hinoeulars reeall the daft

a recent and still rare phen

01' OVer a

commercial architecture of the LA freeW3}" \-<.-orld, but they .liso rcfer knO\vingly

with a population

to pop art and a highbrow take on modcrnity. It is, on the one hand, therefore a

anp'.. herc else. Simmel not duces a state of willed ana(

loving reereation of a no\\.' nostalgic form of vernaeular building, on the othcr, an

ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

113

ironic signifier of arto The surreal, arbitrary quality of the sign, ils dislocation from

any product cornmunicates exceptional aesthetic sophistication. I g

Architecture and Urban Experience The ¡nterest in architecture as sign therefore opened up sorne nc\\' possihilities, hut curiously it assumes a traditional position between viewer and object. It is there­ fore important to consider an approach - or more accuratcly, collection of approaches - that examines architecture in terms o[ the experience o[ the urban environment. 1 am referring here not so much to a tradition or discipline as to a numher of authors \\'ho

pUl

forward similar ideas and whose writings havc often

been used by historians and theorists. What thev " , have in cornmon is a concern for architccturc as cxperienced by the user, or inhabitant, rather than the architect, in a manner paralleling Barthes' privileging of the rcader oycr the writer. They form a discoursc that may be said to have its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century and the development of the modcrn metropolis. AH sce the metropolis as both a novelty and a shock, an unnatural phenomenon that produces ncw kinds of social behayiour. Its profound implications for architecture indude the idea that the architectural fac;;ade - in other words, the repository of architccture-as-art - may not in fact mattcr much at all. These writers continue to provide a challenge to architectural criticism to the present day. The earliest cxamplc is pcrhaps Friedrich Engels (1820-95), whose Condition eg" the Working Class

In

EngJand was writtcn ouring the author's stay in Manchester in

1842_-4. 1':1 Engels' detailed account of the world's nrst industrial city providcs sorne important hints ofhow a critical approach to architecture might evolve. In a famous passage, he describes Manchester in dystopian terms as a boomtown whose ver)' success generates extraordinar)' povcrty. This fmds spatial expression along its south­ ern suburban corridor (the present-day Oxford Road) where a wealthy man may be made obliYious of Manchcster's horror..; on his journe)' to and [rom work, so effee­ tivel)' does the cit)' eoneeal them behind a corridor of n.'spcctablc fa yades. 20 This account, on the most basic level, is about architecture: but instead of art-historical st)'le, its focus is space, ano in particular the rdationship between space and society. Engcls gocs on to speculate about the et'fect that urban spatial conditions may have on human behaviour, a conccpt much devcloped in the late twentieth century. The German s(lL"Íologist Georg Simmel (1858-1918) took up this thcme in a ".,'idely read essay 'The Metropolis and Mental Lifc', first published in 1902. Simmel tries to accounl for the curious behayiour of inhabitants of very large cities, themselves a rcccnt and still rare phenomenon; thcre were only a handh.l.l of citics in the world with a population 01' over a million. London at the time was ver)' much bigger than an)'whcre cisc. Simmel notes that in eontrast to the small town, the metropolis pro­ duces a state 01' willed anaesthesia in its inhabitants \,rhcreby the pereeption 01' city

114

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

life is consciously dulled. This is necessary. Simmel argues, bccause the new condi­

ifSpace, has been enonr

tians of the dty have produced such a multitude of scnsations, that to accept them

so much an architectura

a11 wouId be to lose control. To survive, the cit)' dweller must timit his experience. This consciously limitcd state Simmel teTms the 'blasé outlook'. His definitían of

Httle more than fayades,

the term rncrits quoting at length:

Therc i5 perhaps no ps)'chic phenomenon 'which is so uncondiüonally reserved to the city as the blasé outlook.

. just as an irnmoderately scnsu­

ous life makcs arre blasé hecause it stimulates the nerves to their ulmast reac­ tivil)' until they finall}' can no longcr produce any rcaction al a1l, so, less

harrnful stimuli, through the rapidity and contradictoriness of their shifts, force the neryes to make such violent responses, tear them apart so brutall)' that the)' exhaust their last reserves 01' strength and, remaining in the same milieu, do not have time for ne\... reserves to form. This incapacity to react to new stimulations \,,'ith the required amount of energy constitutes in fact the blasé attitude which eyer)' child of a large city evincC's when eompared with the product.s of the more peaceful and more stable milieu.)l

their social contexto Ex] se is tiny in relation to th tially authoritarian and may be properl), undersl and Richard Sennett havl reading it in the light of These writers represe its ostensible suhject. Th, expand its norms .md to critique of architecture­ pnwides a hopelessly nan of canonical buildings) al tries to Ioeate architectur ical practicc, and aboye

a:

Simmcl's essay is no conventional .study in arehitectural history, still lcss the passage quoted aboye, which barel)' refers to architecture. But it is important in the discussion of architccture because it describes the point at which debate

From the outside architec

cxpands from consideration ofbuildings alone, to consider the pS)'l·hological (and

nology, its scnse of prop

indeed other) effects that an aeeumulation ofbuildings might have. Simmel argues

outside 1S not eas;\ but a

that architecture might baye odd, perhaps unexpected dTects. They havc nothing

expert to cngage with ir,

whatever to do with style or an architect's intention, but the)' :-;till belong to thc

critical approach should

realm of architecturc. The importancc of this passage is cxemplified by the fre­

Aboye all, architecture

Ol

quene)' with which subsequent authors have put forward similar accounts, clearly

a small part 01' the overall

infiucnced by Simmcl's argumento Notable amongst them is Siegfried Kr3cauer

network nI' practiccs and d

(1889-1966) and his essays on thc public spaces of the metropolis, particubrly the

ol' visual culture ought n01

hotel lobby, whieh he argucs 1S a metropolitan substitute for the ehureh. Whcre in

ture-as-art, but makc use

thc town, he write.s, the ehurch ís a place oI' gathering for believers, its metropol­

century. The consideratio

itan equivalent, the hotellobb)', is a godles:-;, purposeless congrcgation, without

social cxpericncc another.

ritual, purpose or, for that matter, God. 22 Or a liule later, one might consider the

duction, and ir 1S this fact;

work of Walter Benjamin, \,·hose unfinishcd account of Pari.s, the Arcades Projea, attcmpted to undcrstand a cit)' through its existing an.:hitectural spaccs; not the spaces 01' the imagination produced by architects, but those actuall)' used, traverscd and inhabited, ful! ol' dcbris and traces (ll' the past. 23 The work of thcsc "'Titen led

10

an equall)' critical tradition of Frl'TH.:h writing

on the cit)', in \\'hich architceture as a ficld of enquiry was cxpanded to mean the cntire urban cxpcricnee, of which the arehitect's work is only a small part. Crucial in this regare! is the work of Henri Lefebvrc (1901-91), \'\-'hose book, The Producrwn

Banham, Rc)oer. /1 enrie Wríl Fort), Adrian. lJíHd, and BUlle; [each, Neil, ed. PH:thinktngAr LcGates, Richard T and Stou Venturi, Robert amI Scott-Brc 1')72).

ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

115

i:!ISpace, has been enormously influential. 2+ Lefebvre argues that urban ~pace i5 not so much an architectural production as a social one; architects, he \\oTites, produce liule more than fayades, which can be inhabited in ao infioity of ways according to their social contexto Experience is crucial he "'Tites, but the role of an.:hitects per se i5 tin)' in rclation to the whole; thcir desire for arder in the urban realm is essen­

tially authoritarian and idealising, and the realro Df social space i5 where thc cit.)' may be properly undcrstood. More recentI)', American writers such as Mike Davis and Richard Sennett have considered the experience nf eontemporary urban -"pace, reading it in the light nf largcr social and eeonomic developments. 25 These writers represent a strand ol' architectural thinking that is highl)' critical ol' its ostensible subject. They are deeply coneerned with arehitccture, but they scek to cxpand its norms and to interrogate its assumptions. They provide the most direct critique ol' architecture-as-art: l'or them, the art-historical conccrn l'or the l'a~ade providcs a hopelessly narro\'\' reading ofarchitecture, limited in both scope (a handl'ul of canonical buildings) and method (a conecrn for style). Tht.'ir projcct hy contrast tries to loeatc architccture in a hroadcrcontext, to make it legible asa social and polit­ ical practice, and aboye al] as something open to interpreta1Íon, question and use.

Conclusion From the outside architecture is a dauntrng fit'ld, with its private language, its termi­ nology, its sense ol' propriety and its prol'cssional rules. To approach it l'rom the outsidc is not eas)', but as this chapter suggests, there is much scope for the non­ expert to engage \vith it, and by so doing, provide alternativc rcadings nf it. A trul)' eritical approach should he prcciscly onc that is not professiona11y compromised. Above a11, architecture ought to be seen as discoursc. Buildings as material l'aets arc a small part ol' the oyera]] ficld nl' architecture, a field which is better regarded as a network ol'practices and debates about the builtenvironment.ln this sense, the stud y ol' visual culture ought not simply to reiteratc the prol'cssional discourse 01' architec­ turc-as-art, but make use ol' the critical approaches that have emerged over thc past century. The consideration ol' architecture as sign is (mc; arehiteeture as urhan and social expcrience another. Roth cmphasisc the reception of architecture over its pro­ duction, and it is this fact aboye aH that makes them usel'ul means nl' engagement.

Further Reading Hanham, Reynt-·r. ,1 Cn[J[ lYn!es (Berkeley ami Lo.~ Angeles, 1996). rnrty, Adrian. ¡~~lrJs and B¡¡¡ldings (Lonclon, 2000). Leach, Nt-·il. ej. Rt!/hmkJnfl ArchlteclUre (London, 1997). LcGate~. Richard T. and Stout, Frcc1cric, ('ds. The Cl/Y ReaJer (London, 1996). Venturi, Rohcrt and Scott-Brown, Denise. Leamlna/rom f.as Vegas (Carnhridgc, MAand London, [971)

116

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Notes Waltcr Benjamín, lIluminat/om" (London, 1973), p. 241.

Nikolaus Pevsncr, An Outlmc ~f Europcan Arrhnecture (Harmondsv,iorth. 194-1), p. 9.

John Ruskin, The Stones ?!vénlce (London, 1976).

Heinrich Wolffiin, ReniJIssance and 8uTOQUC (London, 1964).

Nikolaus Pevsner, The BUlldings qfETlBland (Harrnondsv"'orth, 195 I 74),46 vols. For infor­

matían on the series, including plans for further puh1ications, :ice http://'',,W\'>'. pcvsner.co.uk. 6 See Kenncth Frampton, Swdle5 in Tretome CUfrUlC: The PoellCs ~rCo1lStluctIOn m Nmctcenth- anJ 1iventieth-CmrulJ' Architecrufc (Cambridge, MA, 1995). 7 Both are puhlished in international editiom, \vith surnrnarics in English. 8 For discussions 01' architeetural photography, see Roherl Ehvall, Phowgr<¡ph)' Takes Command (London, 1994); abo R. J. WilJiams, 'Reprcscnting Architccture: the British An.:hitectural Prcss in the 1960s' ,Jouma} r:IDc'lfln HmoIJ', Vol. 9, No. 4- (1996), pp. 285- 96. 9 Frampton Studirs In Tecwmc C(¡]wre, p. )4-1. 10 The principal dcsigner of thc GLA building wa.~ in faet Ken Shun\eworth. 11 En..·in Panofskj', Meaning m che Vn-ua} Arts (Nt:'\.. York, 1955). 12 Roland Barthes, .Mj'tho}(>fllCj (Londou, 1972). First pub[ished Paris, 1957. 13 Roland Barthcl>. in ~eil Lcach, ed., R,'chmking Archamure (London, 1997), p. 173. 14- R(,)'llcr Banham, 1[15 ,~ngc1es: 1he Anhnecrure i?f Four F:COJ081e5 (London, 1971). 15 Venturi, in Kcnneth frolmpton, .lloJem Archirenur<':A Crmeal HlSIOfJ (London, 1992), pp. 290-1. 16 Venturi 1.t'ilrllingIrom Las ~'e8as (London, 1972), p. xi. 17 Charles Jencks, MoJan Mo~ements In itrchlt<'dure (Harmonclsworth, 1985), p. 373. 18 Thc huilding is in fact a ('ollaboration \.. ilh the pop arti~1 Claes Oldl"nhurg. For exampks of the roadsid(' architecture to which it refers, s('c what Venturi c1e.~lT¡be.-; as 'duck' archit('c­ ture in leamJn8.from Las ~e80', p. 17. 19 Frkc1rich Engcls, The ConJJtJOn l?f che H'orkmg (Joss in F.ngJanJ, ed. DaviJ McLcllan (Oxford, 1993). Thc book was nrst pubJj,;hed in Gcrrnan in 1845. i\n ~nglish cditiotl Jj¡l not appear ulltil 1872. 20 lbid., p. 59. 21 SimmeL in Lcac:h, Rerhmking ArchHecwrc, p. 73. 22 Kracaucr, in ¡bid., pp. 53-S. 23 Walter Iknjamin, The Arcade, ProJecc, transo Howard Eiland and Kel'in McLaugh1in (Cambridge, M . A., 2:000). 24 Hcnri Lefebvrc, The ProductlOn '-!.fSpace (Oxkml, 1991). f'irst puhlishcd iu 1947. 25 Mike Dayi~, CII) ~l @art7. EtúIVdtma [he FUfllre In Lo< .1nge1es (London, 1q92); Richard Scnnett, Fle,;h cJnd Stone. 7hc Bod)' and the C1sr In Hhrern C¡nli7.atJOn (London, 1994). 1 2 3 45

First follow N ature

By her just standan Alexander Pope, Al 'Realism' is ane of the m

utarly powerful hoId ove

Toda)', it is ver)" often use

art, photograph, televisi, cornmon scnsc and unco]

01' truth, straightfonvardl eues from the present;

ji

'Rcalism' ma)' be charact,

in 'ugliness' or contemp'

might originate in thc lite tionary <..'vents uf ] 848,

soeialist paintcr Gustave (

wríters such as Emile Zol

As an artistic rnovemel in modern polibcal and obscrvcd objet.:tively and

8. Representation and the Idea of Realism Neil Mulholland

Introduction First follow Naturc, arrd your judgement frame

By her just stanrlard, which is still the same. Alexander Pope,;In EssaJ on Cnricism (1711) 'Rcalism' is arre

01' the most carnmnnI)' used cultural terms and excrcises a partic­

ularl)' powerful hold over the ,\'ays that people judge ano expioit visual culture. Toda)', it is ,Ter)' oflen used encouragingl)' as a

,\'ay

01' praising a particular ....·ork of

art, photograph, tclcYision prograrnme or film. To most people, its meaning is earnman scnse arrd uTIC'omplicated. For sorne, 'realism' conjures up connotations uf truth, straightforwanlness, sinccrity arrd horresty. For others 'realism' takes its eues [rom the present; it is basecl upon everyday cxperience rather than myth. 'Rcalism' mal' be char
118

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

In both its urban and predctermined \Va)' ol' assumed that they couId truth about the presento impression ol' totalit)' is. tations an: partial accou be said to be 'realistic'? ol' meeting arbitran: and depcnds ver} much upo cal circumstances. Whal

he 'real' could di/Ier dr Empire, the 'reality' ol'a chant in hfteenth-centur

dl/Terent thlngs to dilIe.

sctllcd termo Cultures a Figure' 8.1 - Gusta\'(' Courbet, The .\tonehrcakers (1 S) 1). No\..

destro~·ed.

1851 (Figure 8.1) I'rom dircct obser\'Jtion of the rurallabouring classes, while Emilc 201a'5 novell'Assommoir (1876) was basecl on facts and figures relating lo the payen)' and squalar suffercd hy people living in the slums nI' Paris. Writers and artists such as ZolJ Jnd Courbet uscd their empirical ohservations make barbl'd political cornrncntary 00 contcmporary socicty. Courbet's paint­ ing depiets t\\'o raggecl rurallahourers brcaking rocks, él physically demanding task [or whkh they are cIearly unsuited, the boy Oll the lcft being too young to lift his basket and the mao 00 the right being too old to \\'ield his harnmer. Although the tu

painting purports to represent life cxactly as it is l¡ved! the juxtapüsition ol' thc figures and thc loaded subjcct matter render it an obvious rhetorical assault on th(' reification of humanit)'. Both Courhct and Zola saw their suhject matter and its 'truthful' depiction in radical political terms. As committed social rcformcrs, thcy sought to producc a nc"v art relevant to thc masses flooding into huge cities engorged hy the Industrial Revolution, dealing with complex contL'mporary issucs of modern living in a direct, non-mythical fashion. Whik conceptions oFurbanism "'ere ccntral to man)' Realist artists anJ writers in this period, an <:qualiy significant number of cultural producers assodated Realism with naturalism. Rcalism in its naturalist guise \vas often used to cvoke- the authenticit), ol'unspoilcd nature, ofhoncst agricultural toil, or an ancient pastoral ,..-ay of Jife destro),ed hy migration 10 the afTected 'modern' multiculturalism of large cities. The naturalism found in the paintings of Jean­ Fran~ois Millet and Lhe novcls al' Georgc Elliot presentcd an alternatin: to the con­ taminations of industrialised life, and as such jars wiLh the urhan Rcalist genrc.

prcsumptions support. 11 ings of realism are preco ami philosophicallegacie The notion of mimesis hJance to what we .'lee Íl Westl'rn imagination. Th

encouraged. In The Repub thc mimetic role 01' the v who diverted people fro,

and beyond the physical .

lace, one thJt Plato wisht

protestations, man)' artist cate of the idea that visua

""as the art historian Ern! sionistic conventions suc

checked against perceptic ventions, or 'schemas', v, argued, there is a clear se

of Jrt. In early fifteenth-o the human countcnance i threc-dimensional hgure~ grcater interest in produci

of bodily structure by ao. nallcd that they were che they sa\\" w¡th thcir own e cate this issue. It \Vas also

REPRESENTATION AND THE IDEil OF REALlSM

119

In both its urhan and rural guiges, Rcalism was clearly an arti5tic convention, a pred(,tcrmined \Vay uf looking at ao inclustrialised culture. Realists obstinatel)" assumed that they could incorporate e"crything in their scope and rcvcal the ·""hale

truth about the present.! The ootioo that an)' representation can give an unmediarcJ impression oftotality is, at the very least, over-ambitious. Given that aH represen­ tations are partial dccounts, are thcrc aoy wa)'s that visual culture might helpfully

he said to be 'realistic'? To gaio such ao
01' linear perspcctivc

120

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

were developcrl in Florence by the artists and architects Filippo Brunelleschi and

.systems of reprcsentatic

Leoo Battista Alberti, a "'ystem of rules that were to have a profound effeet on thc

that mirror images are,

\vork of artists such as Tomaso Masaccio, Paulo Uccello and Leonardo da Vinci.

ture how we view the '"

Linear perspcctive "vas a mathematil..'al s)'stem designed to .lid artists create the illu­

this, '\'e might see it le:

sion of thrce-dimensional spacc and vaJume. Producing .ln artificial horizon lioc

Christians accurately ex

within the wíndow crcated by the canvas cn.'ates the illusían. Lines retreat from the

Verse. Medieval art ser

edge of the canvas to converge at a central 'vanishing paint', a paint which forms

European Christians, a 1

hoth an artificial horizoo tine and the main eompositional focus foI' the viewer of the work. Por Gombrich, the systcm of linear perspcctive "vas non-arbitrary, an unsurpassable means of representing space. Gn refleetion, Gombrieh seems to have underestimated a number of important

\Ve currently live in a ~

aspeets. The raet that linear perspeetive was aetiveI)' developed as a scientHic

European Renaissance, a

s)'stem rather than arrived at through a process of gradual osmosis signals that it

progress and mappable

must he vet another theoretical schema, a modcl for representation. As a system it

Renaissance - such as it

is far

tr~m

pcrfect; it is unable to deal with eertain shapes such as eones and

favour of more materiaH.

spheres, and it do es not tally \,-,ith the wal' in ,vhich the' human e)'e reccives light.

ing hold over how man)

In linear perspeetivc, light is (virtualI)') projeeted trom a single vanishing paint

Drawing remains a famili

onto the Hat surface of the cam'as, whereas in the human eye, light is received hy

centuries ofhuman cultw

tv,,'O pupils and projeetcd anta the curvcd sur faces 01' the eyes. Toda)', physicists

is taught from a young a!

argue that space is curved rather than linear; the notion af a vanisbing point mal'

judging th~ virtues of pro

thcrdore be obsolete. Most importantl)" Gombrieh underplays the ageney or

valued in the West today,

active selectivity involved in reprcsentation. When somcane attempts to produce

currency amongst the aya

a reprc-scntational dra\\'ing, they cannot possihly represent everything hcfore them.

Beyond the West, th

Such a goal is impossiblc, and perhaps not even desirable if pietorial representation

Con temporary füllowers

is to fulfil thc task of standing in for its objeet. Pietarial represent.ltion stands in

Tokyo Fine Arts Sehool in

semantic relation to the world; it is .ln equivalent. Whcn wc draw "ve interpret,

schema, despite being fuIl

and tbis means that we are nevcr heing 'true' to the 'real \\·orld'. Tbis suggcsts that

ment backing, nihon-Ba st< Restoration. Sinking its re

other active facLors and conventions structure the consciausness and playa signif­ icant part in dctermining hovv people translate. ln PCT.lpcajl'c as Symbo]¡( Form (1927) Erwin Panofsky argued that pcrspective \Vas

thelcss

incorporated th

lmpressionism, a moveme

a s)'stem of cognition intimately tied to the Renaissance vision af the world. 5 This

In the sense that it is par

vision diffcrcd dramatically from the medieval conception of the world.

Japanesc representation, jl

Renaissance perspcl."tive pu; humanit)', not God, at the nucleus, Humanism held

tion is thorny. Befare the

the universc to be ordered, undcrstandable, measurahlc and mappable, through the

the twentieth centurv

application ofhuman reason. For Panofsky, the converging lines of hnear perspee­

dominant tramevvork: wit

¿

su(

tive perfectly encapsulated this way of seeing. Panofsky noted that the scemingly

their worlds, almost to the

non-arhitrar)' character of linear perspective results not from its perfcetion, but

an attempt to maintain the

from the raet that it has come to condition our pereeptual dcviccs. This can be seen

one that stressed the iropo

in the way that the box-likc reecssional spaces of Albe'rtian perspeetivc have been

As vvith many national eult

rcadily adopLed and adapted b)' othcr powerful representational systems such as

cncd hy heing confronted

photograph)" television, cinema J.nd computer graphics. This suggests that such

take place at breakneck spe

REPRE5ENTATION AND THE IDEA OF REALl5M

121

systems of rcprcscntation are not a simple 'reflection' of the wOTId, in the scnsc that mirrar images are, but an active producer of rncanings. Representaríans struc­

Ir

ture haw '\\'e ..,iew the world. \ve return to consider medieval painting in light of this, wc might see it less as an imperfeet realism and more as a rneaos by \.vhich Christians accurately expressed thcir distinctive bdiefs and knowleclge of the uni­ verse. Medieval art served the function of representing the spiritual world of European Christians, a \..'orld they rcgardcd to be \'ery 'real'.

Representation and Cultural Difference We currently live in a global society that is seeptical of the utapían irleas

01' the

European Rcnaissancc, a post-nuclear age thar does not share a belief in 5cientific progress and mappable linear space. Despite this, many of the values of the Renaissancc - such as its rcjection 01' spiritual conceptions of the afterworld in favour of more materialist theories of the 'real known universe' - have a continu­ ing hold over how many peoplc commonly see and represent the 'real '\\'orld'. Drawing rcmains a familiar activity that spans the globe and has existcd ova many centuries ofhuman cultural endcavour. In the Western world, perspectival drawing is taught from a young age and has long been used as the primary benchmark for judging the virtues of promising artists. Although perspectival drawing may still be \'alucd in thc \\/cst today, in sorne academic and popular contexts, it has had little currency amongst the avant-garde since the late ninetccnth century. Heyond thc \\/<.'st, the authority of linear perspective diminishes greatly. Contcmporary followers of traditional nihon-aQ, Indian ink painting devclopcd at Tokyo Fine Art5 School in the 1890s, for example, make no use 01' this Renaissance schema. despite being fully aware 01' the method and it5 implication.s. With govern­ ment back.ing, nihon-BQ stood opposcd to Wcstern inAuence during the earll' Meiji Rcstoration. Sinking its roots in China and the Japanese Eudo era, nihon-Bu ncvcr­ theless

incorporated thc Japonismc

01' late nineteenth-century European

Imprcssionism, a movcmcnt dedicated to the 'naturalistic' depktion ofthe vllOrld. In thc scnse that it is partIy a product of a 'realist' European gazc informcd by Japanese representation, judging mhon-BQ against European models of representa­ tion is thorny. Before the advances of global tran~p()rtation Jnd communication in the t\ventieth century. such traditions in isolatcd geographic areas presented the dominant frameworks \.vithin which artists and their audiences would represent their worlds, almost to the exclusion of aH othcr possibilities, l\hhon-BQ was clearly an attempt to maintain the idea 01' an 'uncontaminated' representational tradition, one that stressed the importance of respecting the harmony of thc natural world. As with many national cultural rcvivals, there is a sense that nihon-BQ was strength­ ened by being con1'ronted by alternative schema. Cross-cultural cxchangcs now take place at breakneck spccd in aH corners 01' the globe. Despite this, Japanese art

122

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

students still have to II

cal amI avant--garde for compositions and piCb Thc eontemporary parate schemas by

WOI

For M urakami , colouri to the manga and anime Murakami's beloved me

Japanese ultra-traditio Western ideas al' mod( cartaons that flooded J; quial 'post-Japonisme' nation represent the e

work. Although Murak index al' the cultural an and sculptures pIar arel found in gt'cky otaku, a putcr games. In this sen

European Realist proje( ticularlv those thar rel< ccntury Europe, there

Sllpeiflat doctrine stress gcnerational Japanese

1

fctishism amI eompositi tic form of resistance

behaviour that dominatl

In the twentieth centur

'real') ......'as oftcn suhjeo dictatorships, as weH as Socialist Realism, rigoro 'realism' being used to Realism \Vas dcsigned to

light, dcpietmg happy e

striYing eagerly for a bet

logical ideals of the Par' Figure 8.2 Takashí Murakarni, Hir<'j'on (1997). Photograph courtes)' Blum & POt', Reprodu("('t\ with pcrmission. Cl) 1997 Takashi Mmakami/Kaikai Kiki Ca., Ltd.

zcns. 7 The seemingI;' sil outcomc. Official art fut

Any challenge tn these r

REPRE5ENTATION ANO THE IDEA Of REA1I5M

students still have to make the difficult choice of whethcr

lo

123

learn Westcrn classi­

cal and avant-gardc forms of representatían or devote theiT studies to the exacting compositions and pietaríal Hatness that characterise the nihon-Bo schcma. The contemporary Japancsc artist Takashi Murakami sccks to unite thcse dis­ parate schemas by \\,'orking ""ith the points at which the)' intersect (Figure 8.2).

For Murakami) colourism and lille dra\ving, imperative in nihon-Bo, are .llso central to the manga and anime-inspired visual culture ofpresent--day Japan. Likc nihon-Bo, Murakami's be10vcd manga is in suhtle contradistinction to both Occidentalism and Japanese ultra-traditiona]¡~m, conflating and conl'using Oriental traditions \\'ith Western ideas ol' modernity. Manga artists transformed the round eyes ol' Disnc;' cartoons that flooded Japan during American occupation ol' the 1940s into a collo­ quial 'post-Japonisme' Japonisme. These complcx mixed metaphors of contami­ nation represent the cultural self-consciousness that Murakami explores in his work. Although Murakami's art app<.'ars superficiall)' innocent and escapist, it is an index of thc cultural and social '-vhirl ol' postmodern Tokyo. Murakami's paintings and sculptures plot a refined dialectic hetween kawaií (cut e) and the schoolboy ans5t found in geeky otaku, a masculine bedroom consumer culture of mansa and com­ puter games. In this sense his \York is dosel)' rciatcd to the late ninctccnth-century Europcan Realist project ol' mapping contemporary culture and social mores, par­ ticularl)" those that relate to urhanism and consurnerism. As in late nineteenth­ centur)' Europe, tbere is a political project here. Murakami and follo\"'lT~ (lf his

supc!/Iat doctrine stress the insurgcnce 01' consumcr-driven suhculturcs, equating gcnerational Japanese n:hdliousness with vo)'euristic passive aggression, sexual l'etishism and compositional dynamism. 511peif/at is a cultural oxymoron, a ritualis­ tic forrn of resistan ce against the perceived oppressi"'cness 01' the ritualistic behaviour that dominates Japanese daily Ill'e. 6

The Politics of Representation In the twenticth ccntury, what was rcprcscntationally permissihlc (and therefore 'real') was often suhjcct lo coerc1ve acts ol' ccnsorship in Fascist and Communist dictaton;hips, as weH as in purportcdly liberal democracics. The Soviet concept of Socialist Realism, rigorously pursued during the Stalinist era, is a good cxample ol' 'realism' being used to descrihe a set of representational conventions. Socialist Realism \'\"as designed to show the

e ommunist govt'rnment aml statc in a favourable

light, ckpicting happy collecti\'(~ farm workers, industrial labourers and soldiers striving eagcrly for a better l'uture. What Socialist Rcali~m depicted were the ideo­ logical ideals of thc Part)'. rather than the day-to-da), lives ol' ordinary Soviet citi­ zens. 7 Thc scemingly simple aet of dra\"'ing. in this context, clearly has a polítical outcome. Official art functioned purely in relation to socian)' established medians. Any chaJknge to these medians was ruthlessly suppressed. Drawings produced by

124

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

starving political dissidents held in Soviet gulags attest to a brutal undesirable prcsent hiddcn by the framing sensibility of state-endorscd realism. s Many drawings have been used as a means of communicating

aCTOSS

language

boundaries in real time (airport signs) and for ovcrtly utilitarian purposes (maps, architectural, engineering and scicntifíc drawings), drawing that are judged by ver)' diITerent criteria from those of artistic drawing. Technical amI design drawing might be s.lid to e\'okc many of the connotations of 'rcalism', since they are used primarily 10 cornmunicate and represcnt in ways which are, on the [aee ofit, trans­ parent, open and direct. This assumption, hO\....ever, i5 problematie. The most com­ monly cncountercd eommunicative drawings, ~uch as trafhc signs, are the eonscguenee of carefully establishcd artificial conventions. Sueh eustoms are legally enforced through multilateral agreements such as lhe Geneva Conyention Road Sign Trcaty. Traffie signs are similar internationall)', not because there is a nat­ urall)' oecurring order of signs, but because a s)'stcm of representation has been carcfull), eonstructed. This representational assimilation has considerable impact on the way that we now view the world. Around the \.\'orld, peoplc have beeome inereasingly reliant on maps to provide them with information relating to the complex fabril' of intereonnected built and natural environments. To man)', maps seem to bc a perfcedy transparent meam of imparting information visuaU) about parts of the world with \,,'hieh they are unfa­ miliar. Maps, however. are always incomplete. Pre-colonial maps produced in

Figure 8,3 - Georg Braun anc

Library of Scotland.

Europe are an obvious example of this partialit)'. many dcpicting the world as Hat, Europe-centred and lacking the American or Australasian continents. The map of Edinburgh by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, for example (Figure 8.3) is strik­

and Japanese nihon-ga, thé the lancl 's natural wealth. 1

ing to lhe modern viewer because it is both a view of the city and also a rcpresen­

creation songs of the ance:

tation of the layout of the to\'·m. lt ncither provides the information \ve expeet 01'

Dreamtime, during wruch

a map, nor adheres to the naturalistie convcntions of the landseape. Yet evcn coo­

resent allow geographieal [¡

temporary maps are highly edited sehematic representations. What a map depicts

rivers, hunting ranges, salt

differs radically from what is intended; a perfect mar would have to be the very

tinent to be mapped and na

territor), that it rcpresents. The maps of largc integrated urban transportation

that is simultaneously phy:

systems use a variable scalc, emphasi~ing the link.., betwecn servicesrather than the

worldl} (the Dreamtime). '

actual distanees travcllcu. An all-inclusive 'realism' is rarel\' desirable in sueh tech­

and can be found amongst 1

nical dra\vings. DifIerent maps stress the importancc of numerous dynamics,

the whole continent. Nor

ranging from geologieal features to densit)' of television sets, famous bars to most

limited since they are caref

haunted sites. Maps can impart ver)' specific forms of information, such as where

monies. The- schemas remai

ami when people are onJine around the world. where to tind an ATM in a metro

that the uninitiated hnd the

station or how to navigate the ~esign of a microprocessor.

non-Ahoriginal Australians

Dcspite the ublguit)' of sueh highly schematic post-in~ustrial maps, different

fact that the Aboriginals h

map-making traditions ancl possibilities continuc to thrive. Australian Aboriginal

names, they are not very aJI

mythological :-ong lines, dots and serpentine traces madc in the sand function as his­

Japanese city is akin to reml

torieal. narrative maps of nomadic ancestral territory. As with European naturalism

ations. Surting the virtual w

REPRESENTATION AND THE IDEA OF REALlSM

125

Figure 8.3 - Georg Rraun and Franz Hogenberg, Map qflhe Cuy oi Edinbllrah (1582), National I.ibrar)' of Scotland.

ana ]apancsc nihon-ga. there is a strong sense ot' conncction with and respect for the land's natural wealth. To the Aboriginals, the temparary drawings represent the creation songs of the ancestors \\'ho lived a pcriod befare humanity known as the Drearntime, during which thc)' sang the world into existence. The stories they rep­

resent alI(J\'" geographical iJ.miliarisation with the watcrholcs, reed beds, gum trees, rivers, hunting ranges, salt-pans ami sand-dunes af their land, permitting th e con­ tincnt to be mapped and navigated. [n this sense the song Hnes represent something that is simultaneousl)' ph),sicall), tangible (the continent of Australia) and other­ woddl)" (the Drearntirne). The song ¡inc schemas are passed clown the gencrations and can be found amangst hunclrecls oI' difIerent Aboriginallanguages faund across the whole continent. Non-Aboriginal undcrstancling of the schernas is greatly limited since th('y are carefully guarcled secrets that take placc during sacred cere­ monies. The schemas remain so dosely ticd to the cantext in which the)' are createcl that the uninitiatccl n.nd thern alrnost impossible to interpreto It is telling that rnany non-Aboriginal Australians value Aboriginal drawings as abstract 'art', dcspite the faet that thc Aboriginals have no such concepto Since Japanese streets have no names, they are not ver)' arnenablc to \Vestern plan-view cartography. NaYigating a Japancsc city is akin to rernernbering a snail trail 01' stopping-off points ancl associ­ alians. Surfing the \'irtual worlcl of the Internet is another activit)' that is clifficult to

126

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE ~------

map in a cOll"cntional fashion givcn that it involves a non~linear associative journey.

ing focal lengths, sorne

Lying sornc..vhere hctween scicnce and art, maps rcveal the intentions of the map­ than passivc guides. Docs this mean that aH maps are merely subjective and there­

photographcrs are able' lighting, aperture, film s also highly susceptible

fore nf egual value? Clearly, a seventcenth-century Eas! Asian cosmological map hased on a Buddhist world view might no! he as llsdul lor navigating the Pacific Ocean as a eontemporary satcllite glohal positioning system (GPS), hut a GPS might

cheap and quíck to repr newspapers and magazir \\'(~ read photographs in

not be particularly valuable for spirltual purrases. Context i5 aH-important; repre­ sentations have to he' judged in relatian to their time and place, the relevant dimcn­ sinns of resemhlance diffcring from one reprcsentation to the next.

notations in dillerent e advantage OVer other f

makcrs more than anything else; they are active re-prcsentations of space rather

The Mechanical Eye Evidcntly, visual representation is not confined to drawing or mapping. Since the mid-ninetecnth century, mechanical forms ofrepresentation have been available to an incrcasing number of people. Photography diIfers dramatically l'rom drav,ring and painting sinee it is produccd by the physieal aetion of light on chemieally treated film. This means that a photographic image results direetly from the 1ight refleeted hy the object to which the camera is exposed. Does this mean that photo­ graphic images are more 'rcalistic' than manually produeed reprcsentations sueh as dra\....ings? The i"suc is eomp1cx, but can be seen in terms closel)' rdated to the debates surrounding pietorial representation. Ostensibly. photographie images are more aeeurate forms of representation than those previously available, yet it is clear that photograph), is not wholly passive. A photographer ah..,ays frames the ünage by choosing \vhat to photograph. This mean s that photographs are summations of a larger \\'orld; they are edited aecounts ol' the world outside the camera. The choices made b)' photographers are ídeological in so far as they are consciously made. Professional photographcrs are often praised for thcir ability to compose picturcs from the seemingly random assemhlage of people and plaees that could ('onfront their lenses. What is omitted is just as important as what is photographed. Amateur snappers tcnd to take photographs of scenes that remind them of good times or significant sights they have witnessed, photography being a stapk ingredi­ ent o1'holidays, birthdays, ,,'edcHngs, festivals and parties. 'Snapping' may possibly be scen as inappropriate in other spheres of social activity such as visiting a super­ market, visiting a doctor or attending a funeral. Like thc various pictorial schcmas availahle to artists across the glohe, this photographie concluet is dictated by implicit social mores. ';l Teehnically, photography suffers from man)' ol' the problems assoeiatcd wirh linear perspcctive. Givcn that light enters a camera from a single point, photogra­ phers find it difficult to control the sharpness 01' the picture m'er the entirc clepth of ficld. Tbe human eyc compensates for this by continuall; rcfoeusing oyer diffl'f­

Photography'.., reality efl r¡uickl", , documentinu o pe is lived in real time. Sud photographs possess a nf right place al the riuht tir e O ho\\'e1'er, are far 1'rom in

Cuban rcvolutionar)' mal gazing intently towards a the image ol' Guevara on . a print on his studio wa Fel trinelli surreptitiously rcmove all signs ofits con FeItrincJ1i rcadil; reprodu

Guevara's dcath. The imaÉ to stand for n~volutionary keting tool for Cuba's e'e

mone)' from the image, Gl photograph from being us lf photographs hav(' alw tifaceted disputes oyer inl duc to the rise of diuital tf o those of analogue camera ahility to manipulate their frecing them from the he~ marks a distinct shift fron

01' images, a shift that sign as fashion photographer h tor Chris Cunningham m, tations can be digitaJI)' Lams\veerrle's Final Fanta~

turing grown men \vith tb Smith and Cunningham al

REPRE5ENTATION AND THE IDEA OF REALl5M

127

ing focallengths, somcthing that a stills camera cannot account foro Professional photographcTs

aTe

able to compensare for thcsc failings by crcativcly manipulating

lighting, apertuTt',lilm speeJ and devc!opnwnt in innovative ways. Photographs are aIso highly susceptible to cxtraneous con textual torces. Since photographs are chcap and guick to reproduce, they orten [catufe in mass-mediated forms such as ne"... spapers and magazines. Caprions ano crea ti ve eropping dramatically alter ho\\' \Ve reao photographs in such contexts, the sarnc irnagc having ver)' diffcrcnt con­

notations in Jiffercnt circumstanccs. Yet photography cioes maintain a major ar~vantagc ayer other forms af visual reprcsentation, namely its immedíacy.

Photography's reality effect stL'ms largdy from the fact that it can be produced quickl)', documentíng peopie, places and events \vith a viV.lcious scnse of lire as it is lived in real time. Such photographs can, as a result, become arehetypal. Many photographs posscss a near-mythical aura simpl), hecaus(~ thcy were taken in the right place at the right time. Thc processes through \~ihich they acquire this status, ho\\'cver, are far from instantaneous. Alberto Diaz Gutierrez's famous image of Cuban revolutionary mart)'r Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (1960) wearing a beret and gazing intently towards a hright new future is a good case in point. Gutierrez took thc image of Guevara on the podium at a memorial ceremony in 1960 anrl placed a print on his studio \vall. In 1967, the radical ltalian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinclli surreptitiously acquired the image from Gutierrez and croppE'd it to remoye aU signs of its contexto Transforming Guevara into a Socialist RE'alist icon, Feltrindli readily reproduced the image on pasters, flags, T-shirts within wccks 01' Guevara's death. The imagc 01' Gue\'ara as a Christ-like action hero has sincE' comE' to stand for reyolutionar)' intransigence around the world and is a powerful mJr­ kcting tool for Cuba's Communist administration. Although he ncvcr marle any mone)' from thc imagc, Gutierrez suceessfulIy won a lawsuit in 2000 prokcting his photograph from being USE'd to seU Smirnoff Vodka.

11' photographs have ah,.vays heen susceptible to cropping, manipulation Jno mul­ tifaceted disputes oyer intellectual property, they are now evcn more vulnerahle due to the rise of digital technology. Sales 01' amateur digital cameras mm: out.<;trip those of analogue cameras. As a result, an increasing numher 01' peoplc havc th<.' ahility to manipulate their own images using cropping, Photoshop and captioning, freE'ing them from the hegemony of the film proccssing sbop. Digital photography marks a distinct shift from reprorluction of images to the producrlOn and direction of imagE's, a shift that signals a nE'W era in photograph)'. 'Postphotographers' such as fashion photographer Ine? van Lamsweerrle, artist Paul Smith and video direc­ tor Chris Cunningham make use of these processes to show how easily represen­ tations can be digitaUy transformed to meet their aesthetic requirements. LamswE'cnk 's Final Fantasy (1993)

\5

a s<'Tics (Jf uncanny images al' androgens fea­

turmg grown men with the hands al' women and young girls with men's mouths. Smith and Cunmngham are f(~t<.~d fur producing complex, digitaUy manipulated

128

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

eompositions of cloned humans. Pictorially speaking, the digital posthumans and cyberspaccs created by such artists are as convincingly 'real' as those depieted by

analogue photography. With developments in gene tic engineering, thc scenes that thcy produce could becornc a tangible reality. Postphotography takes as read the supposition that 'realism' is wholly constructcd. Indeed, postphotography i5 pred­ icated on thc theory tha! image-makcrs fashion and predict thc .....·ays in wruch the 'real' world behavcs. Genetic engineering is an extension 01' this artisanal model, a grand aesthctic project to model the 'natural' world in

OUT

imagc. IO

involves a contradictory around a polarised tensit matic, yct it must a.lso be:: shots or Hy-on-the-wall ( by the camera and diree 'camera nc\"er Hes'. Thü \vith the rise of 'docuso. 'ordinary' peopIe such a

Realism is dosel)' related lo the developrncnt 01' technology in telcvision and cinema. The film industry is famed for the rapid succession 01' innovative technolo­

gen res are fuelJed by pe< irnperative to produce le

gies aH promising to bring us closer to reallived expcrience: the kinetoscope, the cin­ ematograph, synchronised speech, Technicolor, Eastmancolor, Cinerama, decp

exploded .'lince the onsla eomparison with drama,

focus, 70 mm widescreen film, 3D, Dolby stereo, IMAX, digital surround sound and Virtual Reality (VR). 11 Has the industry he en driven by the dream of 'total cinema', the theory that technological boundaries are pushed ever further in a bid finally to solve acsthetic problems and win a global audience?12 Total cinema is a teleological

produce and highly addie Brother, fcature uninterru

m)'th, a linear reading of technology, that it imagines \Ve wiII Oll(' day perfect a uni­ versal format for reproduction of sound and the moving image. 11 The m)'riad typcs ofcompetinghome audio-video pla),hack formJts thathave emcrgcdsince the 1970s,

such as Video 2000, Retamax, VHS, 12" Lasa Disk, Video 8, S-VHS. MPEG, DVI, MiniDV, DVD and MP4, would seem to conl'ound this assumption. The onl)' system that can he said to ha\'e dominated the home video markct is JVC's VHS, a transi­ tional technology that was inferior to its Son)' Betamax competjtor but which won out due to greater market saturation and range of titles. 14 Morcover, despite its over­ whelming technical inferiorit)', VHS continues to survivc alongside digital video. Total cinema is an extension of the Renaissance pursuit of the hyperreal illusion; Ule ultimate schema that might stand in for Iived expcrience itself. Of course, this must remJin a dream. Not a1l new imaging technologies are allied with the pursuit of realismo Digital effeets and animation, for examplc, are most readily associatcd with the fantasy and sci-fÍ productions of companies such as Pixar. The notion that full sensor)' immersion might OCeur through the development ol' interactive tech­ nologies such as VR is .lIso questionable. Televisual. <.:inematic and virtual realities must he written. As sueh they require audiences to remain largely passive, the rang(' 01' interaetive choiees control1cd. True interactivity would lead to a mush­ rooming of possibility beyond the limits of the script and the hardware. Devc10pments in technolog)' are .liso not alv,,'ays to he welcomed unequivoeally. High budgets accompany new technologies and restriet the ereativit)' and mobility of tilmmakers, as was the case with bulky sound-recording equipment in the late 1920s and enormous IMAX cameras toda)'. Manv , films produced for mass consumption are verv, obviouslv, fictional and would not rcadil)' evoke values commonly assoóated '\vith 'n:alism' . Documentar)'

interaeting in groups. Of 1 neutral, peopIe act ven di is al so ruthlcsslv, edited fOl tification and emotional names while ensuring high betwecn hctional and nar: genres of documentary. Re (1998) and m,,· (1999) or

(2001) have Ilourished. Sm talised interpretations of re

of inexpcnsivE' docudramas tapes, photographic stills, iJ narrative genres of HollYWI roma.nee and the war movie

the need for resolution leavl ulative) interpretation of ev

Many documentar\' mak direct address of a 'voice of (

1940s, man)' directors soug reason to hide their credel Depression-era social dOCUI

examplt', made use of Yirgil drama to thc l)'rical voicem forming the djrector into the is mOst rcadil)' associated t Moore's anti-gun BowlingJor mentaries such as Louis Therol

REPRESENTATION ANO THE IDEA OF REAL\SM

involvcs a contradictor), crcative treatment al' real events. As a genre, it

129

reYOh'L'S

around a polarised tension, in arder to hold the "iewer's attention it has to be dra­

matic, yet it must also be factual. Documentar)' makcrs make use of point-of-view sbats nr fly-on-the-"wall camerawork to eradicate the sense al' intrusion being made

by the camera and director, and thereby play on the widespread fallacy that the 'camera nc"er Hes'. This particular genre has enjoyed great success on television \vith the rise of 'docusoaps' in the 19905, short wcckly documentaries fcaturing 'ardinar)" people such as yets, traffie wardcns anrl air cabin erew at ,york. Such genres are fuellcd by people's voycuristic ¡nteres! in others, and the cammercial imperatiH.' to produce low-cost high-yield television in a cultural sector that has explo<1e<1 since the anslaught of compctition heralded by cable and satellite. In comparison ,'.'ith drama, Dacusaap and hiddcn-camera TV are rclatively cheap to pro<1uce and highly ad<1ictive. 1'- Global interactive reality game shm'ls such as Bía Brother, fcature uninterruptcd an<1 seemJnS1.J' uneditcd footage of unfamiliar people interacting in groups. Of course. in such voyeuristic situations the camera is ncvcr neutral, pcopk act ver)' differcntly ,"... hen they know they are being filmed. Footage is also ruthlessly edited for highlights in order to ture vie,'.'ers and by creating iden­ tification and cmotional engagcment, turning thc participants into household names whiJe ensuring high returns from thc expense of interactive voting. The linc between fictional and non-fictianal texts is further blurred in tictionalised sub­ genres al' documentary. Rcality TV-based comedy movies such as The Tmman Show

(] 998) and EDtv (1999) or fly-on-thc-wall TV situation comedies such as The OfJice (2001) havc Hourished. Small 'factional' cable TV companies devotcd to sentimen­ taliscd interpretations of real historical cvents and issues have produced a pJethora ofinexpensiH.' <1ocudramas, which use a mixture 01' rcal documents (such as audio tapes, photographic stills, interYie\'.'s) and melodramatical1y staged narratives (the narrative genres of Hollywood cinema such as the thriller, the judicial drama, the romance and the \Var movie).l(' In such docudramas, emotive linear narratives amI the need for rcsolution leavc little room for the "icwer to question the (orten spec­ ulative) interpretation or cvents. Many documentar y makers, in contrast, emphasisc their presence, using thc direct addrcss of a '"oice uf Gad' narrator or directorial soliloquy. In the 1930s and 1940s, man)" directors sought to makc highly poetic documentaries, seeing little reasan to hide their credcntials as artists or auteurs. Pare Lorentz's American Dcpression-era social documentary The PIousn cnar Broke che PIains (t 936), for examplc. ma<1e use of Virgil Thompson's highly cmotive mood music to acM great drama to the lyrical voiceover. Another 'transparency techniquc' involves tran~­ forming the director into the primar)" agent and star oftht' film itself. This treatment is most readily associatcd toda), with political documentaries such as Michael Moore's anti-gun Bow1JnsJor Columbine (2003) and with comed)' interview docu­ mentaries such as Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. Such documentarists enjoy playing

130

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

with the tension between [ad and hetían, using their corncrlic talents to pieree the public relations fac;:adcs the)' frequcntly encountcr. This satirica] realism can he readily witnesscd in Moore's 2003 Osear acccptance speech: 'We like non-fichan

It is evidcnt from the

and \Ve ]jve in fictitioliS times. We live in the time whcrc we have fictitiollS dectioo

contingent, and must ('L

rcsults that elect a fictitious President. \Ve live in a time where \Ve have a roan scnding

real' and in relation to

liS to war for fictitiollS rcasaos.' Like ruany social realists, MooTe holds that his tilms

the notions of realism ¡ 01' cultural, social and h

are more than a mere representational genre, insisting that wc view his ,,,,'ork criti­

t

I

call), ami n:'gard it as non-rnythical in \vorld of mass mediated speetacle. 17

Ultimately. thesc c1aims are difficult to defend üutright. Like many director s amI comedians, Moore is a shrewd manipulator of languagc amI image, something that his politieal opponcnts such as the National Rifle Association continue to point out. None-the-kss, now that th..')' are institutionalIy esteemed representations ol' their time, Moore's films willlong remain a focus for dehate as people fight overthe pO\ver to frame the political questions they raisc, to determine V\.'hat eonstitutes the 'real'.

Hall, Stuart, Represen/afian: Nochlin, Linda. RcalIsm (Le Panolsky, Erwin. Perspeetive WilJiarns, Chri$topher, Rea,

The various genres ol' documentary film be.lr comparison with fictional film that takes its eues from mid-nineteenth-century realismo In the 19605, Frcneh cinema challcnged Holly"vood hlockhusters with cméma .rritc - movies made on location .'lec, frailee" Pohl, 'The, in Stephen Ei~t:'nmao, E 206~ 24; ,nd T. J. CI"k,

with low-budgct hand-held cameras and tape rccorders. Lacking srecial cffcds and star actors, directors such as Jean- Lue Gorlard uscd non-professionals to improvise unseripted situations freely.lg In tcrms of its politics ami suhjcct matter, cinema I'enre sharcd gualities ...v ith halian neorcalist f11ms such as The Bícycle Fhicvcs (1949)

ancIIJ Postlno (199.5) and British new wavc films such as 5;uturduy l\,'íght unJ Sundax Morning (1960) and Bl11y Lwr (1963).1'01 European filmmaking continucs to be char­

acterised by its focus on the 'kitchcn sink', dramas ancl comedies hased around the routine lives ol' ordinary people and attcnoant issues of identit.y rdating to sex, dass and race. Thc predilection [or the 'realist' gcnre Europe is partIy due to the faet European film industries lack the financial resourccs avaiJable for spcciaJ effects and sct building in Hollywood. Yet, much Europcan film maintains obvious ideo­ logical allcgiances with the Realism of mid-nineteenth-century novelists. Morcover, a poliUcal anO cultural wiII for lo.....,-tl'ch realism to counteract the heg­ cmony 01' Hollywood exists globally, from inoependent American cinema to Dogme thc films made hy Danish director5 such as Lars yon Trier ano others. 2U Low-budget movies that makc use of shaky, hand-held cameras such as Tile 1Hair W1fch ProJect (1999), itsclf partly a parody 01' 100v-huoget documentar)' films, can he more succcssful critically and economically than megahuck HollY""'ood block­ busters. Thc institutionaI contexts in \.. ·bich films are produced and consumed clearly intluence thc \~/ay in which audiences respond

LO

cultural haggage that cstablishes a \",'illingness in thc viewer to succumb to fantasy. W('

should remcmber that we are confronting genres that trigger rec­

ognition and misrecognition.

1984)

12 The lechnologically dt'h

them. Independent

cinema 's reputatian for veracity precedes it,just as Hollywood cinema comes with In all cases

1973).

2 The Marxl$t literary crit¡ the il/usian" 01' eapitalism wa~ the kev "oal of real 1990). ¡:¡rs~ \:ublished tn :. \lbto, Repub)/(· (l-larrnonl 4 ~tr Ernst Gombrich, An S En.\·ill \lanof';,'k), Pcrspecr 6 For more on Murakanti ,l1ean108 (I\e..... York, 201 7 For more on Socialist (London, 1998). 8 Ser ,-\l1a Rosenfeld an IlJ5ó-!l)86 (Loodon, 1~ 9 rOl' more 00 photograpi An q,[ lnterrupllon: ReJllSl IO ~ome theorisb of visual Virilio and 5yJvere Lotrl 11 See Raymono Fielding,

Cmema foral; E"S"I sur les J

j Fnr

more

00

the social in

Williams, 'The TcchnoJ

Cultural Fo[m (Looooo, I 14 Bctamax hoasted hetter] hack for longer periods o

REPRE5ENTATION AND THE IDEA Of REALl5M

131

Conclusion It is evirlent from the numerous examples discussed in this chapter that realism is eontingent, ami must eontinually be redefined in rclation to \-"hat .....·c regard as 'the real' amI in relation lo the man)' other genres al' visual culture. Consequcntly, too, th<.' notioos of rcalism and visual representation are inextricably ticd to guestions of cultural, social and historical differcncc.

Further Reading Hall, Stuart. Reprc.\"CntatlOn.- Cll!/lJ/<1! Representatíons <JIlJ SJgn~fj'm8 PractJces (Lonr1on, 1997).

:.Juchlin, Linda. Rca1Jsm (Lom1on, 1970).

Panof!:'k~" En"'in. Pa'ipea/ve os .S-mholic Form (Nev.· York, ] 992).

Willi;¡m.~, Chrhtopher. /{eü]¡sm and ¡he Cinema ([ andan, 1980).

Notes S('C, hances Pohl, 'The Rhl'toric ofRealism: Courhet ami the Origins ofthe Avant-Ganlt",

in StC'phul Hsenman, ce1., iV¡nelt'CtHh-Cenwr:y Arr: A CntIca/ ¡!litary (London, 1994), pp. 206-24; and T. J. Clark, lmoBe if the Pe"plc: GlIstcll"e Courhet amI th,' J8--1-8 /{cro/urlOn (London, 197\). 2 The Marxist liter,n-y ,-,["¡tic Georg 1 ukác~ arglll:d, for cxampk that the abilit." to penetrate thc illusions 01' capitali~tn, to revea1 the unclt'rlying logie amI ~tructure 01' eapitaJist .~ociet.Y, \\as the key goal 01' realismo Sec Gt'org Lukács, Hist(1~\' (Jnd e/aH Consciollsness (London, 1990). Hr!:>t publishcd in 1923. 3 Plato, Rrpllhf¡( (Harmondsworth, 1955 l, Book X.

4 Sir Erosl Gombrich, /1n and lIJusJOn (Oxfonl, 1960l.

5 l::nvin Pano/'sk~', PCfSpeetIFe a.1 .~vmbolic FaIn¡ (Nt'w 'fork, 1992). First puhlished in 1927.

6 For more on Murakami':-, work, ser: Takashi M urak
Jfe<1nlng (Nc,\' York, 2000). 7 For more on Socialisl Rl'alism, scc Matthew Cullcrne rhwn, SoC/ahst 1{eahn P<1JnlJflg (Londoll,1998). 8 Scc ABa Roscnfdd and Norton Dmlgc, eds, l\'onw'!.{tnmist .in: The So~·ice fxpeTlcnce /956 /986 ~I.ondon, 1995). q For more on photogcaphy's relationship ,\.·ith c\·er}day cxpC'rÍC'nce, see John RobC'rb, The .-trI ~IInterrllp(i()n: Reuhsm, PhocowaphJ'. <1nd ¡he EFC1)'dv)" (~hnchestt'T, t 998). 10 So me theorists of ,isualculture scc sueh c!cvelopnll'nts as hC'Talding a global crisis. Ser Paul Virilio and Sylvere Lotringer, Crepuscul<1r Dawn (NC'"v York, 2002). 11 Scc H,;¡ymond Ficlcling, A Techn%8wJ1 f¡l5(or.)' oIJJotlOn P¡cturcs l~ T...'!c'rJsJOn (l.os Angeles, 1984). 12 "["he technologica\l~ determinist theory 01' total cinema \\'0105 fa,~hioned by Rene Harjavel in C!rJéma Tota/: Esa! sur b formes Flltures du Cméma (Parh, 1944-). 1) f.or more on the social implications orthe impact ortl'chnology in television, sC'e RaYlTlond \\'illiams, 'The Technology and the Socicty', in R. Williams, Télerision. Technolo8)· anJ CullUraJ r(J(m (london, 1975), pp. 9 31. 14 BC'tamax boasted bettcr pkture qualit)' than VHS, .... hile VHS tapes could record and play­ back for longer pniods of timC'. For more on tbis, scc Jamcs Lardner, [o,[ ForwarJ: Halb'wo()J,

132

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

lhe Japonese and lhe

veR llim (New York, t 987); ami Eugene Marlmv anrl Eugene Secunda,

ShifÚng Time anJ Space ¡he Sto,y ~f Vuieol-apc (I\'ew York, 1991).

15 See Joho Izad ancl Richard Kilborn, C'ds, from c;"t'f50n ro ¡he Docu-soap: Breukin8 (he' Roundaf!cs

(Luton, 2000). 16 See John Caughic, 'Progressive Tdr-vision ami Documentar)' Drama', in Tony Bennett et al., eds, Popular film and TeJeYlSion (Lonuoo, 19S I ). 17 For more on this, see Michael Moore, AJl'eneures In a TV lV'(JUan (NC',.... York, 1998). t 8 ror moTt: on C1néma verité and ib aftermath, sce Susan HowarJ anO Ginette Yinccndeau, C'd:-, freneh film.>: TcxlS and Contexts (Lonoon, 1999). t 9 See David OverbC'y. en., Spnn8t1l1lc In ltatv: A Reader on ,\'t'o-RclJllSm (London, 1978); John Hill, Sex, Clcm and R,'o}¡,;m (London, 1986); anJ R. Murphy, SJX{ie, Rml5h Cmema (London, 1992). 20 Thc Dogme manifesto ¡aid down the f01l0\\ ing filrnrnaking rules: A) AH shooting mu~t take place on the original set. B) The sound mOl)" not he produceJ inJependcntly or the image. C) Gnl} hanJheld cameras are to he useo. O) Speeiallighting for colour sets i~ rorbiddcn. E) Optieal gimmicks must be refused. F) Any gratuitous action is to be rejecteJ. G) The film s must take place in the here anJ now. H) (ir'ore I-ilms shoulJ be avoided.

The idea of visual rt

ological invcstigatio Norman Bryson. l SI

language, has come t Indeed, it has pcrha) value ami achieveml

method for explorin; ing an overvicw of s( chapter considers so tices are viewed thro

priate to begin by ca

In ancient Greecc

'1

which public debate

to spcak effectively al and, later, Rome rhe1

the upper classes and trcatiscs concerning

9.Yisual Rhetoric Matthew Rampley

Introduction The idea of visual rhctoric is currenÜy associatcd most cornmon\y with thc scmi­

ological investigations of "\\-Titers such as Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco anct Norman Br)'son. 1 Semiology, originan)' a theory of the generation of mcaning in

languagc, has come to playa crucial role in int'orming the analysis of visual culture. lndeed,

jt

has perhaps come to be loo important. This is not to undcrestimate its

value and achievements.

[t ¡5,

hov-.'ever, to emphasise that semiology is onl1'

OIle

method for exploring the rhetorical dimension of visual culture. Rathcr than offcr­ ing an overvie", of semiology - there are airead)' man)' llseful 5uch accounts - this chapter considers some of the more basic bsues that are raised when visual prac­ tices are "\'iewed through th(' lens of rhctorical analysis. ~ Conscqucntly, it is appro­ priate to begin by consiclering what is meant by the term 'rhetoric'.

The Concept of Rhetoric In ancient Greece 'rhetoric' denotecl the art 01' public speaking. In a society in which public dehate bu·ame central ro cultural, legal and politicallifc, thc ahility to spcak cffcctivcly and, ahove .111, p('rsuasively, was a highly prized skill. In Greece and,later. Rome rhetoric carne to be an important constituent in the c<.\ucation of the uppcr classes and was also the object 01' numerous philosophical and technical lreatises concerning both the theory of rhetorjc and the practical analysis of the

134

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

varinus rhetarleal techníques and figures available. AuthoTS such as Aristotle,

it has .lIso taken on a dij

Cicero and Quntilian eodificd the art ol' speaking, producing complex taxonomic~

rhetnrie in the Renaissa

of rheto[ical figures that remained definitivc for centuries afterwards. Sorne ol'

orie i5 a questioning oI' 1

thcm are still well kno\"t'n toda)', including metaphor, similc and metoTI)'my.

resentation; more speci:

Others, howt.'ver, such as catachresis, prolcp~is and hyperbaton, are now familiar

nature

unly to specialists in the field.

amI crities once relerre(

In the Middlc Agcs rhctoric carne to

01" hoth

visual

COI

a sccondary place to logic, hut in

ticular practice - they ll(

the Rcnaissance the revival al' intcrcst in classical culture lcd to a rchirth ol' the cle­

municative stratl'gies. In

vated status of rhetarie. Mo[cover, while Latin rcmaincd the language al' lcarning

man)' of the practices 01

OéCUpy

and scholarship, vcrnacular languages such as English, Italian and Frcnch increas­

film; such visual practiC(

ingly becarne the basis of nationalliteratures in the fifteenth and sixteenth centu­

notion 01' rhctoric transJ

ries, and thcir clairn to being the equal of Latin and Greek ",,·as often hased on their

neulral term oI' analysis

rhetorical eloquence. 1

coneern with the ways in

An important que_tion to ask is: What does it mean to speak of a visual rheto­

mechanisms of social pm

ric, given that the term was originally con cerned \vith speaking? In [act, the notion

foeus, and underpinning

01' a connection bctv·.-cen image and discoursc has hccn central \0 the undcrstand­

ing of visual art since antiquü)'. In classical Greece and Rome many of the art\vorks now aclmired for their reprcsentational realism

01'

mimetic skill \'\en' more oI'ten

eonccrnnl \vith the depiclion of myth ann legend, and thus had a primarily narra­

The process of communil

tive function. This carried ovcr into the Christian era where visual art \vas, for hun­

information from a sendf

drl'ds nI' ycars, almost exclusivcly con cerned with the presentation oI' biblical

is the ideal of daritv ens ,' tion, and that the channeh

narratives and Christian moralitv. As early as the !\vclI'th century visual art was

'literatur~

of the la;' people' (Imcmc IdlCOTtI:n) and this rein­

spread, and v.'ithin the fi

I'orced the role 01' art in communicating to a largely j]]iterate congregation the

importancc during the tw

message and values of Christianity. As a primarily communicative medium, art \Vas

de,igner Paul Raml (191E

being referred to as th<.'

thus dearly dependent on the rhetorical skills of persuasion and eloquence in

corporate logos in Ameri

addre5sing its audiencc.-t

nent nf values of darity an

This conception al' visual art continuecl into the Renaissance. The earliest trea­

aesthetic and its commun

tise on painting, Alberti's On Painting of 1435, is often best knO\vn for its detaile~ exposition of perspective and the aecurate depietion 01' three-dimensional space.)

ideas; in man)' respeets h

Bauhaus in Germany in ti

Howcver, for Alberti painting's social status stemmed not from thc painter's abilit)'

design education today, an

to cop)' nJturc hut froOl its narraüve and moral I'unction, whkh

mcnt in architecture, with

sd

it on the same

lcvcl as philosophy. His hook nmtains an outline of the most appropriale \Va)'s of

funetion

presenting a particular narratÍ\'t' (hisrüria) which in many respects hears compari­

least reduced to a minimu

son .....·ith rhetorical inslruction manuals ofthe same era. More generall)', art theory,

Such <1 notion of com

OT

that non-funct

both during the Renaissanee and after, ccntred un the narrative and rhetorical func­

however. It assumes, first,

tion nf art, and in particular on the re1ation between verbal and visual rhetorie.

tht;-o task 01' interpreting the

Within Western culture, therefore, visual art has long been regarded as a rhc­

trast, much contcmporary

torical practicc, concerned "",ith narrative ano with persu
case; evcn the most simple

cnel', rather than with the simple aecurate depictiun uf the visual worId. Yet in the

This beeomes especiall)' ap

lasl thirtv i

are nUmerous instan ces oj

01'

so. .1\'ears the notion of visual rhetorie has enjoved rcncwen ernphasis; -'

VISUAL RHETüRIC

13 5

it has abo takcll on a di[reTent set al' meanings from rhe c10quencc associatco with Thdarie in thc Rcnai:i.'iancc. Al the heart of the eontemporary idea of visual rhet­

orie is a questioning 01' the concepts al' style, visual cornmunication anJ visual rep­ J'Psf>ntation; more speeifically, considerahle atkntion has becn given to thc strate8K

nature ofboth vIsual cornmunication and representatian. Indecd, wherc historians and crities once n,ferrco to visual st),le

the formal,
ticular practice - rhe)' no\\' .malyse ,isual culture in terms of its rhetorical and com­ municJtive strategies. In one spose, style rcmains an importan! mcans of desuibing

many of thc practiccs al' visual culture, from architecture through to paintings or film; such visual practices aH emhody a di~tinetive aesthetic 'Iook'. Howcvcr, th<..~ nntion of rhetoric transforms ('ntirdy the significance 01' 'st)'le' j a comparatively neutral tcrm of analysis concerned with aesthetic arrpar;:¡nce is replaccd b;-' ;) concern ","'ith th(' ways in which the practices of visual culture are intertwined with mechanisms ol' social power and ideology. Rhetori(: plays a key role in this altercO. 1'ocus, and underpinning it is the concept ofcommunication.

The Theory of Communication The pro(ess of communication is commonly hcld to consist in thc transmi~~ion ol' information [rom a ~ender to a receiver or addrcssee. A central pan of this bclie1' is the ideal of clarity, ensuring that the addressce rcceivcs unambiguous informa­ tion, anJ that the channeh. al' communication remaio unimpcded. Thi~ idea is wide­ spread, <md within the held of visual culture in particular it has be en of hugc importance during the twentieth century for lhe practicc of designo Thc American dcsigner Pdul RanJ (1916-96), renowned for designing .'iome of me most famous corporate logos in America in the 1950.., and 1960s, was also a prominent expo­ nenl of v
J

iJ\'ia)'l

ur at

minimum.

Such a notion of communicati(Jn is opcn to scrutin} for several reasons, however. It as~umes, tirst, lhat ifthe information rcaches the recei\'cr unimpeded, the task of interpreting thc mcaning of the information ¡s straighlfonvard. In con trasl, much contemporary thinking emphasises lhe extent to which this is nat the case; e"cn thc most simple icons and symbols can he intcrprcteo m \ianous ways. This hccomes cspeeially apparcnt in the case ofcross-cultura! interprctation: thcre are nurnerous imtann~s of American and European corporations, for example,

136

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

overlooking the possibilities of alternative interprctations of quite ubiquitous lagos in other cultures. The name al' the mobile telephone campan)' Orange. for example, has a set of connotations in Northern Ireland and ccrtain parts al' Scotland - Protestant <.:ultural ¡dcotit)' - absent elsewhere.

examplc, even relatic are framcd b), the tal Indced, oifficulties in

The idea of a universal, unambiguously cIear desigo language has hecn a recur­ rent drcam since the invcntion of [SOTYPE, the pictographic information s)'sh:'m

of what is heing said, ! usual alJotted roles. V

hy Vicnncsc philosopher Otto Neurath in 19205, but it is hased on a ane-dimen­

ingly the most private guently invoJves ques' specch of the doctor,

sional understanding of meaning, communication ano interpretation. 7 Orre

01'

the

mast important recen! movements in critical thought, deconstruction, the linguis­ tic philosophy associated wüh Jacgues Derrida, argues that ambiguity and uncer­ tainty lie at the eDre of language ano meaning. In particular, Derrida argucs that

lan~age is structured around metaphor; cven the mO.'it hasic description draws on metaphor, and as any stuoent 01' literature knows, metaphors introduce thc pos­ sibility of multiple meanings and interpretations,.'l While it has al\\'ays heen a dream of Western thought, from Plato to the present, to produce clear, unamhiguous communication, and to discard rhetoric and metaphor, this is an impossible task. Indeed, a hallmark of the works ofDerrida has heen to analyse the supposedly con­ ceptually simple and elear texts ofboth historicJl and contemporary philosophers and to expose the extent to which they are open 10 multiple meanings and inter­ prctation precisel)' because of their relianee on metaphor; even the ter m 'metaphor' is a metaphor. And while Derrida has heen concerned primarily with debates ahout linguistic meaning and cornmunication, it is clcar that the ideal of claritv i5 one which in Western society at least, has been entertained not onl)' by philo~ophcrs, but b; thc culture as a w¡lOle. This ineludes the discourses of oesign and architecture. Indeed, the lcssons ol'Derrida's thinking for design has not been

an)' cornrnunication

rncreJy hecause ol' its ( culture of 'experts', t authorit)' that determir

it is thc pronouncemer

many cultures it is tne 1 feminist critic!' havc arg

of its role in confirmin power, and this means the social and political (

The thi rd point of cri from the suggestion of I ol' cornmunication is no'

kind of response in th( deadpan response from unsettling nature of suc

lost on theor1sts, practitioners and educators in the field; in the Unitcd States Kathcrine McCoy 01' the Cranbrook Academy al' Art introouceo oeconstruction

sorne l'orm of recogniti( municates \vith others iI their part, whether the (

into graphil' design education in the late 197'Os and early 1980s, with numerous dcsigners subseguently working under the influcncc of the ioeas oeveloped at the Academ)'.9 As Lupton and Millcr hayc pointed out, the implications of deconstruc­

but the pccsentation al' i munication can be seen

tion for graphic dcsign practice have been lJ.r-reaching, impacting on thc most basic assumptions about, for example, layout, punctuation, typographical design and spacing. 10 The example ofcross-cultural miscommunication is indieative ol' the second dil'­ ficulty \·"ith traditional theories of communication, namely, thc assumption that it is a si~lple, one-way process oftransmission. Ovcr the past forty or so years various critics have tended to stress thc extent to which that transrnission is l'ramed hy numerous factors - social, polítical and economic - \\'hich shape ho\\' it is received.

ol' action. Communicatic

techniques, both linguisti and breakdowns in cornn the information being ¡m manner.

With the suggestion of employment of skills air However, in the light 01' t}

In other words, even the simplest form of communication takes place ......ithin the

becn modified bv stressin, cation, but rather tbat al!

social and polítical ,,",orld, and as such it 1s part ofthat world. ln the same way that basic social relations are shaped by the respectivE' roles of the participants, so too

enmcshcd within structUl As an cxample to ilJumir

~

VISUAL RHETORIC

137

any communication bdween them is equall} framed by thc same factors. For

examplc, even relations wi1hin the family, bdween parent and child, for examplc, are framed by the tacit assumptions amI expeetations helel by cach of the ather.

lndeed, difficulties in cornmunication often take place not through the ambiguity 01' '\,vhat i5 being said, but because the individuals are no longer conforming to their usual allotted roles. \-\líder social norms inscrihe themselvc.<; into \vhat are seem­

ingly the most private forms of social intcraction and cornmunication, and this fre­ quently involves questions of social power. As Michel Foucault has argued, the speech of the doctor, lawyer

Of

ps),chiatrist takes on a specific significance not

mcrely becau~(' of its content, but because 01' the authority 01' the profession. In a culture of 'experts', the communications of C'ertain professionals have a social authority that determines in advanct.' how they \ViII be receiY<.-·d. 11 In sorne cultures it is thc pronounccments of the elderly that have the ~ame social \veight, while in man)' culture~ it is the pronouncements ol' men that have the most weight, as man)' feminist crities have argued. More generalIy, communication is now seen in terros oE it~ role in confirming or suhverting existing structures of social authority and power, and this means that the simple transmi~~ion model Eails in accounting for the soC'ial and política! dimension ol' communication. The third paint of criticism of the transmission theory 01' communieation comes from the suggestion of the British philo~opher Paul Grice (1913-88) that the aim of communication is not, in .lny ca~e, to impart information, hut to elicit a certain kind of response in the adJressee. 12 Anyone who has had the cxperience of a deadpan response from the partner in a eonyersation will be ahle to identify the unsettling nature of such a failure. At a most hasic level communication desires sorne form of recognition from the other, and at a more eomplex level one com­ municates with others in order to prompt or produce sorne kinJ of behayiour on thcir part, . . v hether the continuation 01' a dialogue. humour, miscry or sorne form ol' action. Communication C'onsist~ not simply in the transmission of infonnation, but the presentatíon of it in order to c1icit a desired response. In this sense com­ munication can be seen to be strategiC', in that it relies on a variet)' 01' skills and techniques, both linguistic and non-Iinguistie, to achieve an ulterior goal. Problems and breakdowns in communication often occur not through a misunderstanding al' the information bcing imparted, hut through a failure to respond in the anticipated manner. With the suggestion 01' Grice \"'e are baC'k to the c1assical notion of rhctoric as the emplo),ment of skills aimed at moving, persuading or hurnouring an audience. However, in the light of the nrst and second critiques outlined aboye, this model has becn modified by stressing, first, that rhetoric is not a particular type of communi­ cation, but rather that all communication is rhetorical and, second, that rhdoric is enmeshed within structures of social, economic and cultural relations and powcr. As an example to illuminate the first point. thcre has be en a series of television

138

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

aavcrtisements oyer the raS! [OUT or five years by the DIY proctuct campany

zeal shown by lms Negr

Ronseal. A cornmon strategy in aH 01' the advcrtisements, regarclless ol' the partic­

image aimed to affirm t

ular product, has been to stress thc no-nonsense dimension to thcir prmiuC'ts. The is: 'It do es exactly 'Ahat it says

Thc general implica! particularly important

on thc tin.' In an era ofscepticism towards advertising, this comes across as an appeal

arcrues are .1t stakej su

cornmon catchphrase -.

TIO\V

parodied elsewhere

lo older virtues 01' honcst)' ami straightforwaroness, diciting a sense af trust in thc

appeals in order to gain

consumero Howeverl this lack al' rhetorical Aurry is itself a strategy, using a rhetarie

tions 01' powcr. In trus s(

of simplicity and straightforwardness, even employing an average man-in-the-strcct

l'unction. A recent dass

actor in thc aovcrtisements. This advertisement is as carefullv calculateo ano stra­

l3ush in the wake ol' the

tegic as any more obviously 'st.1gccf advertising strategy.

States and al-Qaeda was

cult to resist the appeal .

Visual Communication andVisual Rhetoric

the ooious ano nihilistic

time, however, thcre Wa~ The Ronseal advertisement highlights the particular suitabilit)' ol' advertising to

States and Britain, and it

this type ol' analpi:-:. Aovertising by its ver)' nalurc is a strategie form of ·visual

themsclves have been unl

eommunication, oh.vhieh its audience has .lIso beeome all too awarc. The iJ.st time

American interference in

an auoienee seriousl)' sought 'objective' information ahout the product being advcrtised wa~ probably in the 1950s. Now \Ve are aH used to being prcscnted with arlvertisements that c"oke imaginar)' lifestyles associateo with the products or that

This is a particularly

l

easier to get a sense ol' the:

one has slightly greater d:

emphasise the fashionability ol' the proouct (from paint to mobik phones) or

magazine published in Fr

whidl indicate the nature ol' the ideal and typical consumer ol' the good in qucs­

on colonial affairs, and in

tion, therehy appealing to the audienee's own imaginecl sense 01' identity. The advertising industry has dc"clopcd a ma.'lsively complex machinery oevotecl just to thls task ol' strategie communication. It is no surprlse l therel'ore, that whcn questions to do \vith visual cornmunication and rhE'loric are cxplored, it is fre­ quently the imagery ol' aovertising that is turned to fir.'lt. Perhaps the bcst-knO\vn ancl carliest such exploration \Vas Rolano Barthes' M)'tllOlogles.

j

J

The essa)'s are

nO\v somewhat datcd, but l3arthes' study provided a model for subsequent analy­ ses ol' advcrtising irnagery which l'ocuscn on the strategie techniques and effeets ol' advertising. l-J. l3arthes' essays

v.,TTl'

important because they explored both the ways in "\vhiC'h

advcrtising in particular aims to seduce the auoience into consuming the particu­

1931 . From lhe perspecli'

is obvious. It draws a ser Camhooian reception par

masculine explorer is gn

madc between the moden

latest symbol ol' Western 1

of Cambodian culture. Thi

France as a progressive m(]

as passive l'eminine recipie:

course, and 1 make it onl

repcated in numerous oth~

lar product (or, more gen('fally, into an attitudc ol' affirmation 01' consumer culture)

have heen \Videlv held vle

and thc \va)'.'l in which stratcgic visual communication in general becomes

From the

perspe~ti\'e ol' th.

enmeshed \·....ithin structures of social ano political power. One ol' the most cele­

ent, we will vicw this imag(

bratecl examplcs \vas his analysis 01' the cover 01' the French magazine Pans .Harch,

is celebrating colonisation

which featured a young Al'rican boy saluting the Frcnch tricolour. For l3arthcs, this

and destruction of local mi

image presentcd the French Empire in a particularly appealing and persuasive

is cclcbrated as bringing te

manner: '1 see ver)' well what it .'lignifles to me: that France is a great empire, that

rnight wcll .'lec inequaHty

í

aH her sons, without any colour discrimination, faithl'uHy serve undcr her flag, and

possibilities, and the key

that there is no belter answer to the detractors 01' an allcged colonialis m than the

hut rather the more generai

ql

VISUAL RHETüRIC

139

zeal shown hy this Negro in serving rus so-calIed oppressors.' 15 In other words, this image aimed to affirm the Icgitimac)' of the Empire. The general implication of Barthes' essays was that rhetorical strategies have a particularly important role to play precisely when power structures and hicr­ archies are at stake; such hierarchies ol'ten make carefulIy ealculated rhetorical appeals in order lO gain the consent ol' others, and often to mask the actual opera­ tions ol' power. In this scnse strategie communication has a suprcmely ideological function. A recent classic example of this is the rhetorie adopted by George W Bush in the wake of the 9/11 lUjackings, in which the 'war' between the United States and al-Qaeda was cast in terms ol' freedom "'crsus unfrcedom. Ir was dil'fi­ cult to resist the appeal to such an emotive term as 'freed.om', particularly given the odious and nihilistic ideology supported by Osama bin-Laden. At the same time, however, there \,,'as a notable curtailment 01' civilliherties in hoth the United States and Britain, and it occurred to few at the time that the 9/11 attacks might themsclves hayc heen undcrtaken in the name of freedom, this time freedom from American interference in Middle Eastern affairs. This ls a partlcularly emotive issue, and it is still very immediate. It is 01'ten easier to get a sense ofthe 5trategies in operation when analysing texts from which one has 5lightly greater distance, Figure 9.1, for example, is a photograph 1'rom a magazine puhlished in France in 1931 entitled L'J1Justration. It i5 part 01' a report on colonial all"airs, and in particular on the Exposition ColoniaJe held in Paris during 1931. From the perspective o1'the present the strategic, rhetorical nature of image is obvious. It dra'...·s a series of oistinctions betwecn the Frcnch aviator ano the Camhodian reccption partr For example, there is the gendcr divide in which the masculine explorer is greeted hy femaIe 'natLves'. An important distinction is made hetween the modernity 01' the Frenchman emerging from his aeroplane, the latest symhol of Western technological progress, am-l the tradition-bound nature of Cambodian culture. This image confirms the perception of the Empire in 1930s France as a progressive modernising force, in which the colonial cultures are seen as passivc 1'eminine recipients of such cnlightenment. This is a generalisation, of course, and I make it only becausc this image fits into a pattern that one sees repeated in numerous other cxamples. It is .lIso rcinforced hy what are known to have heen wideh·, held vic\ys 01' masculine and feminine identit\,, in the 1930s. From the perspective of the present, where our scnsibilitics are somewhat differ­ ent, we ,",viII vicw this image in a difl'erent light. Wherc, in its own time, the irnage is cclebrating colonisation as a progressivc force, \vc might 5ee in it thc erosion and destruction 01' local cultures by the \Vcst. Whcre the modern French aviator i5 celchrated as bringing technological progress to a tradition-hound socict)" we might weH see inequalit)' and colonial exploitation. There are numerous other possibilitics, and the key question is not which of those possibilities 15 'conecl', hut rather the more general point that this photograph is interpreted not in terms

140

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 9.2 .- Erlward McKnj courtesy of Paul Rennie.

phor in visual terms as

j

MeKnight-Kauffer for E descriptive information a oil, the advertisement SU] of associations c\'oked by notes strength and nobili thc produce

While horscpower ha mcasure is raised to a fur

tions of dassícal antiquit

evoJving technologies of; mobile, thc engine or the

of valucs that suggest per'

leum is given an altogethl

dassical horsc. Indeed, th Figule 9.1 - Anonymou.~, An .~,:rid{ BaptHmJor Dancenfrom InJochwa (19i 1). From

L'lllu,tratlOn magazine.

product w-ith authority or

can be scen in thc way tha

tisjng anJ marketing to su: uf thc informatian being transmitted, but in tenll,s of its strategie and rhetorical

functions. So far 1 havc spoken in general terms al' the rhetorical nature of images, hut it

targeted audiencc (Figure

MeLaphor is undoubte'

deviccs used in visual n~pr

15 possible to draw more precise parallds bctween visual and verbal rhetoric.

sis: thc employment of ex

Metaphor, ror example, lhe dcpiction of ane thing by- nwans of another, is onc of

thc Cambodian "vomen oE

th(' mast familiar rhctoricai deYices, and it is possible to speak as much of meta-

within advertising imager)

VISUAL RHETORIC

141

Figure 9.2 - [dv.'anJ MeKnight-KaulTcr, Adl'rTwin8 Posterior BP (1914). Photograph eourtesy of Paul Rennie.

phor in visual terms as it is in verbal terms. The 1925 aciycrtisement b), Edward MeKnight-Kauffer for BP (Figure 9.2) is a clear cxample. lnstcad 01' olTering descriptive information about the price, quality or sorne othcr aspect ol' petroleum oil, thc advertisement surrounds it, together with the Shell compan)', with a series of associations evoked by use of metaphoric imager)'. The image of the horse con­ notes strcngth and nohility, ancl the chain suggests the security and reliahility of the product. While horsepmver had long been a measure al' energy and dynamism, this measure is raised to a further levc1 hy the use of horse motil' replete with sugges­ tions ol' classical antiquity. Thus a commodit)' central to the modern and s'\viftly evo]ving technologic5 ol' the interna} combustion engine (the aeroplanc, the auto­ mobile, the engine or the ship) is promoted by appeal to an altogether dil'l'erent sct ol' values that suggest pcrmanence, bmdcssness. The prosaic task ol' selling petro­ Icum is given an ahogcther dil'l'erent sn 01' meanings through the mctaphor ol' the classical horse. Indeed, this i5 a \\'ell-establishcd advertising technique: to cndO\v a product with authority or 'cultural capital' by means of metaphorie association. [t can he seen in the ".. ay that Ole! Masters' paintings are regularly included in advcr­ tising and marketing to suggest the culturallevel ol'both the commodity and 01' the targeted audicnc(' (Figure 9.3). Mctaphor is undouhtcdly one of the most powerful and common rhctorical
142

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 9.4

jaegues Louis [

The legend gains a tra! in the combat, and a150

tr

picturc, is betrothed to or loss of ¡aver and brotber..

companions could not be,

thcir bonies bent ayer, in (

crs. Indecd, the brothers l

reIínquishecl individual co painting puts forwarrl a st

culine civic rluty versus lf tion to civic and política: politics of the time, and t Figure 9. 3 A \vindo\'t' of a shoc shop in (\\rb, with a painting by dbpla). Photograph: Rutb Pcl"l.cr (2003).

Ingr('.~

as parl Df tbe

much-ciLed historieal instam~e of the latter is Jacgues Louis David's famous painting of 1784, The CJarh ?fehe Horatii (Figure 9.4), \\.'hich is hased on an earl)' Roman leuend Thc paintinCJ~ depicts three brothers (tbe Horatii) s",earino b' o loyaltv .. .. to Rome bcfore goíng to do battle with three brothers, tbe Curiatii, from a neighbouring city.

age. The idea 01' political , s\.\'ords for which the bro

phallie- svmbols of masculiJ

the role al' patriare-haJ autJ too, in that after the hatt}t slain lover and kills her for

to put asid e private feeJing. David's paínting is an extr<J

VISUAL RHETORIC

figure 9.4 - Jacqucs Louis David, The Oarh

~)rrh2

143

HoratiJ (1785). The LOU\TC, Paris.

The legend gains a tragic dirncnsion from thc fact that two üfthe Horatii \\,,11 die in the combat, and also that one of their sistcrs, shown swooning on thc right of the picturc,

Í!'

betrothcd to Oile ofthe Curiatii. Sbe Is thus faced with thc possible douhlc

1055 oflover and brother. Thc contrast bdwccn the brothers and their sistcr and her companions could not he more markcd. The womcn seem absorbed in private gricf,

their bodies hent ayer, in contrast to the upright, almost rohotic stance ofthc hroth­

er:--. lnciccd, the brothcrs have ceased to be individual s in David's painting, and haH' rclinquished individual eoncerns in arder to fulfíl their dut), to the citr In part, this painting puts fOTVvard a striking ímage nf the difference hetween the scxes - mas­ culinc civic dUl)' versus femininc private emolion. [t is also, hm\.T\'Cr, an exhorta­ tion to civil.' and political activism; Da\"jd ,vas a supportcr of the revolutionary politics ol' the time, and this painting is clearI)' the procluct of a highly politidscd age. The idea ol' politica] struggle and martial dut)' is centrcd in particular on the swords for which thc brothers are .111 reaching, which also function, perhaps, as phallic symbols of masculine strcngth; their ageing father seems to be handing over the role of patriarchal authority to his sonso There i.s an epilogue to this painting, too, in that after the battle the rcmaining brother catches his sister mourning hcr slain lover and kills her for her disloyalty. Everything about the legend exhorts one to put asicle private feelings and loyalties in the name of civil' and polítical duty, and David's painting is Jn extraordinary excrcise in visual rbetoric.

144

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

The Rhetorie of Material Artefaets So far 1 have focnscd in particular on representationai images. When analysing . . ' isual rhetoric, however, it is crucial to consider material artefacts and the prac­ tices of design Jnd architcctllre. For much of the twentidh century this dimension was s)'stematically negleeted; the dominant ídcology ofmodern design and archi­ tecturc stressed their fllnctional basis, it being almost a moral imperativc to base the formal dcsign on the demands of the functioo. Ornamentation was cleemcd

unnecessary and aesthetically impuTe; in 1910 the architect and cie.<;igner Adolf Loas famausl)' dcclarcd the eriminality of aH modern ornamento 16 With the demise of such values .'lince the 1970s, critical attention has tnrned to the commnnicative

I.~

and rhetorieal dimension 01' design and the built environment. Indeed, the first object of analysis can be the modnnist practices that declared themsclves to be entirely functiona1. Mareel Breuer's celebratecl H{1S.I"i~ armchair from 1927/8 (Figure 9.5) has often been seen as an ieonic modernist design in \".. . hieh the form of the chair has been cOlleeived in terms ofits function; in addition, in place of the reliance on the skills of the individual craftsman, the chair has been designed for ease of mass production. In the place of superHuous 'styling', Breuer presents a wholly functional designo

Figure 9.5 - Maree! Breuel", l earl)' 1928). ~e\\" York, Muse

has emerged an architect

However, this standard modernist account leaves out the rhetorical character

resulting urhan environmE

of the designo Most immediately the materials, and in particular the chrome steel

form 01' visual eommunica

tubing, are not onl)' functiona1, they are metaphors of modernity. The steel tubing connotes technologieal progress, with its clear depcndence on processes of modern industrial manufacture. Furthcrmore, the simple geometrical structure of the chair abo suggests tcchnological eHicienc)', its use of standardised forms again strips away the vagaries 01' the individual maker. Not merely an instance of modern design, Breucr's chair is .lIso an arEllment for the virtues of the modern movement; to expre.<;s this in a slightly diffcrent vocabulary. the chair's Jack of styling is itself a style. tices ultimately emplo), rhetorical stratcgies; functionalism was an ideological outlook that emplo),cd a visual rhetoric in the advancement of its claims. Recognition ofthis dimension \'\'ithin design amI architecture has becn widcly asso­ ciated \vith the rise of postmodernism. As Richard Williams has pointed out. Rohert Venturi amI Denise Seott Brown play('(\ a crucial role in highlighting the symbolic and metaphorical character 01' the urban environment. In fearnmE.from Ve,qas they stress thc cxtent to which the architcctun.' ofLas Vegas departs from

modcrnist norms; in the place of pared-down t"unetionaHsm there is a prevalence of elements

large-scale signs, advertisements, images - which. though not ~truc­

ruTaJl)' necessary, are integral to the overall meaning of the designs.

c:/ Postmodem

the rediscoverv of svmbol

rediscO\·ery of ~ast f'c;rms al

in the classicism of architec

the retcrcnees to local 'adol western United States in d

Jeneks the ¡¡-¡¡Iun' of model

The examplc uf Breuer indicates how even ostcnsihl)' 'runetional' design prac­

[05

A similar argument was The Language

17

The principal

reason is that the architecture is designed to be seen from the ear. In Las Vegas there

n~glect of rhetorical figures falJed to communicate \'Ilith

In one 5Cnse attention to '

ularly new; there has beer

betwcen architecture and lo

However this oftcn amOllOtl structure wilh the grammar;

tUre as a fórm of visual rhetc

tectuH' becomcs a strategic, same can he said of design iJ

Ronseal advertisement discw

entireJy neutral or rhetoric-fr

VISUAL RHETüRIC

145

Figuré 9.5 Mareel Bréucr, Há55l{Y arrnchair, MoJel B1, Dcs~au, Gl'rmany
has emerged an architcctural rhetoric tailored ror the automobile age, and the resulting urban environment lays hare the extcnt to which architectural design is a form 01' visual communication and rhetarie. A similar argument was advanccd by the architectural critic Charles Jencks. Jn The Language I!f Ptlstmodern Arcnitecrure Jcncks placecl considerable importance on the rediscovcry 01' s)'mbolism and rhetarle in 1970.., architecture, evident in íts redisnm;,'~ry arpast forros and revival afloca] traditions.

1g

Examples couId be found

in the classicism of architects such as Venturi, Quinlan Terry or Lean Krier, or in the rcferences tu local 'adobe' murl-brick native American dwellings of the south­ '\-'estern Uniterl States in the ,\'ork of American architect Antoine Predock. For Jencks th(' failure of modern architecturc to gain popular appeal was oue to its neglect 01' rhctorical figures anO. matifs that ""ould be meaningful to its mers. It failed to communicate with its intendcd audiencc. In one sense attcntion to the rhetorical dimension 01' architecture is not partic­ ularl)' ncw; there has been a long-cstablishcd tradition of dra",ing analogies betwcen architccture and language, dating back to th(' seventecnth century.l'::I However this orten amounted to Hule more than a comparison 01' architectural structure with the grammar and s)'ntax oflanguage. To stress the role of architec­ ture as

J.

form of visual rhetoric implies a more eomplex process in which archi­

tecture bccomes a strategic, ideological medium 01' communication. Much the samc can be said ol' design in generaL The examples ol' the Brcuer chair or the Ronseal advertisement discussed carlíer suggest that therc is no such thing as an cntirel)' neutral or rhetoric-free design. Thc question is not, therefore, whether the

146

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

dcsignC'd objects 01' eontemporary culture have a cornmunicative, rhetorical

how consumers ¡dentif)

dimension, but rather what the Jorm of that dimension is. One response to this

have s'ophisticated pack.

qucstion has focused on the consumer culture of Westcrn socictics. Where

ing design to suggest d

'styling' and design \Vere once vie,,,,'ed simply as forros of embellishment, they are now vicwed as rhctorical ploy.., to promote consumption. The selling and market­

limited series, dcsirable brand makes no secret

ing al' cornmodities i5 oflen thought of as a process external to the cornmodities

regard it is a150 significa

themselves, wheTeas from another perspective the process of marketing i5 integral

guality' products adopt

to the design process. Central to tbis explanation is thr thcory of cornmodity [et­

ishism developed by Karl Marx in Capital (1867).20 On the arre h<md, Marx argues,

tinet but sophisticated u and so forth.

the commodity is a mass- produced artefact, a result of human labour, exchange­

The cxample of pack

able for any other of its type. On the other hand, it becomes endowed with its own

to the actual producto I

properties, as i1' it were more than a producto As Marx states, there is a para1lel

any commodity, from ti

with the religious world, for in that world, 'the products of the human mind

rccent popularity of Sh

bccomc independent shapes, endowed with lives of thcir own, and able to enter

from the way in which :

into relations ,vith men and women. Thc products of the human hand do the samc

trast to the over-designe

thing in the world of commodities'. ~\ In other words, we blank out knowlcdgc ol'

that communicates a su~

hm...' the artefact carne to be produced, thereby fetishising the commodity, as if it

enhances the desirabili't)

had alife of its own.

the consumers see ther

Marx himsell' did not pursue the implications of this notion much further but

visual rhctoric employe<

others, such as Waltcr Bcnjamín, have pointed out the role of commodity fetish­

lt mal' be contentious tion; certainly dcsign is 1 aesthetk and functional ( there have beC'n importal histor), of dcsign and th~ development is not a me: the role of desígn a..~ an t: design in general

ism in sustaining consumption. In the era of mass industrial production commod­ ities lose their distinctivencss, but fetishism endows them with an aura as ir they ' . . .ere unigue; although we know that this car, this suit or this bottle of perfume is one of many identical copies, we sti1l behave towards commodities we own as they were more than this.

21

!f

Hence, rather than meeting basic 'necds', commod­

itles address a wide range of desires, wishcs and anxletles on the part of the con­ sumer. Commoditics playa crucial part in the formation of individual identities, whether it is the clothes one wears, the music one listC'ns to, the hooks one reads or the car one owns, for example. It is here that design plays a key role in the pro­ motion of commodity fetishism, in presenting a kind of rhctoric

01' the object.

Packaging, for example, says rather lcss ahout thc product and rather more about

Recognition ofthe rhetor

the lifcstylc \'alues to be associated with it, and, ultimatel)', the identit)' ofthe con­

th(~ ways in which the vi~

sumer. Supermarket own-brand products, l'or lnstance, often tend to be extremcly

hasis are intcrpreted. In t

plain and simple, cmploying bold primary colour5, a limited colour scheme, and

surrounded by a visual en

bold and plain typograph)" a1l uf whieh connote a no-nonsense, 'honest' approach

interact \vith it and to del

consumption. This stands in implicit contrast to the over-designcd packaging of

ric thérefore highlights th

lO

other brand names.

'style', 'aesthetics' or 'fUI

As with design in general, paekaging .lIso impinges on questions of social class

cnvjronment, visual eultUl

and taste. For man)' consumers. such supcrmarkcr hrands imply cheapness, poor

systems. We mar ultimate

qualit)' and a specific social dass. This connotation is as mueh a function of the

recognise that we are doír

packaging design as it i5 a renection 01' thcir actual quality. It is al so a function of

torica! brillianec of its sed

VISUAL RHETüRIC

147

hO\v consumers identify themselves sociall)'- High-guality goods are expected to have sophisticated packaging designo Indeed, it is one of the triumphs of packag­ ing design to suggest that the mass-produced commodity is in faet a distinet, limited series, dcsirable object. In contrast, the packaging of supermarket awn­ brand makes no secret of the mass-produced basis 01' the items on sale. In this regard it is also significant that sorne supermarkets promoting their own 'deluxe quality' products adopt the same tcchniques as other known guality brands: dis­ tinct but sophisticatcd use of typography and imagery, understated pastel colours, and so forth. The example of packaging may seem to confirm the idea of dcsign as externai to the actual producto However, a similar argument can be made about almost an)' commodity, from the design of cars to furniture. An important basis of the recent popularity of Shaker-style or minimalist furniture, for example, comes 1'rom the ,\'ay in which such objects present a rhetoric of sophisticationj in con­ trast to the over-designed 1980s and earl)' 1990s we are presented with furniture that communicates a subtle, understated and contemporary sense of designo This enhances the desirability of the products themsclves and al so communicates haw the consumers see themselves. Al\ of these connotations are functions of the visual rhetoric cmployed. It may be contentious to link design rhetoric so unambiguously with consump­ don; certainly dcsign is not reducible to rhetoric. Objects are also designed with aesthetic and functional considerations in mind, but as Juliette MacDonald argues, there have been important connections since the nineteenth eentury between the history of design and the vicissitudes of modern consumer culture. This parallel development is not a mere historical coincidence, for rhetoric has been central to the role of design as an engine of consumption and hence to the development of design in general.

Conclusion Recognition ofthe rhetorical dimension of visual culture has fundamentalIy altered the \\'ays in which the visual imagery, forms and designs eneountcred on a dail)' hasis are interpreted. In the place of passive objects and images we find ourseh'cs surrounded by a visual environment that is constantly addressing us, inviting us to interact with it and to define our Dwn place within it. The notion of visual rhcto­ ric therefore highlights the need to see past apparently innoeent qualities such as 'style', 'aesthetics' or 'function' in order to attend to the ways in which the visual environment, visual culture, attempts to draw us into its arguments, into its value systems. Wc may ultimately accept those values amI arguments, but the point is to recognise that we are doing so consciously, rather than being seduced hy the rhe­ torical hrilliance of its seductive surfaces.

148

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Further Reading

Br)"son. Norman. Vision anJ Pam/Jn8 (London, t 981). Chang, Briankle. Deconstructing Commumcal.lOn (Minneapolis, t 996).

Kress, Günter and Van Leeuwen, Tht'o. ReaJiny [mag,,:>. GraromilT if Visual 1995). Vickers, Brian. In D~fence '!FRhewr1c (Oxford, 1988).

J(

D~sJ8n

(London,

Notes An important and much-cited essaj"

b~'

Roland Barthes is 'Thc RhctorÍL of the Imagt' , , in

¡maye, ,lfllsit', Tal, tramo S. Heath (New York, 1978), pp. 32--51.

2 A userul introductory text ís Daniel Chandler, SerolOtlCL the Basles (Ne"" York, 2002). 3 For a concise account of the role of classical rhctoric in the Renaissance, scc Rrjan Vickers, 'Rhctork and Poetics', in Charles Schmitt and Quentin Skinner, eds, The Cambridge Hisrory 4Renalssance Philosoph.y (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 71 5--45. 4 On the medieval theol")' of art, sce Umberto Eco, Art and Beaufy in the M1JJle Ages (London <md New Haven, eT, 1986). S Leon I3attista Alberti, On Painting, transo C. G,·ayson (Harmondsworth, 1991). 6 Sce, l'or example, Pau! Rand, 'From Cassandn' to Chaos', in Deslgn,Form and Chaos (London, 1993),pp.207-17. 7 See Otto Neurath, lnternational PUWre Language. The F1fSC Rules if1sotype (Londoo, 1936). The aCTOnj'm 'ISOTYPE' stands for 'International System of Typographk Picture Education' . 8 Thc classic discussion by DCrI"ida of metaphor is 'Whitc Mythology. Metaphor in the Text Philowph)', transo A. Bass (Hemd Hempstead, 1982), pp. ol' Phi!osophy', in Margms !07-72. 9 See Cranbrook De,';¡gn: The New DlSCourse (New York, 1990). 10 EIlen Lupton and Abbott Milkr, 'Decon~tl"uction and Graphic Design , in E. Lupton and A. Miller, De.\Jan Wrlf1ng Research (London, 1996), pp. 3-23. 11 Michcl Foucault pmduecd numerous studies 01" diffcrcnt kinds of proft:'ssional knowledge emphasising thcir enmeshing within systems of power. See, for example, MaJness and Civ¡]isation, transo R. Howar<1 (London, 1971). Foucault explains his idt:'as clearly in ao intervie'w cntitled 'Clarifications on the Question 01' Powcr', in Foucault Llve. CoJleaed lnterviews 1961-1984, ed. S. Lotringer (Ne.v York, 1996), pp. 2SS-63. 12 See Pau! Grice, StuJ¡es m rhe Ila)' if Ilords (Cambridge, MA, 1989). 13 Roland Barthes, Mythologies, transo A. Lavers (London, 1973). 14 An important such example was Judith \\'illiamson, Decoding Adrertiscmcnts (London, 1978). 1.'i Barthes, MytholoBJe.. , p. 116. 16 AdolfLoos, 'Ornament a~ Crime', in 1. Frank, ed., The Theory c:fDecoratil"t'An (New Haven, CT, 2000), pp. 288-94. 17 Robert. Venturi, LearnmgJr0m Las ~égaj (Cambridge, MA, 1972). 18 Charles Jcncks, The Language if Postmodcrn Archllecwre (London, 1977). 19 Sce Adrian Forty, 'Language Metaphors', in A. Forty, WorJs dnJ Buildmgs. A Vocabll!ary 0I MoJcrn Archirecrure (London, 2000), pp. 62-85. 20 Karl Marx, Capital, trans. E. and C. Paul (London, 1932), VoL 1, pp. 43- 58. 211bid,p.45. 22 The ke)" essays hy Iknjamin on this topie can lw fouml in Waltcr I3enjamin, Charles Baudelaire. A IyrlC Pon m ¡he Aae if Hlgh CapIlahsm (London, 1997).

01

In the Victoria and Albert l

by the Swiss artíst Henrv F\

reflection. The furrowed bl of l:onccrn, anxiety even \

-

,

e.spedalIy the artist's righl combine to connote mentaj

tu place this image in a br

London in the 1780s and 1

nightmarish visions that pn

rabanal surface ofhuman el

whose sdf-imagc accords'

TJwre ís, howcvcr, anotl Fuse Ji 's portrait ofhimself

in the drawing are a functi< tion, but also uf Fuseli 's ¡de it falls into a different patte

oeune and rather more fron

and early nineteenth centl

i8 a marked example uf •

Romanticism. Following th

10.The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Author Matthew Rampley

Introduction In the Victoria and Albert Museum in Lancioo there is a self-portrait (Figure 10.1)

by the Swiss artist Hcnry Fuscli (1741-1825). It dcpiets thc artist in a state al' jnner reflection. The furrowed brow suggests not merely contemplation l but also a sta te ol' concern, anxicty even, which is matchcd hy the pcnctrating gazc of thc eyes ­

especially the artist's right eye - and the sparsely rendered hair, aH al' which combine to connote mental linease. Thosc familiar with Fuscli's work wil! he ahlc

to place this image in a broader pattern; Fuseli became enormously popular in Lancion in the 17805 and 17905 for producing paintings of grllesome myths anJ nightmarish "isioos that presented a cruel and tcrrifying mythic underside to the rational surface ofhuman culture and behayiour. Fuseli was an early romantic artlst whose self-image accords ,,'íth a wirler set of imaginatiye representations. There is, howt;ycr. anothcr way of viewing this image, which takes into account FuseH's portrait ofhimself as an

artlst.

Here the mental unease and anguish implied

in the rlrawing are a function not merel} of the troubled state of thc human condi­ tíon, but .lIso of Fuseli's identity as an artist. If we vlew Fuseli's portrait in this way, it falls into a difTerent pattern, gaining its meaning Icss from other works in Fuseli's oeuvre and rather more from a motif that became ,videspread in the late eighteenth

anrl earl), nineteenth centuries. According to this reading, Fuseli's self-portrait is a marked example of a particular mythology of the artist associated with Romanticism. Following that mythology artists oeeupy a marginal place in societ)',

150

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

(2000), hida (2003), Su. tament to the power of tife ano work seemed n mental illness (Vincent

(Caravaggio) or physical, not manifest signs of sud of struggle, as \vas displa about Mozart, Amadeus, ~ in ] 984. A similar fascina of visual culture, too. As n in the French cinema jour: to analysl" the creativit)' o: the auteur theorr This el or lngmar Bergman to the that term. 1 Witrun design be raised to this same my established as in the spher subject of the same fascin both 01' whom were celebl the 1980, ano 1990s in th, These examples are al! n

to earliest times; Iegends t<

rnythology 01' ancient Grel

sources in China and eastf Figure 10.1 Henry Fuscli, Sw~\Jor Se!f-Purttmt (t 780s). Photograph courtcs) 01' Victoria amI Alhert Must:um, Lonclon.

here, in which creati\'ity is recent origin in the Italian F mere 'craftsmen' undertaki

vidual crcators in their OW1l driven by an irresistible creativc urge that sets them apart from their everyday

Leonardo da Vinci, but rr:

fellow humans, ane that makes conformity to social norms difficult if not impos­

sible, and ane thar is often the cause ol' ioner mental turmoil. This notian al' the

Michclangdo. As Martin W patronagc of the courts of F

artist is parallelecl by
hitherto beeo denied, gran l

cxpression uf thc subjective thoughts, emotions and beBefs 01' the arti5!. The

wealth and, in sorne cases, e

artv,iOrk aets as a concluit, as it weTe, to the inncT mind 01' the creator.

Thc rise of the romantic i the establishment of the ar

Romantic Myths This has been

el

widespread idea \\/hich, though evidcnt in the \York of an arti5t of

more than 200 years ,

dVÜ, b

reruains active to the present dav. _ The fascination \\'ith

individual artists is apparent in a wide variety of forms. Artist5' biographies remain popular, as do films about well-known artists; recent examples include Pollock

ser\'ed to devate the status o

culine profession) out from . ing, in 1568, of the Accader establishment of the Acadén spreao across Europe and ti centuries and confirmed thl

THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE OF THE AUTHOR

151

(2000), ["da (2003), SurvivinB Picasso (1996) or Artero;,ia (1998). Indeed, it is tes­

tament to the po\\·'er of this rnyth that wc are ofren drawn to those artists whosc ¡¡fe and work scemed mast characterised by struggle, whether in the fOTm af

mental illness (Vincent van Gogh) gendcr (Arternisia Gcntileschi), sexuality (Caravag,gio) Of physical disability (Frida Kahlo). And where the aftist's work does not manifest signs of such ioner anguish, \Ve fee! eompelled to create a biography of struggle. as was displayed most dramatically, perhaps, in Peter Schacffer's play

abour Mozart, AmaJeus, which was subsequcntly made ¡oto a highly successful film in 1984. A similar fasónarían 'Nith individual creativitv, can be seen in other areas 01' visual culture, too. As mentioned earlier in this hook, a number of erities '\Titing in the Freneh cinema journal Labiers du Cinéma in the late 19405 argued for the nE'ed to analyse thE' ereativity of individual film dircctors, a plea which cventualIy led to the auteur theory. This elevated directors sueh as John Houston, Howard Hawks or Ingmar Bergman to the status of 'artist', with all ofthe eonnotations implied by that termo j Within design, too, there has been a tendency for eertain designcrs to be raised

lO

this same mythic level. Although this tendene), is not nearly as ,,,'eH

established as in the sphcre of art, for example, 'star' designen have beeome the suhjE'et of the samc fascination. One might cite Nevillc Brody or David Carson, both of whom were celcbrated for having hrokcn the 'rules' nf graphie design nf the t 9805 and 1990s in the name of individual erE'ativc freedom. These examples are aH recent, and a fascination with the artist can be traced back to earliest times; legcnds to do with admiration 01' artistic skill can he found in the mythology of ancient GreE'cE'. creation myths of the Near East and a}so ancient sources in China and eastern Asia. 1 HO\,.,ever, the particular mythology 1 mean here, in which crcativity is valued as a source of individual expression, has a more recent origin in the ltalian Renaissanee \-,,'hen, for the nrst time, artists ceased to be mere 'craftsmen' undertaking paid commissions and carne to he recognised as indi­ vidual creators in their o\-,",'n right. Undoubtedly, the hrst such celehrity artist was Leonardo da Vinci, hut rnany others fol1owed, including Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo. As Martin Warnke has argued, an important role was playcd by the patronage of the courts of Europe, which bcstowed upon artists a status they had hitherto been dcnied, granting the most successful artists considerable material wealth and, in sorne caSes, ennohlement. 3 The rise of the rornantic idea of the artist is due to thrcc primary factors. First , the estahlishment of the artists' academies in the late sixteenth ccntury, which ser ved to elevate the status of the artist, separating hirn (and it was a primarily mas­ culine profession) out from the 'mere' artisan or craftsman. Following the found­ ing, in 1568, 01' the Accademia del Disegno in Florence, and especiaJly after the establishment 01' the Académie Royale in Paris in 1648, acadernies became wide­ sprcad across Europe amI the Americas during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and confirrned the status of artist as a distinct ealling. 4 Second, thE'

152

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

importance al' individuo] creativity, which had been given increasing prominencc

are often acting within

during the sixteenth centuTY, was givcn a lasting philosophical grounding by Immanuel Kant '5 Critique if the Power if Judgement (1790), which presented a number al' ideas that would prove to be highly significant [OT subsequent artistic theory.5 Chie[ among these was his claim that artistic creativity consisted in the

sorne of which are pero: creative freedom, but r

exercisc al' originality, using a naturally endowed talent Kant described as 'genius'. As has been pointcd out in the discussion al' eraft in chapter 3 above, Kant a150 con­ tributed to the hierarchy al' fine art ami the applied arts or eraft, by insisting on thc difference betwel"n the craftsman's dependence on repetitive mechanical formulae and the artist's spontaneous and original production. Third and finally, the rise of modcrnism in the mid-nineteenth century led to a valuing of art practices that departed from tradition, in which the artist cxpressed his suhjective ideas against thc weight of the tradition of the Old Masters. Beginning with Gustavc Courbet, trus process gained momentum throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, leading to what American eritie Harold Rosenberg termed the 'tradition of the new' and what Donakl Kuspit described as the cult of the avant-garde artist. 6

Historical and Social Criticisms Hitherto [have referred to the post-Renaissanee notion of thc artist as a mythology. This is deliberately contentiou~, but while it remains inHuential even toda),) it has been the subject of numerous criticisms. In particular, ir has been accused of over­ looking the social hasis of visual culture and of operating with ID unhistorieal con­ ecption of the sclf, in v.'hich notions of personal frcedom and exprcssion have been mythologised and ¡]legitimatel)' raised to the status of ahsolutes. Commentators havc empha5iscd the extent to which the individual artist operates at a certain time and in a eertain place. Miehacl llaxandall, for example, has demonstrated ho", inten­ tion is framed and shaped by a complex set of historieal and social expectations. 7 Other historian... and criríe!", moti,,'ated by Marxist and feminist social theories, have made this point even more forcefully. T.]. Clark, for example, famously argued for a 'conjunctural) approach that l'mphasised the complex relations between artists, artistie institutions, politics, history at a particular point in time, in which the arüst hecomes mercly one ol' several factors to be takcn into consideration. g Social theorists have made similar points. In Art Worlds, for examplc, Howard Bech'r stresses the colleeti"e character of art, whicb consists not simply in the pro­ duction of artworks by an individual arti5t, but .lIso their rcception by an audicnce familiar with the particular artistic conventions, supported by the various institu­ tions of distrihution, from galleries and muscums to cinemas, publishers and media enterprises. 9 For such crities, the activity of the artist is always cin:umscribed by ",hat seems possible at the time and in the culture in which they are operating. They

¡

become internalised or 1 For instance, the traditic self-image of modern art longer possible to be ear paintings and sculpture. ' hccause the requiremen internal to the idea of íl domain of social experie beeomc intcrnalised and

lt is widely recognisc( in the fifteenth century. ~ [urther on(' delves back 1

records, but it cqually Renaissance. In pre-Rena less with personal expres: successful eompletion of era in the history of West a measurable status as ind and fourth centurics BCE,

such as Iktinos and legenl degrec of social recognít

worked within highly pr

subject matter and iconc

Western cultures. Althou ers and arehitects in Afric

i5 largely due to the globO: and is a quite recent phe culture o[ many Afriean al whose primary goal has b~

techniques and skills of pr tradition. Likewise) both

was produced aceording t ing the past \-vas as import for Leonardo art was a In

was transcended. It was a.:r

While many artists in : skills and often on aecoun per se has onl)' bcen foregn

THE RI5E AND FAll AND RISE OF THE AUTHOR

153

are often acting within a framework dctermincd by a variety of external [orces, sorne ol' which are perceived by the anist as obstructions and consrraints on thcir creative freedom, but many of which are so deepl), embedded that they have become internalised or second nature, and are no longer felt to be a constraint. 10 Far instance, the tradition al' the ne\\' had become so deeply enmeshed within the self-image al' modern art and the artist by the mid-t\\'entieth century that it was no longer possible to be considered a serious artist and to make traditional figurative paintings and sculpture. Yet few would have perceived this as an external constraint bccausc the requirement to be new, original and groundbreaking had become internal to the idea of arto Indeed, Pierre Bourdieu has cxplored precisely this domain of social experience: the extent to which social constraints and structure beco me internalised and accepted as natural by individual social agcnts. J 1 [t is widcly recognised that a fascination with individual artists developed only in the fifteenth century. The names of identifiable artists hecomc cvcr sparser the further one delves back historically. This may in part reflect incomplete historical records, but it equally indicatcs the nature of creative practice before the Renaissance. In pre-Renaissance Europe, artists were skilled craftsman, conccrned less with personal exprcssion and originality than with employing their skills in the successful completion of the requirements of the contracto Indeed, the only other era in the bistory of Western culture prior to the Renaissance that artists achieved a measurable status as individuals was in classical and Hellenistic Greece of the fifth and fourth ccnturics BCE, whcn sculptors such as Praxiteles and Pheidias, architects such as Iktinos and legendary painters such as Zeuxis and Apelles achieved a high degrce of social recognition. Even in these cases, however, artists and architects worked within highly prescribed paramcters that dictated choice of materials, subject matter and iconography. A parallel situation can be seen in many non­ Western cultures. Although tbere are now numcrous recognised artists, filmmak­ ers ami architecB in Africa and Asia, the apparent similarity with Western culture is largely due to the global impact of thc North American and European art world, and is a quite recent phenomenon. The greater part of the visual and material culture of many African and Asian sta tes has been produced by anonyrnous makers, whose primary goal has been to implement the received canon of traditional rules, techniques and skills ofproduction rather than set themselves as individuals aBainst tradition. Likewise, both during the Europcan Rcnaissance and for long after, art was produccd according to set canans of quality and technique, in which emulat­ ing the past was as important as asscrting onc's individual identity as an artist. Even for Leonardo art was a matter al' abjective mirroring of nature in which the self was transcended. [t \\·a5 anything hut a matter of mere personal expression. 12 While many artists in the West gained recognition thanks to their undoubted skills and often on account of thcir novel treatment of traditional themes, novelty

per se has only been foregrounded in the past t SO years. Moreover, the fact that the

154

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

larger part of the production of art was made to cornmission, in which the format,

Artists?' the American

cantent and even the materials were often specified wilh an extraorcHnary degree

to why women artists ha

<

of detail, highlights the need to he wary of projeeting contcmporary notions of art

(One cCluld cqually ask v

and artistic creativity onto the visual culture 01' our own pas!, not to mentían that

tors.) Nochlin's essay ..

of other cultures. 13 The comparison with design is instructive in this rcgard, for

thought, and one answel

the faet that 'lery few designers have bccome as weH known as artists or architects

ditional histories ol' arto

is undouhtedly an indicatían of thc difrerent hasis al' design production, which is

authors whose attention

largely client- rather than producer-Ied, and in which individual designers fre­

so forth. As late as 1981

quently "'~lOrk within larger agencies rather than as individuals.

direct thc reader wismn!

Within architccture, too, excessive significance has hecn attaehed to the figure

husband, Diego Rivera.

ol' the architect, even though the construction of a building is the outcome of col­

retrieve the "vork of mar

lahoration between numerous agents, including the architect, building contrac­

tories simply on accoUI

tors, engineers and man)" others. While the archítectural profession is largely

Anguissola (1532-1625) (1865-1938) hal"c belat<

organised into practices, it is still frequently the senior architect

one might think

here of Norman Foster, Richard Rogcrs or Danicl Libeskind - who will be given

Nochlin's answer to d

credit for projects that will have been the v.'ork of other dcsigners and architects

edging the importance o

within the samc firmo Thcre is a parallel, too, with the history of artistic produc­

not distraet from the ba!

tion. \Vhile the popular and romantic idea of artists such as Leonardo is of the artjst

past, been meno lbis has t

as a lone individual working in a studio, until weU into the ninetecnth century, most

work within which artis

successful artists ran workshops w¡th numerous apprentices v..· ho would undertake

obstad(~s lay in the path a

much of their work commissioned. While the head of the workshop may have cxc­

cation was often restrict.

cuted more demanding elements of the work, such as hands or faces, much was

were barred from taking

completed by apprentices. There are numcrous examples of contraets that stipu­

education. Likcwise, artis

lated what was to be completed by the artist and ,"chat could be Icft to their appren­

tions of distribution, wr.

tices. This again mcans that in looking at images o[ the past it is often problematic

women artists. In genere

to see them as the result of one arti5t and of a single creativc \"¡sion. Of course,

othcr social roles - as mol

man)' works were produced by thc individual artist, but it is unwarrantcd to projeet

to achicve acccptance as I

this model onto aH artistic production. A similar LTlticism can be made of auteur

as an amateur pursuit l but

theory; while the dircctor is a key figure in thc determination of the evcntual l'orm

few women who did succ(

of a film, it is thc result of a much more complex collaboration, involving mc

the example of the Frencl

actors, producers, financicrs, camera operators and other technical staff. To single

diminishing their social id,

out thc director is a relatively arhitrary choice and testifics to the continuing powcr

men's clothing ami croppi

of the modcrn myth of the anist in shaping a nccd and desire to identj[y a single

This account might be cal obstacles that haye ce

sourcc of creative production.

argues that heeoming an

Feminist Critiques

crcate, but is rather the fu

tures. For ruan)' \Vomen tr

The modcrn mythology of the artist has also hcen a target of feminist criticismo

serious]y entertaincd as a

Thc philosophcr Christim: Rattersby argued in a well-k.nown hook, Gender and

continued from father to s

Genius, that the concept 01" genius has always heen seen in exclusively masculine

not onl)' by the [aet that hi

terms. 14 In her cssay of 1971 entitled 'Why Have There Been, No Great Female

mm in that direcrion. Had

THE RI5E AND FALL AND RISE OF THE AUTHOR

Artists?' the American art historian Linda :'-Jochlin posed the pointed question as to \...hy wamen artists have su eh a sIIlaU presence within standard histories of art. 15 (One :~ouJd ('guaU)' ask wh)' therc ha"'T heen so few ' ....omen architects

Of

film rlircc­

tors.) Nochlin's cssay wa... written at a crucial time in the histary of fcminíst thought, and arre answer to the question posed was to critique the authors of tra­

rlitional histories of arto ThC!i"e, ir was argucd, had temkd to be '\Tittcn by male authofs whose attcntion ' ....as drawn onl)' to the w()rk of maIe artists, architects and so forth. As late as 1981 the O~ford (ampanion to MoJan Art, for example, saw fit to direet the reada wishing to rcsearch into Frida Kahlo to consult the entr), for hu husband, Diego Rivera.

16

A1uch feminist writing has thus been concerned to

retrieve the work 01' man} female artists \vho had been invisible in traditional his­ tories simply on aeeount 01' their sex. Thus artists sueh as Kahlo, Sophonisba

Anguissola (1532-1625), Angclica Kauffmann (17+ 1-1807) and Sunnne Valadon (1865-1938) have belatedly rec:eived the rec:ognition they deserve. Nochlin's answer to the question ís rather dífferent, hO\vever. Whilc aeknowl­ edging the importanee of such projccts uf retrleval, she argues that these should not distraet from the basic historieal fact that the majorit), of artists have, in the past, been men. This has to be understood, she argues, in terms ofthe social frame­ work "-lthin which artists havc traditionally estahlishcd their carecrs. Multipk obstacles la)' in the path of an.... woman seeking to become an artist. Aeccss to eou­ eation was often restrieteo; even in the late nineteenth century female students v.'ere barn'd from taking part in lite dra\\'ing classes, a central instrument 01' art education. Ukewise, artists \\-Tre dependent on the support al' patrons and institu­ tions

01'

distrihution, who

\-\'(T('

often not particularl)' sympathetic to aspiring

women artists. In general women werc, until comparatinJy recentl;', accorded other social roles - as mother, wire, homemaker

which made it difflcult for them

to achieve acccptanee as professional artists. An ¡nterest in art could be tolerated as an amateur pursuit, but not ir it interfered with othcr social expectations. Those few ....·omen who did succeed in gaining professional recognition, and N ochlin cites the cxample ofthe French painter Rosa Bonheur (1822 99), freguentl), did so b; dlminishing their social identity as women. In Bonheur's ca."'c this involved \\'earing men'~

clothing ami cropping her hair in a process al' personal 'de-sexing'.

This account might be construed as highlighting the various social and histori­ cal obstacles that have constrained the cre;:¡tivity uf \ovomen. HO\vever, Nochlin argues that hecoming an artist is not a matter 01' sati.'.J)'ing an inncr impulse to create, but is rather the function 01' a complex set of social expcctations and struc· tures. For man)' \'.:omen the very idea al' becoming an artist would never have been seriously entertained as a possibilit)'. Likewisc the profession of artist was often continucd from fathcr to son; Picasso's ~ccision to become an artist was prompted not onl)' by the faet that his father was an artist but a]so tbat his father cncouraged hilO in that direction. Had he been a daughtcr, Nochlin speculates, it is unlikcly he

156

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

would have reccived the support. Artemisia Gentileschi's suecess \Vas eonsiderably

intention ol' the maker pI

indebted to the backing ofher [ather, Orazio; his enlightened support proved to he

this 'formalist' approach

a notable exception to the usual pattern.

Heinrich W6lffiin made

The feminist critique, 01' which Nochlin 's essay is an important carly examplc,

method, and numerous (

has thus debunked the mythology al' the artíst, emphasising artlsts' rootedness in

for \\."ólfRin was not the

the social conditíans and cxpectations of their time. Where the rnyth speaks in

occupü~d

terms al' a timeless artistic impulse, feminism highlights the social and historical

known work, PrincipIes :'J

speciticity al' artistic production. A related critigue has been undertakcn hy Marxist

and stylistic opposites tha history of arto 1'1

critics, who have emphasised the cnmeshing of artistic production within struc­

in the evolutic

tures al' social power and class. N ochlin hcrself indicates the links between femi­

Wólffiin's formalist ap

nism and other social thcories of art b), pointing out the dominant role 01' the

eth century, but the biog

middle classes in forming the pro1'ession of artist. As such, social theorists have

retrieval of the intention

emphasised the extent to which what are often presented as timeless impulses to

influence. It has also been

artistic expression are rathcr more the consequenccs 01' the outlook of the

1940s an important cow

European and North American bourgeoisie, 1'or whom individual l'reedom and

,-vithin what has eome to 1:

exprcssion became iconie forms of sel1'-definition from the late eighteenth century

famous essay first publish

onwards. This has beco me especially ('vident with the rise of modernism in the

W K. \Vimsatt took to ta

1850s, vvhere the myth 01' the artist as a bohemian outsider has been seen subse­

phy has anything to do wil stress the centralit)' 01' the

guently as the reHeetion ol' a middlc-c1ass unease with the 'vulgarities' and 'anonymit)" 01' mass popular culture.

and ultimately invisibl( understanding the aTtwOJ

Theoretical Critiques and the Question oi Interpretation

novel, sonnet, traged)', COl

The criticism 01' the mythology 01' the artist parallcls an equaU)' important question

dar y o1'its genre). As Bean

to or cxtends the characte

that focuses on the process of interpretation. TraditionallYl the interpretation of

on the whim of the individ

artworks has been seen as invohing a reconstruction or retrieval 01' the intentions

of usage that are tied up ,

of the maker. An important branch of the philosophy of interpretation - herme­

And what COU11ts for liter,

neutics - has revolved around precisdy this notion and there have been numcrous

per _~e: the intentions of the

variations on tbis thcme. 17 But ifbeing an artist involves being enmesherl \o\'ithin a

linguistic and other patter

eomplex social structure, rd),ing solely on the intention of the maker of an artwork gives at best a partial account of its social and historical mcaning. The earliest histories of art - Pliny the Elder's Natu1l11 HlstOq (first centur)' ei-) and, later, Giorgio Vasari's Uves ~I thc Artists (1550)

used the biographies of

The N ew Criticism w,

attention to the artwork al

the production of meaninE

scholars. Arh-vorks are prc

famous artists as the basis for an account of the devclopment of arto Vasarí's Lh'cs

simpl), farOl an exterior

in particular became the modcl for numerous subsequent histories of art.

artwork, in formal, aesthe

Howcver, as earl)' as 1764 this approach was challenged b), the Gcrman scholar

struct. n Nevertheless, Ne

Johann Winckclmann, whose H1Sro1J; ?fthe Art?fAnriquJtj' was based on an outline

ing a cohcrent attack on th~

01' the successive artistic styles rather than on the lives and intentions 01' the

approach it .liso pointed 01

artists. lfl In part, Winckclmann was compelled to adopt this approach by the nature

an indication on the part o

ofhis source material-- the anonymous Greek and Roman sculptures in the Vatiean

posed 'intention' of the al

but his work su~~ested an alternativc approach to art in v\'hich referencc to the

interpreter. In any case, e

THE RI5E AND FALL AND RI5E OF THE AUTHOR

157

intention 01' the maker played a minima} role. By the end 01' the nineteenth century

this 'formalist' approach had become dominant within art criticism and history. Hcinrich WülfAin made 'art history without names' a central ohjcctivc al' his method, and numerous others adopted a similar approach. What was important for W (jImio was not the intcntions al' the artist, hut rather the place thcir würk

occupied in the evolution of broader historical stylistie categories. In his best­ kno\o\"n work, PrlnClpies?f Art History (1915), Wülffiin cirew up a series al' formal and stylistie opposites that were to serve as the basis for a map of the terrain 01' the historv al' art,¡q Wültllin '5 formalist approach was widespread in the first decades of the twenti­ eth century, but the biographical method - the notion that criticism consists in a retrieval

01' the intentions 01' the maker - has continued to exercise considerable

influence. lt has also been the object of continued critique up to the presento In the 1940s an important counter to the biographical approach was articulated from within what has come to be termed the 'New Criticism' in literary theory.ln a now famous essay first puhlished in 1946, the American critics Monroe Beardsley and W. K. Wimsatt took to task the very notíon that knowledge

01' the artist's biogra­

phy has anything to do with a critical understanding of thcir output. zo Instcad, the)' stress the centrality 01' the artwork to any interpretation, rather than an)' imaginary - and ultimatcly inYisihle - intentional motives. They point out that crucial to understanding the artwork is a knowledge of the particular genre it helongs to ­ novel, sonnet, traged)', comed)', epic, romance, and so Forth - and haw it conforms to or extends the characteristics 01' the genre (or indeed whether it blurs the boun­ dar)' of its genre). As Beardsley later argues: 'what the sentence means depends not on the whim of the individual and his mental yagaries, hut upan puhlic canventions of usaoe o that are tied up with habit patterns in the whole speakino o community.' , 21 And what counts for !iterary meaning is valid for the question of artistic meaning per se: the intentions of the individual maker are

01' ]ess signHicaJlce than the wider

linguistic and other patterns within \vhich the artwork was produced. The New Criticism was subsequently, and rightly, criticised for its excessive attention to the artwork at the expense of consideration of the social dimension to the production 01' meaning. This point was made especially hy Marxist and feminist scholars. Artworks are produced within social and cultural conditions \..·hich do not simply form an exterior 'context', but \...hich reproduce themselves wirhin the artwork, in formal, acsthetic and semantic terms. lndeed, art is itself a social con­ struct. n Nevertheless, New Criticism \".. .as an important first attempt at formulat­ ing a coherent attack on the mythology of the artist. In its critique 01' the biographical appraach it also pointed out that in many instances there does not necessarily exist an indication on the pan of the artist as to their intentions. In other words, the sup­ posed 'intention'

01' the artist is itsclf the result of speculation on the part of the

interpreter. [n any case, even where artists mal' have stated their intentions, the

158

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

interpreter is then faccd with thc situatian of interpreting their statcments. How \vouId ont" know

ir ane had interpreted the statement af ¡ntent corrcctly? By

recourse to some further statement clarif)'ing the intention unclerlying the 5tatc­

ment 01' iotent? Therc is the possibility of an innnite rcgress in which there would

nevcr be a hnal statement that was not in need of some supplementary darification. And this is assuming that the al"tist 15 actually trying to cxplain thcir real intcntions. Many artists havc issued statcments about their \vork in ordcr to throw critics and rcaders off the trail, in order to make interpretatían more eomplex and difficult. Sorne ,"Titers, notably E. D. Hirsch, attempted lo ,..'ard off such criticisms by dis­ tinguishing bet\veen the 'inner' authorial meanin9 of thc work and its sign!ficance. The latter, which Hirsch deems to be the object o[ criticism, is the \\'ork's histori­ cal, social and literar)' rcleyanee, ,vhile true interpretation should aim at authorial meaning. B At the root 01' Hirsch 's concern ""'as the ,"vorr)' that by abandoning the biographical approach and by giving up the idea ol' the artist's intention as a souree oI' authority about the meaning of the artwork, the uncomfortable speetre of rela­ tivism appears, in which the meaning of the art,...ork becomes largely a funetion ol" individual intcrpreters. The di[ficulty lies in determining such authorial meaning [or, as Hirsch aclmits, it remains inacccssible; the interprctcr does not bave access to the author's inner mental states. Moreover, Hirsch's own solution to the problem - using values such as coherence, probability and clarity as a basis for reconstruct­ ing the 'meaning horizon' ofthe author amI hence [or producing 'valid' interpreta­ tions - is hardly satisfactory, ~ince it takes for granted that these ,'alues are the appropriate ones. Hirsch's book \Vas published in 1967 and appearcd in respon!:'e to a \videspread c-hange in the way interpretation was vÍc,,,·ed. In particular, Roland Barthcs became associated both ,vith a [orce[ul cmphasis on the role oi" the intcr­ prcter as the primar)' determinant oI' the meaning uf artworks and "",ith a celebra­ tion o[ qualities of ambiguity, contradiction and incoherence in interpretation. In his most polemical statement, a celebrated essay prm.:ocatively entitled 'The Death o[ the Author' (1968), Barthes argues that the author has no role in the make­ up of meaning of the art\vork, and that it entirel)' the creation 01' the rcader. 24­ Dra\ving on the structurallinguistics of Fcrnand de Saussure (1857-1913), Barthcs also states that the meaning ofarhvork is dependent on its ditTerenu.' from amI iden­ tity with other texts and l furthcr, that thc text should itsd[ he seen as a collage of citations and motifs derived [rom othcr works. Barthes is not talking here ahout con­ scious borrmving, but ahout thc \va)' that tcxts unl'on.sciously operate with a stock of moti[s, images ami words \vl-úch havc often been coined e1.sewhere ami becamc dis­

through a varíet)' o[ diffel refas to as Jn 'intertextt other texts, amI certainly the readings made o[ it. Barthl's tried to abandon dosure, completion and that oI' the 'text', a mor meaning 01' artistic 'text 'texts'. ~s A similar appro Eco, who l"oined the notí pretation and to highligl activdy solicited the invol ologist J'iklas Luhmannh work, .1rt as ü Sucial SysrCI art consists not oi" indivic \vhich takc. on a ti[e of thei words, artworks are the e, the mcaning of artworks i prcvious arti~tic commun

the inner mental state or 1

Barthes' \York represents

of the artist. It is not witl that by placing the reader

so much critiquing the re spontaneous crcativc prae the reader instead. Barthl m)'th of the artist with an o[ the critic). Moreoverl ,

horro\vings, the romantic the originality with whid that faced the so-callea af Míke Bicilo, Louise LawJc imagcs o[ the pas!. For al the)' gajned considerable

seminated within language as a ,,,'holc. Barthe.s had in mind literar)' texts; an obvious cxample might be the extent to which imagery [rom Shakespcare or thc King James Bible reappean in !iterar)' texts and everyday conversation, orten without any aware­ ness of this origin on the part of the speakers. A .similar point has becn made ahout

\....ith which they undertc general theoretical point fcature of late twentieth-o

visual culture however, t"or visual images, dcsigns and motifs circulate [reel)' in and

and rec)'c1e cxisting motiJ

THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE OF THE AUTHOR

159

through a \'ariety al' diffcrcnt practiccs. Artworks are produced ,,{ithín what Rarthes reren to as an 'intertextual' space; rhe author is at hest an assernhler of fragments of other texts, and ccrtainly not a point of origino Instead, rhe meaning is as variahle as

rhe readings made afit. In a further cssay cntitlcd 'From Work to Text' (1971),

Barrhes trien to ahandon rhe notion of rhe artwork, too. With ir... connotations of closure, eompletion and boundarics, Rarrhes arguecl for rhe need to replace ir with thar al' rhe 'tcxt'. a more open L'onception thar con\'c)"5 rhe cxtcnt to which the meaning of artistic 'texts' is dcpench::nt un their 'intertextual' relarían to othcr 'texts' .2} A similar approach was adopteo by the Italian cultural theorist Umberto Eco, who coined the notion of the 'open work' both to elaboratc a thcnr)' of inter­ pretation amI to highlight a specHlc kind of twentieth-century art practice that acti\'dy solicitecl the invol\'cmcnt ofthe audience. 21:> More recently, the German soci­ ologist Niklas Luhmann has formulated a similar argument in a complex and abstract \vork, ,'lrr as a Social System, ""hich puts forward as its central thcsis the notion that art consists not of individual exprcssions or utterances, but of 'communications' which take on a tife of their O\vn and develop into a sclf-sustaining system. 27 In other words, art\\'orks are the events or opcrations nI' an anonymous 'intertcxtual' s)'Stem; the meaning uf art\\'orks is determined by their role as communicati"'e responses to prcvious artistie communications (arhvorks) rather than by their role in cxpressing the inner mental ."itate or beliefs 01' the artist.

Return of the Authorl Barthes' \vork represents an extreme formulation of the critique ol' the mythology nI' the artist. It is not without its o'\'n problems, hO\vever. For it has been argued that by placing the reader at the centre of the intcrpretative process, I3arthcs is not so much eritiquing thc romantic myth as merely refocusing it. AH the powers of spontaneous creati\'e production traditionaHy aecorded the artist are now givcn to the reader instcad. Barthes can thus be accused of simply replacing the romantic m)'th nI' the artist with an equall)' romantic myth ofthe reader (and, hy extension,

01' the critic). Moreover, even if the artist is mercly an assembler 01' intertextual borrowings, the romantic m)'thology nI' the artist could be maintained hy valuing the originalit1' with which such borrowings are put togcther. This was a prohlcm that faeed the so-called appropriation art of the 19805. in which artists such as a Mih' Ridlo, Louise Lawlor and Sherric Lc"inc prnduced direct copies of famous images ol' the past. For all thcir attempts at undermining notion5 nI' authorship, thc1' gaincd considerable critical recognition, as individuals, for the originality y.,rith whieh the1' undertook thi5 aet of copying. Whik Barthes was making a general theoretical point, he was arguahly simply responding to a particular feature onate h\"entieth-ccntury Western culture, namdy, its tendency to plunder and rccycle existing moti[5, images and forms. Thi5 i5 eertainly how his thinking

160

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

has beco interpreh.·d by critics such as Jan Savage, who has written evocatively of the 19705 and 19805 as .ln 'age 01' plundcr'. ~8 There are thus certain difficultics with the 'strong', anti-romantic (or anti­

the two. It is worth con by Luhmann. For Luhn tion of the kind implici

humanist) stancc of writers such as Barthes. Nevcrtheless, it is now widely

of myth. Instead, Luhm

accepted that .ln appea1 to notions of genius and creativity 15 no longer credible,

'postmodern' recognitj

and that interpretatían is as much a projeetion of the pcrspective ofthe interprcter

come to the individual,

as it 1S .ln 'ohjective' teasing out of the 'meaning' of tbe text. The appeal to genius

the more we observe br

negleets the mediatían of creative intention by external social factors. Not onl)' 1S

author movcs out of foc

it inappropriate for .ln understanding ol' the social basis of artistic production

preting the practices 01'" Luhmann, the nature an

during much 01' the histor), of Wcstern cultures, not to mention non- Western cul­ tures, it al so places artistic creativity in an ahistorical, asocial vacuum. In fact, the

of contention amI debate

myth of creative genius is itself arguably the product of a specific set of social and

come or solved. Rather,

historical factors, and reflects an ideology of personal freedom, spontancity and

tivf' of the interpreter.

expression that arosc among the European and North American bourgeois classes in the late eighteenth century. Visual culture is a shared, public and social phenom­

enon, in contrast to the romantic mythology which too often stresses its private, expressive dimensiono These constitute important criticisms, but emphasis on the social dimension necd not entai] the completl' redundancy 01' the idea of the artist, merely a debunk­ ing 01' one particularly prevalent, and problematic, version. Although many prac­

Becker. Howard. ATt ~lorld.¡ ( Burke, Sean, ed. Authorship.j Rurke, Sean. The Dedrh and R SousslolT, CatheTÍne. The Ab.•

tices of visual culture are undertaken on a collaborative basis, many are also the products of individuals. It is possiblc to give recognition to the role of these indi­ vidual social agents ,\'ithout subscribing to a romantic idcolog)' of crcative genius.

For a brief outline of autl

This lies at the heart not on1y of the question of authorship but of social theory in

in F¡}m Theary: an lnrroJuc;

general; namel)', the relative signiflcance attached to the individual on the ane

2 See Otto Kur7. and Ernst New Haven, CT, 1979).1 3 Martin Warnke, The COUT; 4 On the rise (JI' the Acaden 5 Immanuel Kant, The LritJ

hand, and broader social expectations, norms, structures and systems on the other. The authors discussed above have tended to privilege one or the other side of this divide. Howevcr, sorne, including Pierre Bourdicu or the British social theorist Anthony Giddens, have formulatcd accounts that give equal importan ce to the individual and the social. 29 For both, the dynamic of cultural production consists in the interaction between these t,yO, in \\·hich individuals negotiate thcir position v.'ítrun a pre-existing set of social expe<..tations, norms and institutions, while al so contributing to change and development of those same structures.

Conclusion Ultimately, the names of significant individual cultural producers will continue to be 01' central importann.', from Leonardo to Picasso lo Truffaut to Carsonj the key question is whether and to what extent it is possible to acknO\\'lcdge their specific quality whilc also giving due account of the "vider impersonal social and historical factors framing thcir \York. Giddens and Bourdieu suggest it is possible to combine

2002). 6 Hal"Old Hmenbcrg, Thc Tn rhe Av(mr-(;uTde ,{rti.'it (Caro 1 Mi.cnae\ Baxo\1\l\a\\, Pattern Ne-w Ha,c1\, CT, 1(85). 8 T.). C\ark, 'The SOc1all­ RCl'Plutinn (London, 197: 9 Howanl Be-cker, Art Worl

ological theorics of artis'

(he Arts (Oxford, 2003). JO For a general discussic

(Cambridge-, 1995).

11 See Pi erre Bourdieu, 'Str Nk:e (Cambridge. 1977) 12 See Robert Williams, 'S Cuhur.: In Sixrccnth-Ccntl1l

THE RISE ANO FALL ANO RISE OF THE AUTHOR

161

the twü. Ir is worth considering, however, a final, un:-;ettling possibilit)' put forward

by Luhmann. For Luhmann, the idea of a comprehensivc or 'totalising' interpreta­ rion al' the kind implicit in Giddens or Bourdicu is itself a peculiarly modern kiod of ffi)'th. Instead, Luhmann suggests, ir shoulcl be relinq~ished in arder to adopt a 'postmodern' recognition of the plurality al' partül perspectivcs. The closer \Ve come to the individual author the more we lose sight uf the social dirncnsion, and the more we observe broader social and historical factors, the more the individual author movcs out of focus. We can arlopt ane or the other perspective whcn inter­ prf'"ting the practices of visual culture, but not the two at the sarne time. If\\re follow Luhmann, thc nature and function of the author will thus always rernain a source al' contention and rlebatc, l'or ultimatel)" it ¡s oot necessarily a problem to be ovcr­ come or solved. Rather, it is sorncthing to be negotiatcd by the particular perspec­ tivc of the interpreter.

Further Reoding Becker, HO\-..arcJ. A,t Il¡,rlJs (Los Angeles. 1982).

l1urkc, Sean, ed. ,1uthorship:from Plato to ¡he P('5tmodern - a ReuJer (Edinhurgh, 1995).

Burke, Sean. The Deuth anJ Rel.l1rn c:f fhe Aurhor (Edinburgh, 1999).

Somslorr, Catherine. The Absolute ArU.w (Minnt"apolis, 1996).

Notes

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11 [2

For a brie-f outlin(' of auteurism, scc Robert L.lpslcy and Michae-l Westlake, 'Authorship', in Film The(llJ'; (m lntroductwn (Mam·ht'st<.'r, 1988), pp. 105-28. Sc(' OUo Kur I and Ernst Kris, ¡eHend, J1X¡h and Magic In ¡he ¡ml/Hc ?! the ArtlSt (London and :'>J€\" Havcn, CT, 1979). First publisht'd in 1914. Martin Warnkc, The (ourt .1rllst: ()n ¡he Ancestr:y cfthe MoJ<'ln :trtíst (Cambridge, 19(3). On tbc rise of the Academy, see Cad Goldstein. Tedching /tIC (Cambridge, 1996). Imrnanuel Kant, The (l/IJe/lie ?! the Power o!JudHcment, transo E. Matthews (Camhridge, 2002). Harold Rosenhcrg, The Tmdition rfthc .I\/ew (New York, 1960); Donald Kuspit, The Cult (?J" the .~l·dnt-(;arde Arusc (Camhridge, 1993). Michael Baxandall, PaUerns c:f fntt"ntlOn. On the HFtoTJ("ll E:lp/anation ~fPlCIures (London ami New Haven, CT, 1985). T. J. Clark, 'Thc Social History oI' Art', in ¡malle c:I che People: Gustat'e Courhec <mJ che 1848 Rel'olutlOn (Lonrlon, 1973), pp. 9-20. Howard Beckcr, ,hc WorlJs (London ann Los Angeles, 1982). For a recent outline 01' soci­ ologleal theories 01' artisric production and reception, sec Victoria Alcxander, SOCl%ay ~r ¡he4rcs (Oxford, 2003). For ,\ general discus~ion of d1is issue, sec Robert Witkin, .111 and Sodal Struceure (Cambridge, 1995). See Pierrc Bourdieu, 'Structures and the Habitus', in Outline?!a Theory c:fPwctrce, transo R. Nice (Cambridge, 1977), pp. 72 -95. See Rohcrt V'/illiams, 'Styie, l)cCOl'um and the Vie\'i€¡-'S Experiencc', in .1,t, TheoIJ and Culturc m Smeenth-Century ftaIy (Cambridge, 1997), pp. 7~-122.

162

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

13 For a brief discusl'ion of this, se!? Evd)'n Wclch, 'Ddining Relationships: Artist.':i and P.1tmns', in Aa anJ Soucty in !tal¡ 1350 1500 (Oxford, t 997), pp. 103-30. 14 Christine Battershy, Gender and Cenius (Landon, 1987). 15 Linda Nochlin, 'Why Hay(' There Becn No Great WOITlcn A,"tists?', in l. Nochlin, Hnmen, ArtandPowcr(London,1989),pp.145-78. 16 Harold Osborne, erl., The O;¡;Jord Companion ro MoJern Aa (Oxford, 1981), p. 283. 17 Scc, for examplc, R. G. Colling\\'ood, The Prinnples vJArt (OxforJ, 1947). 18 Exccrpts from Winckchnann's Hutar)" are contain('d in Johannes \Vinckelmann, Writin8s on An, eJ. D. In...· in (Landnn, t 972). 19 Heinrich W ¿ilmin, PrincipIes q{1Tl JJj.;torJ (New York, 1953). First published in 19! 5. 20 Monroe Bearrlsk~' and W. K. Wimsatt, 'Tne Intentianal Fallacy', in Sewanee Review, Vol. LlV (1946), pp. 468-88. 21 Monrue Bearrlslcy, Aesr1Jecics. Problems m lhe Philosl'ph)' ?f' Criticism (Nev,: York, 1958), p. 2 r;. 22 On thc polítical critique ol' formalisrn, see Jonathan HalTis, ¡'he ,ve.... /Ín Hl.'\tor.y (London, 2002). 2 ~ Sec E. D. Hirsch, i'olidiIJ' 1n InterFrewlion (New York, 1967). 24 Rolanrl Barthes. 'The Dt:ath ofthe Author', in R. Barthcs, Image,J1w,c, Text (Landnn, 1980). pp. 142-8. A critical apprai~al 01' Barthes' centra] tneses is marle by Peter Lamarque in 'The Death of thc Author. An .I\nal~,tical Autops),', in Bmish fournal qJ'Aesther¡cs, Vol. 30 (1990), pp. 319-31. 2S Roland l3artnes, 'hom \Vork to Text' , in fmagc, Musir, Texl, pp. 155 64. 26 llrnberto Eco, The Uptm Ilork (Londun, 1989). 27 !\"iklas Lunmann, Art as Soci,}! Sptem, transo E. Knndt (Stanl'ord, CA, 2000). 28 Jan Savagc, 'The Age 01' Plunder', in M. l3icrut, J. }lelrand, S. Heller and R. Jlo),nor, eds, Lookma Closer 3: ClassJc rVlInn.'l"; on Cmph,c DI!518n (Nn\ York, 1999), pp. 267- 72. 29 Scc Antnony Gicldens, The (onsfllllrlOn r?fSoC!<'r-.Y (Cambridge, \986); PiCrIT Rourdieu, Tht' F1eld ?[Cu!wral Productlon, lrans. R. Jonnson tCambridge, 1993).

During the second worh:i

ments oI' ffiCljor American war efTort \,"'as by prodl popular characters induc

shalled public opinion aga

notably Gcrmany and Jap Bugs annihilates a borde ( taining hand grenades; ano and cracks him on the hea

by a propagandistic impuls United States (representec the US) shored up nation distant countries as evil, '( tion historian William Mo

The use o/ figures t wboever - can makl You're mon" likely t action ... Wben Jau Bugs can't be wrong:

I l.The Ideology of the Visual Glyn Davis

Introduction During the second \\Torld war, one uf the routes by ' .... hich the animation depart­ ments nf major American film studlos such as Warncr Rrothers contrihutcd to the war effort ' ..'as by producing raeis!, jingoistie shorts. Enlisting the services uf popular characters including Bugs Runn)' and Daffy Duck, these cartoons mar­ shalled public opinion against the leaders and populations of other countries.

IDOS!

notably Gcrmany and Japan. In "Bugs Runny Nips the Nips' (1944), for instance, Bugs annihilates a horde of Japanese soldicrs hy handing them out ice lollies con­ taining hand grcnades; and in 'Daffy - The Cornmando' (1943), Dan), meets Hitler and cracks him on the heael with a mallet. Thcsc animated narrativcs wcre driven hy a propagandistic impulse and disseminatcd a specific and deliherate message: thc Unitcd States (represented hy iconic characters that continue to be associated with the US) shored up nationalist pride amI scntiment by depieting the denizen~ ol' distant countries as evil, 'othcr', worthy ol' attack and elimination. As thc anima­ tion historian William Moritz has commcnted: The use ol' figures that are widel} respccted - Bugs Bunn)', DafF)' Duck, whoevcr - can make a real impression on peoplc, because it's a carroon. You're more Hkely to watch it throtJgh than you might he il' you saw lhe action. . When )'ou see the cartoon you think 'Oh welJ yeah, I'll watch this. Rugs can't be wrong: he's always victorious .. .'1

1 64

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Animation, 5uggests Moritz, can opcratc as a form ofpropaganda - and audiences

with power have more j

mal' be more rcceptive to a cartoon's blunt messages than those appcaring in live

inHuence on or against

action material. And )'et, of course, fictional 'Iive action' cinema mal' aIso serve to

in fact wi1Jingly coJlude

expound or cnforcc particular political perspectives and nationalist agendas: in

as 'correct', as 'commj

instance, the war movies Black Ha . . k Do....·n (2001), Pear} Harbor

dynamk or process lab(

(200\), We Were Sa/diers (2002) and Tea" aI'he Sun (2003) have all been lambasted

The problem with th beJief which people com

recent years,

fOf

by critics for their overt racism and imperialism. mal' be

ical power'. Indeed, he a

thc first thing to come to mind when the word 'ideology' i5 rncntioncd. Certainly,

Examples such as thcsc - racist cartaons, gung-ho American war films

ogy 'as any kind ol' inter:

propaganda is ideologicaL it serves to convc)', usually ver)' directly, specific posi­

the association ol' ideolo

tions, arguments and opinions. However, ideology is a much broader, more

part to Karl Marx, who

complex and labyrinthine subjeet. This chapter introduces the concept ol' ideolog)',

history ol' the concept ar.

cxploring definitions and the history ol' the term, as well as identil'ying the signifi­ cance ofideolog)' to the study and interpretation ol' visual culture.

It i5 almost de rígeur in \\Titings on ideology to aeeentuate the dil'ficulty 01' defining

The term 'ideology' shortly after the French I ideas' initially attracted tJ

the concepto 'Ideolog)", c!aims David McLellan, somevvhat hyperbolically, 'is the

hím to aCCU5e de Tracy (

Defining Ideology

most e1usive concept in the whole ol' social science' , 2 while Tcrry Eagleton begins

was not the first writer t<

his book on ideo]ogy by outlining sixteen potentia) uses of the term. J And yet

kal ideas. Niccolo Machi

concise, valuable definitions 01' ideology have been prol'l'ered, such as the following:

sal of the l'our-)'ear reigJ I400s, claimed it was im

sds ol' ideas vvhieh give sorne account 01' the social ,"\-'orld. usuall)' a partíal and

among a country's citizen

seleetive one;

tion with social and polit

the rclationship 01' these ioeas or values to the ways in which power i5 distrib­

such that his name swiftl

uted soeially;

ery. Thi.s notion that polit

the way that sueh values are usually posed as 'natural' and 'obvious' rather

in the \\Titings of Marx.

than socially aligned. 4

Many of Marx's key id,

authored with Friedrich In the light ol' this tri par tite outline - which \'\o'ilI be adopted as a working defi­ nition throughout this chapter - the Rugs Runny and DafI)' Duck cartoons men­

ideology in what is ol'ten For Marx, capitalist

SOcil

tioned above can be seen as ideologieal. The animated shorts provide one

tah . . t class, or bourgeoü

perspective on the world at the time that they \Vere produeed, a perspective that

working class, or pro]etal

is stylised, rcstricted, delimiteo; the dominant status ol' America is implicitly

througb united clTort. W

assumeo by their creators; anJ the representation of the ]apanese soldiers is almost

duction or earned a mea~

posed as 'natural' (they are depictcd as short and vicious, a stereotyped portrayal

concept 01' ioeolog)' to e)

that dra\~iS on received racist opinion ol' the 'real naturc' ol' Japanese people). This ddinition

despite its ]ooseness - brings into play ke)' aspects ofthe hroader

position; he c1aimed that

by that societ)"s citizens a

understanding of ideology and the ways in which it operates. Central among these

the capitalist minorit)'

is power: commentaries on ideology often assume or presuppose that individuals

Engcls themsclves put it:

jn

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

165

with power have more interest in wielding, and impaet in disseminating, ideological

influcnce on or against those without status and power. Peoplc without power may in raet willingly collude in this process: ideological rncssages often pose themselves as 'corrcet' \ as 'earnman sense', and are thus assimilated hy the mass, through a dynamic or process labelled '[alse consC'Íousness' hy Fricdrich Engels. The problem with this conceptioo, as Eaglcton notes, is that 'nor every bod)' nf belief which people earomanly ter m ideological is associatcd with el dominant polit­ ka} power'. Indeed, he argues that ir would perhaps be more liseful to define ideol­ ogy 'as aoy kind of intersection betwecn helief systems and political power' .5 Yet, the assoeiation of ideology with social and political power persists. This is due in part to Karl Marx, whose foundational writings oceupy a crucial position in the history of the eoneept and continue to infiuence present-day understandings.

A History of Ideology The term 'ideology' was first coined by Antoine Destutt de Traey in t 797 , shortly after the French Revolution of 1789. De Tracy's can for a new 'science of ideas' initially attracted the support of Napoleon, until a difference of opinion (ed him to accuse de Traey of contributing to France's politieal problems. De Trae)' was not the first writer to consider the origins, causes and uses of social and polit­ ical idcas. Niecol6 Machiavelli's hook The Prmce (1513), for jnstance, in its apprai­ salol' the four-ycar reign of the monk Girolamo Savonarola in haly in the late 14005, claimed it was imperative for leaders to circulate and perpetuate illusions among a eountry's citizenry in order to remain in power. 6 Thc assoeiation of deccp­ tion with social and political power that Machiavelli made was highly influential, such that his name swiftly beeame an antonym for guile, dcviousness and chican­ ery. This notion that political pO\ver involves duping a state's subjects is .liso present in the writings of Marx. Many of Marx's key ideas about ideology "'ere expresseo in an earl)' book he co­ authoreo with Friedrich Engels, The German IdeoloBY (1846). He .lIso diseussed ideology in what io') often considered his masterwork, Capital (Das Kapltal, 1867).7 For Marx, eapitalist soeidy was primaril}' a culture ol' two classes: the elite capi­ talist class, or bourgeoisie, who ass<,'rted their power through wealth, and the working class, or proletariat, who, Marx believed, had the power to change history through united effort. Within this systcm, people either owned the means of pro­ duction or earned a meagre living by working for those owners. Marx utiliseo the concept 01' ideolog)' to explain how the elite class managed to retain its privileged position; he claimed that the dominant ideas of a sodety - whieh ma)' be accepted by that society's citizens as 'common sense' - are eonstructed ami disseminated by the capitalist minority in order to maintain their dominant status. Or as Marx and Engcls themselves put it:

166

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

The ideas of the ruling class are in e'icr)' epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of saciet)', is al the same time its ruling intel­ lectual force. The class which has the mean~ of material prorluction at its dis­

posal, has control at the same time oyer the means al' mental production,

:-;0

that thereby, general1)' speaking, the ideas of thosc whü lack the means ol' mental production are subjcct 10 it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal cxprcssion of the dominant material relationships, thc dominant material relationships grasped as ideas ... 8 According

lo

Marx, these dominant ideas are cxprcssed and transmitted via

'meaning-makinghodics'. a raft ofdiverse institutions that, in our era, would indudc the mass media of newspapers, television, radio and cinema. As aH major institutions - from government to the prcss - are mvned and/ or controlled by membcrs of the elite eapitalist c1ass, the messages these individuals (ami the)' are almm;t always white men) diffuse to the populace through such organisations are their ideas. Mernbcrs of the proletariat are told what to think and belie\'e by the institutions, hut also come to bclieve that these messages and ideas are 'true', as they 'make sense'. To sorne n.·aders, this formulation mal' seem like the brainwashing of a popula­ tion by a Fascist state. Howe\'er, it is a system that persists todal' - and v·,rithin sup­ posedly liberal \Vestern countries. lndeed, one can take a relativcly recent exarnple of this dynamic in operation, the cover of the Sun ne"..spaper from 26 November

Figure 11 .1 - The front e counes)' oI' Ne'...·s Interna

1993 (Figure t 1. t) \vhose headline implores readers: 'For the sake of ALL our kids.

. burn your video nasty'.

James Bulger, a two-year-old, had been murdered by two young schoolboys. Tbe

been takcn up by a hos'

deve!opments can be J

horrific nature (Jf the killing, and the seerning inexplicability of Bulger's death, led

Antonio Gramsci (189

this tabloid newspaper to clajm that the boys bad recently watched the borror film

onstrations and confli,

Child's Play 3 (1991) on video. and that this viewing had contrihutcd to the killing.

Gramsci cxamined a h

The ne\vspaper constructed this mo\'ic as what Stanley Cohen wouId ter m a 'folk

l\/otebooks, written bet'

devil'.9 Child's Play 3 became the fukrum ofa moral paníc regarding hotb children 's

edly returned was the

aecess to screen violence within the home and the ccnsorship of videotapes. As a

attain political domina

rcsult 01' the Sun's handling of this topie - and, at the time, the Sun \vas a notori­

instance, Gramsci argu

ousl)' reactionary and right-wing newspaper· stricter legal guidelines relating to tbe circulation and content of videotapes were implemented in \994. It subse­

a c1ass is dominar

quently transpired from police reports that there was ahsolutcly no proof that

the allied c1asses

Bulg('r's killers had seen ChilJ's Play 3. From a Marxist perspective, tbe Sun propa­

(and must) 'lead'

gated a clear ideological message - mass audiences (including childrcn) cannot sen­

dominant, but it ;

sibIl' and safdy regulate tbeir own uses of video tcchnology, making state

aspect of domina1

intervention necessary

result:¡ in their de

that, having been accepted by a significant perccntagc of

the British population, was used by the Conscrvative government to justify a

must be a 'politic

repressive form of legislation.

in arder to cxen

Since tbe publication ofhis major works, Marx's ideas relating to ideology bave

solcly on the po,",

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

Figure 11.1

167

The front covcr of the Sun newspaper, 26 Novemher 1993. Photograph

courtes)" or Ne\vs InternationaL

heen taken up hya host 01' othcr trunkers. Arguably, howevcr, the most notcworthy devclopments can he found in th<: .....Titings of thc Italian intellectual and agitator Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). Imprisoned for hi:; invol"cment in political dem­ onstrations and conUicts - he was the heacl of the ltalian Cornmunist Part)' ­ Gramsci examined a broad array oftopics in the thirty-three valumes ofhis Prison .VtJtebooks, 'Nritten hctween 1929 ann 1934, One key subject to which he repeat­ edly returned was the clash of opposing parties or groups, and their attempts to

attain poBrical dominance. RcAecting on the Italian Risor¡¡imento of the 1860s, for instance, Gramsci argued: a class is dominant in t\\'o ways, namcly it is 'lcading' and 'dominant.' Ir le.lds

th<.' allied dasses, it dominates the opposing classes. Therefore, a class can (and must) 'Iea~' even hefore assuming power; when it is in po,\\-Ter it bccomes dominan1., hut it .lIso continues to 'lead.' ... Politicalleadcrship bccomes an aspect of domination, in that the ahsorption al' the élitcs

01' the cnemy classes

results ln their decapitation and rendcrs them impotcnt. There can and there must be a 'political hegcmony' cven befare assuming government power, and in order to cxercise political leadership or hegemony

Olll.'

must not count

solely on the powcr and material force that is givcn by governrncnt. 10

168

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Gramsci arguecl that, at any one time, a number of groups - aH with acccss to

into a network offamil

will vie with each other [OT social and pobtica] power;

the newborn - a name

vital cconomic resources -

each group carries, Tcprcscnts and attempts to disseminate specific icleologics.

ritual such as the Chris1

Thus, even at the le"ve] al' elite political factions, diffcrent views or perspectives \'\-'ar

diatcly - through a con

with each othcr to achicve dominaban, a position of power that Gramsci tcrmed

'interpellated', made

'hegemony·. a dominance achieved by both pCTsuasive and coeTave means. This

depressing determinist

statc of affairs - with a range of po\\'erful rival [orces battling [OT thc attcntion and

suggests that the indivü its clutches.

cansent al' the masses with diffcring messages - opens up Marx's understanding of ideology to a degree, enabling sorne space

[OT

debate and discussion.

j

Asidc from the Ma

Gramsci 's model of the workings of ideology can be clearly observed in opera­

notahlc tradition in th,

tion when political t~lctions disagree on the 'correct' method ofhandling specific

David McLellan VoITites

(potentially controversial) situations. [n Britain, for instance, the appropriate way to

'manage' the number of imrnigrants and asylum-seekers has bccn the subject of

polítical debate for so me ycars. Right-wing arguments (often shot through with

believed that the group to the ¡ead,

thinl)' disguised racism and xenophobia), suggesting that immigrants will exacer­

nal bes between

batc Britain's prohlems with housing and employment shortages, have becn coun­

towards authority

1

tered in part by left-Ieaning humanitarian and democratic points of view. Related to this debate, a minor resurgence of nationalism has occurred, with the British

Thus. in hJtem and Taboo

National Party attaining sorne public support in specific palitical constituencies.

ical powcr to the Oedil

The Labour government has maintained its position of power by warill' occupying

f80 (1921), he claimed

a middle ground: expressing sympathctie conecrn for the plight of displaced

inJnt, charismatic leade

persons while introducing a programme of registrabon policics, occasionally rede­

tion is an intriguing or

fining and recalibrating its pcrspeetive in retation to the arguments 01' other polit­

afTccted by his dalliancl

ical parties, media opinion and public sentimcnts and coneerns.

success in being elected

A third crucial figure in the tradition of Marxist \\Titings on ideology is the

it)' ol' sexualised imag

French philosopher Louis Althusser (1918-90), who outlincd a rather pessimistic structuralist model of the system by which ideology is enforced bj" the dominant

attempted to employ p Slavoj Zi~ek, l'or instanc

ruling bodl" For Althusser, ideology is not a mass illusion, as Marx suggests, but

nificancc 01' this second

simply the s)'stem of cultural representations \\'hereby social groups and c1asses

mention writers who d( as John Thompson 14 - i

make their lived experiencc meaningful. Crucially, Althusser identified two mutu­ all)' supportive and structurally imbricated forms ol' control: Rcprcssive State

critical writings on the ~

. ' \pparatuses and Idcological Statc Apparatuses. The l'ormer - which include such

attained political domino

institution~ as the military, the police force, the prison systcm, law courts, and so

interpreted pejoratively

on - attain power through force. The latter - incorporating, among other things,

comprehension. Howe\

religion, the educational establisbment, the famil)' and the mass media -- operate

deser",c consideration.

predominantly at the level of ideology. The all-pervasive nature of this widespread array af intertwined apparatuses causes it eonstantly to impinge on the individual subject. To take just one cxamplc, the birth ol' a baby is accompanicd by the drafting of a birth certificate. This docu­

From thc perspective of

ment not onl)' registers and legally recognises the infant as a legitima te member of

Marxist modelo Priman

the society to which it belongs, but also names its parents, thus slotting the child

capitalist societies. Acc(

1HE IDEOLOGY

or

TI lE VISUAL

169

intü d. netwoTk of familial relatlons. In addition, a birth certificate decisively names the ncwhorn - a name that is often further sanctioned by the Church in a precise ritual such as the Christian tradition of christening. At birth, then, a child is imme­ diately ~ through a complex weh 01' legal, familial, medical and rcligious [orces ­

'interpellated', maJe ¡mo an 'acceptablc' subject of socidy. Althusser's rather ucpn:ssing detcrministic concf'ptualisation of the workings of capitalist sadety suggf'.sts that the individual i5 born into ideo]ogy, and that there i5 no way to escape

its dutche.'i. Aside from the MarxÍst approach, psychoanalytic thcOT); proYides a second notable tradition in the litt>rature on idcology. Sigmund FU'ud, for instance, as DaviJ McLcllan writes, believed that the hasic factor in politics was the erotic relationship 01' the group to the leadcr and that the function of ideology \..'as to rcinforce libidi­ nal ties bet.. .\ 'cen rulers ano ruled which would resnlt in a posítive attitude towards autborit)'. 1 ¡ Thus, in Tatero and rabao (1913), Freud related the genesis and persistenec of polit­ ieal power to the Oedipus eomplex; and in Group Psyciw1uHJ anJ tbc Ana-{ysls c:.Ftbe Ego (192]), he c1aimed that 'artilicial' groups such as armlf"S re:quire single, dom­ inant, charismatic leaders.·! A., a stark contrast to the Marxist model, Freud's posi­ tien is an intriguing one. How was Bill Clinton '5 ideological pO\\'er as a leadcr affected by his dallianccs with Monjca Lewinsky? \Vas Arnold Schwarzcneggcr\ suceess in being elcctcd Governor of California influenced by thc rcad)' availabil­ it)' of sexualised images ol' the film star? Other authoTS ha\"c subsequentJy attempted to employ psychoanalytic concepts in their explorations 01' ideolog)'j Slavoj 7izí"k, l<'n ínstance, has drawn heavíly on Lacan's writings. 13 Despite the sig­ nificance of this second strand uf 'idcology theory' - and, in adchtion, one rnight mention V'.Titcrs who do not fit into thc Marxist or pSYChOdlldl)'tic traJitions, su eh as John Tbompson i '! - it is the MarxIst appro.lch which;s most orlen adopted in critica} writings on thc subjcct. Indef'd, sincc tbe seeond v'lOrld war, whcn Fascism attaíned politkal dominance ín both German} and Italy, 'ideology' has largely been interpreted pejorativcly, and its workings explored through a Marxist mode 01' comprehcnsion. Hmvever, there are key d¡fficuJües with this approach . . .!/hích deserve consideration.

Criticisms of the Marxist Tradition From the perspectivc 01' the twenty-llrst ('entury crucial prublcms are raised by the .\1arxist modelo Primary amollg these is thc altercd dass system in contemporary capitali.'it ~ocictics. According to a number of crities - including David Harvey,

170

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Fredric Jameson and Jean-Franyois Lyotard - there has becn a fundamental trans­

contradictions to stre

formation in the nature of Westcrn society and culture since the '''''ar. 1 s Central to

example often emploYl

this shift, according to Jameson, is a move [rom thc market capitalism o[ the agc of

are indistinguishabIc &

imperialism to multinational or consurncr capitalismo This, he writes, is 'thc purest

cunning and devious l'(

form of capital yet to havc emerged, a prodigious cxpansion of capital into hith­

American dream that

erto uncommodified areas' .Ib This phasc al' capitalism is also sometimes known as

dence to the contrary

¡;

post-Fordism or post-industrialismo Under such a sptcm, corporate power is

interpreted as cxampl<

jncreasingly concentrated in the hands of a minar elite - primarily. the bosses of

society itself.

globalised multimedia conglomerates. The realm of emplo),ment is also signifi­

A third difficulty for

cantly rcconfigurccl: job security wanes, casual work intensifies, nev't' typ<:s of jobs

spread that continues u

emerge ancl multipl)' (man)' of these in the 'culture industry'), and corporations

tion could be c!assiJied

farm out a great deal

01' their repetitiv<: manuallabour to

non~ Westun countries.

With these changes, th<: dualistic model ol' the dass system (elite bourgeoi­

messages to the proJeta State Apparatus, keepiJ

sie/mass proletariat) underpinning Marxist analyses is problematised. Thc Unitcd

would be that the multi

States has been described as a 'classless societ)", l'or examplc, though this has also becn contested. 17 In a similar \"ein. according to sorne ol' its leading politicians,

the expression ol' alterni ation, for instanee, with

Britain has become a predominantly middle-class societ)', with th<: lines hetween the

vision programmes on

dasses no\\· significantly hlurred. Further, old dass divisions haye been somewhat

material available on th(

undermincd in Britain by the rise ol' a 'celebritocracy'. Although old networks of

ever easier, less financial

power persist to a signifi(:ant degree, man)' ol'those at the top of the social scale, such

Recent Jecades have s

as the l'ootballer Dayid Beckham, born into a working-cIass l'amily, are likely to be

uals attainingpleasure &01

there due to their celehrity status rather than their blood lincage or cIass origins.

into submission by those i Angela McRobbie and 1( ideology in popular cult knowledge, skiU and el

A second problem for the Marxist tradition is the current widespread cynicism in Wcstern countries regarding the efficacy ol' political protest and revolution. Consumers may acknowledge and object to the working practices ol' such exploi­ tati\"e corporations as Gap, McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Ncstlé, but this do es not necessaril y prevent thcm from purchasing their goods. Such knO\ving indifference

Although Marxist conceF observations of these aut

is an examplc ol' \'. .·hat the cultural LTitic Peter Sloterdijk has tcrmed the 'enlight­

alIow l'or the complexitiE

ened false consciousncss' of contemporary society.18 Moreover, even when vocal,

bution to this ongoing pr

disruptivc dissent i5 expressed against thosc in positions ol' power - as with the riots

cxampJes of visual cultur

in SeaUle against the World Trade Organisation, or the widespread rallies and

ideological content; a$ w:

marches condemning the war in Iraq - it is swiftly contained, having Hule suhse­

tion 01" cven the most seel

quent impact on the decisions orthe elite. The l'ragmentation orthe old cIass system that has occurrcd in the postmodern era, ailicd to a concomitant concentration of power in the hands ol' a smallcr group of people. has resulted in most citizens feeling alienated from, and irrelevant to, the workings of politics. Zizek has also taken issuc with the traditional Marxist notion that emancipation is attained simpl), h), pointing out the fabchoods ofideological illusion. For ZiZek ideological beliefs are adhcrcd to precisely bec{lU.~e thcy are illusions, and are invested with ps)'cholog­ ical significance in that thc)" provide a structurc 01' meaning. Ideological belicfs, when confronteJ with their contradictions, have an uncanny ability to use such

It could casily be assumel thus ("arries an ideologica duction 01' an image, thel that picture. To take just ' owners, produccd throu~ and the cbosen finery in,

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

171

contradietions to strengthen their position. Hcnce the anti-Sernite, to use an

example often cmployed by Zizek, when confronted by the raet that Jcwish people are indistinguishable [rom everyonc else, will conclude that thcy are aH the more cunning and deyiaus for maintaining the appcarance of normality. 19 Likewise, the American dream that ar~.yone can 'make i1' rules supreme despite the mass of evi­ dence to the contrar)'j the vast numhers of homeless, dcstitute Americans are interpreted as examples of failed indivlduals rather than a larger problem 01' the sacie!)' itself.

A third difficult), [or Marxism relates to the proliferatían of the mass media - a spread that continues unabated. According to Marx, such systems of communica­ tíon could he c1assified as 'meaning-making bodíes' hy which thc elite transmit messages to the proletariat. For Althusser, the mass media serve as an Idcological State Apparatus, keeping citizens in their place. However, a counter-argument would be that the multiplication of channels of communication opens up space for the expression of alternative and/ or dissenting ideologies: this can be seen in oper­ ation, for instance, wíth the 'underground' publication of 'zines, 'homemade' tde­ vision programmes on cable television channels and thc enormous amount of material available on the Internet. Access to the mcans of production has become ever easier, lcss financially burdensome. Recent decades have seen numerous eritical challenges to the notion that individ­ uals attainingpleasure from media texts are' dupes' ofthe system, unwittingl)' sedueed into submission b), thosc in power. Specific authors, includingDick Hebdige, len Ang, Angela MeRobbie and Terr)' Eagleton, have cxplored the sophistieated workings

01'

ideology in popular culture, attributing consumers of the rnaSS media with more knowledge, skil1 and erudition than allowed for by oldcr Marxist theorists. 20 Although Marxist concepts and politil:s have often underpinned the assessments and observations of thcsc authors, thcir writings cxpand understandings of ideolog)' to aUow for the eomplexitics ol' its ,vorkings in the postmodern era. As a small contri­ bution to this ongoing projeet, thc remainder of this ehapter will examine spccific examples of visual culture which, on the surface, ma)' appear anodyne and free of ideological content: as wi!1 be sho\V11 , ideology is a crucial concept l'or the explora­ !ion ol' even thc most seemingl), banal instances of visual culture.

The Case of Landscape Painting It could easily be assumed that cvery painting attempts to transmit a messagc and thus carries an jdeological meaning. If an art1st decides to devote time to the pro­ duction of an image, then surely he or she must dcsire to make a statement wíth that picture. To take just onc example, portraits of monarchs, aristocrats or land­ owners, produced through the centuries, announce in the size of the eanvasses ­ and the chosen finen in which the sitters are dresseJ . that the likenesses of thcsc

172

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

nution of the status o

painting's content in se as a depiction al' the

'T(

rendering of a pastora

centuries away, trus pa

ofsubsequentgenerati

01' course, I'rom a

whether Van Goyen el vlew - that ¡s, whethe paintings I'ramed their

the horizon was posit bottom oI' the eanvas. ~

to the painting, produ,

desire to elieit such a :

reeognise the beauty (

innoeuous at first glane

argued that all painting Figure t 1.2 - Jan Van Go}'en, Rumcd ChUTCh

al

Eamond l'an 7eefrom the Easl. (1633). Private

collection.

\Vorh of art ... ~

people are worth recording for postcrity. In this regard, pictures such as Jean­

groups in given el

Franyois Millet's The Gleaners (1857), which depicted 'evnyday' agricultural

and conditions of tieuJar artists. 2 J

are the produet 01

workers at the bottom of the soeialladdcr, attempted to atTord gravitas, status and posterity to their activities; notably, however, Millet did not reveal the names of the peoplc he depieted, thus leaving them anonyrnous. Of course, portraits ma)' be

In other \\'ords, readin

cornmissioned and, as such, their ideological force might reflect the pcrspcctive of

hístorícal period in whi

the purchascr rather than thar 01' the artist.

artist, and so on.

Landscape paintings are a liule more problematic to assess. Take, for instance,

t

Too í

abstraet works - and e,

Jan Van Goyen 's painting oI' the Ruined Church at EBmond van ZeeJrom the East (Figure 11.2) produeed in 1633. This imagc may sccm a document ofits time, a 'realistic' representation of a specific part oI' the Dutch countryside. It is diffieult to coneep­ tualise sueh an image - or, indeed, any of the other landscape paintings produced

Although documentari<

by Dutch painters during the seventeenth century - as having an idcological

sion broadeasting histOl

messagc. Yet the picture raises a number of suhstantial questions. Why was this spe­

programming aeross thl

cific location and viewpoint Cfrom the east') chosen? What is of specific interest

cenragc 01' 'factual' tele,

about Egmond van Zee - that is, does ir occupy a historically significant position in

daytíme and primetime

Dutch history? What were the polítical intentions of the artist? Ir Van Goyen ehose

as quiz7es, game shows ,

this view for aesthctic reasons, his attribution of 'beauty' to the landscape implies

rcinvígorated via an injt:

he believed other people wouId hencfit from witnessing rus reproduction.

being screened stands

j¡

It is also necessary to ask why an artist would choose to depict a ruined chureh.

such as BowlinBJor CoJum

Although such iconography could be intcrpreted negatively (as mourning the dimi­

documentaries are rarel

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

173

nution ol' the status of religion), the use of colour and framing combine with the painting's content in seeming ceJebratlon.ln fact, Van Goyen 's painting could be scen asa depietion of the 'rcturn to [den' • an ilnage uf a rural idyll--and thus as a utopían rendering of a pastoral ideal. Although the age of industrialisation was almost two centuries away, 1his painting seems lo reir)' - by rendering in palnt > rol' the pieasure of subsequent generatíans -- a romanticised \'isioo of the agrarian landscape.

üf course, from a contemporary vantage poinl, it 15 impossible lo disccrn whether Van Coyen enhanced his image, moved clernents around al' idcalised the víew - that ¡s, whether this painting is 'realistic', faithful. Many Dutch lanoscape paintings framed their conte:nts according to the 'golden ratio'

that i5, the line 01'

the horizon was positioned exactly a third of the distancc betweeo the tap ano bottom ofthe canvas. Supposcdly, this system ofrepresentatlOn accorded harmon)' to the painting, producing a specific aesthetic impact in spectators. E...·idently, the desire to elicit such a response is an ideological desire, a wish to rnake audiences recognise the beaut)' oI' thc dcpicted landscapt.'. Thus, even

.lO

ímage that seems

innocuous at first glance can be revealed as ideolagically slanted. Indecd, it has been argued that all paintings carry ideological implications. As Janet Wolff has ..." ,ritten: Works 01' art ... are not closed, self-containcd and transcendent entities, but afe the product 01" specific historical practices on the part oI' identifiablc social groups in given conditions, and thereforc bear the imprint oI' the ideas, values and conditions of e:xiste:nn' ofthose groups, and their rcprcscmatives in par­ ticular artist."i. 21 In other words. readlng art ideologkally necessitates taking mto consideration the historical period in whi('h it was produced, the social and polítical affiliations of the artist, amI so on. This applics equall)' to tmdsCdpe images, stilllives, portraiturl-', ahstract \\!orks - and evcr)' other genre oI' p,ünting.

Doeumentary Television Altbough documentaries bave ahvays occupied a central position in British televi~ sion hroadcasting history, recent years have witnessed a proliferation of 'factual' prograrnming across the schedules. lndeed, ovcr the last tim years or so, the per­ ccntage of 'factual' telcvision available to audi('nces has incre,lsed markedIy in both daytime and primetime slots, often at the expense of other genres ofte1cvision such as quizzcs, game shows and sítcomsY Many older formats havc been revitaHsed or reinvigorated via an injection oI' 'reality' contento The voIume of 'reality TV' now a~ide from the odd success story such as BowlIn8Jo, Columbin, (2002), Erre cr AmI' (2002) or Touching the Void (2003), documentaries are rarely screened io cinemas.

heing screencd stands in stark contrast to film:

174

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

The rclationship of documentary telcvision to ideology rncrits sustained explo­ ration. A first impulse might be to eguate docuffit:ntary with objecti"ity, veracity, horrest)', truth - and thus a lack of ideological contento However, film and television documentaries (in the broadcst scnse ofthe tcrm) are ncvcr 'objective'. The uned­ ited presentation of 'reality'

i5

rarel)' avai}ahlc to

liS

in documentaries: thc unexpur­

gatcd 'live' footage from the BiB Brother house that airs on Channe14's subsidiary E4 during the programmc's run serves as a rafe exccption. Rather, documentaries are carefully constructed: the shots thc)' contain are usuall)' planncd, and their sets and lighting often manipulated. Moreover, once the footage has been shot, the actual content of a documentar)' is ordercd, placed in sequence. As Paul Wells writes: 'It is important to stress thcn that, just like an)' "fiction" film, the documentar)' is con­ stTueted and may be seen not as a recording al' 'reality', but as another kind of rep­

resentation of 'reality'. The documentar)' form is rarel)' innocent .. .'23 In fact, this was recognised by ane of the most significant figures in the history of documentary, John Grierson, who def1ned documentar)' form as 'thc creative treatment of actu­ aHt)". To cite \-Vells again: 'Grierson admowlcdges that the filming of"actuality" in itself does not constitute what might be seen as the "truth". He recognizes that "actualit)''' foatagc must be subjected to a creative process to Terea! its "truth". This apparent manipulation of the material io5 both a recording ~l"reality"and a statemcnt

about "reality".' 24 AmI )'et, iI' a documentar)' 'reveals' the 'truth' of its suhject aher manipulation by its director, ,,-hose 'truth' io5 thi.s? O(Je~ the completed \\'ork uncover an objective perspective that 'honestly' documents a subject, or do es it (intentionall)' or unintentianally) reAcct thc opinion of the documentar)' maker? Thcsc questions can be cxplored through specific examples. The 'world of the sea' eight-part nature documentary series The B!ue P!anet (eo-produced by the BBC and the Oiscovery Channel in 2001) utilised state-of-the-art technology to capture on film images of creatures and locations that had never been secn before by a widc public (Figure 11.3). The narrativc voiceover - delivered by David Attenborough

figUT~ 11.3 - The hairy angJ CTCW when tI scas. PhotogTaph r&J David Si Planet ~ canH.'ra

in his charaderisticalIy genial-),et-authoritativc rnanner - provided vicwcrs \-vith a plethora of statistics and other factual detail. Ancl yet the series also emplo),cd

capturing a number of re

manipulative techniques, most evident in its uSe of music,ll score: the appearancc

ing to feed a small child ,

01' dolphins \vas usually accompanied hy soaring, elegiac violins, seals b), jaunt)',

perceptive, probing inter' with Diana, Princess of'

m'ljor-chord bounce and sharks by sinister bass rumhlc and Jaws-like threatcning ('ello. Such hlatant anthropomorprusm, harncssed to the natural history documen­

which she spoke candidly

tary's reliance on depicting huntcr-hunted scenarios, undercut the series' daims

chorcographed and stage­

to factual objectivit)', rcinforcing traditional assumptions regarding the morality

had heen manipulated arre

and character of specific species.

rae)' o;;eemed to suhstanti
As a second examplc, Martín Bashir's telnisjon inkrview \-vith the rcclusivc pop

view with Jackson was

musician Michacl Jackson (screencd on ITVl early in 2003) was criticised for its

documentar)' makc Jackso

ideological implications. Several months in the making, the documentary enabled

life, or was it a clevcrly OI

viewers lo witness the contents of Jackson's home and its grounds: it succeedcd in

\-vhose last CO, /nrincible, h

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

175

Figure 11.3 - Thc hairy angler fish - just Orle or man)' ~pccics documented by The Bllle Planee 's ("amera eTC",' \',.. ben the)' descended ioto the 'dark 7one' , the dcepest Tccesses 01' the seas. Photograph © David Sbak/naturepLcom.

capturing a number of Tl'vclatory moments, such as Jackson indfectively attempt­ ing to feed a small child while bouncing the ¡o1'ant on his knee. Bashir's status as a perccptive, probing intervÍí..~wcr hangs largely on a we]]-kno\\"n telcvision interview

with Diana, Princess of Wales which he conducted shortly befare her dcath, in

which shc spoke candidly about her Hfe as a rncmbcr 01' BriLain's royalty. ExperLly choreographed and stage-managed, thc pit'ce '5 depiction of Diana as a waman who had been manipulated and mistreated by the highest echelon of England's aristoc­ rae)' seemed to sub:-tantiall)' boost public empathy for her. Bashir's lengthy inter­ vie,,- wiLh Jaekson was more ambiguous, its meaning less clear. Did the documentar)' make Jackson an object of ridicule? Did it truthfully expose his privat<:

liJe, or was it a c1everly orchestrated piece of recuperative publidt)' for a musician whose last CD, Im'incible, had fared poorl)', hoth critically and commerciall)'? Hashir's

176

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

interviev.' attained cxtrcrnely high viewing figures in both Britain and the Uniterl States, and, subsequent to its airing, sales of Jackson's early albums were boosted by

forcc behind Brio

around 600 per cent. Howevcr, Jackson himself objected to the construction of the prograrnmc, c1airning that he was depicted in a critical and pejorativc manneT. Jackson re-edited Bashir's footage: the musician's 'alternative' version afthe docu­

usoap has respond documentary's m action between fil

mentar)' \"'as airerl in Britain wi1h little fanfare, to low audience numbers. These two examples - The Blue Planet, and Martín Bashir's interview wi1h Michael Jackson - were both 'event television', 'must-see' viewing, 'watercooler

constructed uature - r

Tv" The manner in which they were constructed serves to reveal how ideological messages ma)' bc prevalent even in supposedlJ' 'objective', 'quality' documentar)'

makers' presence

In other words, media

cate or ignore the presl

television. That is, whilst British factual television programmes may aim to educate, inl'orm and entertain, as hefits the 'public service broadcasting' remit requircd of this countrl"s terrestrial channels, such shows could hc idcologically loaded, skewed in l'avour of one specific perspective. This is evident even in more 'everyday' factual programming. House and garden makeover sho\..'s, l'or instance, sueh as the BBC's

As this chapter has den analysis of visual cultur but also to seemingll' ,

Ground Force and Changing Room~, seem to lcgliimise a particular (class-weighted)

ings of ideologl' are la Marx, Gramsci, Althus:

design crcdo as 'the look' that the nation's citizenrl' should aspire too Similarll" the rash ol' house-purchasing programmes that has recentll' spread across terrestrial schcdules (such as Location Locarion Locaríon and A Place in che Sun, both on Channel 4) mal' satisl)' a vol'euristic desire to spy insidc othcr people's abodes, but also serves to normalise home ownership, and to induce envious aspirationalism in those lower down the 'property ladder' (itself the title 01' a house-buying show). [n a straight­ forwardll' Marxist sense, tclcvision programmes about transforming or purchasing houscs mal' serve to ensure that citizens subscribe to capitalist economic values, endlessly desirous of the capital and 'VI/hcrcwithal to improve their station. One marked characteristic 01' manl' 01' the examples making up the diverse array of factual television shO\\'s that have reeently been aired, and continue to fill tele­ vision schedules, is thcir seeming disdain for the traditional documentary's claims to objective 'truth'. Many 'docusoaps' and 'reality TV' programmes are shot on

with applying such a p since the end of the sec( 01' ideology'. In the Un equated ideology witb Communism and other our prcsent political a Unitcd States is in the F cal force; Britain's Labo is rapidI)' losing public ~ continucs to rage in the: ever outwards, overt a daily lives. A knowledg.

digital video (DV): this is cconomicalll' wise, as it eradicates the need to spcnd monel' on film stock and enables directors and producers to reduce tbe number ol' personnel the)' require. Thc utilisation ofDV also allows a (previously unthinkablc) dcgrc<' of complicity and proximity between cameraperson/ dircctor and the 'sub­ jeets' 01' the programme being rceordcd. The filming style that results is highly per­ sonal: its popularit), with television audiences poses a ehallcngc to those filmmakers and critics who persist in assoeiating documentary practice \\,ith detachment and sobricty. As Stella Bruzzi has daimed: The emergcnec of the 'docusoap' signals ver)' dearly the growing unhappincss ,"vith classic observational transpareney and passivit)', the absenting oran autho­ rial voiee and the abstcntion from an)' overt means of demonstrating the film­

Eagleton, Terr)'- Ideol08.X (LI

Marx, Kar] and Engels. Frü McCldlan, David. IJeoIOflY I Thompson, John. IdeolOflY o

Intcrvit'\\-ed in the do< Lennhofl"; ShOWll 00 eh 2 David r\lclellan, Ideol0El.

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE VISUAL

177

makers' presence. The need to modify the observational mode has becn a driving force behind British documentary film-making in particular.... What the doc­ usoap has responded to ... is the pervasive modero coneCTn with the notion that documentarY'5 mast significant 'truth' ¡s that which emerges through the inter­ action betv....een filrnmaker and subject in front of the camera ... 25 In other warels, media-savvy contemporary audiences

awarc of documentary's

constructed nature - may prefer to watch factual programmes that do not cradi­ cate or ignore the presence of the team behind the camera.

Conclusion As this chapter has demonstrated, the coocept of ideology is a crucial too1 for the analysis of visual culture. This applies not onl)' to blatant cxamples of propaganda, but also to seemjngly 'innocent' cultural texts. Our understandings of the work­ ings of idcology are largely derivcd from a Marxist tradition - the \vritings of Marx, Gramsci, Althusscr, and otbers - but, as has been noted, there are problems with applying such a perspective in the postmodern era. Indeed, once or twice since the end of the second world war, critles have attempted to announcc 'the end of ideology'. In the United Statcs in the 1960s, for instance, a number of authon equated ideology with totalitarianism, and saw the failure of Nazism, Soviet Communism and other political regimes as rnarking the death of idcology per se. In our prcscnt political and cultural climate, such an argument is untenable: thc United States js in the process of attempting to assert its status as the world politi­ cal forcc; 8ritain's Labour Party, duc in part to Blair's support for President Bush, is rapidly losing puhlic support; the Europcan Union's future js unccrtain; conflict continues to rage in the Middle East. And as the reach of the rnass media spreads cvcr outwards, oyert and covert ideo]ogka) rncssages continue to infiltrate our daH), lives. A knovvledge of the workings of ideology has never bcen so crucial.

Suggested Reading l:agleton, Terry.Ide%8.Y (London and New York, 1991).

Marx, Karl amI cnge1s, Friedrich. The German IdeolollY (London, 1974).

McClellan, David. Ide%8], (Mihon Keynes, 1986).

Thornp~on, John. IdeoloflJ ond Modan Culture (Stanford, CA, t 990).

Notes lnterviewed in the docurnentary Cortoons K1Ck Ass (produced and dirceted by Stephen Lcnnhoff; shown on Channcl 4 in 2(00). 2 David McLdlan, Ide%llY (Milton Keyncs, 1986), p. 1.

178

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Terr)' Eagleton, IJeoloar an IntroJuction (Lanrioo and New York, 1991), pp. 1 1. Gill Branston and Ro)' Stafford, The MedIa Student'i' Book (London, 1996), p. 117. Eagleton, ldeolo,qy, p. 6. Niccolo Machiavdli, The Princ!!, ed. Q. Skinner and R. Prke (Cambridge, 1988). Karl Marx, CapJtal (London, 1976). Karl Marx ami Frieririch Engels, The German ldeology (London, 1974, 2nd edition), p. 64. Stanle)' eohen, Folk Denh and Moral Pan/es: rhe CreatlOn ?{ ,he Mods and Rockers (Landon, 1972). 10 Antonio Gramsci, Pmon .Notebooh: Vol. 1 (Nno,· York and Oxford, 1975), pp. 136-- 7. 11 McLdlan, ldeolo8f. p. 38. 12 Sigmund Freud, Taum and Taboo: Resemhlann!.~ hetween ¡he Ps),t:hn' Live;' C?fSavQaes and .1I./eurotICS (London, 1919); Sigmund Freud, Group Ps.ycholollJ' and che Ana0/s1s ?fthe E[jo (London and Vienn<\, 1922). 13 Slavoj Ziiek, The Subhme Objecr ?FJdeoloB) (London and New York, 1989). 14 John Thompson, Srudles in the Theory ?f IJeoloB), (Cambridge, 1984); John Thompson, IdeoloBY and MoJan Culture (Stanford, CA, 1990). 15 David Harvey, The Condition ?! Postmodermty: An EnqUlry mro che Ori[jin.> ?f Cu/rural Chanae (Oxford, 1989); Fredric rame~on, Postmodernism, Or the Cultural L091e ~)r Lare Capualbm (London and New York, 1991); Jean-Franc;ois L)'otard, The Postmodem Condmon: A Repon on Knowledge (Manchestt>r, 19H4). 16 Fredric Jameson, 'Po.~tmoderni~m, or the Cultural Logic 01' Late Capitalism', New L~ft R,,;,w, Vol. 146 (1984), p. 78. 17 Barbara Ehrenreich, Nick}ed anJ DlmeJ: Undeu[wer in Low- Waae Ammea (London, 2002). 18 See Peter Sloterdijk, Crmque efC)'meal Reason (London, 1989). 19 See :¿¡'zek, The Suf>[lme Oblea ?! Ideoloay. 20 Dick Hebdige, Subculture: The Meanina ?! St:yle (London: 1979); len Ang, WatclJ1na Dalias: Soap Opera and the .J1eloJramatic Ima[jinatíoll (Londnn, 1985); Angela McRobbie, Feminísm anJ lóuth Culrure (Basingstoke, 1991); Eagkton, IJeo]oHF. 21 Janet WoIJT, The Social Production?f Au (London, ]981), p. 49. 22 Jon Do\'e}, 'Reality TV', in Glen Creeher, ed., The TelensIOn Genre Book (London, 2001), p. 1l4. 23 Paul Wells, 'The Documentar)' Form: Personal and Social "Realities'" , in Jill N elmcs, cd., An Inrroduetian ta Film Srudlf's (London and New York, 1996), p. 169. 24 Ibid. 25 Stella Bruzzi, ?\,'ew Documenror.,.r: A CnIJca} IntrdJuetIOn (London and New York, 2000), p. 76.

The vast social and econl

place in Europe and Nortl on ever)' level of social ar

that human pereeption al spacc Jnd time have been China, India, Indonesiaan

process of industrialisatio impact of the industrial ar thc iast 200 or so ,vears in specific issues. Conseque technological production

on how technology preser

From toda.y paintin!

This celebrated statement OBe of the best-known rea,

12. Visual Practices in the Age of Industry Matthew Rampley

Introduction The vast social and l'conomic changes known as the Industrial Rc'Volution that took

place in Europe and North Arncrica OH'r the rast 250 years havc had a profound impact on every level of social and cultural practice. At a most basie leve! it has becn argued that human pereeption and the bod y itself '.vere altered, and that the experience of space and time havc becn transformecl irrevocably. j This process is ongoing globally: China, India, Indonesia and mao)' othcr Asían states are currentl)' undergoing a massive proccss of industrialisation with hreathtaking rapiditr The focus 01' trus chapter is the impact nf the industrial and scientific invcntions ofmodernit)' on the visual culture 01' the last 200 or so years in the West. It is a vast topie, and one can explore onl)' a fcw specific issues. Conscquentiy this chaptcr focuscs in particular on how large-scale tcchnological procluctjon impacted on debates about cultural vaJue and meaning, and on how technology presentecl the practices of visual culture with politu:al challenges.

Photography and/as Modernism From today painting is cleacl. 2 This cclcbratcd statC'ment by French painter Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) remains one of the best-known rcactions to the invention ofphotography. It presents striking

180

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

testiman)' lo the impact 01' the nev.! technology.ln common with man)' ofhis contcm­ pararies Delaroche held that the im'\~ntion orthe photograph rendcrcd painting's task

of depicting the visihle world redundant. The phütograph's ability to record every visual detail, with a precision beyond the capacities afthe most observant paioter, was welcomed by maoy. for it lived up lo the positivist idcals of a scientific and mechani­ cal agc ohscssed with factual objectivity. Othcrs \Vere rather less positive.

In certain respects Delaroche misread the significancc of this oew invention. Mostly, the photograph was treated as an accessory. As a mechanical proccss,

devoíd 01' manual skill, photography failed to gaio the status of painting. Instead, it \Vas put to a yaricty 01' other social and scientific uses, from priva te family portraits to scientific illustr.ltions to p()liC(~ records. When photographers did aspire to the status of artist, their images mimieked the painterly praetiees 01' their time. This i~ cvident in the phenomenon of 'pictorialism' , for example, a sclf-consciousl)' aes­ thetic form of photographic image-making espoused hy American photographers such as Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglit7- and Frank Eugene in the periad bet".'een t 890 and 1920. Not only did 'pietorialism' imitate the Yisuallanguage and subject­ matter ol' contemporaneous painting, its practitioners .lIso sought aeeess to galler­ ies and museums to display their work in imitation of fine art. Despite its lower social status, it is alleged that the photograph ncvertheless presented painting with .specific challenges, questioning in particular the latter's traditional representational role. The modernist renunciation of mimetic rcalism from the 1870s and 1880s onwards has been seen as perhaps the most visible effect of the invention of photography. Aceording to Arthur Danto, painting struggled, during the followíng 80-90 years, to redefine itself in order to high­ Iight its differenee from photography. '1 The heightened and non-naturalistic u.se of colour hy artists as di\'erse as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse or August Macke was a response to the challenge ofthe photograph, exploring painting's ehromatic possibilities (in contrast to black-and-white photography) and rcnouncing its former mimetie role. Othcr artists sa"v in painting the depiction ol' the invisihle essenee of things, a notion that opened the way up to abstraetíon. For Wassily Kandinsky or Piet Mondrian, for example, the adoption of abstraetion was directly related to thc attempt to depiet the spiritual, a task felt to lie be)'ond photography, with its ties to the visible world. Abstraction has heen seen as one ol' the most obvious characteristies of modern painting, and while many contin­ ued 10 explore the possibilities of figura ti ve representation, ahstraetion was the most powerful sign of what Danto characterised as the determination of modern artists 10 carve out a domain for art that would not be threatened h y photogra­ ph y. In certain respects Danto adapted the more famous writings of Clement Greenherg (1909-94), \....ho equated avant-garde abstraetion with a shutting out from art ofanything deemed non-artistic. 4 For Greenbcrg this aimed primarily at maintaining the 'purity' ol' art in the faec of popular culture; while photography

is not speeifieally targt: medium of popular YÜ The aceounts of bot As Thomas Crow has p

painting was often mOl Moreover, the causal ( hinges on the assumpti( re5entation, whereas hi art, including narratiar these \Yas ehallenged b;

playa crucial role in a< l3enjamin, for instanee ,

perception; it makes vis ab.stract painters were , ested in eontemporary a

Claude Cahun, Man RaJ photography as a medil suggests that many feIt p example, in 1920 the SUI

The invention of p expressian . . . Sin, had set thcmseJves ness, to break with

Hcre Danta 's position is ( .lnd a key feature of surre desirc within the visible objeet of considerahle in embodiment of what Ros

Clearly, there are argt prompted the dcvdopm, resolved, it is gcnerally al role in shaping the theory, tic medium in the 19605 ,

a.s a legitimate art praeticc performance art, f(Jr exan

ceptual art of the 19605 al establishment of visual cu tion 01' the role oI' photogr; art and other, popular, for

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE QF INDUSTRY i~

181

not specifically targetecl for critique by Grecnberg, it c1early stand!'> as a crucial

medium of popular visual representation. The ac("ounts 01' both Greenberg and Oanto have been thc object of criticismo As Thomas erow has pointed out, thc Aat guality of much moclernist anct abstraet painting \vas often monelled on the Hatncss of lithographie cornmercial posters.:; Morcover, the causal connection drawn betv\'een mociernism amI photography hinges on the as."umption th.1t painting was concerned prjnwriiy with mimetic rep­ resentatian, whereas historically this was only arre of many functions ascribed to

.1rt, inclucHng narratían, moral improverncnt and social commentary.6 None of

these was challengcn b:' the advcnt o[ photograph),; ¡ndeen, photography carne to playa crucial role in advancing thesc functions within art, According to \Valter Renjamin, for instance, photography capture~ ,'\.. hat I¡es bencc1th the thrcsholn of perception; it makes visible a subliminal awareness comparable to what num<.TOUS abstract paintcrs were attempting to evoke,7 Benjamin \\'as also intensely in ter­ ested in contemporary art, and many avant-garde figures, including André Kertcsz, Claude Cahun, Man Ra)' ann Tina Modotti relied either exclusivel)' or heavily Oil photography as a medium. Neverthclcss, thc response nI' Delaroehe and others suggests that man)' felt photography confronted art \\' ith significant questions. For example, in 1920 the surrealist Anclr{ Breton argued: The invention 01' photography has dealt a mortal blmv to the old modes of expression . Since a blind instrumcnt no\\' assurcd artists of the aim they had set themsch-es up to that time, they no\\' aspired, not without H'Ckless­ ness, to break with the imitaLion of appearances.1:l Here Danta 's position is confirmed by a leading figure of the surrealist movement, and a key feature oI' surrealist art practicc was to allude to thc presence of inl"lSlble desire within thc Yisihlc world. Indced, surrealist photography has become the ohjeet of consinerable ¡nterest in the past deeade or so preciseI)' bccause nI' its embodiment of what Rosalind Krauss has termed the 'optical unconscious'.9 C!early. therc are arguments both for and against the idea that photography prompted thc devclopment oI' modern arto HO\vever this particular debate is resolved, it is generall:' accepted that photography subsequently playerl a crucial role in shaping the theory and practice oI' art. Painting ceased to be a dominant artis­ tic medium in the 1960s, at th<.' same time that photography carne lo be aecepted as a legitimatc art practice. Photography playecl a key role in the documentation of performance art, for example, and was a central exploratory medium in the con­ ceptual art. oI' the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, much 01" thc critical thrust behind lhe estahlishment oI' visual culture as a fielrl oI' study has been motiv~ted by recogni­ tion of the role ol' photography as a medium that erodes older houndaries between art ann other, popular, I'orms of image production.

182

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Art in the Age ofTechnical Production

phy as manifesting a 'haJ graph represents crow( ncver intervenes to spn

Man is a technological animal.

. man must as far possible economize his

energy and must in aoy event coordinate aH his rarees with the level of mOr1crn

criticism was made bv ,F Barthes bemoans the rel

technology. 10 Current toys are n

With ... the first technical specialists in the rationalisation oI' the movements

of naturc ... the

of workers, we see an alignment, as it were, of the human organism with the

at once gross and

. . o f t he maCmne. L, 11 f unctlOmng

f

humanity of touch the place ol' art

At the rootofsuchcrit

within mooern Western industrial and technical society. Thc continued attachment

Questions about photography form part of a much larger debate

to thc mcchanical deman

to traditional notions of art, which valued its cxpressive qualities and its uniqueness,

Siegfried Giedion interpr

00

was aIread)' a target of criticism in the early decades of the twcntieth century. For

performing movement th

roanv , , such an attachment constituted a romantic withdrawal from the realitics ol'

without pause ... It canne

modern socict)' amI culture. Most famousl)', perhaps, \-Valter Bcnjamin identified

what mechanization entai

the l'etishism of artistic authenticitv , as a conservative reaction to the revolutionarv,

and the machine-made v

potential oftechnical reproduction. 12 Bcnjamin was concerned with developments

influential work distinguis

in European culture of the 1930s, but debates to do \.. .-ith both the impact anu the

ccrtaint)" a~sociated with

potential ol' modcrn technolog)' had been taking place l'or a century or more, begin­

manufacture which, iaek

ning with concern over the effects oflarge-scale industrial production on the gualit),

imprccision and irregulan

ol' crart and designo Britain was the first state to nndergo widescale industrialisation

Such criticisms, while

I

in the first half ofthe nineteenth ccntur)', in which small-scall', traditional, artisan­

times, thc)' could indulg<

based small-scale manufacture was replaced by larger-scale, factory-based produc­

Mexican poet Octavio Pa

tion. As Julictte MacDonald argues in her discussion of craft, there -was \\'idespread opposition to industrial societ)' and its allegedly ncgative impact on the gualit)' and

the eraft: object pres,

nature ol' art and dcsign, leading to the campaigns ofRuskin and Morris, but neither

the artisan who fashi

offercd genuine solutions to the problems it allegedly created. Morris's return to

they are not a name

hlgh-qualit)·, hand-made designs and products l'ailed to recognise contemporary

of commcmorahng 1

economic conditions; though popular with wealthy middlc-dass clients, the)' proved to be inadeguate to the demands of a mass society. Much criticism of technology centred on the loss of the sense of touch. ln the

Marxism is also an instr

of modern industrialised (

opening of the twentietb c('ntur)' the Viennese art historian Alois Riegl outlined

a persistent faith in the c

the evolution, in Western society, of pcrception l'rom a tactilc orientation towards

modern society. Marx him

une of vision, ami this thcmc was repeated in numerous variations. I j Likcwisc,

produced a vast expansiol

WaJter Benjamin bemoaned the loss, in thc modern era, of touch as the mean s

children. More generally,]

whereby craftsmen could leave thc imprint

01'

experiencc on their "\'ork. 14 Such

regret was expressed more forcefull} in the art historian Henri Focillon's The L![e

c!fForms published in 1934. Focillon celebra tes the artist/ artisan as
Factory work exhaus it does a,\\'ay with thl

atom of freedom bot

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

183

ph), as manifesting a 'handless eye'. Hence, Fodl1on argues, 'Even when the photo­ graph reprcsents crowds of people it is the imagc al' solitude, becausc the hand never intervenes to spread over it the warrnth and flaw ofhuman life.']) A similar criticism was made by Focillon's compatriot Barthes in a short essay

00

toys. Herc

Barthes bemoans the replacement of ",",ooden hy plastic to1's: Current tOY5 are made of a gracelcss material, the product al' chemistry, not of naturc.

. the plastic material o[ which they are made has an appearance

al once grosoS and hygienie, humanity oftouch. lli

jt

destroys all the pleasure, the sweetness, the

At the root ofsuch criticisms was the semI.' that the tOlich of the craftsman was alien to the mechanical demanJs ol' the machine. This is certainly how thc design thcorist

Siegl'ried Giedion interpreted the relation ol' the two, arguing that 'In its very way ol' pcrforrning movernent the hand is iIl fitted to work with mathernatical precision and without pause ... It cannot continue a rnovemcnt in endless rotation. That is precisely wbatrnechanization entails: en dIe ss rotation.' 17 A distinction between the hand-made and the rnacrune-made \
01' hand-made

manufacture which, lacking machine prccision, leaves the object with marks of imprecision and írregularity, the laner, for Pye, offering traces ofhumanity. 18 Such criticisms, while often persuasive, were often rather backward-Iooking. At times, the)' couId indulge in m),stification, such as the folhm;ing assertion by the Mexican poet Octavío Paz in the voiceover for the 1974 film In PraÍ5e

1 Hands:

the craft object preserves the fingerpdnts - be the)' real or metaphorical- ol' the artisan who fashioned it. These imprints are not the signature ofthe artist; th(,·)' are not a name ... Rather, they are a sign: the scarcel)' visible , faded scar of cornmemorating the original brothcrhood of men and thcir separation. 19 Marxism i5 also an instructive example. While condcmning the dehumaoisation ol' modern industrialised capitalist societ)' rnan)" Marxist thinkers have maintained a persistent faith iu the capacit)' ol' technolog)' to emancipate the oppresscd of modern societ)'. Marx himself asserted that machine-hased factor), production haJ produced a vast expansion in the scope ol' human exploitation, including )'oung children. More gene rally, he argucd: Factor), \\.'ork exhausts the nervous systcrn to the uttermost; at the same time it do<.~s away with the many-sided play of th<.' muscles and confiscates ev<.~ry atom al' frecdorn both in bodil)' and intellectual activity.20

184

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

üther Marxist thinkers offered similar criticisms. Hence Herbert MarcusC'

-- many argued modern

(\898-1979) could c1aim: 'Not only the application of technology hut technology

lhe drudgery of the dail

itself is domination (of nature and men) - metho(Hcal, scientific, calculated, calcu­

objcct of particular criti

lating contro1.,21 In DiaJectic ?f Enliahrenment Max Horkheimer and Theodor

kind of art one should pI society. It was faulted fe

Adorno pondercd

00

rhe paradox that modern technological rationality. '\vhilc

01' training and 1

affording emanciparían from superstition and fear al' nature, had turnea iota a tool

system

of oppression and dominatian. 22 Mast immediately, rhe)' had in mind the industri­

had hardly changed in 1

alised killing of rhe Holocaust, but their more general paint was that modern tech­

tion it was still oriented

nology had evolvea hand in hand with increasing control al' Western populations,

cnce. Third, the roman

from the 'disciplining' of workIorces (induding set hours and workloads) to the

mane its relevancc ques

hurcaucratic cage of the modern state. In contrast, hüwcvcr, Benjamin, for aH his

tíon. As Aleksandr Bogd

comments on the loss ofhuman touch, maintained an optimistie scnse of tcchnol­

have devcloped in isolati.

ogY'5 Iiberating potential.

ofproletarian art must s~

As earl)' as 1914 such critiques 'vere thcmsclves being questioned. Thorstcin

For example, photograp

Veblcn pointed out that faetory-bascd production was a\rcad)' in place before the

places as media witrun

rise 01' large-scale machine technology; the first stagcs of the industrial revolutian

had become disconnecte

consisted of a s)'stematic division oflahour withm handicrafts, and in particular, tex­

ohligatíon for the produ,

tiles.2"J Veblen .lIso took issuc with romantic notions of pre-modern societ)', arguing

gap. A similar view was

1

that ('ven in so-called 'primitive' l'ultures there is a degree of tcchnoJogical ration~ alit)': 'al! instinctive aetivity is teleological. It involves holding to a purposc. [t

The fael that aH so

achie\'t:"s sorne end and involves sorne dcgree of intelligent faeulty to compass the

ism is the product (

in...;tinctively given purposc.'24 In other word~, rational calculation is not only a

theology, metaphY'

feature of modan Jire, but is rooted in basie human instincts. As Adrian Forty has

val cultures, when

.lIso argucd, the polemie against tcchnology and mass production blamed the

forms of economy

symptom rather than the cause; designed goods were mass produced in orckr to rncct a demand for cheap, rcadily available commodities, and technology ,vas adapted to maximisc profitability.2'

A briefburst ofexperi Bolshevik Revolution of

Man)' avant-garde '''Titers and artist.;; al so celebrated modern techno]ogy; the

Tatlin and Gabo produce.

Italian Futurists tit into this pattern, engaging in a ramantic and often chauvinistic

was difficult to term then

fetishism of the rnachine and also attacking the backvvard nature of contemporary

than to traditional notion

Ital)'. Vcnice in particular '.\'as singled out by the group Icad('[ FiHppo Marinetti

neering and tcchnology, I ing achievements in plan

(1876-1944) for its status as a living mausolcum that fetishised the past, and aJong­ side artists such as Umherto 8()(:cioni (1882-1916) or Cario Scnrini (1883-1966)

Rodchenko turned to ph

Marinetti declared the liberating potential of the machine ami modern technol­

artistic practice and soci

ogy. ~b TechnoJogy was also endorscd hy the 'constructivist' avant-garde of the early·

figures, perhaps the most

Soviet Union, lhcir fascination with lhe potential of modern technology comhincd

deliherate blurring of ba

with a commitment to the politics of revolutionar} Marxism. For artists and writers

mentation aH ml~rged as I

sueh as Vladimir Tatlin (1881-1913), Alexandcr Rodehenko (189\ 19\6) or Naum Gabo (1890-1977) technology held the key lo emancipatian from the alien­

society compeHcd a reass

olution, and in support (

ating conditions of industrial modernity. Allhough curren tI)' the instrumcnt of

rclícs of an earlier age. As

large-scale opprcssion - particular ath'ntion was paid to lov.'-paid factory '.vorkers

Every modern cultured

TI

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

185

- ruany argucd modern technology he Id a utopian potential to free workers [roro rhe drudgery of the daHy grind of repetitive, dchumanising ¡abour. Art was .lIso the ohject

01' particular criticism; for the C'onstructivists the issue was not simply which

kind of art one should produce, but whether .Irt was itselfrelevant in revolutionary

socicty. It was faulted for a number of reasans. first, it was rhe reHe of a medieval system of training and production. in which the basic technologies of art making had hardly changed in 500 or so years. Secand, as a small-scale process 01' produc­ lian it was still oriented towards a limited, social elite, r.lther than to a mass audi­ ence. Third, the romantic myth of .Irt as expression gave it a private quality that made its rdevance questionable in a culture aiming at large-scale social emancipa­

tion. As Aleksandr Bogdanov argucd in 1920: 'The technical methods of thc old art have developcd in isolatian fram the methods ol' other spheres al' lifc; the techniqucs of proletarian art must seek consciously to utilize the materials ol' aH those mcthods. For example. photography, stereagraphy. cinematography ... must find their own places as media within the system of artistic techniques.'27 Hence, traditianal art had hecome disconnected from the realities of contemporary society. and it \\'as an obligation for the producers ol'revolutionary (proletarian') art to make good that gap. A similar vicw was put forward by Alexci Gan: The fact that aH so-called art is permeated with the most reactionary ideal­ ism is the product of extreme individualism ... Art is indissolubly linked with thcology, metaphysics and mysticism. It emerged during the epoch of prime­ val culturcs, ,,,,hen technology existed in the embryonic statc of tools and forms of economy Aoundered in utter primitiveness. 28 A briefburst of experimentation occurred in thc years immediately following the Bolshevik RevolutÍon of 1917, in which the concept al' art itself was interrogated. Tatlin and Gabo produced abstract structures the status 01' which was ambiguous; it was dit'ficult to term them 'sculpture' since they seemed more allied to engineering than to traditional notions of art. Gabo foregrounded a continuing interest in engi­ neering and technology, produc.ing heads that envisaged human beings as engineer­ ing achievements in place ofhumanist notions 01' consciousness or thc soul. Finall)', Rodchcnko turned to photography, with work that hovered hetv,/een avant-garde artistic practicc and social and political documentary. In the work of these three figures, perhaps the most significant representatives of constructÍvism, there was a deliberate blurring 01' boundaries; art, architecture, engineering and social docu­ mentation all merged as part 01' a campalgn to furthcr the political aims ofthe rev­ olution, and in support 01' the argument that the conditions of modern industrial society compel1ed a reasscssment and cventual relinquishing of praetices that were relics ol' an earlier agc. As Rodchcnko declared, 'Art has no place in modern life ... Every modern cultured man must wagc \var on art as on opium.'29

----~

186

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

A similar celebration 01' modero technology occurred in the 19205 and 19305 in the United StatE's. The cultural historian David Nye has explored the 'technologi­ cal suhlime' in America, where the sheer irnmcnsit)' ofprojeets such as the Hoo\'er

Dam or Brooklyn Bridge was the cause 01' a patriatie a"ve o.m.l rnarvel.)o In 1934 the Museum al' Modern Art (MOMA) in New York staged an exhihition entitled 'Machine Art' (Figure 12.1), which was an exploratían of the aesthetic qualitics of modern industria1l), produccd artefacts. 1 ! On the ane hand. the exhibitian was the ce lebration 01' a DCW machine aesthetil". which was accompanied by a scnse 01' the redlUldanc)' al' traditional eraft. As the catalogue states, 'the erart spirit do es not fit an age geared to machine techniquc ... and the real handicrafts havc lost their original vigor'. 32 Yet more was at stake, for the exhibition consisted primarily of thc display ofcontemporary industrial and consumer goods, ranging from gasoline pumps to ekctric toasters and ítem s 01' fur­ niture. In most cases the name of the company and the price were abo listed, while the catalogue lookcd as ir it was for a eontemporary design shop (Figure 12.2). This \Vas :;ignificant, for ít suggcstcd both the displacement of art hy machine-made eommodities and abo the hegemony nf modern consumcrism. MOMA suhsequently returned to a rather more traditional notion of art prac­ tice, and its namc hccame synonymous with thc attempt to maintain the auton­ omy of art aBainst the encroachmcnts 01' industrial modernity, but thc espousal of a maehíne aesthetic hccame \\Cidespread in the 1930s. In a now classic work on machine art puhlished in 1936. Sheldon and Martha Cheney celebratcd the rise of indu:;trial design that eoupled feats of engineering wíth a nc\\' aesthetic based on precision. 11 Strcamlining was of particular signifieance (Figure 12.3). It was interpretcd not simply as a functionaI design clement - the minimisation 01' air rcsistance to moving vehicles

but also as a visual symhol 01' the vaIue (Jf the

modern agc: speed, dynamism and 'contemporary

lite

flmo,r'. 34 While the

Cheneys recognised thc substantial intcrest ofmodern artists in modern technol­ ogy, they werc ultimately damning of the inabilit)' of societ)' to meet the chal­ lenges of the industrial world. They critiqucd in particular the failures of art and design education in responding to contemporary rcalities: 'edueators still are thinking in terms of the old divided world: 01' the machine as one thing ... of art as another, existing (rather ornamentally) in a realm totally removed from that al' practical affairs.':¡~ Consequcntly, they condudc, there are 'ninctC'cnth-century colkges 01' enginecring and ninetecnth-century art schools and handicraft schools, but there are no twentieth-century art-in-relatíon-to-technology schools'.36 What thc Chcne)'s and numcrous others argued was that a thorough engagement with technology involved more than surface adoption 01' a mere 'style'; rather, it implicd a recognition of the much larger ehanges in systems 01' production that could ultimatdy ¡cad to the dissolution oftraditional practices 01' 'art'. 'eraft' or 'design'.

Figure 12.1 - Josef Albers, ( uf Modern Art (19

.~lusC'um

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

Figure 12. [ Joscf Albf'r~. Cover of the exhib¡tion catalogue Machmc Are, New York, Muscum of Modern Art (1934). Photograph ':s: SCAlA, Florcnce.

187

188

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Figure 12.3 - David E. Scht Time & Life Pictures. lIeultb

~(·ale.

numher ;11

Hansan Scille Co. 112.95.

After the second world v

Depurlment 8nd hard'Mare stoct"!"

transformations. Within

ruptivc and their work '"

cially approved art, Socia Siher Slreuk

(~arr)el ~wet"l'er

llÍl"8ell earpet !"lweeper (:0. ~5.00.

Department. furnilure 'Mure "lores

ano tcchniques, celebra1

West the utopian celebn focused increasingly on t The British artist Roy

AS4

nebes - the theorv , of in

practice that wouId ove]

between the audience ane

in a numbcr ofhigh profil mounted by Jasia Reicha.l 1968. and S?ftware organi in 1970. Burnham also a Figure 12.2 -Illustrations 7S and 73 fmm MachlIlc Art catalogue, New York, Museum al' Modern Art (1934). Photngraph~) SCALA Florcnce.

FJjects e.f Science and uchTl

introduction of compute

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

Figure 12.3- David E. Scherman, WorlJ's FUI, I.ocomoCIYc

(19~9).

189

Photograph courte~y of

Time & Ufe I'ictures.

After Constructivism After the secand world war, the fascination w ¡th machines underwent a number of transformations. Within the Soviet Union the Constructivists ".. ' erc secn as too dis­ ruptive and their work was increasingly censoreo arrd passed over in favour of offi­ eially approved art, Socialist Realism, which, employing traditiona] narrative forms and techniques, celebratcd the achicvements of the Communist regime. In the West the utapían celebratian of technology took

00

new forms and in the 1960s,

focused increasingly on the patential of the computcr and the computer network. The British artist Roy Ascott, for l'xample, explored computer systems and cyber­ nctics -- the thcory of information control and feedback - to promote an artistic practice that would over('ome thc elitism of most art by cnhancing interaction bctween the audience and the artwork. 37 This interest in the computer culminated in a numbcr ofhigh profile exhibitions in the latc 19605 such as Cyberneric Serendipity mounted by Jasia Reichardt in the lnstitution ol' Contemporary Arts in London in 1968, and S~tware organised by Jack Burnham in the Je\\'ish Museum in New York in 1970. Burnham also authorcd an important book, B%nd Modern Sculpture. The E:ffeas

l' Science and

IechnoloBY on che Sculpture

c:f this

Century, which presentcd the

introduction of computerised systems of control and organisations as presenting

190

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

an unavoidable challenge to existing notions 01' art - as a material ohject rather than · formatlOll. . l8 as a system o f In

or Louise Lawlor, wl

The interest in cybernctics and networks was eventually subsurncd in the 19805

represent the empiric

Abigail Solomon-God

and 19905 by dehates concerning the interne! and global media, which are

eties' amI cnnsequentl

cxplored later in this book. 39 Yet while thcre \Vas a continuing celehratian 01' tech­

ideolog)" . 46 As the do

nology - the mos! extreme exarnple \vithin Jrt might be the attempts by the con­

phy had hecome the c

tcmporary Australian artist Stelarc to transform himselfinto a cyhernctíc organism

oth~r artistic media w

-

shc argued, 'cvery crit

there \Vas also considerable sceptidsm regarding its utapían possihiHties.

Norbert Wiencr, the founder al' cybernetics, believecl that it could he used for the

be said to engage in

OJ

purposc 01' social progress and improvement, but "vas dismaycd hy the postwar mil­

tigure who attra<-1:ed

el

itarisation oI' new technologü·s. 4o The most extensive recent criticism of this

Gerhard Richter, whm

process has been undertaken by the French cultural theorist Paul Virilio. 41

photography. Thcy re

In the United States, on the other hand, the ideas oI'the Constructivists, having

unmistakeahly paintin!

been banished from Soviet Russia, gained a resurgence of interest from the 196005

to he engaged on an ex

onwards. Minimalist artists such as Robert Morris or Oonald Judd openly declared

ing in the era of phote

their intellectual debt to Constructivism, producing artworks that emplo)"ed raw

Benjamin Buchloh sug

industrial material s, or neon lights in the case ofDan Flavin. Significantly, they dis­

descripti ve and historie

tanced their work I'rom connotations oI' 'art', Jucid, for examplc, referring to his

it so perfectly. Hence t

works as 'objects' rather than sculptures. 4 ? Various critics, most famously Michael

quality oI' old pictures'

Fried, took issue with minimalism on account of its failure to pursuc the aesthctic

Much oI' the crhical

goals felt to be thc proper conccrn al' art. Indeed, for Fricd the work oI' Morris,

allcged ncutering of ph

Judd and othcrs ""'as a form oI' artistic dcgenerac)' he prcferred to ter m 'theatre'

in particular John Szad

rather than art. 4 \ Fried's point was perhaps more insightI'ul than he might ha ve real­

photography ¡nto a mer

ised, for minimalist work contrihuted to a much widcr erosion, in the 1960s and

the houndaries of art

1970s, nI' traditional distinctions betwcen art and non-art. Minimalism existed in

LikC\vise, in his histori

an amhiguous space bet\veen art and industry, and as if to reinforce this, its pared­

gardc photographic ex photocoIlage and obliq

down forms have subscquently been appropriatcd hy contempnrary commerciaJ designers such as John Pawson. 44

thcir critical impact an

Constructivio5t ideology also gained a renewed impetus in thc late 197005 with

cH'ort nI' the US govern

the puhlication of the journal October in the United States. Founded in 1976, the

Central to th~se aco

title alone of October - with its referencc to the Russian Revolution -- highlighted

critical potcntial. Usir

this, and it \Vas establíshed in order to break with an unguestioned subscription to

attackcd as reaetjonary,

romantic notions ol' arto The \".Titers associatecl with Oetober aimed aboye aH to

\\'ider argumcnts about

pro mote 'critical practice', which meant not only overt polítical critique, but .lIso

19205 and 1930, archit

an undcrmining of art as a social institution. A central place was allottcd to photog­

architectural planning (

raphy. This was deemed to have an intrinsicall)' critical potential not open to more

argucd in 1924, with th

traditional forms such as painting or sculpture. For the American critic Douglas

ral elements, 'our town

Crimp, photography had 'overturned thc judgement seat ofart' , a faet which mod­

the moment ... That or

ernism, in its anxiety to maintain autonomy, had repressed. 45 Accordingly, the rise

reign once again.' Le Ce

üf postmodernism was a kind ol' return of the photographic 'repressed' . Crimp and

but also social and cultu

others aIsü o5upported artists such as Cindy Sherman, Sherrie Levine, Hans Haacke

enmeshed within wider

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

191

or Louisc Lawlor. who placcd photograph), at the centre of their practice. As

Abigail Saloman-Cadeau argued, 'photography has come to mediate, if not wholly rcprcscnt the empírical world for most af the inhabitants 01' industrialized soci­ eries' and consequently lit has hccomc a principal agent and concluit of culture and idcology' .46 As the dominant medium for the dissemination of images, phütügra­ phy had become the central vchicle visual meaning. and to remain attached to other artistic media \....a5 to be (acused on an obsolescent and irrc1cvant formo For, she argued, 'cvcry critical and theoretical i~sue with which postmodernist art may he said to engage in arre sense or another can be locatcd in photography' .47 One figure "vho attractcd considerahle eritkal attention in this eontext was the painter Gerhard Riehter, whose paintings were hdrl to inhabit a space becween painting and pbotography. Thcy resemble and make referenee to photographs, but remain unmistakeably paintings. Riehter, who has been working sinee the 1960s, appcars to be cngaged on an extended meditation on the impossibility 01' traditional paint­ ing in the era 01' photography. That, at Ieast, is how he has been interpreted. As Benjamin Buchloh suggested in interview with Richter: 'pietures have lost thcir deseriptive anrl historieal funetion, among othcr reasnns hecausc photography does it so perfcetly. Hence this task is no longer given.' Conseguently, the 'high artistic guality of old pietures' is also no longer possiblc. 48 Much 01' the eritieal energy of the early years 01' Oclober was rlirccted against the alleged neutcring of photograpby's critical potential. Jt castigated museums - and in particular John Szarkowski, MOMA eurator of photography - for transforming photography into a merely aesthetic practice. 49 Photography's potential to disrupt the boundaries of art was halterl by its incorporation into thc art museum. Likewise, in his historical essays Buchloh eriticised the proeess whereby avant­ garde photographie experimcnts in the 1910s and 1920s, including montage, photocollage and oblique-angle images, were later appropriaterl and rohhcd of their eritieal impaet and employcd as propaganda for Stalinism, or for the war effort of the US government in the 1940s.;() Central to these accounts was thc notion that photography has an mrTlnsieallj' critical potential. Using photography for othcr 'non-critical' purposes ""as attaeked as rcactionary, a repression of its properly critieal funetion. This echocd wider arguments about the progressive nature of new tcchnologics. Already in the 1920s and 1930s architccts held that modern, teehnologieally-driven urban and architectural planning eould cffeet progressivc social change. As Le Corbusier argucd in 1924, \\-'ilh lhe introduction 01' mass-produeed standardised architectu­ ral elements, 'our to\vns will lose that appearance of chaos which blights them at thc moment ... That order \vhieh the poet seeks by looking baek to past eras will rt:'ign OIKt:' again.' Le Corbusier had in mind not only arehiteetural and aesthetie, hut al so social and cultural order. q Teehnology was not a neutral 'tool', but was enmeshed within widcr social and political contexts.

or

192

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Criticisms A recurrent criticism lcvclled at many of these accounts has singled out their tech­ no]ogiral essentiaJism, in other wards, their relianee

00

thc idea thar a specihc tech­

nology has intrinsic properties and thar irs social impact i5 generated by the workings 01' those properties. r.lther than hy the uses to which ir ¡.s puto For the Soviet writer Osip Brik (1888-1945), cven the fiost progressivc painting practice ,\,'as hampered hy the intrinsic inahility 01' painting ro articulare the experience üf modero saciety, while for Buchloh the renewed ¡nterest in painting in 19705 and

t 9805 Nco-Expressionism was a politically reactionary turo to the past. 52 Many film theorists in the 1960s and 1970, likewise argucd that the tcchnology of the camera is intrinsical1y ideological. 53 The difficulty with such views is that technological change occurs as part of a complex se! ofsocial, historical and cultural force!'.) and these oftenJrame the effects of the tcchnology in question. The steam engine was invented in Hellenistic Egypt in the hrst century, but hecause of other social factors - including the preyalence

productions, it remain induding, for exampl€: n:sulting in low-resolu video-hased art and ce standing apart froro ti pcrsist despite the em

l

allied to thc resurrect death and rcbirth with

It is also important) with technology made 1 the celebration of the n and it has been argued n ie~ a speeifically mascul1

attemptcd to redaim remain as to its genden:

of slavery - it remained a noyelt)' and died with its inventor, Hiero of Alexandria. While gunpowder was invented in China, its use \yas restricted to fireworksj onl)' when adopted in Europe in the earl)' fourteenth century was it used as a ,",,·eapon. The computer, as its name suggests, was originally a machinc for performing dif­ ficult mathematical calculations; there was nothing intrinsíc to the tcchnology that would lead it to become a powerful vüual instrumento Sueh accounts .lIso rely on a notíon ofhistory as a one-way process; reverüng to 'old' media is seen as an hístorical regression. Howcver, history does not progress in such a linear lashion; the utopian predictions of Benjamin with regard to cinema, for example, havc been revealed as nai'vc. It has featured as both a progressivc and a poBtically regressive mcdium. While revolutionary films were made by the Soviet director Sergei Eisensteín, sorne 01' the most compclling cinematic productions \Vere those of Nazi filmmaker Leni Ríel'enstahl. [ndeed, Adorno carne to devote considerable effort to the anal)'Sis of the negaüve and regressive character ol' cinema. Recent developments .lIso cast dotIbt on the binar)' oppositíon between small-scalc, hand-rnade artísanry and large-scale teehnologícally-based produc­ tion. Contemporary craft is currently t.'ngaging in a sustained dialogue with con­ temporar), technology, induding the use of computer-based haptic virtual interfaces which enable a return of the sense al' touch. 54 Using such technolog)', traditional eraft skills are married with the latest technology. In addition, man)' contemporary artists, such as Gary Hill, Andreas Gursky and Su."an Hiller, ernplo), current media, ranging l'rom photography to digital video, hut their praetice often stands at odds with daims made on behalf ol' the technology in question. Although

The past 150 or so yea American visual culture the systcms oI' produt.'1 Belting has argued that Sl

it impossiblc to speak o:

pre.. .e nt purposes perhaF

been a radical scepticisn architecture or craft, Cal

culture as a means of anal nit)" have both enabled

al

Art long ago ceased to b4

tit)' and value; in an era of faets and images, the cont

exprcss ion can seem ineo

For Adorno artistic pr;: which personal identity

attachment to the individt

back. Most material objec scale, anonymouslv. . , One

cies, or the nameless prod líons on a dailv, basis ,

a work such as Flex (2002) by the video artist Chris Cunningham, for example, may

produdng much of what

have thc high-quality technical values commonl)' associated with cxpensive film

cssential clement in the

1

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

193

productions, it remains an cxccption. Thc work of man)' artists using such media,

including, for example, Tacita Dean and Bill Viola, cultivates a low-tech aesthetic, resulting in low~resolution,graio)' imagcry that consciously differentiates between video-based art and commercial film and video. Older romantic models of art as standing apart from thc precise, tcchnologically oriented society of modernity persist despite the employment nf newer media and, in the case of Viola, this is allicd to thc rcsurrection of age~old humanistic artistic themes to do with life,

death and rebirth with distinctly unmodern rcligious üvutoncs. It is also important, finalIy, tú highlight the many criticisms of the fascination ,",vith technology made by feminist commentators and critics. As earIy as Futurism,

the celehration of the machine \Vas allied with a repugnant masculine chauvinism, and it has been argued more generally that in Western sOcleties technology embod­ ¡es a specifically masculine set of values. While critics and \'isual practitioners have attempted to reclaim technology for a fcminist politics, persistent criticisms remain as to its gendered nature.

Conclusion The past 150 or so years have seen fundamental shifts in European and North American visual culture, not only formally and aesthetically, bu t also in terms of the systems of production and dissemination. The German art historian Hans Belting has argucd that such a decisivc a break with the past has occurrecl as to make it impossible to speak of a continuous development up to the presento 55 For the present purposes perhaps the most important conseguence of these changes has been a radical scepticism regarding the vlability of traditional discourses of art, architccture or eraft, coupled '\",ith a rise of crüical interest in the notion of visual culture as a mean.'; ol' analysing ne"'\\' realihes. Arguably. the technologies of moder­ nit)' have both enablecl and, for sorne. compelled the erasure of such differences. Art long ago ceasecl to be the most significant visual articulation of cultural iden­

tity and value; in an era of mas s technological production and reproduction of arte­ fads and imagcs, the conhnuing attachment to com:epts ol' individual creativity and expression can seem incongruous. For Adorno artistic practicc was an essl.'ntial weapon ol' resistance to a society in \",hich personal identit)' was under threat ol' annihilation.,6 Yet l'or otbers such attachmcnt to the individual can seem like a cultivated mannerism or archaic throw­ back. Most material objects and visual images encountered are produced on a mass scale, auonymously. One might trunk ol' the unknown designers working for agen­ cies, or the nameless producers ol' the stock pbotographs disseminated in their mil­ lions on a claily basis, or indeed the anonymous teehnicians responsible for producing much of what eurrcntiy eounts as arto [t is this context that l'orms an essential element in the anal)'sis of both eontemporary visual practiccs and key

194

EXPlORING VISUAL CULTURE

debates informing their interpretation. The notion of visual culture suggests that

traditional moJes uf analysis, inherited from individual disciplines, are perhaps no longer adequate as a basis for undnstanding contemporary practiccs. What is equally ('vident, though, it that it has provcd cHfticult to shake them off.

Further Reading A5cndorf, Christoph. BiJllme'.I if rife (Los Angek~, 1992). Banham, Rcyner. TheoT)" and Deslgn in rhe FlTSt Murhlnc '~8e (London, 1960). Ihdc, Don. Technolo8Y (Jnd lhe LifClH'rIJ (Indianapolis, 1990). Giedion, Sicgfried . .He'ChanmlrlOn 7akcs CommanJ (Oxford, 194~).

Notes

2

3 4

6 7

8 9

10 11

12 11 14 15 16

Sc(', for exampk, \VoUgang Schive\husch, The Ri1Ilwu"r journe.y. The InJu.'!rJu]l7ation JnJ f'erccpnon rifTlIn,7 unJ Spuce (Lo.,; Angdes, 1990); Stephen Kan, The Culture cifTIIne unJ \'paee 1880-1914 (Cambridge, M,'\, 1983). Paul Dclaroche, citcd in Mar)' Warncr Maric'n, Ph(Jte)graph)' onJ JI.\ Crities (Cambridge, 1997),p 55. See in particular Arthur Danto, 'Approaching the l:nJ 01' Art' , in State C?fthe .4rr (:--¡e,..' York, 1987), pp. 202-20 Clemcnt Greenhcrg, 'Avant-Garek and Kitsch' (1939) ane! "lúwOlrds a Ne...v er Laocoon' (1940), in fralleis Frascina. ed., Pollock onJ lUter. The (nuca) lJehmf (London, 1992), pp. 21--34and 3:;--4h. Sec Thomas Crow, 'Moekrnism and Mas" Culture in the Visual Arts', in [
17 Siegfricd Giedion, M J S David Pye, The Natur 19 Octa....io Paz, cited in 10.

20 Karl Marx, CapItal. ~¡ 21 1Ierhert Marcuse, 'In NCIJ.:l[wns. Essq,rs In Cri 22 Theodor Adorno and 23 Thorstl'in Veblen, Th 1914),pp.3021T. 24 Ihid.,p. 31. 2S Adrian Forty, 'Design 26 Sec- Pontus Hulten, ee 27 Cited in Bowlt, Russia 20S Cited in ibid., p. 22l. 29 Cited in ibid., p. 253. 30 Da\'id Nye, The Amerje

3 [ AlfreJ Barr, ed., Mach

32 Ibid.

33 ShelC!on and Martha e

14 Ib;d, p. 98.

35 1bid., p. 261.

36 ¡hid.

See Ro)' Ascott, Te!cme

bh'arc! Shanken (Los Shanken, 'From Cvbcr in ibieL, pp. [-96.' 18 Jack Burnham, Beyond ¡ thlS Cemulj (Ncw Yorl (jl'ernetlcs, Aa ond Ideo bcing l'xplored at the ti 39 Por a general outline ol f1eaTamc A8,7 (New Yor. 40 See NOTbcTt Wicner, 7 1967) 41 See Paul Virilio, War Dl.wppearance (Nt'w Yor 42 S('e Donald Judd, 'Spec 43 Sec Michael Frít'd, 'Art 1900-1990 (Oxford, 1~ 44 'n ,lfImmum P,lwson pro: on an edenic, and ultirr mali.~m i.., clcar. Sec Johr 4'-i Doug!as CTimp, 'The 1 Musetlm's Ruins (Cambri< 46 Abigail Solomun-Godea

n

tfodemHm: Relhinkins Re}

47 Ihid., p. 80. 40S Benjamín Buchloh, in ( (Oxfonl, 2003), p. 114S

VISUAL PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY

195

17 Siegfrierl Giedion, Jiechani7.QClOn "fakcs Comm<1JJJ (Oxford, 1948), pp. 46-7. [8 David Pye, The NatuTe ami Art ?[Ulukmanship (London, 1968). 19 O("t;]\,IO Paz, citcd in Malcolm McCullough, Abs[T(JC[ing Cr~[r (Cambridge, ¡\-1A, 1998), p. 10.

20 Karl Marx, Cdpital. VÓ1.! (Harmonds"vurth, t 976), p. 548. 21 }-lcrhtrt Marcme, 'Tnclustrialintion ,Ind Ca.pitalism in Max Weber' \ [964], in H. Marcuse, ,""e8allOns. Emy." in (n/Ka] TheO') (Landoo, 1988), pp. 223--4. 22 Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheirner, Dialec/Íc ?IEnhahtenment (London, 1979). 2'3 Thorstdn Veblcn, The Instmrr ~r Workmanship uncf the Stl1te ef the lndu.>trial IÍrts (Nt'w York, 1914), pp. J021T. 24 Ibid., p, 31. 15 Adrian Forty, 'De~ign and Mechanisation' , 1n Objeas ef nCSIfe (Lonrlon, 1995), pp. 41-61. 26 Sl.'e Pontu~ Hultcn, ed., FutuI/sm and Fmurisms (London, 1987). 27 Cítcd in BowIt, Russian Arr lfthe Aram-Garde', p. 181. 28 Cited in ibid., p. 221. 29 Citcd in ibid., p. 253. '30 David Nye, The Amt'man TerhnoIoBiwI Sublime (Camhridge, MA, 1994). 31 Alfred Barr, ed., J1achme Art (Nt'w York, ]934). )2 Ibid. 33 Shc!don and Martha Chene)', Aa and the Jfachinc (Nt'w York, 1936). J4 Ibid" p. 98. 35 Ihid., p. 265 36 Ibid. 37 See Ro)' Ascott, Telerrld/.1C Embu.J[O'. VlSlOnalj' Theones i:!fArt, 7i:chnoIoBJ'
196

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

49 ChristophC'f Phillips, 'The Judgcnlt'nt Seat of Photography', in Ocwber, Vol. 22 (1982), pp. 27-63. 50 Bcnj1.11 (Los Angdes, 1985), pp. 40 57; JC"an­ Louis Baudry, 'Ideological Effects of the Rasic Cillt'malographic Apparatus' , in ibid., pp. ,31 42. 54 See l\fcCullough, Ab.ltract1I18 Cri."!.ft. 55 Han~ l-klting, The EnJ qjAn HiStOT)', traus. C. Wood (Chicago, 1987). 56 Theodor Adorno, 'The Schema of Mass Culture', in T. Adoruo, The Culture JndustT} (Lon"on, 1991¡.pp 61-97.

13

The idea 01' technicaJ re diately, it might be aSSOI

01' reproduction, rangir simulations, to the tI, objects. J While the erc:

modern, thc first mel invented in the fi1'teenth

typc of mass reproduce centuT.v BCf.

This chapter focuse: Although printed imag~ invention of photograph far ('xceeded the impact duced im8ges and cruci

their own visual imageT)

What characterises tech age? What ,",'cre and are af1'ect the meaning and p

13.Technical Reproduction and its Significance Ruth Pelzer

Introduction The idea of technical rcproduction suggests a number

01' possibilities. Mast irnme­

diately, it might be associated with photography. but there are numerous othcr kinds of reproduction, Tilnging from recordings of musical performances, to computer simulations, to the transformation of design prototypcs into mass-produced objects. 1 While thc era of technical reproduction

i5

usually seen as particularly

modern, the first medium 01' mass-reproducible images, the woodcut, was invented in the fifteenth century, while thc use of metal coinage - arguably the first

typc al' mass reproduced image - can be traced back even further to the eighth ceo tury

BCE.

Thi:-; chapter facuses on technically reproduced and reproducible images. Although printed images have been in circulation for more than

sao years,

the

invcntion (lf photography introduced shifts in the function of visual culture \'lhich far exceeded the impact of printmaking. It vastly increased the quanrities of repro­ duced imagcs and crucially cnabled most individuals to produce and reproduce their o\-\'n visual imagery. Accordingly, the following questions will he addresscd: \Vhat characterises technical reproduction as the main feature of the mechanical agc? \Vhat wcre and are its implications for visual culture? How did these changes affect the meaning and practice of art?

198

EXPlORING VISUAL CULTURE

Society of the Image Thc contemporary economic, social and political environment 01' Western culture is not 001)' defined by mass produccd objeas, it i5 also defined by mass-produccd or, stríctly spcaking, mass- 'reproduced' media forms, such as nevvspapers, cinema, Il1
mass-produccd consurncr culture, such as fashion ítems ur dcsigncd objects these mecHa, individually and collectively, serve to identiJ)' wha \\'e
and stone in case of t ductíons or copies of: maehine. The wooda reproducible image, ro

and the IÜhograph at1 major advance sinee i1 material nature of thf image 's quality. In oth. In contrast, repraduct

good guality. Thc met: on the stone was poss therefore increased thf For cultural historia the modern sense is o

18305. A photograph ( inherent eapacit)' for re

to the process of printi

manifestation was the p ibes, tourist spots, ands

the emerging cuitural al pu blieity , and 'tourism'

inclusion orrhe photogn

tieth eentury and in ma! the other main forms of

gencc 01' computers dur:

tion through the world v

Thc implic
Canadian communicatiOI

media theorist Jean Baud: The printing o[ picturcs ... made possible, for the first timc pieroríal state­ mcnts o[ a kind that eould be exactly rcpeated during the effeetive lile of the printing sur[ace. This cxact rt:'pt:'tition ol' pietorial statcmcnts has had incal­ culable c[[cets upon knmvledge and thought, upon science and technology, of everv, kind. 1

ing aerass the social scie

studies in the 1970s and, ,

recognition 01' the change

Already in the 1930s B, modernity. The importan

do es not just líe in the qual What i5 a 'technically reproduced image'? Prints, as indicated in Ivins' state­ ment, were the first technically reproduced images. Thc)' \\:ere directl)' created for reproduebon or intended as inexpcnsive multiple copies of existing paintings, dra'\vings or sculptures. In cithcr case, a drawing was trans[erred to or executed on a base, be it wood in rhe case of a I,voodcut, a metal pIate for an engraving or etching

Another, qualitati\'e aspeel potential lo 'reproduce' o

over the last thirt\' vea, Photographic

'reali~m~ is I

tion. 'i Neverthel ess , the I

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

199

and stunc in case of thc lithograph. The resulting matrix allowed multiple rcpro­

ductions or copies üf the imagc onto paper by running the pIate through a printing machine. The woodcut from the earl:' 14005 represems the earliest form 01' the reproducihle image, followed hy engravings and etchings in the sixtecnth century and the Iithograph at the beginning of the nineteenth. The latter was considercd a major advancf' sincf' it overcarnc the limitations of carlicr processes wherehy thc

material nature of the matrix or plate meant a quick Jl'terioration of the print imagc's quality. In othcr ,vords, the economic Yiahility 01' such prints was curhed. In contrast, rcproduction through lithography allowed almost limitless copies of

good quality. Thc method also speeded up the drawing process as direct dra"\víng on the stone "\vas possíble. This permittcd grcater immeoiacy oI' exccution and thereI'ore increased thc commercial scope of prints. For cultural historians, the beginning 01' technical reproduction oI' the image in the modern scnsc is often located in the emergence of photography in the late

1830s. A photograph eould be defincd as a teehnieally produeed image with the inherent capacit)' I'or reproduction. Throughout thc 18005 invcntions and changcs to the prncess of printing photographs allowed for mass disscmination. An earl)' manifestation was the popularity of the picture postcard nl' well-known pcrsonal­ ities, tourist spnts, and so on. Thus, photogr.lphy acC'ompanicd and helped to define the emerging cultural and socio-economic fields ...vhich toda), are k!lO"\\'n as 'media publicity' and 'tourism'.4 A furthC'r stage in the dissemination of ímagcs was the inclusion ofthe photographic image in newspapers from the beginníng of the twen­ tieth ccntur} and in magazínes from the \ 920s. Cinema films and telcvision ,vere the other main forms ol' technically reproduced image until the widespread emer­ gence of computers during thc 19805 and the almost cxplosiye image multiplica­ tion through the v..-orld wide web from the earl} to mid-1990s. The implications of these technological changes for visual culture have preoccu­ pied many thinkt'fs in the twentieth centur)', notably Walter Benjamín, the Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-80) and thc French media theorist Jean Baudrillanl (1929-). Their '....ritings continue to inform think­ ing across the social sC'iences. No\' academic disciplines such as media and film studies in the 1970.1' ami, more recent\Yl vi!;ual culture studics han~ cmanated from recognition of the changes brought about by reproductivc image technologies. AIread)' in the 1930s Benjamin insisted that reproduction is the crucial aspect of modcrnity. The importance ofthe reproductive nature ofthe camera-based image does not just líe in the quantitative possibility ofthc reproduction in huge numbers. Anothcrl qualitati ....e aspcct ofthe photograph related to reprodur:tion is its assumed potential to 'reproduce' or 'copy' reality. Debates in film and photography theory over the last thirty years have questioned this commonly held assumption. Photographic 'realism' is now seell lo cOIl.stitute a historical forro of representa­ tion.; Nevertheless, the privilcged role tha.t camera-based images still have in

200

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

terms of their purchase on reality was made obvious most recently in the extent and type ofmedia coverage during the so-caBed 'second GulfWar' in spring 2003. The ability of technically produced and reproduced images to penetrate space and time has resulted, according to Marshall McLuhan, in the creation of a 'global villagc'. This phrasc has now entered public consciousness. It refers to the fact that, thanks to the reproduction 01' the same images and information Oil an almost global scale, people reccive the sarne news and media products worldYlride. The mass pro­ duction of newspapers, magazines and films started this process and it has been greatly expanded by, first, tclcvision and subseguent modes of transmission sueh as satellite or cable and the Internet. McLuhan's recognition of the global aspect of this phenomenon has to be qualified, howcyer. The socio-eeonomic structures 01' dissemination, distribution and reception fayour the economically and politically more dominant countries with Europe, Asia and North America in the lead. In his study of tbe 'network society' Manuel Castells quotes figures supplied by UNESCO: 'in 1992 there were oyer 1 billion TV sets in the world (35 percent ol' which were in Europe, 32 percent in Asia, 20 pereent in North America, 8 percent in Latin America, 4 per cent in the Middle East and 1 percent in Al'rica).'6 Despite such a qualification, the global reach 01' the media could be .'leen as confirmation of McLuhan's best known assertion: 'The medium is the message.' This is oftcn misundcrstood as suggesting that the technical means 01' reproduc­ tion are ol' greater significance than the content: the 'how' of transmission being more important than tbe 'what'. It is more l'ruitl'ul, however, to read it as drawing attention to the different possibilities of teehnical image modes. In the context of McLuhan's writing it relates both to the interrelationship between media and oursclyes and also to the changes they instigate. In physical terms a photograph is a relatiyely permanent and static image that is easily transportable. In its mass­ produccd form it is also cheap and hence disposable. It further allows repeated and close as well as a casual, distracted Yiewing. Tclevision images, in contrast, are moving, mostly non-permanent, not so easily transportable (except in the l'orm 01' video and OVOs) but permit viewing oyer a duration of time. The imme­ diacy ofTV tends to compensatc for its impermanence. A particular medium can assume different meanings. A useful example can be seen in the consumption ol' TV and newspaper media - both visual and textual - at the time of the events of 11 September 2001. One might think that television was the preferred medium due to its directness and immcdiacy. Yet, a rise in tbe sales ol' newspapers (Figure 13. 1) immediately after the eyent indicates that each medium offers a specific and distinct benefit valued by audiences. Diffcrent media complement rather than replacc onc anothcr. In tbe case ol' current events, te1evision gives the viewer a sense 01' participation almost as events unfold, whereas the written word and printed photographic image provide re1ative permanence and hence carry more authority.

Figure 13.1 - Ncwspaper: Author's photograph.

Baudrillard has expa technicaHy reproduced MeLuhan, severaI ofBa popular catch-phrases, a state of 'hyperreality'. Many aspeets ol' culture reproduction of what o

as 8audrillard's exampl country, aH of "real" AIr.

This substitution of ti by the French writer anl of life in eontemporary

'commoditysystem' ba' have seen a" represen~ti;

opera or a eommercial 1 Moreoyer, the visual im.

vastly cxcecds anything v

rt could be argued tha

of the products of the irr

art forms. However, me dented. Unlike its meani

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND IT5 51GNIFICANCE

Figure 13.\ Newspapc:rs rcpOíting 11 Scptember 2001 Author's photograph.

00

201

a newspaper stand in Landoo.

Raudrillard has expandcd roany of McLuhan's ideas. His particular focus is the technically reproduccd image and its relationship to OUT Dotian of realitl'o Ukc McLuhan, several ofBaudrillard's often inflated pronouncements have turned into popular catch-phrases, mast famously. perhaps, his suggestion that we now live in a statc of 'hyperrcality \ . Por Baudrillard, the real has bcen replaced h)' 'simulation'. Oll a fake reality achieved hy the reproduction of what once was real. The American Disnqland thernc parks serve as Baudrillard's examplc: 'Disneyland exists in order to hiele that it is thc "real" country, aH of "real" Arnerica that is Disneyland.'7

Many aspccts al' culture anrl saciet)' are now based

This substitution of the real through representations had aIread)' been identified by the French writer and politkal activist Guy Debord.''l For DeborJ cvery aspect of ¡¡fe in contcmporary Wcstern society is infiltrated by cornrnercialisation or the 'cornmodity systern', based on speetacular reproeluction. It is oftcn the case that we have seen a representation nf a particular event or an everyday situation in a soap opera or a cornrneróal on television hefore we actually experience it ourselves. Moreover, the visual imaginary space wc inhabit furnished by media irnages ­ vas tI)' exceeds anything we could ever possibly experience ourselves 'for real'. lt could be argued that sirnulation anJ the hyperreal have always been an aspect of the products 01' the imagination through rnyth, fairy tales, literature and other art forms. However, mediatisation in its cnmmodified forro has been unprece­ elented. Unlike its meaning in everyJay language, the 'hyperreal' for BauJrillard

202

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

cioes not suggest that something i5 'surreal' or 'unreal', but that that it i5 'more

violent scene may cal

than reality itsdf' .9 The irnmensel)' popular realit)' TV series BiS Brotber in the UK

'safely' at a rcmove

and other countries i5 a telling example. A group of people come together and live

shock. Bcing exposed

their life under the constant survcillancc of TV cameras. They aet out a simulatcd

such as starvation or

version of Bfe. This state i5 neither completel), 'real' nar 'not real'; it i5 a height­

is that images have to

ened version of how people behave in reallife, hcnce it can he considered 'hyper­

tion as Susan Sontag ]

real' . BiS Brother i5 an especially apt instance of another much cited assertion by Baudrillard regarding 'the dissolution of TV into Bfe, the dissolution of life into TY'. 10 In this respect television i5 part of the increasing erosion of the boundaries

shock insofar as they !

puhlic dehates surro'

between the public and private sphere, which had been one of the constituents of

furthcr indication of ~

modernity.

sprcad availability of i

raised ~ partly thrOU¡

One further aspect of hyperreality concerns not only the effect and fLU1ctioning

McLuhan, Debord

of the media, hut also thc visual appearance of media products themselves. Andre\\¡

culture and society w}

Darley makes the following point: 'just as images are becoming more and more

However, thcir vision

"convincing", so also are they hecoming incrcasingly dctachcd from traditional rep~

possibiIities presented

resentation and more and more caught up in modes ol' serial equivalence, modula~ tion and self- referentiality.' \1 Media images feed off each other and function h)'

political apathy as they

rccyeling or reproducing othcr imagcs, image modes or genres. The two sequels

ucts on part of audiel

duction, often in hybl

and assorted DVD and computer game spin~offs of Tbe Matra demonstrate the phE'~

efTect of technical me

nomenon of 'serial equivalence'. The 'modulation' referred to by Darley takes the

media' denotes systerr

form of variations on the theme and l'ormat of the initial film, The latter itse1f con~

To the 'primary' mass 1

stitutes an example of the sc1f~rcferentiality of media produets as one revievver

azines we now have to

noted: 'Just stopping short ofbeing totalIy derivative, the Wachowskis [the direc~

ing usage, this term he:

tors ol' the filmsj instead manage to take ever)'thing we've already seen just one exhilarating stcp furthcr .. .' 12

receivcrs and does not

But why do we like media images so much; why should watching tc1cvision or

both the products and

The word 'mass' con

going to the cinema he so compclling? Reproduetive image technologies have

'narrow-casting' that tI

extended the possibilities ol' 'scopophilia', a term from Freud which refers to the

programmes that addn

basic erotic pleasure in looking. j ~ Benjamin spoke also of the 'shock' that watch­

other minorities, or pel

ing films induces; for McLuhan the extension of the bod)' "vhich the media consti~

ness of the complexitie

tute turns the bod)' 'ecstatic', evcn 'clectric'. This heightened qualit)' of our lives

that the eonsumption e siheation of diffcrent '

in and through the media is also apparent in the 'plugged-in' character of man)' of our daily activities: listening to music or speaking and watching images on the

and 'oppositional' acc01

mobile tclephone ,,\o'hile shopping. Referring to both Benjamin and McLuhan, Hal

gramme or other medü

Foster has elaborated on the physiological and psychological cffcct of thc media on

politics or reject it whil

the ",iewer: 'technology is hoth an excessive stimulus, a shock to the bod)' and a protective shield against such stimulus~shockwith the stimulus convertcd into the shield (which then invites more stimulus and so on).'14 The 'reality factor' ol' camera-based images can generate stronger physiological and ps)'chological reac~

The work most referrel

tions than a painting might do. At the same time they provide a safety-net against

is Walter Benjamin's

the shock the)' thcmselves induce. A photograph representing an extremely

Reproducibility' , publi,

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

203

violent ~cene ma)' cause us to be shocked, even to feel nauseated, but watching it 'safely' at a remove [roro the actual scene simultaneously 'shields' liS [roro the shock. Being exposcd to increasing numhers 01' images shO\\.cing extreme situations such as starvation or violence leacls to so-called 'compassion fatigue'. One effect i5 that images have to become cver more violent and/ or speetacular to elicit a reae­ tion as Susan Sontag has argued in her book O" Photography (1971): 'Photographs shock insofar as thc)' shov.. ' SOlllclhing novel. Unfortunatcly, the ante kecps gctting

raiscd - partl)' through the ver)' proliferation of 5uch images 101' horror).' 1s The public debates surrounding pornographie images or violence on s(n:en dre a further indication uf sorne of the problcms raised hy the multiplication and wide­ spread availability of images. McLuhan, Debord and Baudrillard have mappcd the trajectories of a mediated culture and society which we can recognise at the beginning al' the present century. Hawever, their Yision claes not allow for the incongruencies, the sheer diversity of possibilities prescnted hy thc continuation of older or other roodes of cultural pro­ duction, often in hybrid form, with new ones. They run the danger of instilling political apathy as the)' give insufficient recognition to the reception al' media prod­ ucts nn part al' audienccs. Thcir thearics rUn clase to olJer conceptions of the effect of technical media as implied hy thc term 'mass media'. Thc term 'mass media' denotes s),stems of communication \'\'hich rcach large numhers al' people. To the 'primary' mass media such as radio, television, cinema, newspaper and mag­ aZlnes we now have to add the Internet ami WQTld wide web. Despite its continu­ ing usage, this term has heen criticall)' evaluated hy media and cultural theorists. The word 'mass' connotes an undifTerentiated multitud e of mute and passive receivers and <.loes not take account 01' the much more differentiated make-up of both thc products and the recipients al' the media. The former is evident in the 'narrow-casting' that tc1cvision now allow~ ('narrow-casting' refers to channds or programmes that address ver)' spccialised and 'niche' audiences such as ethnic or other minorities, or people with specia]ised interests). There is al so grcatcr aware­ ness oi' the complexities of consumption in general and of the active participation thJ.t th(,' con.'iumption of media products in particular involves. Stuart Hall's cbs­ sihcation of different 'reading' positions as 'dominant-hegemonic', 'negotiated' ami' oppositional' accounts for different viewers' reaction to a gi ven tdevision pro­ gramme or other media products. 16 The audience for The Jtésc Wing may accept its politics or rcject it while still enjoying the series.

Art in the Age ofTechnical Reproduction Thc ","ork must referred to in the contcxt of the effeet of tcchnical rcproduction is Walter Benjamín's essay 'The Wark of Art in the Age of its Tcchnical

Reproducihility' , puhlishcd in 19 ~6. Its translation into English in 1968 coincided

204

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

with the beginnings

Df

acadcmic film and media studies. 17 Benjamín considers the

impact al' technical rcproduction raphy and film

00

00

art in a rn-~ofold manner. Tbe effect oI' photog­

art in its dominant traclitional forro is outlinecl. At the same time

Benjamín is concerned with the cultural and material aspects of these t\Vo media and their artistic potential in terms

DI' a Marxist-inspircd reyolutionary patitieso

The 'art\...urk' essay can be seco as a response to the political challcnges ofthe 19305 for the Left in Europe. The potential üf the new mass media had first beeo rccog­ nised by the Cornmunist govcrnment of the USSR in the 19205. Russian revolu­ tiorrar)' artists such as Sergei Eisenstcin, Dziga Verto\-', El Lissit'lky and Gustav Klucis had formulated a revolutionary aestheties, the former t\'\'o in the medium of

film, tbe latter two in pbotograpby (Figure' 13.2).

By the 1930s, when Benjamín wrote rus essay. the systematie deployment offilm and photography in the senrice 01' politics had also become a major propaganda tool

01' Faseist politics in Germany and Italy. A nO\v notorious case 01' 'the acsthetisation of politics', as Benjamin called the speetacular orchestration of Nazi power in its puhlic rallies and part)' gatherings, are the films ofLeni Riefenstahl, such as Triumph o[rhe Will(1935). This positive easting ol' technology differentiates Benjamin from certain cultu­ ral crities then and now. ThC'odor Adorno ami, in the United States, Clement Greenberg held that art has its strongest political functian hy remaining 'difficult' and separate from popular cultural forms. This position tended to imply a prefer­ ence for ahstract art and a rejection of thc new media of film and photography. The integration of ncw forms ol' media into what Adorno termed the eapitalist 'culture índustry', especiall), in form ol' popular entertainment. destroyed their critical potential in view ol' these writers. j!j From a contemporary perspective. the division betwccn high and popular culture is questíonahle. Contemporary cultural theorists emphasise the Auidiry and cross-overs hetween these categories rather than their separateness. Benjamin's more open stanee ma)' explain why his essay has enjoyed continuing popularity. It is this aspect ofhis writing which has been credited with predicting 'the movement from a modernist ... to a postmodernist cpoch' as 'mechanical reproduetian oiTers the prospeet of an art wruch ma)' he hrought baek into relationship with the \vorld in which ir is produced and received' . 19 1n other words, technological media in the arts are consídered to be in the privileged positjon ofbeing able to rdlcct on theír own impact on society at large as well as on art itself. The adoption by Andy Warhol ami Robert Rauschenherg 01' the silk screen process at the beginning of the 1960s is a notable cxample; the employment of the mcdium of print rcpresented not onl)' the oldest mode of rcproduction, the silk screen proecss ' ...·as also its most recent commercial form. With its potcntial for unlimitcd reproduetion ir served to estab­ lish a productive rhetorical tension betwcen the unique art object in its traditional sense and art as commodity and media objeet (Figure 13.3).

Figure 13.2 Gusta" Kluci (Sp.\rtakiada) (1928). Photl

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

205

Figure' 11,2 Gustav Klucis, design lar <1 pmtc.ud For the All-Union Olyrnpiarl in MosC'Ow (Spartakiada) (1928). Photograph © State Museum ofArt, Riga, l.atvia.

206

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

where cioes the novelt

'technical reproductü original itself cannot , A liseful illustratic

Chapel in Rome (pain diateIy have a mental:

equally true for those' pIe eopies of ímages o

tms is a point to which than thos c ,",ho visit ti art contributes in no Rome attract. It has g trave!: 'cul tural touris The way in which n telling: be it as an adve:

day card; ao image in al grarnme about the tap or a mugo or evcn as pi

What these examp],

is not onl1' taken out o of this de- and re-cont

01' the lrescoes as a wh

instrument al' religious through reproduction i meanings according to

relate to their origina

recombincd in any mar Benjamín did not for

ity ofthings' as aninma

was imminent. The oi

'original' to cap)' was si

stated: '..,"That withers in art the latter's aura.' 2 \ 11 Figure' t 3.3 -- Robcrt Rauschenbc:rg, Press (1960). © Robert Rauschenbcrg/VAGA, New York/DACS, Londan 2004.

We Gefine the aur;

however m~ar it ID

aftcrnoon - a mou

But \,,"hat are the implicatiom¡

01' technical reproducibility for works 01' art? As

Dn

the heholcler, i:

aIread)' indicated, art\vorks have, in principIe, hecn reproducible since antiquity.

lo thc reproduction by print, one must add the different means of reproducing

The distance as a qua

three-dimensional works of art, such as the casting al' a sculpture in bronze. So

üf art's original religio

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND IT5 51GNIFICANCE

207

where cloes thc novelty ofthe situation líe? Benjamin's theses centre on the raet that 'technical reproduction can place the copy of the original into situations which the original itself cannot attain,20 (Figure 13.4). Crucial to trus is his term 'aura'. A useful iIlustration can be seco in Michelangelo 's decoration 01' the Sistine Chape! in Rome (paintcd 1508-12). Practical!y al! readers of this book will imme­

diately have a mental image oI' sorne ir not aH of this work's central scenes. This is cqually true for those wha have not visited Rome. Through the availabiHty oI' multi­ ple copies oI' images

01' the Sistine Chape! in circulation (or, rather, parts thereof ­

this is a point to which we will return), the work can be seen by many more people than those who visit the Vaticano By the same token, the reproduction

01' works of

art contributes in no small measure to the increase in tourlsm that sites such as Rome attract. It has greatly contributed iI' not wholly generated it5 own genre trayel: 'cultural tourism'. The way in which most

01'

01' us will have encountered Michelangelo 's work is also

telling: be it as an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine;

OIl

a humorous birth­

day card; an image in an art book; a l'ashion shoot in a women's magazine; a TV pro­ gramme about the top ten tourist spots in Italy; a picture on a T-shirt or a postcard or a mug, or even as part ol' another work ol' art (Figure 13.5). What these examples indicate is thc I'aet that the technically reproduced work is not only taken out oI' context but also taken aparto What are the consequenccs

01' this de- and rc-contextualisation? In the Sístine Chapel the particular meaning oI' the I'rescoes as a whole and the specific significance oI' its individual parts as an instrument oI' religious and political power oI' the Catholic Church are transposed through reproduction into mere' sign5' . They can be used to sígniI'y any number 01' meanings according to the context in which they are deployed, non e oI' which may relate to their original meaning. They have become exchangeable and can be recombined in any manner. Benjamin did not foresee this development. He considered the 'universal equal­ ity oI'things' as an indicabon that the process oI' emam.:ipation ofthe working dasses was imminent. The other aspect oI' the change in an art\\"ork's condition from 'original' to copy was similarly considered a step in this directian. Hence Benjamin stated: 'what withcrs in the age oI' the technologícal reproducibility oI' the work 01' art thc latter's aura.'21 He likens the aura al' a work oI' art to that oI' 'natural objects': Wc define the aura oI' [natural objects I as the uniquc apparition 01' a distanee, however near it mar be. To follo'.\' with the eye - while resting on a summer aI'tcrnoon - a mountain rangc nn the horizon or a branch that casts its shadow on the beholder,

i5

to hreathe the aura oI' those mountains, oI' that branch. 22

The distance as a quality oI' the aura can be undcrstood as a function oI' the work ol' art's original religíous po",·er. Benjamin refers to this as thc artwork's 'cult

208

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

figure 13.5 - T-shin wlthc Rome. Photograph: tbe autl

a cultural experience, a touTist trail.

In addition to the soó of aura can he attributed Figure

1~.4

I'o."tcards frorn a kimk

~ta.nd,

París. Author's photograph.

value', but as art became more secular its function was incrcasingl)' that [)f Yisual

reproduction: \Ve respon

on a T-shirt than to a lar

viewcr hy its sheeT size.

'exhibition value'. The Sistinc Chape! demonstrates this shift

status uf artworks would

rather \-vell; what had been a visible clemonstration of both the po\\'er 01' the

tion of its pm..ver made

Catholic Church and lts ooctrines is today, for the majority al' peoplc \-",ho visit it,

According to John Storey

display, it took

00

TECHNICAl REPRODUCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

209

Hgure 13.5 - T-shirt with detailli·om Michclangdo's cdling to the Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Romc. Photograph: tillO' author.

a cultural expericncc, a lannmark of 'great art', if nor simply anothcr site

00

the

touris! trail.

In addition to thc socio-political and historical factors mentioned abovc, the loss

01' art undergoes through reproduction: we respond clitTerently to an image the size al' a postcard or a design

of aura can be attributed to the physical changc the work

no a T-shirt than to a large painting, such as the Sistinc Chape], which dwarfs the viewer by irs sheer size. Benjamín assumed thar through reproduction the special status of artworks wouId gradually vanish. Loss of thc distancc thar had been a func­ tion ol' its power made the work of art open to an analysis based on politics. According to John Storey, this view has had a 'profound (if oftcn unacknowledged)

210

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

inAuence on cultural theory and popular culture'. He goes 011 to 5ay: 'Whereas

raphers such as Edwar

Adorno locates meaning in the mode of production (how a cultural text is produced

ing the reproducibílit

determines its consumption and significance). Benjamin suggests that meaning i5

high art 's persistent el Hopkins has wryly ob:

produced at the mament of consumption'. n This emphasis may explain why Benjamin'5 essay has long beeo consü.lcred a precursor to more recent theories of

'Deconstruction of au

media consumers making 'their own meanings in their acts of consumption'.

Q\\'n authority. . bac

Works of art are now accessible to large numbers of people - more so than in

course and a publishir

Benjamin's time - and in many rcspects have bccome part of popular culture. Yet

ism" often smacked al'

Benjamin's hopes ror a more politicised cultural politics have not materialised. One

During the last hve

might cven ask whether reproducihility has not increased a certain type of aura, as

duction to digital repr

John Berger did in his influentia! book and TV series Ways
tion of digital technoh research and the med]

attached lo works of arto 24 In addition, the media often cast art in Romantic terms

information in variau

of 'genius', 'originality' and 'uniguencss'. As Benjamin himsell' statcd, it is no coin­

almost unimaginab!e e

cidence that emphasis on thesc concepts arose at a time when photography threat­

signs, commcnted on

1

ened thc 'original' work through rcproduction. Coupled with the explosi"c

into digital signs occur

cxpansíon of thc art market !'iincc the 1960s and the stellar sums paíd for artworks,

itisation of photograpl Internet havc been cre,

these notions appear to havc resulted not in a 'withering' but rather in an íntensifi­ cation ol' aura. Aura has become the side-effect ol' what Bergcr termed the ,york 's 'market value' or, more precisely, commodity-tetishism. Benjamín also appears to have ovcrestimated the polítical potentíal ol' particu­ lar media l'orms. Processes he sa"A' as progrcssive per se can he equally dcployed by

The challenge for the s

opponents 01' the political Left. For Benjamín, montage in film and photography in

and method for analysiJ

the avant-garde practices ol' the 1920s in the USSR and Germany was cndowed

tice in parallel with thl

with critical potential. Until recently, this view has persísted. Yct airead)' in thc

that the speed of new

1920s and 1930s photomontage had become a favoured aesthetic form l'or adver­

attempts to put these in

tising - hardly a critical mode. Claims as to the critical potential ol' a particular ae.s­

tant to avoid the dange

thetic medium cannot be sustained. lt performs a critica} function onl)' under

.lIso of overlooking th

certain circumstances and particular conditions and may be quickly incorporated

forms. Often, discussiol

into the capitalist media system. This resilience orthe system, its capacit)' to appro­

or its oppositc, an extr

priate rebc:llion and subvcrsion, and the dil'ficulty of devcloping oppositional media

both positions have ideT

strategies have been commented on by Fredric Jameson. Any chal1enge~ 'are

media ol' reproduction

somehow secrctly disarmed and reabsorbed by a system of v.,.,hich they (i.e. oppo­

replaced oldcr models

sitional l'orces) themsclves might be considered a part, since they can achieve no distance from it'. 25

n()unccments ol' Baudri

Thc other categories affiliated with aura in Benjamin 's account - 'originality', 'uniquenes!'i' and 'authenticity' - are similarly subject to change through reproduc­ tion. However, reproducibilit)' does not necessarily cxtinguish the value placed on thcse notion!'i cven in worb of art ...vhich endcavour to subvert them by employing

Baudríllanl, Jean. S¡mulacra Rcnjarnin, Wa!tcr. 'The Wl BcnjalTlin, Se/caed Writin,

the same means ofrcproduction. A case in point is the so-caBed appropriation art

Dcbord, Cuy. Tne Sociery?!

of Sherrie Le...-inc, who in the 1980s re-photographed work by wcll-known photog­

McLuhan, ¡\1arshall. Undersl

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

211

raphns such as Edv."ard Weston, \Valker Evans and Karl Blossfeldt. By foreground­ ing the rcproducibility al' the medium al' photography, she purportedly queried high art's persistent daim to uniqueness, originality ami authcnticity. But as David Hopkins has 'ATyly observed in referencc to the critica} stance of this kind 01' work: 'Deconstruction

01' authorial prescnce did not lead to artists dcconstructing their

av,m authority ... backed up by a highI)' professionalised critical and academic dis­

course ano a publishing industr), guick to cash jn ... "oppositional postmodern­ i5m" often smacked of mannerism.' 2h During the las! twent)' ycars an ex pI osi ve acceleration from mechanical repro­ duction to digital reproduction has taken place due to the . . v idespread incorpora­ tion of digital technologies in aH aspects of economic production, administration, research and the media. One result is that the reproduction or dissemination of information in various media forms has been expandcd and speeded up to an almost unimaginable dcgree. The transformation of particular media forms into signs, commented on earlier, continues in a more extreme formo This translation into digital signs occurs in media with which we are already familiar as in the dig­ itisation of pbotographs or films. At the same time new media forms such as the Internet have been creatcd.

Conclusion The challcnge for the study of "isual culture is the devclopment ol' a terminology and method for analysing ne\-..' media forms and their aesthctic potential and prac­ tice in parallel with the formation of the nc\v media themselves. Orten it seems that the speed al' new dcvelapments makes yesterday's techniques and relat<.~d attcmpts to put thesc into a thcoretical framework obsoicte. Yet it i5 C<1ually impor­ tant lo avoid the danger nI' over-cmphasising the novclty of cmerging forms and also of overlooking their e mbeddeclncss in older social practiccs and cultural forms. Orten, discussion has been marked by an uncritical and utopian technophilia or its opposite, an extreme pessimism about the impact of such media. n While both positions have identified key effects of the technicall)' reproduced image, the media ol' reproductian are neither v.·hally positive or negative. Nor have they replaced older mndels of cultural practice, despite the more pessimistic pro­ nouncemenls of Raudrillard.

Further Reoding Raudrillanl, Jean. ~lmulac{(J and SJnw/I.1tl<JD (Ann Arhor, MI, 1994).

Benjamin, \Valter. 'The \Vork 01' Art in the Age 01' ib TC'chnological Reproducibility', in \V

Benjamín, Se/ceted WrJlJD8'i. ~ol. 4: 1931) 1438 (Cambridge, MA, 2003), pp. 251-83. Dchord, Guy. T}¡c SOClcty c:.[the Spcaacle (Detroit, 1977). McLuhan, Mar:.hall. Underswndina Medli.1, The ExtcmwrJ5 qj".,HIln (Iondon, 1964).

212

EXPlORING VISUAL CULTURE

Notes For a wide ranging discussion of reproduction me! copying, see Hille! S,h\\'arz, Th(' Cul¡ure

drhe CdPJ (New York, 1996). 2 The British artist Georgina Starr is ane uf man)" whose worh fcHect this cross-over hetween personal ,loe! media Jife. The Australian artist Tracc)' Moffat takt's a similar approach, hut fmm the particular pcrspective uf ,In cthnicall)' divided saciet). Georgina Starr, Vísit /.0 aSma]] Pl¡Jnec (1995), in The BntJsh ArI Sho w 4 (Landon, 1995); Lynne Cookc, Traccy Mr:!f{at: Free Fallma (New York, 1997-98). 3 William hins, Prmts and Visual CommunÍcation (LonJon, 1953), pp. 2-1. 4 Jean-C1audc Lemagny,A HüroT)' efPh<JwfJlaph)' (Carnhridge, 1987), p. l8; 'ice ,liso John Tagg,

'A DemocrJL} of the Image: Photographic Portraiture aod CommoJity Production', in J. Tagg, !he Burden ofRcprescntation (London. 1988). pp. 34-60; .lIso John Taylor, A Dredm eif fnHland, Landscapc, Photogrtlph.y and lhe Touf/S[ 's Ima¡:¡malIOn (Manchester, 1994). l\1.lrita Sturken anJ Lisa Cartwright, Pf¡lrllces eif 100kJng, An lntroduction ro j'1Su<Jl Culture IOxford and Ne\v York, 2002), chapter 4. See ,liso AlJan SekuIa, 'On the Im'Cntion of Photographic Meaning', in Victor Burgin, Thmking Ph0108Tc1ph), (London, 1982), pp. 84-109. 6 Manuel Castdls, The RlSe eif the l\'clwork Sociar The JI?fórmation AH'" Economy, Socie!)' and Culture (OxforJ, 2000). 7 Jean l3audri11ard, 'The Prece.;sion of Simulacra', in J. l3audrillard, Simulacra and S/m¡l!a!lOn (Ann Arbor, MI, 1994-), p. 11 8 (;uy Dehord, The SOn"l) eifSpmac1e (Detroit, [977). 9 Steven Connor, PostmodermSl Culture (Oxford, 1989), p. 56. 10 Jean Baudrillard, quoted in Andrew Darley. Visual DígItal Culture. Suifoce PlaJ anJ Spectacle m New Medw Cenw (London and N('\" York, 2000), p. 6S. IIIbid.,p.6J. [2 Cla)'ton Camphel1, review of TheJ1atrh: in Flash Art (October 1999), p. 111. 13 Laura MuIvey, 'Visual Pleasure .lnd Narrativc Cinema' and 'Afterthoughts on 'Visual PIeasure and Narrative Cinema', in L. MuIvey, Visual and Orhcr PleJ-"ures (Bloomington, 1989), pp. [4-27 and 29 38. See ,lIso Sturken and Cartwright, Prllctlas ?fLookín8, Chap[cr 3 'Spet'tatonhip, Power and Knm,:Icdge', pp. 72-108. 14 Ha] Foster, The Rerurn ,?/!he Real (CambridgC', ~1A), p. no. 15 Susan Sontag, On Phow,,/rtlphy (Harmonds\vorth, 1973), p. 19. 16 Stuart Hall, 'Encoding, Decoding', in Simon During, ed., The Cuhural Swdlcs Reoder (London, 1993), pp. 90-10 3. S('(, abo Sturken ami Cartwright, Practices r:f J c>oi<mfJ, ChaptC'f 2 'Vi('''''('r.~ M.lke Meaning', pp. 45-71, 17 A more up-to-date translation is now available: 'Thc Work 01' Art in the Age of its TcchnoIogical ReproducibiIit}: Third Venion', in \Valter Bcnjamin, SelccreJ Writin8s Vol. 4: 1938 1940 (Cambridge, MA, 2003), pp. 251 83.l3enjamin wrote two carlier versions of thi~ t'ssay, but it is the third that is most often cited. For an in-dcplh anal)'Sis 01 his writing ami the politics 01' techno]og~', ~ee Esther Leslic, 11'óltcr Benlarllln, OverpowennlJ Conforml,'m (London, 2000). 1R Clcment Creenberg, 'Avant Carde ami Kitsch', in Francis frascina, cd., Pollock and lljter (London, 1985), pp. 21-34; Theorlor Adorno, fhe Cuhure lndusl.ry. Sclceted f,'w)" on Jfoss Culrure (London, 1991). 19 Connor, P¡>srmodernm Culture, p. 196. 20 Benjamin, Selected IVrilJn85, ~ól. -J, p. 254. 21 Ibid., p. 254. n Ihid., p. 255.

23 John Storey, An lntme 199J),p.109. 24 John Bcrger, Ways r:f: 25 Fredric Jameson, gU( 26 David Hopkins, Afier 27 One ofthe leading te th e DWIlal A,qc (New 'r D/gnal ~fólllcn and rhe

TECHNICAL REPRODUCTION AND IT5 51GNIFICANCE

2) John StOTt'}', An Introductor), Cuide 1993), p 1Q9

24 25 26 27

lo

213

CulrUTa! [heor)' and Popular Culwrt' (1If:md Hcmpstead,

John Berger, I\Íl)'s (~rScem8 (Harmonds\'.'orth, 1972), p. 2 [. Fredric Jan1('.~oll, quoted in Connor, Po,ltmodemJSt CUbUIC, p. 57. David Hopkins, .1jtCI .Modern Alt 194)-2000 (Oxford amI New York, 2000), p. 2 [2 One of the lcading technophilo i5 Piure Lev)'; see Piene U"y, Rccomina Vmual: Rea/iry In the Di,qtrill ABe (Nev.' York, IqqS). See .liso the cybcr-fcminism ofSadie Plant, Leros aad Ones: DlgltU! Women Qnd the New h'chnocuJwrcs (Ncw York, 1997).

14. From Mass Media to Cyberculture For decades the spreaG

Glyn Davis

regularl)", at an unpreCl bccoming obsolescent cul tural existence adal patterns erased almost lettC'ni are becoming 1<

ma)' he saved on hard , devoted to specific indi

skill than typing 'poed messages - is markedly conversational, abbrev: tant spelling errors. HO\vever, the prolift indecd, constitutes - c Specific forms of cultur rcshaped. At present, fl sale and distribution of

Introduction

sharing and trading of stereo that can hold hun

Thc t 995 sciencc fiction film Strangc Days. rlirected by Kathryn Bigelow, envisages

copies of eDs have .111 c

a proximatc future - the m<wic is set in 1999, on the cusp of the DC\\' millennillffi

market. Individual artis1

in which individual... pay to access the rncmories of other people. Electronic chips

rncnting \'dth selling th.

containing hricf stored extracts of rhe thoughts, cxperiences and intcractions of othcrs exchange hands for money. Thcsc chips are then attachen to a febrilc \Vire structure known as a SQUID devicc: the SQUlD is placcd ayer the consumer's skull like a cap, delivering thc purchased memorics at the press of a hunan. Notahly, there is

J.

booming hlack rnarkct [or violent and pornographic chips.

Although SQUID machincry has yet

lO

hccome a realit y, Strunge Da)'s recogni:--l's

(and fictiona11y riffs on) a pervasive aspcct of contemporary cxistence; an incrcasccl clependency on technology, induding the use of specific devices to store crucial components ol' our li"es. DV hand)'cams are cmplo)'ecl to record digital documcnts

clirect CO sales market regarcl is uncertain and

N ot onl)' popular mu: nication and entertainm~

gcnerated imagcry (CGl one that is continually 1 movies that can bemade­ book films made by the l (Figure 14. 1) to HellboJ'

for posterity in the forrn of one:-- and zeros; ATMs and online bank accounts elim­

It also arguably alTeer

inate thí..' neecl for face- to- face encounters with stafT, with mone)' itself increasingl'/

impacts upon our expef'

consisting ol' 'virtual' figures on a screen; ancl so cm. Certainl)', on a glohal scale. there are marked differcnces both behvccn and within countrics regarding the

the popu(arization

individual uptakc of new technologics. "r'er for most dC'nizens of the world's

al tered our spatial

'wealthicst states. c)'berculturc - that is, culture that melds peoplc and machines,

of electronic simu]

the organic anclthc inorganic - is clifficult to avoid.

special dJects. vid, depthlcssness: one

FROM MA55 MEDIA 10 CYBERCULTURE

215

Cyberculture For c1ecades the spread oftechnological innovations has been occurring s\.\'iftly and regularly, at .ln unpreeedented pace aoeI pitch, specific items and bchaviours rapidly becoming obsolescent, outmoded or even simpI), unfashionable. Our social and

cultural existencc adapts to the new machines, wilh older methods, systems and patterns crased almost painlesslr To take just arre examplc, hand",ritten personal letters are becoming less prenlent, replaccd by e-mails; these e1cctronic missives may be savcd on harcl drives, as digital memories or rccords, perhaps wi1hin files devoted to specific individuals. The abiHty to write by hand i5 now a lcss significant

skill 1han typing speed. Ancl 1he language al' e-mails - as with mobile phone text messages ­ is markedly different from that ofhandwritten interaction, bcing more cOlwersational, abbreviated, grammaticalIy clums)' and peppered with unimpor­ tant speUing erron:. However, thc proliferation and dispcrsion 01' techno1ogies that characterises ­ indecd, constitutes

cyhcrculture spreads far bcyond the use ol' electronic mail.

Specific forms of culture and communication are finding themselvcs fundamentally reshapcd. At present, for instancc, the music industry is facing problems with thc sale and distrihution 01' CDs, difficulties most notable with popular music. Online sharing and trading of digital music files, the popularity of the iPod (a personal stereo that can hold hundreds 01' songs as digitiscd data) amI the low cost ofburning copies of CDs have aH contribut<.-d to plurnrneting sales ami a crisis in the singles market. Individual artists and groups, including Muse amI Air, are presently cxperi­ menting with sclling their singles as chcap, downIoadable files on1)', bypassing the dircct CD sales market cntirely. The future shapc 01' the music industry in this reg<1fd is uncertain and unpredictab1e. Not onl)' popular music, hut spccific channels and forms of mass media commu­ nication and cntcrtainment are undergoing constant transmogrification. Computer~ gcncrated imagery (CGI) is nO\..' a regular element of man)' Hollywood l'eature films, one that is continua\l)' being refined and improvcd. This transforms thc kinds ol' movies that can he made ­ \vitness, for instance, the plethora ol' sup(.'rhero and comic book films made by thc major studios in recent )'cars, frorn Ang Lee's Huik (2003) (Figure 14.1) lo Hellboy (2004). It al50 arguably affects thc cxperience of cinematic spcctatorship; in turn, this impacts upon our experience of the cveryday. As Michelle Pierson \\Tites: the popularization and pervasiveness of clcctronic technology has profoundly altercd our spati<11 and temporal sense 01' the wor1d ... the hyperreal space 01' electronic simulation - whether it be the space 01' computer-generatcd spceial effeets, video games, or virtual reality - is characterized hy a new depthlessness: one which is at the same time cxpansive and inclusive. I

216

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

has cxposed new new economic pl into question tral significr afnatíon

in the UK and e1s. its place as a cons N oteworthy transi perhaps, multi-channc: digital TV provides, e Britain's terrestrial tel the Blair gO\'ernment ~

industry watchdag, Of in relation to Britain's Individual mass mee being eonstantly recoo: era of cyherculture. Ye1 Hgure 14.1 - In Ang Lc("s Hulk (2003). the monstrous alter-ego of Dr BanneT (Erie llana) rclcascd

CYCT)

'Ielni~ion

rime he becomes angry

was ('omputt:'r-gencratcd. Imagc ((\ Uni\'f'r~aJ

and Nctvmrks Group.

digital age' is the arriva

dispersal of the Interne and commcntators, de dangerous impacto Stat

Films containing significant quantities of CGI hegin to look like computcr games.

proliferation of all mas~

Indecd, movies are sometimc~ hascrl on games - including Lara Cn!ft: Tomb Raider

eharacteristics of the 1

(2001) and Resident EdJ (2002) - and fiIms spawn suc("cssful video games, as with

Int(.~rnet

the Lord f!Ithe RinfJs trilogy, .~piderman and the StQr H'árs franchisc. As Picrson argues:

tural discussion and arg

Evcry cffccts-laden science-fiction film is a sign that cinematographic :-.pacc is

contextualise the lotero

in the proce!is ofheing reformubted according to the new electronic coordi­

for eoneeptualising the ;

nates amI experiential valucs nf a postmodern, video-gamc culture.?

realm of simulation'.

access in count

oí" thesc dehates. Howe

As a second example of a medium in transition, digital te1evision intcractivlty, although so far this rcm
,...,hich hoasts

i~ now
more than 50 pcr ccnt ol' British hornes. This ncw l'orm of television fundamen­ tally disrupts established notions ofTV's form and purpose, as weH as thc shape ol' the television industry. To cite one recent commcntator,

As chapter 1 3 indicates, eiated with, Marshall Me

books: The ,lfechanical Br MedIa (1964). Far fans (

The technological promise ofdigital television, in the l'orm ofhigher-definition

appearance as himself in

imagcs, gn:ater bandwidth and intcractiv(.' sCTvices , has thrown into crisis, OT at

point in his writings; th<

least historiographic relicf, long-estahlished industry praetices, business rela­

the pages af his work. Iv

tionships and textual forms. The unevcn adoption ofdigital technologies across

would 'step into' a news

the fields ofconsumer e1cctronics, programme production amI dclivery systems

than attempting a linear

FROM MA55 MEDIA TO CYBERCULTURE

21 7

has exposcd ocw fissures among sectors of the telcvision industry and brought oew economic players into the husiness ... Thc current uncertainty has also put into question traditional industr), and popular accounts orthe medium's role as signifier ofnati(lnal identity (and public scrvice hroadcasting's polítical rationalc

in thc UK and elsewhcre), its ontology oflivcness amI photographie realism and its place as a consumer product within thc gendcred household. 3 Noteworthy transitions are underway. Mast significantly [Of UK CJtlzens, perhaps, multi-channel access to a varíety of cornmercial stations, such as

th05C

digital TV provides. eomplicatcs the public ser vice broadcasting (PSB) ideals al' Britain's terrcstrial tclevision channels to inforrn, educatc and cntertain. Indeed, thc 81air government has decrecd that the tirst task of the recentl)' inaugurated TV industr)' watchdog, Ofcom, \viII be to assess the significance (and shelf-Iife) ofPSB in relation to Britaln's prcsent and future television landscape. Individual mass media forms -- radio, television, cinema, newspapers - are thus being constantly reconfigureci by developments in technology characteristic (Ir the era of cyberculture. Yet one of the most significant innovations assoLiated with 'tbe digital age' is the arrival uf a new mass medium: thc Internet. The genesis and rapid dispersal 01' thc Internet were accompanied by bold pronouncements trom critics and commentators, declaring either its utopian p(ltential or its debilitating and dangerous impacto Statements such as these have accompanied the invention and proliferation of uJJ mass media, from cornic books to video. However, the unique characteristics of the Internet, taken in tandem vvith the rapid acceptance 01' Internet access in countries across thc globe, have led to a phcnomenallevel of cul­ tural discussion and argument. 1'h1s chapter will provide an introduction to .'lome of thesc debatcs. However, before focusing (ln thesc topies in detail, it is vital to contextualise the Internet as a mass medium by considering two dominant models for conceptualisjng the role arrd impact of the media: 'tbe global village' and 'the realm of simulation' .

The Global Village As chapter 13 indjcates, thc tcrm 'the global villagc' was coincd b)', amI is asso­ ciatcd with, Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan (1911-80) remains best known [or three books: [he MechamcaJ Bride (1951) 1 The GutenberB Gaia.:y (1962) and UnderstandwB ,"'fedio (1964-). For fans of Woody Allen, McLuhan is recognisable from rus brief appearance as himself in Annle Hall (1977). McLuhan never cspoused a fixed vie\,"'­ point in rus writings; there is no complex argumcnt or thesis that unfolds across the pages of his work. McLuhan himself advocated dípping into rus books as one would 'step into' a newspaper, sampling small portions in a random order, rather than attempting a linear journey through the texts in their entirety. McLuhan's

218

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

writings are crucial to consider in any broad discussion ol' the mass media, for twa

nificant financial clou

rcasons: first, bccause he attcmpted to expancl critical undcrstanding uf what the

substitute for 'Ameri

media are and what they can be, as wcll as haw thcy operate; second , because he

genisation effected b

conccived of the media in almost

wholly positive terms.

product 01' which has

For McLuhan, a medium was not simply a channel for cornmunicatioll. Rather, as

Ro} StafIord have poiJ

W Tcrrcnce Gordon puts it, 'a mcdium - whilc it may often he a new technology­

tions systcms has been

is anj' extension 01' our budies, minds, or beings'. ~ Thc cxamples McLuhan used in

tion with the governm

his rcdcfinition of the term inc!udcd clothing, housing, bicyclcs, horse stirrups and

is a form of cultural or

computers. McLuhan .lIso helieved that conceiving 01' messages as pareels of iofor­

be destroyed in this p

matino transmitted h y or through media neglected the fact that the significance of

whkh mirror older in;

mcssages is their impacto Moreover, as Gordon notes, simpll' defining 'message' as content ur information to be transmitted misscs what McLuhan believed to he one

Despile the significa is not, however, so si;

ofthe most important features of media: their power to change the course and func­

media conglomera tes

tioning ofhuman relations and activities. Consequentll" McLuhan redefines the idea

companies o\..-n holdin,

o[the 'messagc' ora medium as 'any change in scale, pace, or pattern that a medium

js German, Vivendi is

causes in societies or cultures' .s Through these reconstituted definitions of the

trade in media culture r

terms 'medium' and 'message', McLuhan was able to postulate bis snappy dictum,

domination is far [rom

'the medium is the mcssage'. As McLuhan himsclf explained, this is merely to .'la)'

around the world frorr

that the personal and social cunscquences of the medium - that is, of any extension

on:ler to satis!,- consum

of ourselves - result from the new scalc that is introduced into our affairs by cach

ovellas') reach an intere

extension of oursekes, or by an)' new technology. 6 McLuhan's bold pronouncements servcd as a provocation to readers to recon­ sider thcir own preconceived ideas of what 'the media' are, wbat they do, ,",vhat they can do. McLuhan invites us to explode 'the media' out into our everyday existence,

to recognise our lives as heavil)' mediated in the broadest sensc, and to identify tbe

subscribe to channels S1 of specific ethnic identil

rental stores are largeJ

modes of distribution .

access to films from a pJ

significant personal, interpcrsonal and political alterations brought about by that

McLuhan's ...ision of,

mediation. Equally provocative is McLuhan'.'l notion oftbe 'global village', the idea

manner he envisaged, b1

that through intcnse interaction with c1ectronic media 'the human tribe can he come more trul)' one famil)' and man's consciousness can be lreed [rom the shacklcs ofmechanical culture and enablcd to roam the cosmos'.7 To a contempo­

porar} understanding 01

the 'glohal village' islus

several of the planet-stra

rary reader, such an opinion ma)' seem botb optimistic and nalve. The suggestion

rcgarding globaJisation i

that the spread of electronic media forms could produce a global scenario, in which

what thc media can be­

the planet's inhabitants are .111 'trul)' one [amily', cchoes the carll' twentieth­ century modernist [aith in machinery as \\'ell as embodying the hippie rbetoric of th(~

to see the positive potenl of the media.

late 1960s. McLuhan's 'global village' sounds like an unattainable dream. Yct,

as Ruth Pdzer has argued, the notion of global extcnsion has bccome a key concept for discussing the contemporary media landscape. The presence of thc same mass media channcl.'l in difft'Tent countries across the globe enables traffic of media

[n stark contrast to McL

content bet\\'een tbose countries, and thus the partial erosion ol national boundar­

sustained, pessimistic, c(

ies. The leve! of erosion differs from country to country, however; the production

tising, telcvision and cin

01' media content ami its distribution across and between <.:ontinents reguires sig­

he cJaims, bears almost

FROM MASS MEDIA TO CYBERCULTURE

219

niticant financial clout. For this reason the tcrm 'globalisation' ís often useet as a substitute for .Arncricanisation'. Thc lJ.tter denotes the global proccss of homo­

genisation eft'ected by conglomerates opcrating out al' the United Statcs, the product al' which has been scathingly termed 'McWorld'. '" As Gill Branston and Ro)' Stafford have pointcd out, given that the developrnent of global cornmunicJ­ tíon5 systems has been undertaken largely by American corporations in collabora­ tioo \vith rhe governrncnt, 'it is not a gÍd.nt leap, then, to arguc that US media power is a form ofcultural or media imperialism. Traditional, local cultures are argued to he dcstroyed in this proccss, amI ne\\' fOTms 01' cultural dcpendency are shaped \\'hich mirror older imperialist relations of power.'9 Despite the significant size 01' the US conglomeraks, the global media landscape is not, however, so simpl;: dominated by AnH.'rica. üf the major international media conglomerates in operation at the time of \'Vritjng, several non-American companies own holdings in North Amcrica, but are not hased there. Bcrtelsmann is Cerman, Vivendi is French, while Son:r is Japanese. Further, tbe intcrnational tradc in media culture ma)' be dominated by American products and might, but this domination is far from total. For in.<;tance, television programmes are exported around the world from their eountr)' of origin, often via unpredietahlc paths, in nrder to satisf;: eonsumcr demando Thu~, 50uth American soap operas (or 'telen~ ovdlas') reach an international audience of millions; Asian audicnccs in Britain can subscribe to channels such as Deepam and Zee TV; designed to serve thc interests

01' spccifie ethnic identities. As a second example, British cinemas and video/DVD rental stores are largel)' dominatcd by Hollywood movies, and yet alternative modes ol' distribution and spaces of exhibition continue to f1ourish, providing access ro films from a plethora of countries. McLuhan's vision of a 'global village' ma)' not have been realised in the utopian manncr he envisaged, but thc concept of glohalisation remains kc)' to any eontem­ porary undcrstanding of the mass media. The "alue 01' McLuhan's pcrspective on the 'glohal village' is his sense ofhope. Considering thc size and (.'<:onomic force 01' scn~ral

of the planet-straddling multi-media conglomerates, a knee-jerk pessimism

regarding globalisation is understandablc. And :ret, as with his opinions regarding what the media can be - which, arguably, is up to us - I\1cLuhan invites his rcaclers to scc the positivc potential in the eros ion 01' nationallimits produced by the spread nf the media.

The Simulated Realm In stark contrast to McLuhan, the writings ofJean Baudrilla.rd have undertaken a sustained, pessimistic, coruscating attack on the mass media - particularly adver­ tising, television and cinema

and their construction of a simulated world that,

he daims, hears almost no rescmblance or relation to lived cxperience. For

220

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Baudrillard, recent decadcs have witnesscd the proliferatían of spedflc media

Television. and iu

forms and methods of communication, systems that breed what he teTms 'simu­

Baudrillard 's ideas. Tel

lations'. Thcse simulatíans are images with yery little refeTcnce to reaht)': televi­ sion advcrts for 'summer meadow' washing-up liquids, for instan ce, seH products

regularly report being and treat thern as thou

in '\vhich synthctic combinations of cheroical.., stand in lar sorne hallucinated lost

medical series ER wen

refnent. So widespread are thesc simulatíans, so all-pcrvasi\'e, that the distancc

Uets in televhion comn

betwecn reaht)' and the Tealm al' simulations and simulacra implodcs, and the

belieH' the advice of 'fa

experiencc al' the real "\\'orld disappears;

popularity of the scier

OT

as Mark Paster puts it: 'simulatian ...

undermines .lny contras! to the real, ahsorbing the n~al within itself. Instead of a "rea 1" eeonomy o f commo(l·· . 1 ltles th· at IS some how hypasseu" by an "unrea1" mynac

cover up cvidenee ofhl

of advertising ímages, Baudrillard no",", diseerns only a hyperreality, a world of

American population's

self-rel'erential signs.' 10 The hyperreal has heeome a culturally dominant cxperi­ cnce: tourists go on hotida)' to Disneyland, a fake city populated by cartoon char­

which is diseussed by B ulations consume the TI

aeters, or to Centreparcs, an idealised, and almost entircly synthetie, version of

Baudrillard has writ

the eountryside.

conspiraey thriller wh¡.

perhaps, he argued, in

Baudrillard is especially critieal of Hollywood cinema. In one well-known essay,

take place. By tbis he (

he admonishes The Last Picture Show ( 1971 ) - a film about teenagers growing up in

not occur. Rather, for 1

a small to\\'n in Texas, sd in the 1950s -- for its nostalgie sclf-indulgenee and its

siDn screens, aH that

formal skill in suceessfully, and diseoncertingly, recreating the 'look' of 1950s

comhat reports, vacuo

cinema. So exact is the film '5 simulation of the style of 19505 cinema that, to the

mess)' situation in the f

lay speetator, whcn the film was molde may be difficult to diseern. More generally,

nant one, even for thos

Baudrillard has argued that 'Cinema plagiariscs and copies itself, remakes its clas­

the location itself. As B

sics. retroactivates its original myths, remakes silcnt films more perrect than thc originals, etc' .11 Hollywood studios recyde thcir own films via sequels and imita­

an absurd morneI

tions; the summer of 2003, for instanee, witnessed the release into cinemas offour­

CNN switched to

te en sequcls, including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and the Wachowski brothcrs' The Matn); ReloadeJ. Further, 'classics' are remade for oew audienees, including

happening, ouly tI selves ... This abs

qf ,he Ares (2001) and The lra]¡an Job (2003). The end result, Baudrillard

produetion ol' 're,

Planet

claims, is that 'cinema itselfhecomes more cinema than cinema, in a kind al' vertigo

crated by sorne su

in which ... it does no more than rescmhle itself and escape in its own logic, in the very perfection of its own model'. \2

war. not only for

1

Hollywood cinema, then, is a scduetivc empin~ of th~ visual. The movies pro­

This was arguably even 1

duced by the major studios eonstruct
Empty buzz-phrases ­

movies, a world familiar from other movics, .yet far removed from the 'ordinarv' ,

lJcstruction', 'embedd

or 'ever)'clay'. This simulated realm of experienee ma)' consume 'the real', ovcrrun

States had a 'press stage sands of dollars . Specta,

it, directl)' atTeet our experienees Df actual events. Fietional films hased on real his­

torical oecurrenees - l'rom Tiranic (1997) to U-)71 (2000) - may substitute in the

of Saddam Hussein (Fi¡

minds of spectators for actual, authentie fae!. Further, the ubiquitous nature of

eonveniently for jingois

Holl)'\\'ood cinema might cause us to interpret real events as cinematie: wh)', for instanee, did the television footage of the destruetion al' thc World Tracle Center

when it "vas attacked or Howevcr, Baudrillar,

look like a scene from a blockbuster rilm?

images' - and he has daj

FRüM MA55 MEDIA TO CYBERCULTURE

221

Television, and its impact on audiences, seTn' as a use fuI illustration of Baudrillard's ideas. Television actors __ in particular, those appearing in soap operas­ o

regularly report being eonfronted in the street by speetators who con[use thcm with. and trea! them as though thc)' are, the characters thar they play. Actors from the US medical.scrics ER were hired by a pharmaceutical campany to advertise their prod­ ucts in television commercials; sales boorncd. with audiences seemingly prcparcd to belie\'c the advicc of' fake' , fictional doctors ayer that of 'real' , qualified experts. The popularity al' the scicnce fidion prograrnme The X-Files, a long-running paranoid eonspiracy thrillcr which implied that a cabal of governmcntal agents was working to cover up evidence ofhuman-alicn contaet, allegedly led to a dramatic incrcase in the American population's belief in extraterrestrials. These three examples - none of which is discussed by Baudrillard in his \vTitings - highlight the extent to which sim­ ulations consume the real worio, and indeed becomc 'morc real than real'. Raudrillard has written about television news at length, however. Mmt famously, perhaps, hc argued, in a book of the same titIe, that the Gulf War of 1991 did not take place. By this he did not mcan that actual fighting, death and destruction did not occur. Rather, for the viewers at home watching the conHict unfold on televi­ ~i()n scrcens, aH that they witnessed werc Hashy computer graphics, sanitised

comGat reports, vacuous commentaries and desperate attempts to narrativise the mess,", situation in the field. This 'simulatcd' vcrsion ofthe war became the domi­ nant one, even for those taking part in combat, or those reporting on cvents from the location itself. As Richard Lane writes, therc was an absurd moment in the reporting of the war in which the news channel CNN switchcd to a group of reporters 'live' in the Gulf to ask them what was happening, only to discover that they were 'v\'atching CNN to find out them­ selves ... This absurd moment rcycab the detachment from the real, and thc production of 'rcaHty' with third-order sjmulation ... ncws ¡sn't being gen­ erated by sorne singular event. Rathcr, ne\vs is producing the 'reaHty' of the war, not only for viewers, but also for those involved. 13 This was arguably even more apparent with the invasion of Iraq that bcgan in 2003. Empty buzz-phrases -

'Operation Enduring FreC'dom', 'Weapons of Mass

Destruction', 'embeddcd journalists' - becamC' common parlance. The Unitcd States had a 'press stage' construeted by Hollywood sC't designers which cost thou­ sands of dollaTS. Spectacular ':-ict-piece' events, such as the toppling of the statuc

of Saddam HU.'>cin (Figure 1+.2) wrapped in the US flag - allcgcdly. and rather convenicntIy for jingoistie purposes, the same flag that was Hying at the Pentagon when it was attacked on 11 September 2001 - were heavily stage-managed. Hov.,Tever, Raucirillard's pessimistic, sweeping model of the 'evil demnn of images' - and he has claimed in his writings that the onl)' potential escape from the

222

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

with cahle and satell: evcnts; the Internet p from Prnate (ve to Ne

and Bush administrati version 01' the eonAict reveal that more US s

kJlled during the

mOl

former government \

'spin' elfected by tbe 1 N orth Amcriea have r parties. More rccentl: hold inquiries into wt mas s destruction' wer Baudrillard's opinie rechon. Baudrillard 01 o\'erwhelm~ every We

ing his arguments to tl sccptical naturc of m¿ mass media forms. He thc kcy charactcristics for instancc, shares son has unigue features.

The Internet, in its pre

sity network, whích ,

Rescan.:h Projects A.ger

of an intcrlinkcd systen ical locations. No one

intention of the militar'

computcr system, so th

tegic attacks wauId be r

Figure 14-.2 - 9 April 2003, A statlle ofSacldam Husscill was s)"mbolicaHy pu]]ed Go\'.. . n in Baghdad's firdm Squarc. Hut "\'as the c'ent staged fOf the media? Photograph caurtes; of :\P Photo/Koji HaTada, Kyoto.

relics on the cxistence (

hypcrreal reaIm of simulatian is through death - cannot sliccessfully accornmodatE',

\'l~rsity

both cver)'\\rhere and n

After its creation by t system. It was nc

or account fOT, the range 01' varied messages 3vailable to the diligent consumer

tic spa('es, connccting in

during the reccnt confHct in Irag. Ccrtain]y, 'rolling nnvs' stations such as CNN and Sky Ncws providcd onl} a simulated vcrsion al' cvents in !he Middle East. But other channels al' communication made available alternative perspcctives: many

Jt \-vas this move 01' Intel (.'xpression of fears and thcse concerns were old

FROM MASS MEDIA 10 CYBERCULTURE

223

"\Yith cable and satellite couId access AI-Jazeera television, for an Arabie vie",.' of events; the Internet proved to be a rcsourcc for disscnt and discussion; publications from Prívate E)'c to New Internationahst critiqued the actions and policies of the Blair and Rush administrations [rom thc outset. lndeed, since the 'end' of the simulated version 01' the conflict, the synthetic veneer has publicly cracked: news reports now rcvcal that more US soldiers have died in lraq since the 'end' of the war than were kiUed during the months of fighting. In Britain, the suicide of Dr David Kdly (a forrner go"crnmcnt wcapoos inspector) ser ved to expose the degree 01' political 'spin' effected by the Blair cabinet; forrncr senior govcrnrncnt figures in Britain and North America have resigned and nov.' openly eriticise the aetions ofthe dominant parties. Morc rcC"cntly, both the British and US governments have been forced to hold inquiries into why the intelligence claims about the presence of '\".reapons of mass destruction' were so \vrong. Baudrillard's opinions, like those ofMcLuhan, are thus open to critique and cor­ rection. Baudrillard often secms to assume that the power of mass media imagcry ovenvhelms every vVestern citizen (and, evidently, there are problems with apply­ ing his arguments to those living clsc\".'here in the world). He thereby ignores the seeptical nature of many individuals living in environments heavily saturated by mass media forms. He .lIso fails to ackno\-dedge the significant differences between the key characteristics and methods 01' pubhc usage 01' speeific media. The Internet, for instancc, sharcs some characteristies with other mass media, but crucíall)' it also has unique features.

Life Online: Fear and Loathing Thc Intcrnet, in its prcscnt form, emergcd out nf the . ' \merican ARPAnet univer­ sit)' net\".rork, \\,hich was established for military purposes by the Advanced Rescarch Projects Agenc)' in 1957. The Internet has a weh-likc form: it is made up of an interlinked system 01' a variet)' of computers in a diverse range of geograph­ ical locations. No onc of these computcrs is individuall), csscntial. This was the intention of the military when the network was huilt: they wanted a deccntralised computcr system, so that an)' damage caused te part ol' the infrastructure by stra­ tegic attacks would be minima!. This means that the Internet's hardware is located both everywhere and nowhere. As a ,.. ., hole, it is a resource with no real base; it relies on the existence of a range of hosts. After its creation by the militar)', the Internet was taken up by the American uni­ versity systern. It was not until the 19~:Ws that it hegan to scríously infiltrate domes­ tic spaces, connecting individual homes to each other through computer monitors. It was this moye ofInternet technology into the home that led te the creation and expression ol' fears and worries about the role of the new mass medium. Sorne ol' these concerns were old emes, such as accornpauied the appearance of other media:

224

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

the Internet couId cause eye strain (similar oplniaos \Vere stressed in the late 1800s with the appcarance of camie books, arrd in the 195005 and 19605 whcn television hecarne widel)' intcgrated ¡oto Western hames). Using thc Internet was somctimes also secn as dangerously 'irnmersivc', in the same way that computer games havc hecn conceptualised. For sorne crities. spending too much time in front al' a VDU could reduce the user's social skills. Michele WiIlson, for instancc, has argued that exccssive Internet usage couId produce scrious rcpercussions, claiming that 'the dissolution or fragmentation of the subject and the instantaneous, transient nature of ..111 cornmunication disconnect or abstraet the individual from physical action ann a sense of social anrl personal responsihility to others' .14 Again, arguments eonnect­

is eas)' to access a pie fags.com, the mouth cific instan ces of id

Cookbook, which con cocktails, amI so on" a broad range ol' un reasons associated w:

al a global leve!: if lh. whose religious, mor United Statcs, contrc

ing a specific mass medium with antisocial hehaviour are far from original; cinema, for instance, was often accuscd of 'eausing' ju"enile ddinquency in the 195005. Worries ahout the Internet have orten eirculated around thc niHiculties 01' polic­ ing the ne\-v medium. Whilst monitoring and eensoring the content of tekvision and cinema, for exampk, is handled relativdy smoothly, if not entirely effectivcly, hy specific organisations, controlHng the Internet - a topographically vast arena, encompassing millions of sites, man)' of which He outv,,,ith the reach nf the domi­ nant seareh engincs - is an altogether trickier business. A major conccrn, of course, is pornography. Annual search engine records always reveal that pornog­ raphy featurcs highly in the 'top ten' search items of each and e\'ery ycar. The sheer \'olumc 01' onlinc pornography is astonishing (sorne estimates place it at around 80 pcr cent of aH availahle material), with websites catering for every fetish and special ¡nterest. In recent )Tars, paedophilia - and the use of the Internet to find and dis­ scminate sexual imagcs featuring children - has hecome a significant coneern of politicians and the public. Indeed, at present, 'the pacdophile' arguably occupies a cultural position in Wcstern eountries as the most vilified and demonised puhlic figure. Fcars 01' adults 'pretending' to he childrcn online, in order to meet children for thcir own d('vices, are exprcssed in puhlic forums - perhaps most obviously, in newspapcrs and on radio and television talk sho\-\'s. A recent advertiscment scrcened in Britain on tele\'ision and in cinemas fcatured aman talking in the dubbed voice of a young boy ahout his hobbies and pastimes: the warning card at the end of the ad raised awareness of how it 15 possihk to He ahout our identities online. With this tapie, an old mass media worry about the difficulties of oversce­ ing the private use of particular media thar solicit personal, solitary intcraction, sueh as C'omputer games and VCR/DVD consumption resurfaces, The conccrn is complicated, however, hy the gcnuine impossibilit)" beyond relatively simple 'nanny' protection devices, of policing the content ol' the Internet. Aside [rom pornographie imagery, the other troubling form of eontent available onlinc is thar which is politicall}' or ideologicall)' suhversive or dissident. Whereas sorne individual countries have laws against incitemcnt to raóal hatred, for instancE', numcrous racist and xcnophobic \\'cbsites cxist and flourish. Similarly, it

Ol' course, not aH cor number of proselytise niflcant polítical mor unavailable in the real l'orge a utopian futun online, using the Inter to interact. For instan( - and reasons for this

problcms - may be abl space, physical appear ';\'orld; a pcrson is mon For a number of fel potential as a 'female' puter teehnology has 1 oI' computcr games de, most hardware and sol of the Internet is rathe way' may conceive of I vehicles down at high ~ lhing bul slraighl and 1 may feel a gender-spee conneetions with mon A.side from these pi serve as a viable 'place passions for speeifie int Fanzincs and eonventi byan explosion of fan, programmcs, and so on

FROM MASS MEDIA TO CYBERCUl1URE

225

is easy to access a plethora ofvirulently homophobic sites. such as ww''\'.godhates­ fags.com, the mouthpiece of the Rcverencl Fred Phelps. In addition to these spe­ cHic instances 01' ideological violence, the banned publicatían The Anarchist's

Cookhook, which contains information

Oll

building bombs, mixing petrochemical

cocktails, and so on, is easily accessible onlinc. For liberal crities, the availability of a broad range of unccnsored \'iews via the Internet should be maintained for reasons associatcd with 'freedom of speech'. However, this ideal raises problems at a globallevel: if the Internet really does span the planct, then how can countries whose religious, moral and ethical beliefs diffn from those of, most especially, thc Unitcd States, control what citizens of individual nations can access?

Utopianism and the Internet Of coursc, not aH commentaries about the Internet are ncgative in tone. Indeed, a number of prosclytisers have prodaimed the arrival 01' the worlcl wide web as a sig­ nificant political moment, affording social and cultural opportunities prescntly unavailable in the real world, ancl ne\\' malleable 'spaces' in which individuals can forge a utopian !uture" Many of these aspirations revolve around people meeting online) using the Intcrnet as a disperscd 'venue' cuntaining neutral 'placcs' in which to interact. For instance, thOSl' who tincl social interaction in thc real world difficult and reasons for this couJd vary from shyness to specch impediments to mobilit)" problems - may be able to forgc bonds online. With social communication in cyhcr­ space, physical appearance is arguabl)' considerably less significant than in the real world; a person is more likely to bc judged by their verbal dexterity and typing speed. For a number of feminist cultural commentators, the Internet also holds great potential as a 'female' space amI tool lor women's emancipation. Whereas com­ puter technology has usually been conceptualised as a male dornain - the number of computer games designecl for) and played by) girls and women is very small, and most hardware ancl software continues to be constructed hy men - the very ~'Iwpe ol'the Internet is rather femininc. Macho phrases likc 'the information superhigh­ way' may conceive of the Internet as a linear location, one that users would drive vehicles clown at high speeds, but the diffuse, web-like form 01 the lnternet is any­ thing but straight and unidirectional. It has becn argued, for instance, that women may l'eel a gender-specific affinity with the Internet, traversing through its links and connections with more ease than meno 1 'j Aside from these politicised implications and uses of the Internet, it can al so serve as a viahle 'place' in which isolated) like-mincled individuals can share their passions l'or specific intercsts. Media fandom, for instance, has proliferated online. Fanzines and conventions, ahhough still in existcnce, have been supplemented by an explosion ol' fan-sltcs devoted to musicians, actors and actresses, television programmes) and so on. Rare ¡tems 01' information and merchandise are exchanged.

226

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Fandom, due to the Internet, has arguably become more social - and considcrably

identity and fr

more extensive. In an ~cho al' McLuhan's 'global village', the gcographicallocation

equalize throug

al' individuals chatting onlinc abour thcir intercsts becom(~s almost ¡rrelevant, dis­ tanees betwccn computcrs eradicated by high-speed phone lines. AH oI' these perspectives on the Internet conceive ol' computer terminal s as

munity witrur

routes ¡nto nnv forros 01' community, in which interaction with other peoplc has a

proliferates uni

promote a sen

pan!s. They are

difrerent shape and uses an altcrnative language. Perhaps this interpretaban of the world wide web should come as no surprisc, as a range al' commentators have

This utopian mod(

claimed in recent years that, in the real world, stable senses of cornmunity are

Many indi . . iduals nel'e

brcaking down, produeing a search for new communitics. Anthony Giddl'ns, for

ising - indeed, it mar

instanee, wrote in 1994 that 'On eaeh sidc 01' the politieal spectrum toda)' we sce

the popularity of web

afear of social disintegration and a can lor the revival of community' . 1.. In urban

the idealisation ol' on1

centres in ' ...· ealthy nations, conneetions between individuals are fracturing.

countries, c1asses and

Although we may press up against other people on pubHc transport, and mal' (inad~

Finally, it is crucial to

vertentl)') witness the people in the building opposite in states ofundress, we mal'

nity' is ~imply a Baudr

not even

k110\V

our own neighbours. Of' course, communities have not disappeared

entirely; outsioe of mctropolitan centres, smaller towns and villages mal' maintain a feeling of puhlic community. And a sense of one 's conncetion to a community,

It is neccssary te inations 01' trun!

even within large elties, will dcpcnd on one 's raec, ethnicity, class, gender and

or whether, h)' r

sexual orientation. Most mctropolitan hubs, for ¡nstance, from Manehester to Ne,v

communities, w(

York, have 'gal' villagl's', seetions of the citl' predominantly inhabited and used by

munit)' meaningJ

lesbians and gay meno Howcver, the fragmentaban of older eommunities would seem to be a constituent component of the contemporary cxistenec 01' many

As online communitie

\\festern inoividuals. As Michcle vVilIson ''''Tites:

ano open ro exploratio

In an age ,vhen people have more capacitl' - through technologically aided communication

to he interconnected across space and time than at any

othcr point in history, the postmodern individual in contemporary Westcrn

Recent d<-'(ades have ,

societ)' ís paradoxically feeling increJsingly isolateo and is searching for new

(most notahle in wealtl

ways to understand and l'xperienee meaningful togetherness. 17

cations 01' thcse machi",

date thesc tcchnologica And it is the Internet that ('ould he used to overcome that isolation, to 1'nrge ne..v

(cinC'ma, tele ....¡sion, arre

link., beÍ\.veen indiviouals. Indeed, a number of authors have claimcd that out­

hecn the appearance of tane(' of this channel as ;:

mmkd forms of eommunity in the real world are hcing replaced by thosc medi­ ated by computcr technology and online conncetions, producing a ne\\' form of

nication. In relatian to

community appropriatc to our cra. The links madc betwecn people online are

global viIJage ano Baud1

qualitativcly different from those CTeatcd in real life. As Willson argues furthcr, virtual communities:

share keyeharacteristics

quandariC's to consumer

ties (such as its impeni are presentcd by growing numbers of '\'vriters as exciting nc\\' forms of com­

interaction it demands)

munity which liberare the individual from thc social constraints of embodicd

further teehnological in

FROM MASS MEDIA TO CYBERCULTURE

227

identit)' amI from thc restrictions of geographically embodied ~pace; vvhich equalize through the removal of embodiecl hierarchical structuresj and which promotc a sense nf connectednc~s (orIratemit),) among interactivc partici­ pant~. They are thcreby positcd as the epi tome nf a form of postmodern COffi­ munit)' \\"ithin \\rhich multiplicit)' al' self is enhallccd and difference prolifcrates uninhibited by external, social structurcs. 18 This utopian model ofonline intcraction and cornmunity needs to be tempercd. Many indiviciuals nc{'eruse the Internet rOl' meeting other people. chatting and social­

ising - incieed, it mol)' simply be used as another autlet fol' consumeri... t impulses (as the popularity al' wcbsites such as Amazon amI Ebay vvoulJ seem to attcst). Further, the idealisation of online communities is undercut by the limitcd access that some countrics, dasses and racial groups have to thc neeessar)' tcchnological resourc(:s. Finall)'l it is crucial to enquirc ,,'hether the online 'pcrson' or th(' Internet \:ommu­ nit)" is simply a Baudrillard-style simulation. To cite Willson once more: [t ís necessar)' 10 ask if 'community' can be suilicíently Jefined by the macb­ inations nf thinl emptied-out selves interacting \'ia text through cyberspace; or whether, by removing the difficulties and limitatinns of more trarlitional communhies, ,ve are also stripping away man)" ofthe factors that 'make' com­ muníty meaningful for its participants.)9 As online communities are onl)' a recent development, their shape still malleable ami open to explorabon, final statcments regarding this debate are not yet possible.

Conclusion Recent decades have witnesscd a widespread proliferatíon of new technologies (most notable in vvealthier countries). and a rapid turnover in the forms and appli­ cations 01' these machines and s)'stcms. Our lives have rapidl)' adapted to accornrno­ date these technological innovations. Alongsirle significant alterations to old media (cinema, tclcvision, and so on), one (Jf the key devclopments of the digital age has been the appearance of a new mass medium - the Internet - and the swift accep­ tance of this channel as a store of information and mcthod of interpersonal cornmu­ n¡cation. In reJatíon to dominant models of the mass media -- sucb as McLuhan's global \'illagc and Baudrillard's empire of simulacra - the Internet can be seen to sharc key characteristics with othcr media forms, as well as posing medium-specific quandaries to con.'iumers and cultural commentators due to its uniquc characteris­ ties (such as its impcrviousness to ('ontrol and kgislation, and the new modcs of interaction it demands). Thc Internet itself will continue to alter its form with further technological innovations - the possibility of connecting ourse]ves 10 our

228

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

consoles by SQUlD-typc dcviccs is not so far a\\"ay. With such developments, con­ ceptual understandings al' the role and function oI' the mass media in general will,

without a daubt, require reformulation.

Further Reading Oarley, Andrew. VIsual DJBltal Cul/ure. Sudace Pla.'y and Spcaac1e 1n ,",'e}! .HedlO (;enlCS (London amI Ncw York, 2000). Gra)', Chris, ed. The L)"boI8 Handbook (London, 1995). Jardan, Tim. Cyberpower: the Culture and Politics r::f Cyberspace ami [he Internet (London, 1999.1. Levinson, Paul. DJBual McLuhan: a GlJIde to the lriformacion Millennium (London, 2001). Mitchcll, WiIliarn. CJty ?f Bits: Space, Place and the If!fobahn (Cambridge, MA, 1995).

Notes Michclk Picrson, 'CGI Fffe-cts in Hollywood Science-Ficüon Cinema 1989-1995', Scrccn. Vol. 40, No. 2 (Summer 1999), p. 167. 2 Ibid. 3 William Boddy, 'New Media as old Media: Television', in Dan Harries, cd .• The Sell lfediu Book (London, 2002), p. 242. 4 W. Terrence Gordon, McLuhanJor Beamners (Landan and Ncw York, 1997). p. 43. 5Ibid.,p.44. 6 MarshaU McLuhan, UndemandJna Media: The Extensions ef Man (London anu N('\v York, 2001), p. 7. 7 McLuhan cited in Gordan, McLuhanJor Beamners, p. 103. 8 Herman and Rohert McChesney, eus., The Global MedlQ: The New I"won<1IJe.~ ~r Corporal e Capl[allSm (Londan, 1997). 9 Gill Branston anc1 Roy Stafford, The iHedw Studem's Book (Lanuan and New York, 2003, 3rd editian), p. 408. 10 Mark Poster, ec1. ,Jean BaudnlJard: Se1eaed ft'nl.mfls (Landon, 1988), p. 6. 11 Jean Bauurillard, 'Tbe Evil Deman al' Images and thc Preccssion of Simulacra', in Thomas Doc:hcrty, ed., PostmodernlSm: a ReadeI (New York and Oxford, 1993), p. 196. 12Ibid.,p.195. 13 Richard J. Lane,je(Jn B(Jud{/ll(Jld (Landan and New York, 2000), p. 95. 14 Michele Willsan. 'Cammunity in thc Abstract: A Political and hhical Dilemma?', in David Rell and Barbara M. Kennedy. eds. The Cybelwlwlc's Ri'adc'I (Londan and New York, 2000), p.650. 15 Saclie Plant, Zeros + Ones: D1Bír,¡} Wamen <1nJ rhi' Ni'" T..'Chnoculwre (Landan, t 997). 1b Anthany Giddens, Beyond Lift and Rlght: nI¿ Fucule ~r R,dic,¡1 Polírics (Cambridge, 1994), p. 124. 17 vVillsan, 'Cammunity in the Ahstraer', p. 6++. 18Ibid.,p.647. 19 Ibid., p. 651.

In lhe mid-194-0s Thec

world is made to pass thl

lry, which lhey develop'

such as film, radio and ti

standing and cxperiena

institutions in order to el

actions of their individuó

Thc institutions of vi!

ing naturc by acting as i

onc considers the caree

1990s, .such as Damien ;

the popular press as ind acquiring this le\'el of fal school s and attracted th

critics. Thcir successfull

tion and power network~ of thcir stellar careers as

practising artists, desigm

The chapler begins by

tution. It then takes a me

15. Visual Culture and its Institutions Fiona Anderson

Introduction In the mid-1940s Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheiml..T argued that 'the whole world i... madeto pass through the cultureindustry'. J The conccptofthecultureindus~ try, which they developed in relatían to thc new media and rntertainment industries

such J.S film, radio and tdevision, highlights the role of institutions in :oihaping under­ :;tanding and expcricncc of visual culture. This chapter devotes specific attention to institution5 in arder to elucidate Jurther the relationships hetween them. the ideas and actions 01' their individual stafT and wider puh1ir: coos.iousncss ahout visual culture.

The i05titutiol1s ofvisual culture help to shape fundamentally its constantl} shjft­ ing nature hy acting as its fundcrs, promoters and facilitators. This can be seen i1' one considen the careers of !'jome of the so-caBed young British artists of the 19905, such as Vamien Hirst or Tracey Emin, whose work i5 regularly dehated in the popular prcss as indicolivt' uf thc statc of Lontemporary arto In the process of acquiring this level ol' fame, Hirst and Emin both attended prominent London art schools and attracted the attention 01' influential collectors, gilllcr), curators and critics. Their successfill negotiation of a series of institutions and the communica­ tion and pO\ver nctwürks linked to them have been imperative to the development their stdlar care<.'rs as artists. 2 This remains true ol' almost al1 past or currently

01'

practising artists, designers, craftspeople and film- and videomakers. The chaptt'r begins by looking at various definitíons of what constitutes an insti­ tution. It thcn takes a more specific focus by considering how institutions work in

230

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

relation to education, the production and dissemination ofknowlcrlge anrl umler­ standing and also funding and sponsorship. Owing to the breadth and complexity

01' these issues, the chapter \'.-illlook in more depth at museums anrl, in particular, at debates raiscd h)' the Strectsr))e exhihition hcld at the Victoria and Albert

Muscum in London in 1994 5.

relations in wruch themselves' . 7 In thi a mcmber oI' the ga tion. ¡; This involves

implicit rules, and s

The brge range (

What is an Institution1

possible roles, cono jo

lnstitutions ol' visual culture haye the potential to stimulate, educare and entcrtain the public by giYing thcm acccss to the objects and images nf visual culture and to Dew ideas that contest existing conceptions of saciet)' and culture. Hawe\ er, man)" argue that institutions use their power and control of funding, informatian and communication to cxclude those who challcnge acccptcd social norms, and thus

help to maintain existing inequaliti<:s of power. 1 As Janet WolI'I'has argued: In the production oI' art, social institutions affect, amongst other things, wha beco mes an arti5t, haw they become an aTtist, how they are then able to prac­ tice their art, and hO\v they can cnsurc that their work i5 produced, pcrI'ormcd

and maJe Q¡;ailable to a public. Furthermore, judgements anO evaluations 01' works and schools of art.

. are not simply individual and 'purel)" aesthctic'

decisions, but sociall)' enabled and socialI)' constructcd e\'ent5. 4

particular the d

example, if curators an exhihition¡ the k man)" other compet projcct goes ahead.

large-scale I'unding ,

worldwjde publicity. pendent gallery may creative proccss. Ho'

funding, I'ewer specia

lnternationaJ media al

What thesc differel narrow context. sueh ¿

within the wiJer conte cnce public undcrstan

Before looking in more depth at these debates, it is useI'ul to consider sorne basic definitions. Anthony Giddens statcs that 'Institutions are by definition the more enduring features oI' social lifc' , whereas Raymond WilHams conclu
lance. Thcsc include, for example, indcpendcnt and commercial galleries, inde­

and communication oI' as the cI'I'ectiveness al' I

question ol' hmv institu

power to endorse the v

In general, institutiona specialised context

01' i

production) and within art world, for example,

intcract primarily throu

galJeries, auction house~

Literature, art and a complex instituti

legitimises them. 1 pretends to provid tices. ')

pendent arts organisations ano media companies. This chaptcr focuses on the role oI' social institutions such as those listed ahO\T, but it is important to stress that the term institulion can also cover 'the variable

The kc} phrase here i:

For example, ho\\' does th

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

231

relations in "vhich "cultural producen;" have he en organized or han' organized themsclves' .7 In tbis sense, being an artist, a designer or an architect, or eveD being a member of the gallcry-going public, is to be part of a social arrd cultural institu­ tion.¡; This invo\ves adhering to ccrtain social norms Jrra cxpcctations. following implicit rules, and so forth. The large rangc of diJlerent types nf institution illustrates the huge diversity of possihlc roles, concerns ana reiationships connectcd with speeific institutions arrd in particular the different degrees of frccdom and power they possess. For examplc, if curators .......orking for a large. publicly fundeo museum wisb to mount an exhihitían, the idea will be considcred by a committee in eompctition ","'ith many other eompeting priorities, giving them Httle control oyer whether the project goes ahead. If supported, however, they will potentially haye aecess to large-sealc funo.ing and high-profilc contacts, and their cxhibition ,,"'i1l attraet worldwide publicity. On the' other hand, an indiyio.ual working for a smallinde­ pendent gallcry may haye considerahly more power oyer decision-making and the creative process. Howcvcr, the)' \vill need to produce the exhibjrjon with less funding, fcwcr specialised resourees, amI the project will he unlikely to garner intcrnational media and puhlic attention. What thcsc dil'l'crent institutions havc in cornrnon is that they operatc within a narrow context, such as the art worlo., or the hlm world, whilst concurrentl)' sitting \yithin the widcr eontext ol' society and culture. The capadt)' ofinstitutions to influ­ cnel' puhlic understanding ami opinions is dependent on the effectiye promotion and communication of that institution's yiews. In ado.ition to pragmatic issucs such as the cffl'l'tiveness 01' marketing stratcgics, this also concerns thcir lcgitimacy. The question of hO\v institutions thl"mselves achieye thc lcgitimacy that gives them thc power to endorse the work ol' others is an interesting and complex arca of o.ebate. In general, institutional legitimacy is eentred simultancously \\'ithin the narrow, specialbcd eontext of its area of opcration (e.g. art, architecture, film anO. media proo.uction) and within thc widcr social and cultural eonte'xt. The concept ol' the art \vorId, for cxampie, implies a group ol' people with specialísed knowlcdge who intcract primarily through

J.

largc intcrnational net\\'Ork of institutions, including

galleries, auction houscs, puhlishers and artists agencies. As John Randal states: Literature, art and thcir respective produeers do not exist independently of a complcx institutional framework which authorises, enables, empov,·ers and legitimises them. This framework must be ineorporated into an)' analysis that prdcnds to proyide a thorough undcrstano.ing of cultural goods and prae­

.

tices.

.,

Thl' kcy phrase he re is 'authorises, cnables, empowen; and legitimises them'. For example, how does thc puhlic (which is itsell' a spceial kind of institution) come

232

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

to an undcrstanding of wha or what constitutes a significant film director, artist or designer? Moreover, if ane wishes to become a cultural agent of sorne kind, whether making, displaying or promoting sorne practice, \.\'hat po\.\'cr structures and indi\iduals

will 'authorise, enable and empower' arre to do so?

In arder to consider these questions, it 15 important to explore ,\/hat institutions actualIy do. In practice, the activities and ideas associated \\'ith mast institutions are

multilayered and intcrwoven \vith those of other social institutions. This chapter turns first to cducation, hcfore considering other kinds ofinstitutjonal operation.

Education Although in many cultures lcarning the skills associated with crart, design, art and other visual practices still occurs on an apprenticeship hasis, most states have formal institutions for teaching thc thcories and practices of visual culture. Exploring different historical and contemporary examples indicates that many of these have taken highly specific approachcs to the naturc- and content of their teach­ ing. Within Britain and N orth America, a major shift has occurred in art and design education since the 1960s, in which attention to traditional 'craft' skills, induding the teaching of drawing, largcly gave way to an emphasis on encouraging students to develop and articulate aesthetic, social and political ideas through their practice.

Figure 15.1 - Walter Gl LibraT)' Phatographs Ca

This \Vas a1so linkcd to the rise of interdisciplinary teaching and practice, in which students combined practices and techniques from a variet)' of diffcrcnt ficlds, rather than honing specialised skilb in a narrowcr subject area. This shift: has had notable nmsequences. For example, the contemporary American architcctural glass artist James Carpenter is reputed for his ab¡litics to integratc his glass instal­ lations cffccti\.Tly into buildings through successful collaborative partnerships \.",ith architects. This is undoubtedly linked to the faet that he studicd architccture prior to becominv a ~vJas5 arti51. 10 ~

It is interesting to explore the relationships hCl'wccn cl..'rtain cducational instituLions and the devclopment of ditIerent movements in art and design. For example, the Bauhaus School of Art and Design, founded in \Veimar, Germany in 1919, pro­ vided an important meeting pojnt for those who wished 10 challenge accepted ways of thinking about the theory, practice and teaching of art, design and architecturc. In the earl)' h",entieth century the social, acsthetic and pedagogic ideas ofllauhaus staff amI students coalcsced, with a range of activities and debates taking place throughout Europe and the Soviet UnJon. 1I Tcachers at the Bauhaus, such as the archilect Walter Gropius and thc designers Marcel llreuer and Marianne Brandt, also produn>d highly significant buildings and objects that have been cxtremcly inHuential internatjonally (Figure 15.1). The llaubaus methods ofteaching have also had a major jmpact on art amI dcsign teaching worldwide. This was undoubtedly linked to its closure by tbe National

Socialists in 1933, af grated and took up o and clsewhere. J 2

In addition to prov

technical, artistic and'

cational establishment

works of contacts to iI

and promotion. They institutions important

museums, retail outlet tional institutions do

progress; embedded \\

issue of education as <

played by taste. In bis i

as an indication of 'he manipulating the cultu other words, al! aspect~ furnishings, choice of ( as part of individual an :-;tatus level in societ)'.

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

233

Figure 15.1 Walter Gropius, The Bauhaus, Dcssau (1919). Photograph LOurtcsy ofRIBA Librar)' Photographs Col!ection.

Socialists in 1933, after which many orthe schoo]'s teachers and students emi­ grated and took up commissions and teaching work in the United States, Britain and elsewhcre. '2 In addition to providing studcnts with knowlcdge about and experience (lf the technical, artistic and intcllectual aspects oftheir chasen area ofvisual culture, edu­ cational establishmcnts prüvide status, professional credibility and important

n<.'t­

works of contacts to individuals wha wish to be involvcd with cultural production and pramatian. They al 50 interweave with the activities and eooceros of othcr institutions important to the future professional praetitioner, sueh as galleries, museums, retail outlets, agencies and promotional media. These aspcets ol' educa­ tional instHutions do not merely concern the practical facilitating of career progrcss; embedded within tbis eomplcx intermingling ol' individuals is the wider issue of education as a means of generating cultural capitaL A particular role is playcd hy taste. In bis influential study DistinctlOn Viene Bourdieu deal~ \....ith taste as an indicatiun of 'how individuals struggle tu improve their social position hy manipulating the cultural representation of their situation in the social fic1d' . J 3 In other words, aH aspects of taste and lifestyle, whethcr manifested in c1othing, house furnishings, choice of car or appreciation of certain films or works of art, operate as part ol' individual and group stratcgies to increase ur maintain peoplc 's c1ass or status leve! in society. Bourdieu's study, hased on french society of the 1960s,

234

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

arguecl that knm\r1cdge about amI apprcciation of, for example, abstraet art was

states that TV

valued as a sign ofbelonging to the educated bourgeoisie. Cultural knowledge and

mass culture (

the ability to make certain value judgerncnt."i about objccts and imagcs are thcrc­

was that mass

fore crucially important to hm,y people are positioned within saciety. Bourdieu

with the .'lame

further indicares the social importance al' cultural capital, by arguing that ir i5 one

tÍcs and cuItur

o[ the prime rncan:-; b)' which peopk gain access to economic capital. Bourdieu '5 '.vork i5 an extremely oseful way of thin.king abour hO\v the educational institutions of visual culture intcract with thcir studcnts and the \,"'ioer saciet)' and culture. The

The domineerin! priyate media institl

acquisition al' knowledge and the mere faet of attending a college or university

censor the practices

in \,,,hich important social ndv..·orks arc also formco - ma)' he seen as a highly pro­

or the United State~

ductive means of aCCJuiring cultural capit
governments or lar!

capital is not as straightfonvard as Bourdicu sccms to implr Studying art practice

social values. Regare

or filrnrnaking is not a guarantee 01' a flnancially viable career as an artist or film­

utive stated on radie

rnaker. Angela McRobbie descrihes how thcsc contradictions are often resol veo

cational force, and

. . v ithin contcmporary society:

el

way of life as the ent

like the BBC do not In an aestheticiscd culture, art becornes another transferable skill. Train as an

state apparatus.

artist to become aDJ. Work nights in a club or bar and get a commission from

political or sexual

the promoters to do an installation. Make a vioeo, take photographs, etc. 14

and viewpoints becar

Ho~

COl

it has been under con1 In olher .... ords, education, and thc cultural capital that comes l'rom it, mal' leaa to

case, from the Falklar.

thc.' a(~CJuisition of economic capital, but this relationship 01't en works ibclf out

thís oifticult relation (

through <1 highly complex and unpredictahlc sd of social scenarios. However, it

became locked in co:

should also he borne in mind that certain academic paths of study such as architec­

government's honest)

ture or graphic design are more closely linked to specific carccr structurcs than

the capituIation of tht

areas such
In television or nev

images shown seems g

Production and Dissemination of Knowledge and Understanding

public understanding unexpected contexts.

Educational institutions are a ke)' means ol' disseminating specific, formal

focus on a single, forn

approachcs to knO\vlcdgc, but everyda)' Jife olTers constant exposure to ohjects,

signals thcir artistic cr

images, dispbys and \\'Titing about visual culture, al! 01' which propose a particular

puhlic. Despile the p'

view nf the world. Al! t)'pes of institutions, from museums to independent arts

media as a singular, col

organisations, are involved with Ihe production and dissemination of kno....·ledge

¡ihle pub!ic has he en (

ana undcrstanding. Howcwr, sorne institutions are more influential than others.

media and its interactü

The most familiar types ofinstitution that we con.sciously ohserve as being irwolveo

wouId ímplr I ~ Certair

in trus everyday shaping of knowkdgc are those linked to the media and advertis­

unified characteristics i

ing industries. As Sturken ano Cartwright state:

contemporary societie nitics. Thus ,,,,'hile the

The capaót)' 01' the mass media to reach so man)' '\'iewers both n
ideologies, there is amI

globalIy gives it a significant amount 01' po"\\'er. ... The historical argument

contestation of mainstr

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

235

statcs that TV and radio providccl a centralized means lor mohilizing tbc new mass culture or mass saciet)' around a unified sel 01' issucs and ideas. The idea "vas that mass broadcasting, \\'ith its ability to reach large numbers al' people with lhe sarne messagcs, fostercd conformit)' lo dominant ideas about poli­ ties and culture. 15 Thc domjnccring ,md controlling role played by both govcrnment-funded and private media institutions i~ mast clcarl)' illustrated by their powers to shape and censor lhe practices of visual culture. Many countrics such as Rritain, Franee Ital)' O[ the United Statcs ha'\c large, public television campanies, explicitly linkcd to governments or \arge corporations, and '\\'hich havc played a key role in shaping social \alu('s. Regarding American consumer culture, for example, an NBC <:xec­ utive stated on radio in 1948 that 'advertising on telcvision \·vil! be a potent edu­ cational force, and consequently will he 01' almost as much value to our American \\'a)' of I1fe as the entertainment itsclf' ,16 Most ol' the activities of an organisation like the BBe do not clearh indicate to \'ie\\·ers that it is an element of the Brjtish state apparatus. HO\\'ever, when certain programmes are banned owing to their political or sexual content, tbis relationship 01' control over the puhlic's knowledge and viewpoints becomes more overt. Although the Blle is nominal\y independent, it has been under constant pressure to present news that supports the government's case, from the Falklands War ol' 1982 through to the 2003 invasion ofIraq.lndced, this ditncult r<:lation culminated in the w-called Hutton affair - in which the lilie became locked in conHict with the Blair government over allegations about the government's honesty in presenting the case for the invasion of Iraq - resulting in thc capitulation ofthC' BBC. I !' In tclevision or newspaper reporting, the fact that political viewpoints shape the jmages shown seems glaringl)' apparent. However, media institutions abo shape the public understanding of society and culture through more suhtle means and in uncxpected contexts. For example, whcn a leading arts programmc chooses to focus 00 a single, formerly controversial artist, designer or filmmaker, it jnstantl)' signals their artistic crcdibility and rosters acceptann' of their work by the \\'ider public. Despite the powerful inHuencc or medja forms, the concept ol' the mass media as a singular, cohesive entity that feeds information of dubious truth to a gul­ lible public has been criticised by many, \.. . ho argut' that the composition ol' the media and its interaction with its audiences are more complex than this vic\vpoint would imply.18 Certainly, thinking ol' the publú.: as a 'mass' audience with similar, unified characteristics is not relevant to the complex and variegated nature ol' man)' contemporary societics, which are eomposcd 01' dil'l'crent cultures and commu­ nities. Thus while the media often confirm th(' powerl'ul influeoce ol' dominant ideologies, therc is ambivalence l'rom audiences about certain polítical ideas and a contestation 01' mainstrea~ ülcas about societ)' and culture. .

236

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

Despite their overall diversity, aH types of institutjons of visual culture involvc the production and dissemination 01' knO\vledge and undcrstanding about visual culture and societ),. Indeed, in the 19605 art theorists such as Arthur Danto and George Dickie ddined art by reference to how it

\\-'íl5

interpreted and valorised by

leading art institutíons and cfitics, rather than the qualities of individual art­ works. JO Although these ideas ma)' be criticised [rom

J

lar m useums and ga tionships with their in thcse contexts rr shi ps still persist.

\'Jrü~ty nI' pcrspectives

including whcthcr something as complex as the art world produces consensual values, consideratían 01' the powcrfullegitimising role oI' majar institutions sueh as the Pompidou Centre in París or MOMA in New York eertainly lends some cred­ ihility to Michael Phillipson's view that 'Ahove aH, art is something to be managed, to be accommodatcd to the needs 01' the insütutional machinery that must contin­ ually reprocess and transform its ohjccts ol' knowledge to provide for and sccure the l'uture of its own practices.'~o lnstitutions such as the Crafts Council, the Arts Council of England and Wa1es and, in the United Statcs, the National Enoowment for the Arts carry out a whole range of activitics that help shape professional practicc and the public understand­ ing ofit. They pro vide opportunities for the exchange of intellectual, artistic, com­ mercial and technieal knowledge, which is vital to those working \vithin visual culture. These institutions are puhlidy funoed and interface with hoth thí..' profes­ sional and puhHc sphcres. This often leads to conflict and controversy since profes­ sional and publie views of what are valid visual and intellectual ideas are somctimes radically divergent. Thesc kcy institutions are thcreforc very revealing as to the political and power networks and strugglc:'i informing the practices 01' visual í..~ulture.

They illustrate the practical working out ol' different idcological vie",s,

\vhich are eontinually tcsted against others in the pursuit of dominance or hege­ mnoy. Jonathan Harris reveals how thesc struggles are to a significant cxtent playeo out in the everyday suhjcctive decisions and actions ofindividuals. He states:

One "ita] way in \' funding or sponsorij social structures imI analyses 01' instüuti, funoing relationship coercive, a significar

duced would never 1

Exploring funding re

opment of significan

DHIerent areas of

and fashion aH have d tures. The:-c historie~

in Australia, for exan

part

js

played by the '

the two countries. 22 J

torical account of th within th¡s chapter. T of craft and designo From the medieval

than immcdiate nece: elite. Thc aristocracy

Subjeet to sharp criticism in recent years over its organlsation, location and pobe), oecisions, from hoth the lcft and right in Britain, each with thcir mvn agendas for reform or transformation and from artists who sce themseh'es as the dients of the organisation, the Arts Council has fac-cd and continucs to face a CrISis?f /c8if imac.y regarding its role and value in contemporary society. 21

rraftspeople Bke jewel ers and milliners. The

missioned a whole ral

buildings. From the m industrialisation and re

accessible to the middl The issue of cultural capital is relevant here again, for mstitutions such as the Arts Council are run by people with a significant dcgrce

01' expertise about the

visual arts. These individuals and the institutions are, by implication, seen to be in possession ol' a large degree of cultural capital, whkh is ofcourse a sign o1'pro1'es­ sional compctcnce in their field. This often !cads to aceusations of blinkercd ano clltist approaches that do not rclate to wider puhlic tastes. Over the last fi.fteen years ruany intcrnational, publicly funded institutions ofYisual culture, in particu­

rcscntative of a set of e th(' early nincteenth e govcrnment efforts to

improve aesthetic stan

ment sdect committef

cdge 01' the ARTS an

(especia]]) the Manufac

VISUAL CULTURE ANO ITS INSTlTUTIONS

lar

mUSfllms

237

and galleries, have come under pres~ure Lo forro more equitable rela­

tionships ,.. . ¡th their audiences, but the complex ideological reJationships invo1vco in these contextoS means thal, despite significan! change, unequal powcr rclation­

ships still pcrsist.

Funding and Sponsorship One vital wav, in which institutions stirnulate and control \isual culture i5 bv" funding Ol" sponsoring its production. Due to the dcsirc to reveal the political and social structures implicit in the practicC's, ohjects and images of visual culture, mu.st analyses of institutions tend to rocus on the ncgative aspects

01' power-infused

funding rcbtinnship.s. \Vhilst thesc rdationships ma)' inuced be limiting or even coercivc, a significant proportion oI' the images and artcfacts that have been pro­ duced would ncvcr have e.xi.stcu without sorne form oI' patronage or sponsorship. Exploring funding rclationships can be a most revealing means oI'tracing the dC\,el­ oplllent oI' signihcant social and aesthetic changcs. Diffen.,'nt areas oI' visual culture such as film, art, tekvision, photography, design and fashion aH have distinctive histories in terros ofkey funding sources and struc­ tures. Thcse histories ·vary from one country to another; the history oI' filmmaking in Australia, for examplc, i5 distinctive from that oI'the United States, and a large part is played by the different institutional strllctures und~rpinning hlmmaking in the two countrics. 22 It i:-; not possiblc therefore to give a full, or even a partial, his­ torical account of the devclapment of funding struLlure.'i within visual culture within thls chapter. Thercfore, 1 will focus on historical shifts within the patronage al' eraft and de:-;lgn, From the medieval period to the late seventeenth centur)' dcsigned goons other than imrnediate necessities were largel)' available onl)' internationall)' to a small elite. The aristocracy and ' ....ealthy merchants were therdore the major patrons nf craftspeopk likc jewellers, furniture-makers, ceramkists, glas~-maker.s,dressmak­ ers and milliners. The Chur(,h ''Vas also an important patron within Furare; it com­ missioned a whole range of objects, from fine textiles ami stained glass to entire buildings. From the mid-eighteenth century in Britain, due to thc Jevclopmcnt of industrialisation and rdative in creases in incomes, luxury goods began lo be more Jcccssible to the middlf' classcs. The patronagc of dcsign there[ure began to be rep­ rcsentative of a set of dass interests beyond those of the most privileged elite. n By the early ninetecnth ccntur~' the .'iteauy cxpansion o[ mass manufacturing led to gü"ernment etTorts to promotc British Jesign activcly amongst the populacc and. improvc at.'sthetic standards wühin industry. Beh\'een 1835 and 1836 a govern­ meot sclect committee met ro 'inguire into the best means of extending a kno....... l­

erige of toe AlUS and of the PRINCIPLES Of DESIGN among the people (especially the Manufacturing Population) of the Countr)"

.!4

238

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

havc hacl to rely inen from government-ft the Crafts Council. 1 have been instrumen ereative work, but d ment and the publie eonstrained by the nI

The MuseL Thc Victoria and Albt; Britain and has the lar it has cnjoyed many ir Figure 15.2 - Pavilion de L'lntransigent,

ceotur)' deeorative ar

architeet Hcnri Favier, [rom the Paris

V & A organises major

Exposition des Arts DccoratH's et lndustriels of 1925. Photograph courtcs)' of F. R. Yerhury / Architectural As~ociation.

A princjpal empha, bition Fashion: an Antl: roll' of the Museum a: then, the collection Departrnent's polie)' t

Acknowlcdgement of the important role of public patronage of dcsign and the

clesigner-Ievel fashioo,

pcrceived need by govcrnment to shape puhllc taste and standards 01' \,,'orkmanship

is not universally led b

Jed to the ímmediate setting up 01' the gm,'ernment Schools af Design -- orre 01'

bition (Figure 1S. 3) w.

which c\'cntually became the Royal College (Jf Art. It also lecl to the rounding of the South Kensington (later, the Victoria amI Albert) Museum in Lancion. Thcse developrncnts signalled the cmergence of a nc",\-' ano powerful playcT in the patron­ agc of design: the public museum of dcsign and the dl'corati\-e arts_ lncreascd government intervention in the promotion and patronage of design al so occurrecl ínternationally in that period, including the Great Exhibition in London of 1851 ancllater cxpositions in Europe ami America, such as the París Exposition des .4rrs Décoratifs et lndlJs[Tie1s 01' 1925 (Figure 15.2). From the 1920... onwards goods, 1'rom furniturt' to fashion, became almost exclusivcly mass produced. ano this expansion in the availability of designed goods raises interesting issues about the funding oi" design and thl' power and control linked to it. For example, the eonventional idcology ofWestern consumer capital­ ism posits that thc rise of mass consumption was essentially a democratising process \'vhcrcby ever)'one could, in theory, exprcss their individualit)' ami per­ sonal cholees through acts of eonsumptÍon. Yct man}" critics havc iIIustrated the pO\\·er and control cxerted by global corporations amI thí..'ir associated advcrtising and marketing net\vorks on consumers and evcn governments. ~-) Moreover design­ crs or craft 'makcrs' who product:' ohjccts In small batches, or as one-off artcfacts,

curated jointlv , by Am,, ogist Ted Polhemus. T

cjnating example for ( culture that it raised

al

The motivation of tJ

fashion identity and ah influencc on designer

J

of )'outh subcultures, a

Suhcultures must them different fr certajn acthities,

The exhihition centred,

1940, lo the 1990s' , no tiles and fashion. "lO This I

wherc\"l'T possible, alon

donor, thus following th

VISUAL CULTURE ANO ITS INSTITUTIONS

239

have had to rely increasingly on prívate or gallery commissions, or 00 grant support [rom government-funded bodies such as the National Endowment for the Arts or thc Crafts CauneH. The funding schemes and contact netwürks ofthese institutions have becn instrumental in enabling many practitioners to survive and develop their creative work, but the [aet th.1t they are public bodics, accountable to the govern­ men! and the public for thc al1oc.1tion of resources, means that thcir role i5 often constrained by the need to avoid controversy.

The Museum and Popular Culture: the Example of 'Streetstyle' The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) i5 thc o.1tioo.1] museum of .Irt and design in Britain and has the largest fashion collection in the warid. Sim.:c its founning in 1852 it has enjoyed man)' innov.ltions, yet retains the legac)' of its origins as a nineteenth­ ccntury decorative arts museum. 26 In addition to a permanent display of dress, the V&A organises majar temparary exhihitions aml smaller displays of fashion. A principal cmphasi." on historieal dress was retained until 1971 when the exhi­ bitla n Fashion: an AntholoBJ', organised by Sir Ceeil Beaton, 'firmly cstablished the role of the Museum as a eollector and exhibitor of contemporary fashion'. 27 Sincc thcn, the collection of dress has grown accorning to the TE'xtile and Dress Department's palicy to 'collect dE'sign which leads'. This has led to .In emphasis on desígner-Ievc1 fashion, though execution 01' this policy .lIso acknowleclged that stylE' is not universally lcd by the eatwalk. 2.'l The Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk exhi­ bition (Figure 15.3) \vas held bet\\-'eE'n November 1994- ilnd February 1995 and was eurateJ jointly by Amy de la HayE' and Cathie Dingwall of the V&A and the sociol­ ogist Ted Polhemus. This exhibirion \\'as held some time ago, but it remains a filS­ cinating example for discussíon nue to the issues linked to institutians of visual culture that it raised and eonfronted_ The moti ....ation of the exhibition

wa~

to document
fashion identit)' ann .lIso to E'xplorc .In areil of popular culture that is a significant influcnce on designer Ieve1 fashion. The eurators adopted Stuart Hall 's definition of youth subcultures, as foHows: Suheultures must exhibit a distinctivc cnough shape and structure to make them JitTerent [rom their parent culture. The)' must bc rocused around certain activitics, values, certain uscs ol' material artifacts, territorial spaccs. 29 The exhibition centred on ';1 unique collcction of subcultural dothes worn from the 1940s to the 1990s' , now embraced \vithin the V&A's permanent eollection of tex­ tiles ann fashion. JO This clothing \.. . as colleeten from the original owners and wearers wherevcr possiblc, along with oral testimonies ann sometimes photographs of the donor, thus following the aim ofthc curators to document people 's liven cxperienec.

240

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

clothes displayed sh,

preted the exhibitlo] tion attracted a posi

but it also elicited dt

The most commo olJectinns of \~..hat tb comments on this as

lt \Vas not so n viewees [eh tr,

somebodyeIse'

take into accow

tities are fluid, ]

This statement pinpo

relationships invoIvec

and the social cante} '\-'orn. ft is interesting

lit; in the light ol' the

Ever)' passian ba chaos of memor¡

hefore my eyes al

books oFor what I

modated itselfto

very areas in whil

Henjamin's words, ah

qnently the precarious through the accumulat

by mcans of which we 1 we relate to the society Figure 15.3 - Skinhead ontfit photographed for the Sudús, Soulie.l, Skaters and Skmhcads publication that was linked tu the Streetstylc C'xhibition. A similar st)'le nf pre:"t'ntation to tht' C'xhibition is featured in the photograph. (nl.lge courtes)' of the V&A Picture Librar~:.

in these pr()ct'ss~s in a n taking over ownership

l

ser ved these individual

Despite the raet that t1 A pcrsistent tension \\'as gt'neratcd hctwcen the perceived image 01' the V&A as

cerned, this process stilj

a majar national insütutioD, a pan of the British 'establishment', and the incJusion

ual coJIector, memory

of dothes linkcd to youthful 'street' identitics. Man)' re\'iewers debated whcther the V&A shoulcl have mountcd the display at aH. 1) Oespite the faet thar the euratars

account in part for the Ho,...e\oer, thes e eomme]

had nat attcmptC'd ro represent each subculturc in its entirety and intended that the

idemitícs are Huid and r

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

241

clothes displayed should merely represent the people who wore them, <.Tities inter­ preted the exhíbition as presenting 'generic types, even stereot)'pes'.,2 The exhibi­ tion attracted a posibve response from the public in thar visitar figures were high, but ir a150 elicited debate and negative cornments thar deserve fUTther scrutiny. The most cornmon criticism was thar the clothcs did not represent visitars' rec­ ollcctions al' what the\' \VOTe as a member al' a certain subculture. Carolinc Evans cornments

00

this as follows:

It was not so much thar the representations werc wrong; rather, the inter­ \'iewees felr transfixed, irnmobilized, Iike a butterfly impaled on a pío in somebody else's hurterA), collection - furthermorc, a colleetion that did not takc into account the faet that in suhcultures, more than an)'where else, idcn­ tities are fluid, mobile and on the move. B This statement pinpoints the disparities between the cultural praetices and power relationships involved with a national museum owning and displaying 'streetstylc' and the social contexts ,·...ithin which the outfits were originally assembled and worn.lt i5 interesting to consider these dil'l'erent modes of coHeeting sartorial iden­ tit)" in the light oI' the follm...· ing passage from Walter Benjamin. He states: Every passion borders on the chaotie, but the collector's passion borders on the ehaos of memories. More than that: the chanee, the fate, that suffuse the past hcfore m)' ej'cs are eonspicuously present in the aceustomed confusion of these books. For what clse is this eolleetion but a disorder to which habit has aeeom­ modated itscll' to such an extent that it can appear as order? ... These are thc ver)' areas in which any order is a balancing act oI' extreme precariousncss. H Benjamin's words, although written specifically about books, encapsulate e10­ quently the precarious and fragile nature of the identit)' we knit together, in part through the aecumulation of material things. Memory is an important instrument by means of ,,,'hich we gain an understanding ol' who we are as individuals and how we relate to the societ)' we live in and through. The Streetstyle eolleetion intervened in these proeesses in a numher ol' (hfferent ways. Through a large powcrfui museum taking over ownership oI' the clothing of specific individuals it simultaneously pre­ ser ved these individual memories and al so made them accessible to a wider publie. Despite the l'aet that this was done with the willing participation ol' those con­ cerned, this process still disturbed the precarious relationship between the individ­ ual collector, memory and matcrial objects outlined by Benjamín. This might aéeount in part l'or the freguent critieisms l'rom visitors that 'it wasn't like that'. However, these comments cannot merel)' be attributed to the l'aet that subeultural identities are fluid and mobile, as l'ashionable identities in general are shil'ting and

242

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

unstablc. What is more relevant is the raet that subcultural identities are group identities and thercfore, for example, punks felt a strong sensc of community with their immcdiate social grouping and a150, particularl)' through media representa­

tians of their subculturc, ","-,¡th other punks nationally and internationaBy. Yet, due

subcultures indicate public who, for

OIl(

contradictions are v~ and culture. As MaTi

to the localiscd and shifting naturc of everyday subcultural practices, this widcr identification \"ith others often belies significant stylistie and taste differences between individuals. Each individual's memory of their 'own' subculture thereforc amounts to a 'chaos of mcmories', both imagincd anO real, that cannot be repre­ sented in a satisfactory or apposite wa)' for each potential visitor to an exhibition. Despitc these inherent difficulties and contradictions, it is still worth consider­ ing whether the V&A might have approachecl the exhibition diffcrently. in a manner more appropriate to the subject matter. The perspectivcs employed in creating the

Ever)' mUseum ior of the buill objccts contair objects not insi,

and guarded b

others outside :

clisplay are outlined h)' the curators as follows: Social history coJlections often demancl a different vie\.\-'point from that of art and design institutions. Rc-creating the total cnvironment ... involvcs a clif­ ferent policy from that of a decorativc arts museum, such as thc V&A, which tends to focus upon the object per se and then on its d)'namic relationship to similar objects, augmcntecl with con textual written information. 35 The Streetstyle exhibibon v...as groundbreaking within the context of thc interna­ tional curatorship of clress, and the projcct entailed building a uni<¡ue and impor­ tant historical record of British subcultures. Yet thcre is an intrinsic contradiction hctween presenting .'iuhcultures primarH)' as a source of st)'listic inHuence on fashion and thc ,vay those engaged with subcultures use st)'le as a manifestation or social rclationships. Furthermore, the design of the exhibition followed thl:' approaches outlincd in the comment ahovc, rather than furthcr contextualising the objects displa),ed. This revcals that the V&A's approach to Streetstyle was strongly shaped by its ovcrall perspectiYes as an institution. The minimal social and cultural

In lhe cady twenty-fi

t)'pc." of institutjons n of our values, ideas

al

communicate, provid mcdiating power of SI

cuss('cl in this chapter

from which emerges;

temporarJ", 'traditiol revcals the specific COI

ment with institution!

institutions and their"

and of how thev relah

lhe part 01" the Ímblie, \.."ithin society.

context provided in the exhibitíon ma)' also have hc-en due to a desire to avoid con­ troycrs)' on the grounds ol' racial, gcndcr and sexual politics. Nevertheless, Streetstyle was an ambitious and daring project, which took the V&A into ncw and

uncxplored territor)" [ar away from its cstahlished constituenc)' of the middle classes with ataste for high culture'". This was entircly in line ,...¡th contemporary id('as that museums should engage more ,vith popular culture and treat visitors as active participants rather than passivc onlookers. RCal"tions to the exhihition,

Akxander, Victoria. Sociol Bourdicu, Pierre. The Fiela l.lcey, Nichola~. MedIO lnst Pointon, Marda, ed.~rt . (Manchestcr, J99+).

howcvcr, ckarly demonstratcd that for a major national institution to move [rom hcing a 'site of authority' to operating as a rcsponsive 'site of mutualit)" is a highl)' complex mattcr, not without its problems. lh The largc attcndance figures and public cxiticisms reveal thc contradictions gcncratecl by addressing a topic such as )'outh subculturcs. Comments about whether the exhihítion adequately reprcscntcd the

Thendor Adorno and Deceplinn', in Simnn [ 2 ()n th(' phenomenon '

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTlTUTIONS

subculturcs indicate that the museum acruevcd a qucstíoning

243

01' its authority hy a

public wha, for once, felt the)' knew more than the curators. These fascinating contradictions are ver)' re\'caling as to haw large institutions relate to wider socicty and culture. As Marcia Pointon statcs: E"cry muscum ... involves a dialogue betwccn inside and outside: the intl:'r­ ¡Of

al' the building versus its exterior; the curators versus the "isitars; the

objccts contained within in relatinn to ¡dentieal, comparable

Of

dHIerent

objects not insidc the museum but elsewhcrej the body ofknowledge claimed and guarded by those designated museum professionals and eontested by others outside claiming comparable but different knowledgcs. ~7

Conclusion In the ('arly tvventy-first ccntur)' the broad scope of media, educational and other typc~ of institutions rncans that the)' are central to the forrnulation and expression

of our values, idca~ and bclicf". Puhlic: engagement with visual culture in order to communlcate, providc enjoymcnt .:md lcarn, generall), onl)' occurs through the mediating pO\\'er of sorne kind of institution. Indeed, institutions of the kind dis~ cusscd in this chapter playa kcy role in shaping the discourses nI' visual culture, from which emerges a wíder undcrstanding of conc(:pts like the 'past', the 'con­ tcmporary', 'tradition' and 'the new'. The example 01' the Streets~v/e exhihition reveals the spccific complexities of the social relationships involvcd in the engage~ ment with institutions. Whilst idcolog,y clcarly shapcs the relationships betwcen institutions and their audiences, the dívcrsit)' and complcxity both 01' institutions and 01' hDW the)' relate to their audiences rcveals scope for great ambivalence on the part 01' the publk, lcading to an active contestatíon of their role and purpose within society.

Further Reading AlexalHier, VictorIa. 50c101(8)" c:f ¡he Arts: Exp10ring Fme and Popular Forms (Oxl'ord, 20(3).

Rourdieu, Pierre. [he FJ<'!d c:fCultural ProdUCl.lOn (Cambridge, J 993).

Lacey, Nieholas. iHeJla 1nstlrwWrl.1 and .·ll1JJ~nces (BJ.singstoke, 2002).

Pointon, Marcia. ed. :tn Apar!: An {nstitutlOm arld Ideo108.Y across EnafanJ and ;¡"iouh Amenca

(!\1anchester, J 994).

Notes Theodor Adorno ami Max Horkheimer, 'The Culture lndustry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception', in Simon During, ed., [he el/lImal Studles ReLlder (London, 1993), p. 33. 2 On the phcnomenon ol' the young 8ritish artists, see Julian Stallabrass, HWh Art Lile

244

3

4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 \2

EXPLORING VISUAL CULTURE

(Lancioo, 1999). See al so Neil f\1ulhollaml, The Cultural D,'\'olutlOn. Arr 1n Brllam in the Late Tw<'ntieth Centur:x (Aldershot, 2003). Marcia Pointon, 'Introduction' to Alt Apllrr: Art Imtitutions anJ Ide%il>' Aaoss éna/and anJ North .1merlCo.1 (Manchester, 1994), pp. 1-5. Janet WollT, The Sono] ProductlOD (lfArt (Landan, 1993), p. 40. Anthony Giddcns, The CODSWution d5ooc't)' (Cambridge, 1984), p. 24; Raymond Williams, KeyworJs (Landoo, 1976), p. 169. Joho \Valker and Sarah Chaplin, 'lnstitutions', in ¡'Imal Cultulf:tJn InlraJuetlOn (Manchestcr, 1997), pp. 81-95. Ra)'mond Williarm, Culture (Londun, 1981), p. 35. On the risc ufthe publk, see Jürgen Hahermas, Structurol TnwJormatlOn ?Frhe SOCIO! Srh"le: an InqllJr.Y mto a CQ[eH()~Y "IBoulaeois SO[/"l)' (Cambridge, 1989). On thc rise of the art ¡mhlic, ~ee Thomas Crm", P¡JinreH and Puhlic Llfe 1n fI8hranrh-CentuI.'y Rlfis (London and New Hawn, CT, 1985). Johnson RamIal, '[ntroduction' to Pierre Bourdieu, The Flefd Cufrtlral ProJucflOn; Ess(~rs on ArtandLueralure(Cambridgc, 1993),p. 10. lnformation about Jame:. Carpentcr's eollahoratioos with architcets can be gkaned hom the James Carpenter Ocsign Associates Ine website at WW'A'.jcdainccom. On tbe theor), and practice or tcaching at the Rauhaus, see Rainer Wick, Teochm,q al rhe Bauhaw (Stuttgart, 2000). Paul Grccnhalgh, 'Introduction' to Jlodermsm m De.\l8n (London, 1Y90), pp. 1 24; Junathan WooJham, 'Oesign and Modernisrn', in Twenrlc'rh-CentUI)' De~JHn (Oxford, 1997), pp.

?!

29-

6~.

1) CcHa Lury, Consuma

(Cambridge, 1Y96), p. 83, Pi(Tre Bourdieu, nlSI metwn: o SOCI(J! 1984). 14 Angela McRohbiC', In rhe Culture SOC1f~l :AH. FashlOn ond Popular ,1.Ju~ic ([~ondon, 199Yj, p. 8. 15 Marita Sturken and Lba Cartwright, Pracrw:s if Look1ng: an Inln1i!u''llon to V¡suc¡} Culture (Oxfmd, 2001), p. S. 16 Cited in William Doddy, 'The Beginnings of Tek\ ision' , in Antbony Srnith, ed., Telenswn: an InternarlOnaJ HisTOI)' (Oxfonl, 1998), p. y~. 17 The allcgatiun was that the gOl'ernrncnt h",J naggeratcd the thrcat po sed by lraqi \ ...npons 01' mass dcstruction'. The so urce of thc report was a govcrnrnent arms adviser who, whl'n expoS'ed as the sour("e of infurrnation, cornrnitted ~uiciJe. 18 Sec, for examp]c, David Murle), 'Changing Paradi~m in Audienee Studies', in E. Scilcr, l l. Rorchers, G. Kr(:lltzner and E. \Varth, eds, Remoll' Control Tele~'i5ion: Audiencfs uu'! Cultural Power (London, 1Y91); C. Geraght), and n. Lusted, eds, The 7;.'1,'\ 1.\100 StudJes Bl1Uk (London, 1998); Pertti Alasumari, ed., RethinkwH ¡he .H,d'd Audíence (London, 1999). 19 Arthur Danto, 'The Art \Vorld', inJoulnal '?fPhilosoph)', Vol. 6 (1964), pp. 571-84; George Dickic, Art ¡m.l ¡he Aesthetíc: an ImtltUllona! Ana{y.m (ltha<'-'a, NY, 1974). 20 Michael Phillipson, 'Managing Tradition', in Chris Jenh, ed" Viwa! Cu/rule (Londotl, 1995), p. 207. 21 Jonathan IIarris, 'CultureJ jnlo Crisis: the Arb Council of Great Britain', in Pointon, ¡,In A}'<JTf, p. 179. 22 Thc ciassic instilutional anal)sis of Hollywood cinema remains David BordwelI, Jand Staiger and Kri.~tin Thompson, The CI'l5SJCu{ Hollywood Cmcm<J (I ondon, 1Y85) . .? 3 Sce John Bn:wer and Ro)' Poner, eds, Lr.wwmptlOn anJ the l1'urlr.l ~r eDad., (l.ondon, 199 ~); Maxinc Bcrg and Helrn Clifl"ord, Consumen and LUXUIT Consumer Cultule w Europe 16jO-!ó50 (Manchester, 1999). 24 British Parliarnentar) Papen, Rfp,~,r 4the Selea LODlmJHee on Arts and A1an1!.{.KtvTó", 18)6, 'luoted in Louisl' Purbrick, The South Kcosington Muscum: the Building 01' the House of ClJUque

CUltlllf

c:I rhe Judgement ?f7asre (London,

I-1enr} Cole', i ?Fno!sian (LoO(

25 Sce, for exam Culture (New) 26 On the histon ¡'ícwI/a and Alb

27 Intervicw witl Dcpartment, 1 28 See VaJerie Me Fuur Hundled re. 29 Sluart Hall, citl Souhes,Skmhcad Thrauflh RicuaIs

30 de la Hayt' and 1 31 Caroline E-,'ans, Discourse', in F 32 de la Haye and 1 33 E\ aos, 'Orearos 34 \\-'alter Benjami: /927-1934(C" 35 de la Ha.,.,e and I 36 blean Hooper ( )7 Puinton, An Apa

VISUAL CULTURE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

245

Henr) Cok', in Pointon, /:Irt A}'l.lrl, p. 70. On this dC'hate, jee too Quentin Bdl, The S(hooh oj"Deslgn (London, 1963).

25 S,e, for example, Stuart Fwen, All C"n5u/1!lna /maaes: lhe Politics 4 S':X/c in C(1nfelJlpOra~r Culture (:'\Iew York, 198,s); Lur)', Consumcr Culture; Naomi Klcin, ,\'" LoaD (London, 2001). 26 On 1he histnry of the ¡nuseum, ~ec Anthony Burton, fúlOn and ACCldent: [he SW!j ~j" ¡he I'lctona ond illberr .-lfU5t:'UIJI (London, [999). 27 In\C'nie\v with Valeric MenJes, then ('hid curator of the V&A's Textiks and Dress Depanment, 1 March 2000. 28 See Va!cric Mendes, Avril Hart and Am) Je la Hay(', 'lntroduction' to N. Rothstein, ('d., Tour Hundrl'J )Cílf:l ~f FashlOn (London, 19 92). 29 Stuart Hall, citeJ in Amy de la Iiay, dlHI Catherinc Dingwall, C'ds, 'Conclusion' to Su1w, SOl/Jies. Skmheads ~Sk(}Il'r., (London, 1996), nr. Thc original source is Stuart Hall's Re'iislanCe Thrall.qh Rituals (London, 1975). 30 de la Ha)'e ami LJingv"all, eds, 'Jn\roduction' to SU!fl't.,·, .~(Julics, Skmhmds StSkmers. 31 Camline Fvans, 'D¡'eams That Onl)' Mone~' Can Ruy .. Or, the 5h)' Tribe in Flight from Discourse', in Fash/(l/1 Theo~l', Vol. 1, No. 2 (1997), pp. 169-88. 32 Je la Hay(' anJ Dingwall, erk 'Conc1usion' to Su~fers, Sou1Jes, SkmhcuJs &..Skatas. 33 Evans, 'Dreams', p. 180. 34 \Valter Bcnjamin, 'Unpacking my I íbrary', in Walter Benjamin, Se/eaed ¡Vrffinas. K,l. 2· /9!7-/93-J (Cambridge, MA, 1999), p. 4-86. First published in 1927. 35 de]a I i.lye an
Index

arti.'its' academies

Arts alld Crafts M'

Arts Council 3 2

Aseott, Rov ; 8~

Ashhee, Ch~rles R,

['. ü-sommolT, 118

ATM',214

Atrenborough, Da...

aura, 207 -8,210

Australian .'\horigir

autcurism, 96-8, 1

author, 149---62, 15,

in design, 61

avanl-garde, 39,15:

Jurniture, 5+

Bakhtin, Mikhail. 9

Banham, Reyner, 11,

banking, online, 214

Barthes Roland 76

11;3 f ~tan(h for figure

Ahoriginal dra\.. ings, Australian, 124-5

abstraction, 1~O

academies, artist~', 22, n, 1S 1

Adbu~tcr~ ¡\'lrdia [ooundation, 62, 6 ~

adobe architt'cwrc, 145

Adorno, Theodor, 7, lH4, 192, 193, 204.

210,229 advrrtising, 15-16,567.62,141,220, 221

and fashion, 77,78 9

Romeal. 138, 145

acsthetic formalislll, 24-6

aesthetic~, ~ 3 5

Air,215

Alberti, Leon HaHista. 1~O, 1 34

i\lc~si, 61

Alpers, Svt>t1ana, J 2

Althusser,Louis, lfJ8-9, 171, 177

Altman, Rohcn. 95

Amadeus,151 Americandrcam,171

Americanhation,219

A.narch!sl :\. Cc1t1kbook, The, 225

Andcrson, Fiona, 13

Andre,Carl,7,Sf

Ang, len, 171

Anguissola, Sophonü;ba, 155

animated cartoons, 163---4

.'\nnual Prograrnme, Tbe, Manchester, 11

anlhropo\ogy, 11

antithesis, 141--4

apparatuses, 16R 9,171

appropriation art, 1 S9. 210 11

Arabie culture, 11

Arcades Pro/cCl, 114

Archigram, 110

archiketure, 3,102 16,135,145,154

l'Arcnuecture d'AujourJ'hul, 106

ArcnitecwraJ ReFlew. 106

Arnold, Matthcw, 6

art, 1,3, 13, 16, 1S5

architecture as, 103-8

cinema, 98-100

collectivt': characler of, 152

conlcmporary, 229

dt>finitions, 18-23

gallcries, 21-2; see u/so THe Modern

hi,~tor¡es of, 156-7

photography. 90- i

tt-chnical reproduction amI, 203- J J

theory, 3, 2. 5-7, 1 H

arlefacts, 8 9

"

and arehitecture

Bashir, Martin, 174.-...

Flattcrsby Christine

Baudl'lai~~, Charles: 1 Haudrillard, Jean, 15,

219 -23 Bauhaus SchooJ of Ar­

232 -3

Baumann, Zygmunt,: Baxandal/, Michael, t; Bayliss, Trevor, 64

Bazin, Andn\ 94- 5,91

RBC,231

Bearden, Romare. 9

H<.'ardsle), Monroe, IS'

Be3ton, Sir Ceeil, 239

Bechr, Huward, 152

Bel GedJes, Normal 5 Bell, eH,e, 24, 21, 2~

Belting, Hans, 193

Benjamín, Walter, 241

an:hitreture, 103

on cinema, 192,202

commodity fetishism

on Paris, 114

photography, 1S J

on reproduction, 199 209--10

shopping arcade.", 15

INDEX artists' acadcrnies, n, 23,151

Arts and Crafts MovellH'nt, 38

/\rts Council, 3, 230, 236

Ascott, Ro)', 189

Ashbee.' Charks Robert, 41

L'AssommOlr, 118

ATMs,214­ Attcnhorough, David, t 74­

aura, 207 8,210

Australian Aboriginal dra\'tings, 124 S

auteurism, 96-8,151,154

author, 149---62,158 9

in dpsign, 61

avant-garde, 39, 152

furniture, S4

Bakhtin, Mikhail, 9

Banham, Reyncr, 110-11

hanking, online, 214­ Barthes, RoLmd, 76,133, 13S 9,158---60,

183

ann anhitectun:', 109

I3ashir, Martín, t 74 6

I:httersby, Christine, 154­ Raudelaire, Charles, 86, 117

Baudrillard,Jean,15,61 2,199,201,203,

219-23

Bauhaus Schooi of Art and Dcsign, 13 S,

232-3

Baumann, Zygmunt, 22

RaxandalJ, Michacl, 1\-12, l52

Bayliss. Trnor, 64­ Bazin, André, 94 5,96

BBl', 2 J5

Bearden, Romare, 9

l:kardslcy, Monroe, 157

Beaton, Sir Ccd\, 239

Becker, Hovt'ard, 152

Bd Geddes, Normal, 56

Bell, Clive, 24, 25, 26

Belting, I{an~, 193

Renjamin, Walter, 241

architccturc, 103

on cinema, 192, 202

cornrnodity reti~hi.sm, 14-6

on Paris, 114

photography, 181

on reproduction. 199, 203--4, 207,

20910

shopping arcadcs, 15

247

on tt'chnology, 184­

on tow:h, 182, 184­

I3crgcr, John, 210

Bergrnan, Ingmar, 151

Bcrtram, Anthony, 50

BIcJde Thieves, The, 130

Ridlo, Mike, 159

B18 Brocha, 129, 174,202

Rigelow, K'lthryn, 214

B1JJwi,,;cTlschqft, 2

Billingharn, Richard, 92-3

B11b' Liar, 130

hiographies of artists, 150-[

Blair W¡tch Projec¡, The, 130

hlasé outlook, 114

I3Ioom, Harold, 9- 10

Bloomer, Amcli.l, 74

BluePl'lTJC1, The, 174, 175f, 176

BNP,168

BogdanO\, Aleksandr, lBS

Honheur, Rosa, 155

Bordv.'C11, David, 98, 99

Bourdicu, Picrre, 9, 27,72, 153,160-1,

233-4

Brainc, Richard, 72, 73f

Rraudt, BiB, gg

Brandt, Marianne, 232

Branston, Gill, 219

Braun, Georg, 124, 125f

hrceding,6

Breton, André, 181

Brcuer, Mareel, 144, 1451', 232

Breward, Christopher, 67, 75

Brik, Chip, 192

British Broadcasting Cmporation (BBC),

235

no

British Film 105titutc, Rritish National Part)', 168

Britton, Alisan, 4-3--4

hroadeasting, lmhlic ser vice , 217, 235; see

also nanow-ca!>ting

Broadhead, Caroline, 43, 44-5

Brody, Neville, 151

Broken Arrow, 98

Bruncllcschi, Filippo, 12, 120

Bruzzi, Stella, 176-7

Bryson, Norman, 133

Buchanan, Richard, 51

Buchloh, Beujamin, 191

Buckminster Fuller, Richarcl, S7

248

INDEX

building \\Tapping, 43

Bulger, James, 166

RI1/lerproc:lMonk,97

Buonamtti, Michelangelo see Michelangelü

Rurnham, Jack, 189 90

cabinets or curiosity, 11-2

Cacsar's PaiacT, Las Vegas, 1 t 2

CahICfS Ju Cméma, 94, 97, 151

Calvin Kldn, 75

Cambodia, 139, 140f

Cameron, I.m, 97

Carnemn, James, tal

Campion, Jane, 9

Capa, Rohcrt, 89

capital, cultural, 9, 134, 2 J6

capitalism ami dcsign, 53

Caravaggio, 151

Carl~·k, Th'HTlaS, 38

Carpenler, Jame:" 212

CanDil. LC'wis, 17

can, dcsign 01, 147; see 0150 Citruen DS21;

Model-T

Canon, David, 151, 160

cartoons, animated, 163 4

Cartwright, 2 H S

Castells, Manuel, 200

CD" 21 5

CézannC', PauJ, 2g

CGI, 215, 216

Chaplin, Sarah, 230

Churlle's Anflels: FulJ Throtrh, 220

ChCIlC)', Martha, 186

Cheney, Shcldon, [86

ChilJ's Pl~~ 3, 166

Christianity, 121

Christo, 43

Church, as patron, 20, 11,23,237

cinema, 7, ]5,85,94-10\,128, ]30, 192,

199,237

Hollywood, 13,97-8,215,219,220

juvenilc dclinqucnC)', cause of, 224

total, 12~

verite, 1 30

see Ol50 film

cinemascope, 1S

citics .>ee urhan space

Clrlun Kane, 95

Citrocn 1)521, 109, 1101'

civilisation, S 6

Cbrk, T. J., 152

C1arkc, Graham, 91

dass system, 170

dients, role in architecturc, 107

Clifford, James, 11

dosed-circuit TV, 1S

C1udm, 15

Cohen, Stanle)', 166

coinag(',197

Coldspor refrigeratnr, 55, 62

collective character oi" art, 152­

colonial affairs, 139

colour, 180

film, 15

commoditv fctishism, 146, 2 [O

communic"atioll, tht'o("v 01', 135-8

computcr games, 14 15

compllter-gencrated imagery (CGI), 21 S,

216

computers, 189 90,192,199

connoisseurship, 39

Com.tructivists, Soviet, 54, a;4- S, 189, ] 90

consutllcrism see consumption

consumption, 1 S, 62,210

of arehitecture, 108 [S

and design, 53

amI 1'ashion, 69, 70, 76-7

of mass media, 203

and rhetoric, 146 7

and }-outh suhculture, 79-81

Coppola, hancis Ford, 97

copying, 1S9

corporal e logos, 16, 135

Corrigan, Timothy, 97

countrpide, 38

Courbet, Gusta\e, 117-18, 152

eraft, 21,34-49,182

Crafts Advisory Committee see Crafts

Council

Crafts Council. 3,40,41,230,236,239

Cra1'ts Revival, 41

Cranhrook Academ)' uf Art, 136

crcalivit)" 152, 160

Creed, Maniu, 7

Crimp, Duuglas, 190

erow, Thomas, 181

cro\\ d, 71

cultivation,6

cultural capital, 9, 234,136

cultural relativism, 11

cultural tourism, 2l culture, 5--17 hierarchy, 7

culture industrv 22

Cunníngham, Chris

curiosit)', cabinets o

(yherculture,214--:

()'bernel-lC Serendípíty eyhernctics, 189-9C

da Vinci, Leonardo, Dada, 27, 29

Danto, Arthur, 27-9

Dardennes hrothers,

Darle)', Andrew, 202

Daumier, Honoré, 1

David, JJ.cques Louis

D,wis, Fred, 67, 71

Davis, Mike, 115

Da)', Corinne, 80r, 81

Da7ed and Cor!fused, 8

de la Haye, Am\'. 239

Dc StijJ group, 48,54

De Trae)', Antoiue De

De.1n, Tacita, 193

Dehord, CUY. 15,201

de-construeti'on, 136, ; Dega~. Edgar, 86

Delacroix, Eugene, 86

Ddarochc, Paul, 179­

departme-nt .'ltores, 77,

Dt'rrida, Jacques, 136

de.'\ign, 13, 50-66, 135 graphic, 136

industrial, J86

Diana, Prineess 01' Wa!l

Dickie, Gcorge, 27, 23

Diese! clorhing, 78-.g

digital tcehnologj', ¡5,: mass commuuication photograph}, 127--8

tcle"isiun,216_17

video, 176, 192-3 2 Dingwall, Cathie, 239

directors, film see auteUl

discourse, architecture ;:

115, 136

dish\\'ashen, 54

DlSne.yhmJ, 20 [

documentar)', 128-9

INDEX

cultural tourism. 207

culture, 5- t 7

hierarch)', 7

cullure industry, 229

Cunningham, Chris, 127- 8, 192

curiosity, cahinds of, 21--2

c)'bt'rculturc, 214-17

(j'buneuc SerendípÍt.J', 189

cyhr:rnetic~, 189-90

da Vinei, Lc-onardo, 120, 151, 153, 154, 160

Darla, 27, 29

Danta, Arthur, 27-9, 31, 1l-lO 1, 236

Dardennes brothcrs, 99

D.uk)', Andrew, 202

Daumier, HonoH\ JI7

David, JacCJues Louis, 142

Davis, Frecl, 67, 71

Davis, Mike, 115

Da)", Corinnc, sor, 81

DazeJ anJ CoryfuseJ, 81

de la Haye, Am)', 239

Oc Stijl gruup, 48, 54

De Trae)'. Antoine Destutt. 165

Dcan, Tacita, 193

Debnrd, Guy, 15,201, 20i

dccon~truction, 136,211

Degas, Erlgar, 86

Dc1acroix, Eugene, 86, 87f

De1aroche, Paul, 179-80,181

departrncnl stnrt'"~, 77, 7Sf

Derrida, Jacqucs, 136

dcsign, 13,50-66,135

graphic, I 36

indLJ~trial, 186

Diana, Prince",s of Waks, 175

Dkkie, George, 27, 236

Diesel clothing, 78-9

digitaltechnolog)", 15,85, lOO, 211

mass communications, 31

photngraph;-, 127 8

teh~\·ision, 216-17

video, 176, 192 3,214

Dingwall, Cathie, 239

din'ctors, film ~ee .lutcuri~rn

discourse-, architecture as, 103,108,113,

115, 136

dishwaslwl"s, 54

DisnqlanJ, 201

documentar)'", 128-9

film capacities, 89-90, 94

tele-vision, 173-7

docusoaps, 129, 176-7

Dogme-,96,130

D,¡mus, 106

Dormcr, Peter, 63--4

drawing, 121, 123--4

drcss, 13,67-72,239

Droog Dcsign, 64

Dumb ond Dumber, 7

Du/ch,81

Dutch paintings, 12

DVD technology, 15, 100

Dyrnaxion,57

e-mail,215

Eagleton, Terry, 164, 165, 171

cdccticism,58

Eco, Urnhato, 36, 133, 159

Erlgl'rton, Harold, 88, 89f

bljnburgh, 124, 125f

Our Dj1nam1C Earth, 52

EDtt",129

('ducation,232 4,238

architecture, 106

graphic de"~ign, 136

Eit1c-l Ti)we .., 109-10

Eisenstein, Scrgci, 95-6, 19~, 204

Bat¡]esh¡p Potemkm, 95 6

cicetronic mail, 215

E[ias, Nnrherl, 72

Elkins, James, 3,4

Ellint, George, 118

EJliott, Martin, 18, 19f, 20

embroirlerj",41-2

Emin, Trace)', 92-3, 229

Engcls, Friedrich, 113, 165-6

enlightened false consciousness, 170

Ent\'ihistle, Jnanne, 67, 75 6

environment and rlesign, 64

fR,221

Erre et Avon, 173

Evans, Caroline, 241

exdusinns, 2, 4­

I::xposition ColOnIaJe, 1 39

E'\:poSHwn Jes Arts Décorarys el lndu.\trieh

(1925),238

Face, The, 69, 79-81

F(lce / qff, 98

249

250

INDEX

Falkland, Wac (1982), 235

fandom,225 6

Farell)' Brothers, 7

fascism, 169

fashion, 13,67-84,239

favicr, Hcnri, 23Sf

Feltrinclli, Giangiacomo, 127

fcminism, 9,154 -6; see olso gender

Festen,96

film

directors ser auteurism

studks, 199, 204

theory, 3

see aIso cinema

fIlm Culture, 97

Final Famas)" 127

Fmdma Nema, 100

Firsr ThJnBs FlISt 2000, 62, 63

Hatncss, t 8 t

Flavin, Dan, 190

Fle:o.., 192-3

Flugel, J. c., 74-5

Fluxus,29

Focillon, Henri, 182-3

Forbldden Planet, The, 15

rord Motor Compan)C, 54,56 form

in architecture, 135

in design, 5),54

in film, 94

formalism,28 aesthetic, 24-6

rort)', Adrian, 53, 184

raster, I-Ial, 202

Fostcr, :'-Jorman, lOS, 154

Foucault, Michel, 1 n

Frampton, Kenneth, 106

~rance

cinema in, 97

ciyilisation, 6, 10

colonialism, [39

Frankfurt School, 7

FrC'ucl, Sigmuml, 169

Fried, Michael, 24, 26, 190

Frith, Franch., 89

Fuller, Richard Buckminster, S7

function, 24, 61, 144

in architecturc, 115

in crafts, 43-6

in design, 51,54

MC'mphis, 58-61

funding, 237

furniture, 38, 144

avant-garde, 54

design, 147

Su Down chair, 58

Fusdi, Henry, 149, 150r

futurists, Italian, 184

Gabo, Naum, 184, 185

galleries, art, 21-2; see also Tate Modern

games, computer, 14 15

Gan, Alexei, 185

Gap, 75,170

Cauguin, Paul, 86

Gaultier, lean Paul, 74

Gehry, Frank, 112 13

gC'llder, 139

craft,35,40,41 2

fashiou, 67, 69-70, 72--4

Internet, 225

see olso feminism

genius, 152, 160

Centilcsehi, Artemisia, 151, 156

German Pavilion, International Exhibition,

Barcelona (1928-9), 106 7

Germany, cuiturC', 5--6, 10, 11

Ciclclcns, Anthony, 160-1,226,230

Giedion, Siegfried, 183

Glancey, Jonathan, 105

glass art, 47, 232

global ,ilIage, 200, 217, 218, 219, 226

globalisation, 219

Codard, lean-Lue, 7, 97,110

Gombrich, Ernesl, 119, 120

Gordon, W Terrenee, 218

Gramsci, Antonio, 167-8, 177

Crand "lour, 8, 10

graphic design, 136

Grave, Michael, 61

Graves, Michael, 13

Creat Exhihition (1851), 238

Crecce, 153

Green Pases: The BusmCH c:fSavm8 the ~lorld, 64

Greenberg, Clernent, 7-8, 24, 25, 180- 1,

204

Greenhalgh, Paul, 14

Grice, Paul, 137

Grierson, lohn, 174

Gropius, Walter, 5 Gucci,75

GU('\'-ara, Ernesto' Guild House, Penn Guizot, Fran~ois, 6 GulfWac (1991),2 GulfWar (2003) se,

Cursky, Andreas, 1 Gutierrez, Alberto

I-1aacke, Hans, 190­

Hall, Stuart, 203, 2

Hord 7ar8et, 98

Harris, lonathan, 23

Horry Potter, 7

Haney, David, 169­

Hawks, Howard, 15

Hebdige, Dick, 79,1 f/ellboy, 215

Herder, lohann Gott hermeneutics, 156

hierarchies

art, 36, 37

culture, 7

High Art photograph HilI, Can: 192

HiJler, Su's'an, 192

Hindcnhurg disaster,

Hirsch, E. D., 158

Hirst, Damien, 92, 2; histories of art, 156--~ Hockney, David, 88

I-Iogenberg, Frall7, 12

Hollywood cinema see

HoJoeaust, 198

homophobia, 22 S

IIopk.ins, Da,·id, 211

Horkhcimer, Max, 18¿ hotel lobby, /14

f-{otln, The,98

Houston, lohn, 151

hurnanism, 120

Hutton afhir, 235

Hu)'SsC'n, Andreas, 39

hyperreality, 201-2, 22

ID,79-81 identit)', 193

and fashion, 71--2, 8

ideology, 163- 78

INDEX

Gropius, \Valter, 54, 232,2 Bf

Gucci,7S

GUE'\ara, Ernesto 'Che,' 127

Guild Housc, Pcnnsylvania, 111

Guizot, Fram;;oi:., 6

GulfWoc(1991),221

Gulf W;u (2003) ser Iraq War

Gurskj', Andrca:-.. 192

Gutierrez, Alberto Dia7, , 27

Haacke,Hms, 190 I

Hall, Stuart, 203, 239

Hard Tarflet, 9g Harris, Jonathan, 236

Harl)' Poeta, 7

Harvey, Daúd, 169-70

Hawks, Howard, 151

Hcbdigc, Dick, 79,171

HdlboJ, 21 \

Herder, Johann GottJTied, 10-11

hermeneutics, 1S6

hicrarchics

art, 36, 37

culture, 7

High Art photograph)" 86-7

Hill, Gar)', 192

Hillcr, Susan, 192

Hindcnburg disaster, photographs 01', 89

Hirsch, [. D., [SS

Hin;t, Damien, 92, 229

histories of art, [S6 7

HOCkrlL'j', David, SS

I logenhcrg, Fran/, 124, 1251'

Hollywood cinema ,ce cinema, Holl)'\\'ood

Ilolocau~t, 198

homophobia, 12 S

Ilopkins, Da\'id, 21 [

Hork.hl:imer, Max, Ul4, 119

hotellohhy, 114

Hours, Hu', 98

Houston, John, 151

humanLsm, 120

Hutton affair, 235

Huyssen, Andrea~, 39

hypcrrcality, 201-2, 220-2; see olso realisrn

ID, 79-81

identity, 193

and fashion, 71-2, 81

ideolog)', 163-78

251

L'Illustra[Jon, 139, 140f

illusian and art, 119

irnage thcory, 2

irnage~, 3

irnagination, 23

irnmigrants and as)'lmn-scckcrs, 168

individualism, 154

industrial design, 186

Tndustri,lJ Rc\'olution, 5, 6,37 8,118,

179

industrialisatian, 71, 76, 81,182, 183;sce

¡J/~'<J post-industrialisrn

innoccnt CjC, 18

institutional thcory- of art, 27-31

institutions, 229--45

intentional fallacy, 28-9

intcracthity, 128, 216

interdisciplinarity, 232

Internet, 125-6, 190, 199,200,211.2l7,

223 8

dcscribcd, 223

dornestication of, 223--4

origins af, 22 3

iPod,215

1rag war (2003), 170,200,221,2221',22 J,

23\

ISOTYPE, 1J6

Italian Futurists, l84

lto},on Job, The, 220

Ital)' and dcsign, 57- 8

Ivonsxtc,85 Ivins, \ViIliarn, 198

Jackson, Michael, 174-6

Jackson, Petcr, 101

Jarncson, Fredric, 169-70, 210

Japón, 99

Japoni~mc, 121,123, 124-5

Jcanneret, Pierre sce Le Corbusicr

Jerpers CTeepas, 97

Jen~ls, Charle,';, 112,145

Judd, Donald, 18,26-7, 31, 190

fullen Donkcy-Boy, 96

Julicr, GU)', 51-2

Kahlo, Frida, 1 s: \, l SS

Kalman. Tibor, 62

Kandinsk y, Wassily, 1SO

Kant.lmmanuel, 23, 14-;,36,152

Kauffmann. Angelica, 1SS

252

INDEX

------Kellv, Dr David. 22 3

Ken~ed\', ' John F., assassination of, 198

Kettle lI'ith Bird, 61

KieSlowski, Krzysí'tor, 7

Lumierc brothers, 94

l.upton, Ellen, 1i6

Luric, Celia, 79, SI

[yotarJ.jean-Franyois, 169 70

kltKh, 8. 25, 58,61

Klein, Naomi, 62

KJurls, Gustav, 204, 205f

Knight, Nick, 82f, 83

Koom, Jerr, 18, 20r

Korine, Harmon)', 96

Kracauer, Siegfried, 114

Krauss, Rosalind, 26, 181

Kryk, Hazel, 55

Kuspit, Donald, 152

Labour Pany (UK), 168, 177

Laean, Ernest, 92, 169

LaChapelk, DaviJ, YO

Lamsweerde, In('7 van, 127

landscapc [Jainting, 171-3

Lall(" Ril'harJ, 211

Lara Cfl~{i: Tomh Rel/der, 216

Las \-'egas, 111- 12, \44 5

Last PlCrurc Sho\l., !he, 220

LawJor, Louise, 159, 191

Le Corbusier, 54, 55, 191

Leavis,F.R.,67,9

Lec, Ang, 2 15, 216f

Lefebvre,Henri, li, 114-15

Lehmann, Ulrich, 68, 72

Ldh(w"itz, Annif', 90

leisure, brandcd, 51-2

Leonardo, 120, 151,153, 154, 160

Levine, Shenie, 159, 190 1,210 -11

Libeskind, Daniel, 102, 154

Lincoln CatheJral, 103, 1051'

linearperspectiw. 12, 119-11, 13+

Lissitzsky, Ed, 104

Iilcrary criticism, 6 7,9,157

lithography, 199

Loew)', Ra}rllOnd, 54,55,56,62

logos, eorporate, 16, 1i5

Longo, Roh('rt, 99

Loos, Adolf, 144

LorJoFche RiDas [film], 101,216

Lorcnt:;, Pare, 129

Lo~ Angeles, 110 11

Louis, Monis, 24, 25t

Lom, Theroux's We¡rd lJá'kends, 129

Luhmann, Niklas, 159.161

MeCo)', Katherinc, 1 i6

MacDonald, Uwight, 7

MacDonald, Julicttc, 147, 182

Machiavdli, Nicco]ü. l6S

Machme Are, 186, 1871', lSSf

Macke, August, 180

McKnight-KaufJcr, Edward, 141

MeLcllan, Da\id, 164, 169

McLuhan, Marshall, 199, 200, 201,202,

203,217-18,219 in Anmc floll,

1 [7

MeQueen,'\lexJ.ndcr, 82f, 83

McRohhic, Angela, 79,171,23+

.\.1aJonna,7

Manchcstrr

Annual Pragramme, 31

Engels' dcseription, 113

Manet, EJouarJ, 7

mansa, 123

manufacture, 35; see also mass produL'tion

Manzani, Piera, 26-7

maps, 124-6

Marcusc, Herbert, 7, 18+

Marien, Mar)' Warner, 86

Marinetti, Filippo, 184

Marx, Karl, 146, 165-8, 177; see also mass

production

Masaccio, Tomaso, 110

iH*A*S*H,95 mas,~ meJia, 14, 171,203,2 3S; see also nc\',"spapers; television mass proJuction, 18 i, 184, 2 17, 238

of dothing, 77

01' TT1('dia, 198, 200

;ee ul.';,] post-Fordism

Massey,'\nne, 1i

TTl3the'matics, innuence of, 12

Mathicu, Paul, 35

Matisse, Henri, 180

iJ1atríx, Tbe, 202

Mamx Reloaded, The, 220

media, global, 190

mecha studies, 199.204

degrees in, 14

Mélics, Gcorges, 94, 95r

Memphis [design grc

metl and rashion, 74­

metaphor, 136, 140­

Metro Tartan, 98

metropoJis scc urban

MichcJangclo, 20-1,

Mies van der Rohe, l

MiIlennium Dome, 1

Milkr, Abbott, 136

Millet, Jean-Franyoi~. mimesi~, 119, 180, 11

minimalism, 190

Miralles, Enrie, 102

Mirzoetl, Nieholas, 1:

MJT, 29- 30

ModcJ- T cars, 56

MOMA, 30, 186, 187

Mondrian, Piet, 180

Jfons/cr'I Rall, 98

Moorc, Michacl, 129,

Moretti, Nanni, 99

Moriu, WiIliam, 163­

Monis, Robert, 190

Morris, WilJiam, 36-1 182

Mort, Frank, 79--81

Morton, janet, 42-3

iHorrern Callar, 99

Jforie, 97

Mozan, Wol(gang Am~ Muhlert, Karin, 45-6

Murabmi, Takashi, 12~

Muschamp. Herbert, l( MusC',215

Mu.~eum ofJurassk Tee

29-30

Mu!'eum 01' Modero An 187f, 188f, 191,2 muscums, 22; see al50 M amI Albert MUseUl

m usie, popular, 215

l~nboloaíej, 109, 138-9

nJ.ming, 27, 169

narrow-casting, 203; see

public sf'rvice

Nash, Paul, 86

Nashvífle.95

National Endowment t(-Jr 230,236,239

INDEX

Memphis

[de~ign

group], SS-6 t

meo .loa ra~hion, 74-5; sec o/so gender

rnC'taphor, 136, 140 2

Metro T.1rtan, 98

mctrop()li~ sec urban space

Michelangc-]o, 20-1, 15\, 207, 209f

~ics van der Rohe, LUlh... ig, 106 7

Millennium Dome, 102

Miller, Abbott, t 36

Milkt, Jean-Franyois, 118, 172

mimesis, 119, 180, 181;seeaI.wTcalism

minimalism, 140

Miralles, Emir, 102

Mirzocfr, Nicholas, 15,92

MJT,2910

Modcl-T cars, 56

MOMA, 10, 186, 187f, ISSr, 191,236

Monrlrian, Piet, 180

.lfon.>lcr's Bul', 98

Moorc,Michael, 129, 1 W

Moretti, ~anni, 99

Moritz, WiUíam, 1h 3 4

MorTis, Rohert, 190

Morris, William, 367,38,39,4-1,47,

182

Mort, Fr.lOk, 79 81

Morton, Jant.'t, 42-)

.1-foIl'an Callar, 99

Jfonc, 97

Mazan, Wolfgang AmadclIs, 151

~1uhlert,

Karin, 45-6

,~111rakami, Takasbi, 12 2r,

123

Muschamp, Herhert, 105

Muse,215

Museum of Jllra~.'iic Technolog)' (MJT),

29-30

Museum 01' Modero Art (MOMA), 30, 186,

187r, ISS1, 191,236

rnuseums, 22; see a1so MJT; MO¡\1A; Victoria

and Albert Muscum

music, popular, 215

M.JCholof/les, 109, 138-9

narning, 27, 169

narrow-casting. ](H; sec a150 broadcasting,

puhlie scni('('

Nash, Paul, 86

Nashl'lllc, \15

National cndm'>'rnent for the :\rts (US), 230,236,239

253

naturalism, 124-5

and realism, 118

Nealc, SteH', 98

necdlewurk,41 2

Neurath. atto, 136

New Criticisrn, 157-8

N ew Design, 61

New English An Cluh, 23

Ne\'>' Man, 74

New York World's Fair (19~9), 54, 56

Newrnan, Kim, 100

newspapers, 200, 201 f

Newton, Sir vVilliarn, 86

ni!lon-8Q , 121 3, 124-5

9/11,139, 19S, 200, 201r, 220, 221

Nochlin, Linda, 11)4-6 Norman Fuster and Partnt'r~ ,ú' roster,

I\'orrnan

nostalgia, 58

nm'el (genre), 14, 15

:\'ye, David, 186

objccts as metaphor. 61

ObsesslOn j'rHcn, 63f ()ctober, 190, 191

Qfficc, The, 129

(!ffire Kdler, 99

Old

~1J..~tcr painting~ in

adwrtiscments, 141,1421 Oldenburg. Chus, 1)8 Oli v ctti,58 online banking, 214

oral tradition, 14

ornarncntation, 144

()[lf Dynamic Eanh, Erlinburgh, 52

packaging, 146 7

Packard, Vanee. 56-7

painting, 12,41, 1)4, 179-81, 192

Duteh, 12

histor)' 01', 26

landscape,171-3

Pa.noE,k)', Envin, 109, J 20

Paris, 109, 114, 118, 119

Parker, Rozsika, 41

patronagc,20 1,23,151,155,237-8

role in architecture, 102, 107

Pawson, John, 190

Paz, Octa....io, 183

Pelzer, Ruth, 218

254

INDEX

perspectivc,linear, 12, 119- 21,134

Pc:;ct', Cad,lOo, 58 Petle)', Julian, 98-9,100 Pc\sner, Nikolaus, 101, 104-5, lOS Phillipson, Michael, 236 photography,85 93,126-7,197,199-200, 202 3

architectural, 106

avant-garde,185

digital, 127- 8

fashion,81

moderni..,t, 179 82

postmodcrnist, 190-1

photomontage, 210 Picasso, Pablo, 28,155 tí, 160 pietorialism, 180 picturc postcards, 199,2051', 208f Pierson, Michdk, 215-16 Pixar, 128 Planel q/ rhe Apeí, 210 planning H'[ lown pLmning Plato, 119 Pliny the Elder, 156 Piough chot Broke the Ploms, The, 129 Pointon, Marcia, 243 Polhemus, Tcd, 239 poJir1c' uniforms, symbolism or, 6S Pompidou Centre, Paris, 236 Por Art and archikcrurc, 110-11 popular musk, 215 pornography, 203, 224­ portraits, 17 [ 2 sc1f, 149-50 post-ronlism, 62,170 pos\-indu.,¡trialism, 170 po~tcards, picture, 199, 205l', .?ORf Posler, Mark, 220 posters, ] 8, 19f [/ Post/no, 130 postmodcrnism, 144-5, 161, 190 in architecture, 11 2 postphotography, ]27-8 power, 164-5, 169, 170 Pre-Raphat'litc I:kotherhoocl, 23 Prcdock, Antoine, 145 Price, Cedrk, 110 Prince, The, 165 printing, influcnce of, 14, 19R 9 pr(lceduralism,27 1 I Protestantism, inHuence 01', 21

Prynne, Jcremy, 7 PSB see public servicc hroadca:;ting publie rcalm and architecture, 102 public service broadcasting (PSB), 217,

n5 punk,72 P)'e, David, 183 P)'nchon, Thomas, 13 racism in art, 23 in cinema, 163, 164 on Internet, 224 Ramsa)', Lynnc, 99 Rand, huI, 135 Randal, John, 231 Raphael,151 Rappaport, Erica, 77 Rauschenberg, Roherl, 204-, 2061" ready-mark dOlhing, 77 rcalism, 117 and naturalbm, 118

see a}jQ hypcrreality; mimesis;

surrcalbm Reali~m, Socialist, [23--4, 189 realit)' TV, 173--4, 176, 202 Reay-Young, Helga, 47 refrigeralon, design or, 5;, 62 Reichart, Jasia, 189 relativism, cultural, 11 reproduction, tccbn¡cal, 197-213 Rc.~ident b'i!, 216 rhetoric, visual, I 33--48 Richter, Gerhard, 191 Riefenstahl, Leni, 192,204 Ricgl, Alois, 182 ROI,'ky, 13 Rodchcnko, Alexander, 184, 18 S Rogt'fs, Richard, 102, 154 Rohmcr, hic, 97 Ronseal advcrtisements, 118,145 Roscnberg, Harold, 152 Roseua,99 Ross, Kristin, 1 ) Rossellini, Rohcrto, 94-5 Rousc, Flizabeth, 68 Ro-..vley, Sus,m, 39--40 Royal CoHege ol' Art, 238 Ru,kin,john, 36, 38, 104, 105, 106, 108, 182

Rus~ian Constructiv

190 Sainsbury Wing, Nat 11 I Salon des R~fusés, 23

Sarris, Andrew, 97 Smurday '''hahr and Su; Saussurc, FernJ11d de Savage, Jon, (60 Scandinavia and desig Sehaeffer, Pe ter, 151 Seherman, David E Schnahel, Julian, 13" ~copophilia, 202 Scorsese, Martin, 13 Scott, Ridlev 97 Scotl BrO\\'I~.' Denise, Scottish ParJianwnt bu script\\'riters rOl" film, sC'ulpturC', 18, 20r, 20~ abstraet, 185 self portraits, 149- 50 ~emioJogy, 62, 133 Sennctt, Richard, 115 Sen,aflon exhibition (l S September 11, 139, 19 221 sC'wing machine, 77 Sherman, Cindv q9 19 shopping, 77 o' - ,

areades, 1S malls. 106 signs, traJfic, 124­ siJk serecn process, 204 Simmel, Georg, 69, 71, simulations, 220, 221-2 Sislinc Chapel, 20, 207, skinhead outht, 24Df Slaler, Dan, 62 Sloterdijk, Peter, 170 Smith, Paul, 127-8 Smithson, .Alison, ((O Smith"on, Peter, 110 social responsibilitv of df social ~haping of t:chnol( Socialist Realism, 123-4. S4;\\orc', 189 Soja-Morales, Ignacio, la SoJomon-Godeau, Abigai

INDEX

Russian

Comtructhist~, 54-,

184- 5,189.

190

S
Sa!on des R~/u.,és, 23

Sarris, Annn-w, 97

Smurda)' ,\'JBht and Sunday Mornmg, 130

Saussure, Fernand de, 158

Savage, Jan, 160

Scandinavia ano dc~ign, 57

SchacffcT, Peter, 151

Schnman, Da\"¡d E., 1891'

Schnalwl, Julian, 13

scopophilia, 202

Scorscse, Martín, t ')

SCOlt, Ridlcy, 97

Sentt Brown, Denisc, lll, 144

Scottish Parliamcnt building, 52, 102

~cript\vriters ror film, 97

sCU]ptUTC, 18, 20r, 206-7

ahstract, 1l'15

sdf ponraits, 149 -50

semiology, 62,133

Scnnett, Richard, 115

Senwtion exhihítion (1997),92-3

SeptemhCT t t, t 39,198,200, 20H, 220,

221

s¡·wing rnachinc, 77

Sherman, Cindy, 99, 190-1

shopping, 77

areades, 15

malls, 106

signs, trafhe, 124­ silk ~(:rccn proc('~:'" 204

Sirnmel, Georg, 69,71, 113 14

simulations, no, 21 1-2,227

Sistinc Chapel, 20, 207, 20,s- 9

skinhearl outfit, 240f

Slatcr, Dan, 62

Slüterdijk, Pett:r, 170

Srnith, I'
Srnithson, Alison, 110

Smithson, Petcr, 110

sodal rcsponsibility of design, 64

so(:ial shaping of technology, 192

Socialist Rcalism, 123--4, 189

S?j"tn'¡J,e,189 Soli-Moral('s, Ignacio, 106 7

So\ornon-C;odcau, Abigail, 191

255

SOJllag, Susan, 81,203

Sorrcnti, Davick, 81

Sottsass, Ettort: Jr, 58, 59f

South Kcnsington Muscurn see Victoria and

Albt:rt Museurn

So\'iet Constructivists, 54, 184- -5, 189,

190

spa(:(' three dirnt:nsional, 1)4 urhan, 38, 114---15; see alsl' tO\..'n planning SpufermoT',216

sponsorship ;ee patronagt'

SQUIU dnice, 214

Stallord, Roy, 219

St.11l0ne, Sj'l\'t'ster, 13

SIal ~J.aT5, 216

Starck, Philippe, 60f, 61

SUJ(fY N/ahl, 108

Stclarc, 190

Stepano\'
Storc)', John, 209 10

Strand, PauL 91 -2

StraJlge Do.ys, 214

Streetstylc, 1he: FlOm S¡dew¡;!k !O Cm¡<'(lik, 2. 30,

239 43

Sturh'n,2345

style, 115

Sudjie, Deyan, 105

Sullivan, Louis, 5)

SUJl, 166, 167f

wperJlat, 123

Sudús, Svuhe,l, Skarm und Skmheads, 24-0f

surrt'alism, 29

cinema, 99

photography, 181

.lee (liso realism

Szarkowski, John, 19 1

Tagg, John, 90

tape rncasure, 77

tapcstr)".4-1

Tarantino, Qucntin, 97

taste 131 4

Tatt: Modern, 30

Tatlin, Vladimir, 184-, 185

Tcague, Walter DOr\vin, 54, 56

technology, 54-, 186, 191

digital s,'e digital technolog)'

and fashion indmtr)', 77

social.'ihaping Df, 192

256

INDEX

tC'1nísíon, 15, 198, 199, 200, 20], 219,

221, !J5

digital, 2 [6-17

Jucumentarics, 173-7

Tcstino, Mario, 90

textiles, 41 2

Thj~ J.'i ¡'iO[ a Love Sona. g 5

video

na~ti('s,

166,1671

Vienna Secession, 23

Vintcrhcrg, Thomas, 96

Viola, BiH, 193

Virilio, Paul, 190

ü;ual L'ulture, dcscriheJ, ]-17

lOBUl.',77

Through thc I.ookln¿/ Glass (/nJ ¡Vhat Alice Found

\un Trier, Lars, 96, 130

TIJae,27

TJll1mc, 101,220

Voyaal.' ro thc ,Hoon, 94, 95f

Titian, 151

Wachowski brothers, 202

v.,.'alker, Joho, no

¡h:dl.\treet, 91-2

"yar

blkland, (I9H2), 215

lilms, 163 4

Gull(1991),215

lcaq (2003),170.221,2121,223,235

Warhol, Andy, 16.99,204­ Warnke, Martin, 151

¡~ássíljrarrnchair, 144, 145f

Wc~, 43

Wclll'r, Bruce, 90

v.,.'ell~. Pau\, 174­ Jlést ¡i"Jn8, He, 201

\Vcstinghouse, 54

West\·,:ood, Vivícnne. 74

\Vhistlcr, James Ahbott j\kNcil, 2: 3 4,

25

Whiting, David, 43

Wicncf, Norbert. 190

Wilde, O!'('ar, 23

\Villiams, R.lymund, 13, 15, 39, 230

\Villiams, Richanl, 14-4

WilIson, MichclC', 224, 226-7

Wilson, David, 29-30

Wibon, Elizabcth, 67 8,68-9,70,72

Wims.ltt, W. K., 157

\\iinckl'lmann, Johann, 156 7

WmJ/Qlkcrs, 98

Wolfi', Janet, 173, 230

Wtilfllin, HcinriL"h, 13. 104, t08, 157

Homan'j O»'n, 77

womcn 'ee feminism; gt:nder

\Voo, John, 98

\','-oudcut. intluencc of, 14, 197, 1yg

\\ioodham.56

vVorld Trade Organisation, ScattlC' (1999),

62, \70

\...· orld wide \"ch .Iee Internet

Toland, (~r('gg, 95

total cinema, 12g

tom"h, loss 01',182- 3,184

TouchJn8 rhe ¡()Id, 17) tourism, cultural, 207

to'\ n planning, t 07 8; sr¡; also urban spacC'

toys, 183

lranic sigm, 124

transportuíon ami design, 54

Trícnnak, Milan, 57

Truffaut, r-r.1J)~ois, 97, 160

Truman ShO'i, Thc, 129

TUrJ1C'r Prizc (2001), 7

11- J71, 220

Ucedlu, Paulo, 120

UnitC'd SLHCS, 177

ano design. 54 5

see also Amcricanisation; cinC'ma,

Holl)'\vood

urban spacc, 38. I J 3-1 5; iec also town

planning

USSR

artists, 104­ COIl.~tructiyists, 54, 184 5,189,190

Val.lllon, SU7anne, 9. 155

l;.¡lenune l)'pewriter. 58

Van Gogh, Vincent, 10S, 151, 180

Van Goyen, Jan, 172 3

Van Lamsv,cerde, lnez, 127

Jamry FUlT, 77

Vasari, Giorgio, 156

Vchlcn. ThurstL'in, 69 70,184

Venice, 184

Vcnturi,Rohert, 111, 144, 145

Vertm, Dziga, 204

Victuria ami Alhert Muscum, 238,239--41

video ~ee digitaltt'chnology, "idC'o

World'~

Fair, New

fl;,dJ\ Fah f.ocomoti Wunderkammer,21_

WYSIWYG,I4 r-fJ1es, The, 221

INDEX

World's rair, Ncw York (1939), 54, 56 ¡·'l/arIJ's Fair IocofJ)('w-e, 189r Il'unJakammer, 21 2 WYSIWYG, ]4

X-Files, The, 221

.\'Outh subculturcs, 239, 242 1 amlfashion, 72, 7981 You're Been FrJmeJ, ] 5

-lizck, Slavoj, 169, 170--1 Zob, E::milc, 117, J 18, \ 19

257

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