Essay Final: A Detailed Critical Analysis of a Cultural Text

In this essay, I offer a detailed critical analysis of Warhol's reproduction of Mona Lisa using Walter Benjamin's ' Art in the Age of Mechanical reproduction'. I will outline first the wider context of the terms art reproduction and appropriation, then sketching their relationship to industrialisation and finally offering my own views as an art student. My reason for picking up this subject is the feeling of disturbance and curiosity in my mind about the desirability of Mona Lisa being as strong as ever despite blatant reproductions produced over the centuries. My recent visit to the Louvre only heightened this disturbance – there I was along with streams of visitors mesmerised by this painting of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci. (Figure 1) I felt this aura and some kind of magnetism that did not diminish when I went to the museum shop and saw ‘Mona Lisa on books, t-shirts...you name it. Why did that mystique and magnetism not diminish?

First of all, there is no denying that a reproduction is not the same as the original artwork. The artist who understood this best was Andy Warhol famous for his infinite series of repetitive prints. The Mona Lisa has been one of the most reproduced images as it has been used in advertising, consumer products and art history. One of the foremost examples is Duchamp's rendering of a moustache and goatee on a cheap postcard size reproduction of the Mona Lisa which saw the beginning of the 'readymade reproduction'. (Figure 2) These reproductions made the meanings of art ambiguous.

Pop artist Andy Warhol recognised the fact that the Mona Lisa was as famous as the celebrity Marilyn Monroe and as such fame was a commodity and that endless replications of the celebrity's face made it so. Warhol adapted a technique from commercial printing, in which a photographic image could be transferred to a canvas by pushing paint through a silkscreen. Warhol made numerous copies in various colours and sizes, these copies can be deemed as appropriation of art. (Figure 3)

'All my images are the same, but very different at the same time... Isn't life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?'(Bockris,V. (1989): 326)

Nobody can mistake Warhol's Mona Lisa as the Renaissance original. (Keats, J. 2013) Warhol proved that legitimate art could be as powerful as the counterfeit. He showed the extent to which the forger’s art can be appropriated, the mantle of anxiety reclaimed.

Warhol’s prints were numbered with the lowest numbers being the most valuable as if retaining the idea of the ‘aura of the original’ as described by Walter Benjamin.

 With industrialisation and modern technological means of reproduction the relationship between art and the masses changed. Knowledge concerning the art of the past can now reach a larger proportion of the world’s population. However this mechanisation not only brings about autonomy of the art but also undermines or rather dispels the aura of fine art as quoted by Walter Benjamin

 ‘'Reproductive technology, we might say in general terms, removes the thing reproduced from the realm of tradition. In making[...]it actualizes what is reproduced'. (Benjamin, W.2008:7)

In the Journal of Philosophy of Education, The Re-reading of Benjamin’s theory of mechanical reproduction, Nick Peim has explained that aura seems to signify something of the symbolic halo generated by objects of special significance that is both powerful and indefinite. He has argued that aura is in fact the necessary property of symbolic representation.

Benjamin identifies the effect of mechanisation as progressive. The merger of creative and cultural industries would open the arts to a wider audience .Machines which were regarded as weapons of art destruction are actually complex tools that can be used to artistic advantage as is evident in Warhol’s prints. What Warhol extracted from mass culture was repetition.

Benjamin’s ideas have been reiterated in the past by writers as Malraux whose theory of museum-without-walls can be summarised as an imaginary museum of images that have been reproduced and are made universally available to any individual at all times. (Walker, John A. (1983): 70) .These reproductions give an impression of homogeneity of artworks which are originally more disparate than they appear in reproduction.

Contrary to this was Adorno, a German-American theorist from the Frankfurt School of thought, who vehemently argued that the products of mass culture are predictable and homogenous, maintaining social authority and encouraging people to become indifferent and conform. The mass public has trouble distinguishing between the real and the illusionary. Adorno expresses his displeasure quite strongly at the neutralization of the critical capacity of particular forms and techniques through their instrumental use, leading to increased marginalisation of authentic art. Thus Adorno argues: ‘To paint a la cubist in the year 1970 is like making advertising posters. And the originals are not immune, either, to this kind of sell out’ (Benjamin, A, 1992: 38-39)

But isn’t this what the people want? Images are most remembered when simple, clear and repetitions. We absorb rather than inspect. Indifference becomes our second skin.

As I reflect on both sides of the argument, I asked myself a question –has the religious aura really been dissipated? The cult-value surrounding it may have been replaced by exhibition-value, but the function of the museum is to preserve the aura of the work of art and to externalise it. While reviewing and studying art, I have always felt that the aura still remains a function of the originals. The evidence of this is the genre known as art photography – where some photographic prints are being bought and sold at auction rooms for high prices in just the same way as handmade articles.

Finally, ‘How does it impact me as an Art Student’? This was an interesting question, because at this point in time, as an Art student I would be naturally biased towards the benefits of mechanical reproduction and other forms of art accessibility. This is simply because it lets me view, feel, know about the art-work and go into the mind of the artist without necessarily travelling miles to the place where it originated. I cannot help but think about the core of Benjamin’s argument: the traditional work of art had a presence, an aura, which was the result of its uniqueness, its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.

 A widely held belief is that the effect of mechanical reproduction was to eliminate the work’s aura and to emancipate it from its dependence upon ritual. Whilst I agree this could be a consequence of the advent of technology leading to mechanisation of the arts, it has had a positive impact as well. The impact that I refer to is the fact that technological innovations of this kind had a progressive potential, in that they democratised the means of artistic production. The mechanical method of silk screen that Warhol discovered has been universally adopted by many artists. This nature of mass imagery has fascinated other artists like Roy Lischenstein as well.

Personally, I feel comforted by the fact that the aura does not really dissipate by different forms of mechanical reproduction and high visibility. In fact I would argue that the mystique and the desirability are heightened. I took the liberty of talking to a few visitors at the museum and did an informal survey. The majority of the responses concurred with my view. However, this would remain a subjective opinion, as exemplified by Adorno’s strongly held beliefs of marginalisation of art due to mass availability.

Bibliography

Books

Benjamin.A, (1992 ) Problems of Modernity: Adorno and Benjamin .Cornwall: T.J.Press Ltd.

Benjamin,W (2008) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Translated by J.A. Underwood. London: Penguin Books.

Berger, J.( 1972) Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books

Bockris,V. (1989)The Life and Death of Andy Warhol. New York: Bantam Books

 

Vygotsky,Lev S.(1971) The Psychology Of Art . Translated by Scripta Technica,Inc.U.S.A:The M.I.T. Press

Walker, John A. (1983) Art in the Age of Mass Media .London: Pluto Press Limited

Welchman, J C. (2003) Art After Appropriation: Essays on Art in the 1990s.Malta: G+B Arts International

 

Electronic Journals

 

Ganis, W.V. (2000) Andy Warhol’s Iconophilia. Invisible Culture [online] Issue 3. [Accessed on 21 March2014]

Peim, N. (2007) Walter Benjamin in the Age of digital reproduction: Aura in Education: A re reading of ‘the Work Of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. Journal of Philosophy of Education. Volume 41, Issue 3

 

Television programme & educational video viewed on the Internet

 

John Berger/ Ways of Seeing ( 1972) Series 1, Episode 1-4 .BBC, 1972. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk [Accessed 14 Feb 2014]

  The Shock Of The New (2014)Culture as Nature, Episode 7. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgYDuA-fBLg [Accessed on26 March 2014]

 

Website

 

Keats,J( 2013)If Every Artist were as good as Andy Warhol ,Forgery Would be Unnecessary (Book Excerpt-Forged:Why Fakes Are The Great Art Of Our Age, Oxford University Press)Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathonkeats/2013/01/17/if-every-artist-were-as-good-as-andy-warhol-forgery-would-be-unnecessary-book-excerpt/ [ Accessed on 27 March 2013]

Khan, Y S. (2012)The Political Aesthetic in the Works of Adorno and Benjamin.Available from: http://radicalnotes.com/2012/03/02/the-political-aesthetic-in-the-works-of-adorno-and-benjamin/ [Accessed on 22 March 2014]

Musee du Louvre ( 2005)A Closer Look At The Mona Lisa. Available from: http://musee.louvre.fr/oal/joconde/indexEN.html [Accessed 14 Feb 2014]

Robinson,A. (2014)An A to Z of theory/Walter Benjamin: Art, Aura And Authenticity. Available from:

http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/walter-benjamin-art-aura-authenticity/ [Accessed on 20 March 2014]

 

Figure 1

Vinci,L.( 1503-06)Mona Lisa[poplar wood].At :Louvre Museum,Paris. Available from http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-%E2%80%93-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo [Accessed 15 Feb 2014]

 

 

Figure 2

Duchamp,M. ( 1919) L.H.O.O.Q [ pencil on postcard] At Museum Of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou. Available from http://www.marcelduchamp.net/L.H.O.O.Q.php

[Accessed 15 Feb 2014]

 

Figure 3

Warhol, A. (1979) Mona Lisa [acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas]

At: Metropolitan Museum Of Art, NY[online] Available from http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/489409

[Accessed 29 march 2014]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essay Draft 3 !

 

In this essay, I offer a detailed critical analysis of Warhol's Mona Lisa ( Figure 1)using Walter Benjamin's ' Art in the Age of Mechanical reproduction'. I will outline first the wider context of the terms art reproduction and appropriation, then sketching their relationship to industrialisation and modern art and finally offering my own views as an art student.
 
There is no denying that a reproduction is not the same as the original artwork. During my recent visit to Paris , I went to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.( Figure 2) I stood there looking at the painting long and hard to somehow feel its authenticity, it's aura, this painting of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci was the entire basis of her fame.The Mona Lisa has been one of the most reproduced images as it has been used in advertising, consumer products and art history. One of the foremost examples is Duchamp's rendering of a moustache and goatee on a cheap postcard size reproduction of the Mona Lisa which saw the beginning of the 'readymade reproduction'.( Figure3) There are many other artists who made Mona Lisa's incarnation. Warhol was one of them. These reproductions made the meanings of art ambiguous.
 
Pop artist Andy Warhol recognised the fact that the Mona Lisa was as famous as the celebrity Marilyn Monroe and as such fame was a commodity and that endless replications of the celebrity's face made it so. Warhol adapted a technique from commercial printing, in which a photographic image could be transferred to a canvas by pushing paint through a silkscreen. Warhol made numerous copies in various colours and sizes, these copies can be deemed as appropriation of art.
 'All my images are the same, but very different at the same time... Isn't life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?'(Bockris,V. 1989: 326)
Nobody can mistake Warhol's Mona Lisa as the Renaissance original, thus proving that art appropriation can be just as legitimate. Warhol’s prints were numbered with the lowest numbers being the most valuable as if retaining the idea of the ‘aura of the original’ as described by Walter Benjamin.

 With industrialisation and modern technological means of reproduction the relationship between art and the masses changed. Knowledge concerning the art of the past can now reach a larger proportion of the world’s population. However this mechanisation not only brings about autonomy of the art but also undermines or rather dispels the aura of fine art as quoted by Walter Benjamin
 'Reproductive technology, we might say in general terms, removes the thing reproduced from the realm of tradition. In making[...]it actualizes what is reproduced'. ( Benjamin,W.2008:7)
Benjamin identifies the effect of mechanisation as progressive. The merger of creative and cultural industries would open the arts to a wider audience.
Benjamin's ideas have been reiterated in the past by writers as Malraux whose theory of museum-without-walls can be summarised as an imaginary museum of images that have been reproduced and are made universally available to any individual at all times.(Walker,John A.1983:70) These reproductions give an impression of homogeneity of artworks which are originally more disparate than they appear in reproduction. Whilst I acknowledge these theories are from the past but the essence of this idea still holds true.

Contrary to this Adorno has argued....

As I reflect on both sides of the argument

Poster : A Critical analysis of a cultural text

First Draft Poster of Critical analysis of my Cultural text

A Critical Analysis of Warhol's reproduction of the Mona Lisa

Here is my second draft of the essay. Couldn't control the positioning and info attached with the images... but have completed the bibliography. Your comments are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

During my recent visit to Paris I visited the Louvre and amongst everything else I went to see the Mona Lisa. Everything that I had heard and read about this painting had encouraged me to see it in person. As I entered this large room with double height ceiling and very large paintings on the walls, I noticed a crowd of people gathered in front of the wall at the far end. My curiosity drew me magnetically to this crowd. There behind a glass wall was the famous painting of the Mona Lisa. The painting which is not really very large was displayed on this wall with a barrier in front so you could not get up close. There were lots of cameras clicking and it was impossible to get a quiet and close-up view. I got pulled and pushed in this crowd and can't deny I too made a mechanical record of this artwork of the past (Figure 1)  I stood there looking at the painting long and hard to somehow feel its authenticity, it's aura, this painting  of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci was the entire basis of her fame.
As I walked towards the exit, I noticed the museum shop selling many reproductions of this painting in the form of postcards, fridge magnets and T-shirts. The words of Thomas à Kempis crossed my mind, ‘getting closer to things in both spatial and human terms is every bit as passionate a concern of the masses as their tendency to surmount the uniqueness of each circumstance by seeing it in reproduction’. (Benjamin,W.2008: 9)

 My cultural text is Warhol's Mona Lisa.I will offer a detailed  critical analysis using Walter Benjamin ' Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'.There is no denying that a reproduction is not the same as the original artwork. In the past reproduction did exist in the form of pre-mechanical methods of copying. When Duchamp made a moustache and goatee on a cheap postcard size reproduction of Mona Lisa it was the beginning of the ‘readymade’ reproduction. (Figure 2) .There are many other artists who made Mona Lisa’s incarnations like Dali, Warhol and Banksy (Figure 3, 4 and 5) to name a few. These reproductions made the meanings of art ambiguous.

Pop artist Andy Warhol recognized the fact that the Mona Lisa was as famous as the celebrity Marilyn Monroe and as such fame was a commodity and that endless replications of the celebrity's face made it so.Warhol adapted a technique from commercial printing, in which a photographic image could be transferred to canvas by pushing paint through a mechanically-produced silkscreen template. Warhol made endless copies in various colours and sizes, these copies can be deemed as appropriation of art. Nobody can mistake Warhol's Mona Lisa as the  Renaissance original ,thus proving that art appropriation can be just as legitimate .

This debate about mechanical reproductions in art started with Benjamin's theory on Art in the age of Mechanical Reproduction.Benjamin identified the effect of mechanisation as progressive. The merger of creative and cultural industries would open the arts to a wider audience .With industrialisation and modern technological means of reproduction the relationship between art and the masses has changed. Knowledge concerning the art of the past can now reach a larger proportion of the world’s population. However this mechanisation not only brings about autonomy of the art but also undermines or rather dispels the aura of fine art. ‘Reproductive technology, we might say in general terms, removes the thing reproduced from the realm of tradition. In making[.......]it actualizes what is reproduced’. (Benjamin,W,2008:7)In the Journal of Philosophy of Education ,The Re-reading of Benjamin’s theory of mechanical reproduction, Nick Peim has explained that aura seems to signify something of the symbolic halo generated by objects of special significance that is both powerful and indefinite. He has argued that aura is in fact the necessary property of symbolic representation.
 .
Benjamin’s ideas have been reiterated in the past by writers as Malraux whose theory of museum-without-walls can be summarised as an imaginary museum of images that have been reproduced and are made universally available to any individual at all times.(Walker, John A. (1983)Art in the age of mass media. Page 70) These reproductions give an impression of homogeneity of artworks which are originally more disparate than they appear in reproduction.
Contrary to this was Adorno who vehemently argued that there are two closely related social developments: the progressive commoditisation of culture, and the aestheticisation of the commodity-form itself.   The commoditisation refers to the   nature of the art market due to its inherently speculative and manipulative character. The sheer progress and the volume of mechanical reproduction has fuelled the commoditisation even more reducing the use-value to exchange-value. , Secondly, there is the more general aestheticisation of the commodity form in the culture and advertising industries. Adorno expresses his displeasure quite strongly at the neutralization of the critical capacity of particular forms and techniques through their instrumental use, leading to increased marginalisation of authentic art. Thus Adorno argues: ‘To paint a la cubist in the year 1970 is like making advertising posters. And the originals are not immune, either, to this kind of sell out’.(Benjamin, A, 1992: 38-39)
As I reflect on both sides of the argument, I asked myself a question – ‘How does it impact me as an Art Student’? This was an interesting question, because at this point in time, as an Art student I would be naturally biased towards the benefits of mechanical reproduction and other forms of art accessibility. This is simply because it lets me view, feel, know about the art-work and go into the mind of the artist without necessarily travelling miles to the place where it originated. I cannot help but think about the core of Benjamin’s argument: the traditional work of art had a presence, an aura, which was the result of its uniqueness – ‘its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be’. A widely held belief is that the effect of mechanical reproduction was to eliminate the work’s aura and to emancipate it from its dependence upon ritual. Whilst I agree this could be a consequence of the advent of technology leading to mechanisation of the arts, it has had a positive impact as well. The impact that I refer to is the fact that technological innovations of this kind had a progressive potential, in that they democratised the means of artistic production. The mechanical method of silk screen that Warhol discovered has been universally adopted by many artists.
Also, the key question I ask is: has the religious aura really been dissipated? The cult-value surrounding it may have been replaced by exhibition-value, but the function of the museum is to preserve the aura of the work of art and to externalise it. While reviewing and studying art, I have always felt that the aura still remains a function of the originals. The evidence of this is the genre known as art photography – where some photographic prints are being bought and sold at auction rooms for high prices in just the same way as handmade articles.
Interestingly, when one looks at the United Kingdom, the ministry responsible for Art – the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has one of its key objectives as ‘[...] working to support the arts community to give access to all, improve wellbeing in the UK and boost the UK’s economy.’( Department of Culture , Media and Sport (2014). Arts and Culture) They have presented an economic and social argument here at the same time! This loft aim cannot be possibly achieved by displaying reproductions, using images in mass media and also using income from selling memorabilia to develop these museums further. So this is a virtuous spiral that creates a future generation of artists through access to museums and art galleries funded by income from different sources and profits then used to improve the facilities! As you go around this cycle, it grows into a spiral for overall benefit of the common good.

figure 1. Da Vinci, L.Mona Lisa,Author's own.(2014)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Figure 2  Duchamp, M.(1919)‘LHOOQ’ (pencil on readymade postcard). http://www.marcelduchamp.net/L.H.O.O.Q.php  [Assessed on 15 Feb 2014]

 Figure 3. Dali. S. (1954 )Self Portrait as Mona Lisa. Available from http://www.examiner.com/article/salvador-dali-poses-the-question-why-they-attack-the-mona-lisa [Accessed on 18 Feb 2014]

http://projects.ecfs.org/fieldston272/SlideIndexes/renaissance02.html

Figure 4. Warhol,A.( 1963)Thirty Are Better Than One, Silkscreen print. Available from http://www.previewberlin.com/Data/presse2011/PB2011_CATALOGTEXT_MPIESBERGEN.pdf [accessed on 18 Feb 2014]

Figure 5

Banksy.( 2000) Mona Lisa, spray paint stencil on board, 48in by 48in. Available from http://arrestedmotion.com/2011/09/banksy-top-25-most-expensive-works-ever/ [Accessed on 18 Feb 2014]

 

 

Bibliography

Images

Figure 1- Author’s own [2014]
Figure 2-Duchamp,M. (1919) LHOOQ’ ,pencil on readymade postcard. http://www.marcelduchamp.net/L.H.O.O.Q.php [Accessed 15th Feb 2014]
Figure 3- Dali,S.(1954) Self Portrait as Mona Lisa. Available from http://www.examiner.com/article/salvador-dali-poses-the-question-why-they-attack-the-mona-lisa [Assessed on 18 Feb 2014]
Figure 4- Warhol,A. (1963)Thirty Are Better Than One. Serigraph prints. Available from http://projects.ecfs.org/fieldston272/SlideIndexes/renaissance02.html, http://www.previewberlin.com/Data/presse2011/PB2011_CATALOGTEXT_MPIESBERGEN.pdf
[Assessed on 18 Feb 2014]
 Figure 5- Banksy ( 2000) Mona Lisa, spray paint stencil on board, 48in by 48in. Available from http://arrestedmotion.com/2011/09/banksy-top-25-most-expensive-works-ever/ [Accessed on 18 Feb 2014]

 

Website

Department of Culture, media and Sport and The Tate (2014) Arts and Culture. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/topics/arts-and-culture [Accessed on 15 Feb 2014]
Musee du Louvre ( 2005)A Closer Look At The Mona Lisa. Available from: http://musee.louvre.fr/oal/joconde/indexEN.html [Accessed 14 Feb 2014]

Television programme viewed on the Internet

John Berger/ Ways of Seeing ( 1972) Series 1, Episode 1-4 .BBC, 1972. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk [ Accessed 14 Feb 2014]

Journal Articles

  Peim, N.(2007)Walter Benjamin in the Age of Digital Reproduction:Aura in Education:A Rereading of 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'.Journal of Philosophy of Education[online].

Books

Benjamin.A, (1992 ) Problems of Modernity: Adorno and Benjamin .Cornwall: T.J.Press Ltd.
Benjamin,W (2008) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Translated by J.A. Underwood. London: Penguin Books.
Berger, J.( 1972) Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books
Vygotsky,Lev S.(1971) The Psychology Of Art . Translated by Scripta Technica,Inc.U.S.A:The M.I.T. Press
Walker, John A. (1983) Art in the Age of Mass Media .London: Pluto Press Limited

Week 8: Class, Cultural Capital, Taste and Power dt 21st Jan 2014

Class

Karl Marx defines class as: determined entirely by one's relationship to the 'means of production' i.e. Land, machinery, material access. the classes in a Capitalist society:
Proletarians: those who work but do not own the means of production, e.g. factory workers making but not owning the machinery used for making.
Bourgeoisie: those who live off the surplus generated by the Proletarians. The means of production belongs to them.
Aristocracy: those who have land as means of production.
www.marxists.org/glossary/index.htm
 Class was determined by occupation, wealth and education.

A major survey conducted by BBC suggests people in UK now fit into seven social classes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22007058
The new research suggests that class has three different indicators:
Economic, Social and Cultural.

1. Elite: most privileged group with highest level of all three capitals( more cultural, social and economic engagement, wealth and education)
2. Established Middle class: the largest group of all, second wealthiest and second highest for cultural capital and high on social engagement.
3. Technical Middle Class: low on social engagement and lack of interest in culture.
4. New Affluent Workers: young class group which is socially and culturally active with middling level of finance..
5. Traditional Working Class: low on all forms of capital but not completely deprived. Members of this group have the oldest average age of 66 and reasonably high house value.
6. Emergent service workers: new , young urban group which is relatively poor but has high social and cultural capital.eg areas like Stokes Croft, Montpelier-Bristol.
7. Precariat or Precarious Proletariat: the poorest, most deprived class who score low on social, cultural and economic capital.

Class distinction is more fluid in contemporary society. This new model suggests we have some control over them.

Taste

Taste is understood as an indicator of class( the kind of things you choose to engage in or avoid).
According to Catherine McDermott taste: 'involves the critical judgement of human objects and culture and it suggests a well-trained appreciation of what is aesthetically pleasing.' ( McDermott, 1994,p195)
In other words taste is based on knowledge, connoisseurship and critical appreciation.
In cultural context it can be determined by makers, critics, media, everyone.
Our tastes are learnt and hence taught.
They are not natural or neutral.
Their learning starts the moment we are born.
They reflect our value system. ( family, culture, religion)
Our tastes in clothes, food, cars, art, design, position us within our culture's hierarchies.
They demonstrate our 'Cultural capital'.

 Cultural Capital

Pierre Bourdieu 91979) Distinction: Asocial Critique of the Judgement of Taste.

• interested in construction and performance of class
• interested in roles that education, consumption and cultural capital play in its formation.

Cultural capital is a form of value associated with culturally authorised tastes, consumption patterns, attributes, skills and awards.
Webb.J.Schirato,T.(2002)
Within the field of education , an academic degree constitutes cultural capital.

For Terminology refer to http://faculty.smcm.edu/Inscheer/mce.html

Interesting fact-In the Renaissance period the hierarchy in art was :
Highest- art showing religious and historical themes
Middle- portraiture, paintings of women.
Lowest- Still life.

Essay question

I've decided to do a critical analysis of the painting 'the Mona Lisa' by Leonardo da Vinci. I will be particularly looking at mechanical reproduction of art.
 I researched online to find out more on anything relevant to my subject.I came across this article written by the curator of Louvre on the Mona Lisa.
The Faces of the  Mona Lisa
 by Vincent Pomarède
 Curator in the Paintings Department of the  Louvre Museum
The  Mona Lisa is beyond doubt the best known painting in the world, today completely identified with the Louvre Museum and even with the general notion of art.
Technique:Painted on a thin backing of poplar wood, which is now extremely fragile (this is why it is today preserved behind a glass case) the  Mona Lisa is an exemplary creation, thanks to the subtle effects of light on flesh and the panache of the landscape in the painting's background. The modeling of the face is astonishingly realistic. Leonardo executed the painting with patience and virtuosity: after preparing the wooden panel with several layers of coating, he first of all drew his motif directly onto the picture, before painting it in oil, adding very weak turpentine, which enabled him to paint on innumerable layers of transparent color, known as glaze, and to endlessly remodel the face. The glaze, skillfully worked, heightens the effects of light and shade on the face, constituting what Leonardo himself called “sfumato”.

Week 7: WHOSE REALITY IS IT ANYWAY? 9th Jan 2014

How do we relate to the world and how we position ourselves in it.

1. Context: we live in a post modern , post industrial society- communication and information technology has made everything more accessible resulting in 'shrinking' of the world, collapsing and condensing.
2. Fusion and Homogeneity: we are part of this 'Global village' which has its benefits of cultural fusion. But there is also a risk of homogeneity( uniformity) and 'cultural imperialism'( where two cultures meet and one dominates ,discarding the cultural significance and hammering in our own dominance)E.g. British Empire, Contemporary American cultural imperialism.
3. Reality? we can communicate , send and receive messages, images, film with people across the world. Risk- believing that we know and understand what's going on, when we stop seeing images we risk thinking that they are no longer important or an issue of concern. We are at risk of confusing what we 'see' with 'reality'.We see what is shown to us, hyper real,from another's view point
4. Conclusion: our understanding of the world is mediated i.e. interpreted and framed for us, the representation that we receive are selective, edited and sometimes created anew for specific consumers, seeing translational cultural form walk a fine line between cultural fusion and cultural imperialism, so how should we define what is real today.

Prof Practice 6: Research & referencing for the ESSAY Question

Content: Plan for Research on essay question

• The question
• Planning your research
• Referencing: Academic integrity
• Prep task

My chosen subject is The Mona Lisa
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
It was painted in his studio in Florence, Italy and now resides in the Louvre museum, Paris.
 
In the book ' Mona Lisa the picture and the Myth ' by Roy McMullen I read that much of the earliest information on this subject comes from Giorgio Vasari's biography published thirty-one years after the artist's death as part of the author's best-selling 'Lives of the Most Excellent painters, Sculptors and Architects'.

I looked up the website of the Louvre for more information on the Mona Lisa
http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-%E2%80%93-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo

It was painted between 1503-1506.
It is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco Giocondo, a cloth merchant.
 There is a bibliography on the website which might be useful to research.

 Whilst there are a number of  questions around this subject like  the identity of the sitter, who commissioned it, why it took so long for da Vinci to complete this painting, the explanation of the Gioconda smile, the landscape in the background or how it came in the possession of Francis 1, I am going to look at the enigmatic smile depicted in this painting.


 This image is taken from the following website:
http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Mona-Lisa.html

Week 6 - 5th Dec 2013 : Creativity- Definations & Histories

What is creativity? or to be a creative person?

The different models of a creative practitioner are:

• Collaborator- a group event
• a celebrated sole author- individual with extraordinary talent
• facilitator- creating a space
• consumer - to consume something is to create
• hybrid manager- multi practitioner
• conceptual thinker- not making
• maker- materiality of making
• culture jammer- intervening corporate messages

Creative industries have been the fastest growing sector of the UK economy in the last 10-15 years.
Creativity is an important part of what makes us employable.
Creativity is a complex term, it is used by many different people like chefs, sports professionals, tourism managers, and the understanding changes historically.

Ways of creating has been understood in art over the centuries: the 18th century saw art being recognised as a separate activity and lots of museums were built.
Romanticism- quite a lot of ideas about creativity were taken for granted. To be creative meant to be progressive, somebody can do something that not everyone can do, an artist with insight and imagination.
Modernism-late 19th to early 20th century when an attempt was made to deny history and move forward with the belief that art and design could make a better life and result in technological progress. Distinguishing art from popular culture was the Avant-garde movement.
Post-Modernism- not just a style but a way of thinking, a set of ideas. It refers to a borrowing of previous styles, historical ( neo+ retro designs)mixing up of different time periods, a melting pot of styles.

Recent idea of creativity- combines creativity with commerce and the marketplace.


 So what does culture industry mean?

During WWII, many German intellectuals emigrated to USA . Some like Horkheimer & Adorno went back to Germany after the war was over. They were very hostile to American culture; the Hollywood movies, music, magazines. They argued that these products of the culture industry were homogenous and predictable. In their opinion the culture industry continually reproduced the same thing. It encouraged people to conform, which made them less likely to revolt to social inequalities in their life.
This theory was challenged by Walter Benjamin who believed that merging culture and industry would open  arts to a wider range of people. For example where painting were reproduced in books or as postcards made it accessible to more people  who didn't have to go to the art gallery to view it. Benjamin argued that meanings changed when we consume things. This resulted in the emergence of the ' Creative Industries'.

Recent idea of creative industry combines creative arts with culture industries.

Week 5: Let's talk about sex...and gender

Contents:

1. Why is 'sex' still an issue?

2. Why should you care?

3. What is a man?

4. What is masculinity?

5. Conclusion

1. Why is 'sex' still an issue? What does it mean socially and politically?

So we look at global statistics

• Equality Act 2010 (UK) replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single cut
• it legally protects people from discrimination in workplace and in wider society.
• UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948 with particular attention on Article 7 which says all are equal and will get equal protection.

But inspite of these laws in place equality of sexes is still not achieved as evident from global stats:

• 70% women are victims of physical and sexual violence( majority from their husbands or partners),
• in women between age of 15-44 this violence causes more deaths than by malaria or such other diseases.

UK stats

•  2011 ; gender pay gap for hourly wages is 20.1%
• 2013: official hourly rate for men is £26.54 and for women is £18.32.
• Women in full-time employment earn almost £5000 per year less which is 15% less than men.

2. Why should you care? How does this impact on us as artists?

• because your sex affects how you have been treated since birth, how you are being treated at present and will be treated in future and what is expected of you.
• understanding how your identity is constructed and perceived will help you understand and communicate with the audience of your work.

So basically we as artists and makers are responsible for the influence of our work on future consumers / audiences.

3. What is a 'man'?

• depends on who you ask.

Professional Practice 4- The Essay Question

Provide a detailed critical analysis of a cultural text.

What is a cultural text
-anything produced by a culture; a central core study e.g. a garment, film, music, video, magazine, tattoo, painting, computer, mascara, etc.
What does critical analysis mean.
-to approach the topic methodically
- evidence of what other people have to say for and against
-positioning yourself in this
Analysis- a well-rounded balanced investigation. One that is well researched, methodical, logically structured and clearly articulated.

The essay has got to be 1200 words and after attending the Study Skills lecture today I realised that it is not simply having a full systematic research and writing on the subject chosen but also  adding all these references following the Harvard UWE system and maintaining a bibliography.

As homework we are to consider what cultural text we might choose to study and write about for our essay.
So here I am putting my initial thoughts on a cultural text I might choose to write about.

During my recent visit to Paris I visited the Louvre and amongst everything else I went to see the Mona Lisa as well. There have been so many controversial theories about this painting and its model that I just had to see it in person. As I entered  this large room with double height ceiling and very large paintings on the walls, I noticed  a crowd of people gathered in front of the wall at the far end. My curiosity drew me magnetically to this crowd to find out . It was the famous Mona Lisa painting by Da Vinci. The painting which is not really very large was displayed on this  wall with a barrier in front so you could not get up close. There were lots of cameras clicking away but hardly anyone was actually viewing the art.  I got pulled and pushed in this crowd and can't deny I took some photographs myself too. This one below is what I managed to take.
 I think I would like to research on this famous painting by such an intelligent artist .

Image as Language: the science of sign systems

Contents

1. Semiotics & Structuralism

Semiotics is a study of language systems relating to sound, oral and written text.

Structuralism is about applying these theories.

    2. Signs: signifiers + signified ( how a sign is constructed)

eg a fur coat( signifier) + signified: a piece of clothing that keeps you warm, glamour, old money, cruelty to animals. Here the sign is complex  and does not necessarily mean the same for everyone.

    3.Texts-Everything is text, not just what we can read but also the objects that surround us.

    4. Iconic, indexical and symbolic signs.

Iconic signs: look like the thing they represent e.g. photos, portraits

Indexical signs refer to other knowledge e.g. footprints symbolise feet, clouds signify rain. These marks are made physically.

Symbolic signs: they only have meaning due to convention e.g. words, flags, these have to be learnt through knowledge.

Structuralism

A new idea that everything is text- everything we encounter is a 'text'.

Langue: the structural rules and conventions of a system e.g. dictionary contains all the tools you need to do something with language. e.g. form, frame, media, tools: they are the language of our chosen discipline of DAA.

 eg langue for ceramics: clay, tools, kiln.

Parole: the spoken/ individual usage of signs within a system.

Parole for ceramics: Ai weiwei's sunflower seeds, Nicholas Homoky's teapot.

Poststructuralsim

 Everything is text but the meaning is not contained in the text.It relies on the knowledge of other text

to make sense of it. Its about connecting ideas.

Paradigm

Seminar Task 4: Reflect on fieldwork posted on 11th Nov 2013

What were your group's findings?

What did you find challenging / surprising?

If you had to do it again what would you do differently and why?

Here are the positives  as discussed within our group:

• Planning, research and communication within the group was spot-on.
•  Time keeping - Travel time was precisely calculated by Gina as she arrived on the dot to pick me from my house resulting in reaching on time at designated place to meet Leigh. Due to other engagements on the day we knew we had only the morning  2 hours to complete our site visit. Hence time management was crucial and the group supported each other on maintaining this precision.
•  Having considered all the risks, we had no problem with the parking facilities or the weather condition on the day.
• On observing the Street art closely we realised that a variety of techniques had been used in the artworks. Each had its own distinct style.

The following are some points which we would have done differently:

• Although we had two weeks to plan and execute this visit, we felt the need for a bit more forward planning so that everyone in the group could have made it to the sites.
• We were too absorbed by the task that we didn't have enough time to reflect on the artworks .
• It was not evident who the artists were making the street art on North Street.

On exploring the hire charges at the Grant Bradley Gallery, we found out that their admin and commission percentage was much lower than the more acclaimed galleries in Bristol. This could be a possible option for students to collaborate and put up a show together in the future.

Seminar Task 3- Site visit

We made a list of factors that could impact our experience as viewers/ consumers. Our group agreed on the date of our visit and the meeting time and place.
 It was agreed between Gina, Leigh & myself ( Rosie our fourth member was absent ) that we would meet on Thursday 31st Oct  @ 9.30am outside Tobacco factory in Bedminster. We would view and record the Street art on North Street and also visit the Grant Bradley gallery in Bedminster. We informed Rosie of our plans but unfortunately she could not join us as it clashed with a workshop she had previously booked.

 We decided to record our findings with photographs and note taking  and talking to any staff on hand.

 As Leigh is familiar with the area, he was our guide equipped with some useful local knowledge of the town's history and cultural significance.
 Gina and myself, we took photographs while I was taking the notes.

1st Stop: North Street
We started walking from Tobacco factory to the other end of North Street observing the variety of Street Art. The weather was dim and cold but it wasn't wet. We saw a  lot of graffiti art made using different techniques and styles  in all sorts of locations like the side of buildings, walls of the parking lot of Tobacco factory & Chicken Shed café,  shop shutters, green spaces .
 Naturally it was apparent that this sort of space for exhibiting art would be suitable only to graffiti artists. Weather played a crucial role in delivery/ production of this art form. Shop shutters could be viewed only when the shop was closed and its shutter was pulled down. This would impact on the number of people viewing it whilst walking along.
 The pedestrians, motorists and even the workers doing road works were very friendly and walking down the street taking photographs was not intimidating at all.

 Grant Bradley Gallery
 This was a well-lit gallery space with a more artsy feel to it.
As we entered we noticed there were a number of flyers about current and future exhibitions, other art related events happening locally like life drawing class and Big draw event . There were three main areas for exhibiting along with glass cabinets for displaying more delicate art work like small  sculptures and hand made scarves, jewellery. The smell of fresh coffee awakened our senses and soft music  with comfortable sofas and chairs made the experience quite comfortable.
The versatility of the space meant a variety of artwork could be displayed like sculptures, paintings, film, photographs and prints .
The gallery had a small café  and also provided framing services which probably made it sustainable .
There was sufficient information about the artists who had displayed their work along with business cards and mailing list forms.
 We spoke to the staff who were very friendly and helpful to find out more about how the gallery could be hired.
We enjoyed viewing the art on display though not all of it was to my personal liking.

We discussed the work  viewed both at North Street ; an outdoor space and the Grant Bradley gallery, whilst also developing a better personal relationship with each other as a team. I can safely say it was a pleasant experience  having considered all the risks and some efficient planning and time-keeping.
Well done Team !

Graffiti art on walls of outdoor café- Chicken Shed

                                                 Grant Bradley gallery space around café and shop area
                                                        Flicky flowerscapes by Hayley Jones

                                                  Art on Shop Shutters -North Street ,Bedminster

Tobacco Factory parking lot

Grant Bradley gallery mezzanine floor displaying sculptures and wall art made from felt by Chris Hubley

 

Critical Perspective on 24/10/13

Part 1- Primary Research: Fieldwork
 We had formed groups of 4/5, identified , agreed & planned sites and filled the Risk Assessment forms. We had agreed on the date & time of visit, identified and agreed what we were going to view and how we would record findings.

Part 2- Primary Research Approach: Participation or Observation
Observational Research ( Ethnographic) - positions the researcher as separate from or external to the cultural practices being studied.
Participant observation allows the researcher to take part in the cultural practices being studied. e.g.he/ she may interview the artist.
 Both approaches require planning and methodical execution.
As a group we need to decide whether we are observing or participating.
If participating then we need to be aware of some factors that can affect our research such as:

• How we dress may impact on how we are treated
•  consider how we will record our findings
• consider the ethics of how we record e.g.take consent if recording or filming
• carry our student id
• avoid taking pictures of children without their parents' consent
• not all apparently public spaces allow photography, so take permission

Part 3- What do you look at and why
 A list of factors that can affect our experience of the site:

• structure& style of building
• lighting: source, angle, colour
• environment and ambient noise ( background un-intentional sounds)
• deliberate sounds( e.g. piped music. Playing music requires license which in turn can affect the costing of the store)
•  how is the movement through the space/ gallery being controlled ( e.g. via marked routed like in Ikea, tiled and carpeted areas in stores)
• approx. temperature in the venue- does it affect how long we stay in there

What do we look at:

• surrounding shops
• smells
• explanatory notes ( gallery/ exhibition guide)including details about the artwork, its typeface, scale, medium.
• branding of the wider space
• other consumers/ viewers, their approx. age, dressing, ethnicity, gender, class.

Part 4- Seminar Task

• We had to make a list of different factors impacting our experience as the viewer/ consumer at the sites we had chosen to visit
• consider how we could record and how we should record our findings
•  take the notes to our seminar.

Consumer passions: modernity and the birth of consumer culture

Part 1: the birth of modern era
If we look back about 250 years ago much of day to day lives were taken for granted. But with the industrial revolution in 18th century in England , modern society was born.
With the Industrial revolution it meant factories could operate through the night, mass production , massive employment in the cities resulting in un-employment in the countryside. There was a shift of population from rural to urban. It radically changed how people related to the world and each other.
 eg; SS Great Britain combined steam and sail power and no longer depended on winds. It meant the other side of the world was within reach / accessible.
 Part 2: the birth of consumer culture
Mechanisation of production meant that people didn't have time to produce/ grow their own food resulting in specialists like butchers, bakers.
Standardisation of weights and measures became an integral part.
All this gave rise to consumer culture- the idea of giving meaning to repetitive labour by interspersing leisure.
It meant the birth of the ' designer'. as against earlier when people were makers.
The material culture that arose as a result of technological innovation and mass production meant the working class could also afford the more ornate and desirable objects. All this contributed to the discussion about ' truth of materials'( hand made , unique v/s machine made and mass produced)
The invention of the steam- powered printing press meant the production of printed material was abundant, giving rise to increase in literacy levels , birth of graphic design, advertising and brand, packaging, lifestyle magazines.

Industrialisation also resulted in :

• a shift of political power
• diffusion of money and hence power to the middle class
• status being defined by property, wealth and not land or titles
• increased separation of domestic and public domains
• Middle class men were demanding and getting political rights/ power that equalled their new economic power ( women and children earned lower wages compared to men)
• middle class women became extension of their man's power
• items were produced to communicate the taste and values of their consumer eg; Harper's Bazaar magazine
• objects were not valued according to their ' use value' or even the ' exchange value'( Marx) but increasingly for their ' symbolic value'. ( Jean Baudrillard)
• in a capitalist system money=power
• conspicuous consumption- we don't just buy what we need but  to show everyone ( so it is visible)
• conspicuous leisure - women were out showing power / money through their leisure activities.

Part 3: Spaces of Consumption

• In response to this new kind of consumer new spaces of consumption were created: shopping arcades, departmental stores
• the flaneur- term coined by Charles Baudelaine, someone who walks in the city
• the museum- consume culture, artifacts
• the gallery eg; Louvre changed from a palace to a museum establishing national identity and national pride.
• the theatre i.e. the entertainment industry ( the seating plan showed power and class divide)
• cinemas were re-modelled

Conclusion

•  Technology has a massive impact by radically altering our lives
•  led to modern era
• birth of consumer culture- person's identity became tied up with what they consume
•  consumption was not based on necessity but desire

Visual Culture- Innocence Lost: The Politics of Looking & Making- 10/10/2013

 

Part 1- Looking and making as a Political practice.
Looking and making  as political practices refer to the kind of values and imagery we bring with us while making or consuming.
This also means that there is ' NO INNOCENT EYE'. This refers to consuming / viewing without the influence of social, geographical, educational or financial factors.
DENOTATION- literally what we see when we view art.
CONOTATION- values and ideas suggested beyond what is literally there.
Any kind of visual image carries some ideas & values about the world.These meanings are contested i.e. we don't all agree. These meanings are not always contested as the artist may have wanted. That means multiple meanings are possible and are produced through social relationships.
Looking is a political act that we do from a particular position, with a particular idea about the world. This changes what we see.
Awareness of this helps us to move from describing to analysing.

Examples of Manet's Olypia  , 1863 v/s Titian's Venus of Urbino, 1538 ( pictures below), Alfredo jar's Venice Venice, 2013.

Part 2- Ideology
Ideology means world view: what the world is like and how the world should be.
Society masks their ideologies as natural systems of belief/ value, but in fact these are constructed.

Part 3- Strategies of Resistance
Examples of how creative practitioners have resisted the dominant ideologies, asking us to look again.
Using 'juxtaposition' to create ' critical distance'. ( taking a step back and looking twice)
 Artists like Peter Kennard, Grayson Parry, Barbara Kruger, Hannah Hoch and John Hartsfield are examples od creative practitioners who have resisted the dominant ideologies.