NEW BLOG >>>>>

http://kirstyfruindesign.blogspot.co.uk/

The century of the self

1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prTarrgvkjo

2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecymM6_w_qw&feature=fvwrel

3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDrmsvdXqdc&feature=related

4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WSMx7djYJU

The Consumption Reader

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qxyC4oUAI6kC&oi=fnd&pg=PT2&dq=the+consumption+reader&ots=wwNmaQchpd&sig=przTeZw7JnpLnjvXYapEaXcGN3k#v=onepage&q=the%20consumption%20reader&f=false

Adbusters

Visit to Appe Store Leicester

History of Apple logo

Apple Social Networking

General Brand Marketing

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/12/building-a-brand-community.html

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2002/12/56677

Apple Brand Strategy

http://www.marketingminds.com.au/branding/apple_branding_strategy.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13416598 

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/resources-and-events/business-and-public-sector/guides/the-power-of-branding/why-you-need-a-brand/

Apple Advertising

link to website

Branding

The Fundamentals of Branding

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oL300lanTTQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+fundamentals+of+branding&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vsHyT5KHFKi_0QWAqdyvCQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20fundamentals%20of%20branding&f=false

Corporate Identity

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DA0PAQAAMAAJ&q=corporate+identity&dq=corporate+identity&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_8LyT-2IM6HL0QWupvyvCQ&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAQ


the business of branding

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NtzRROlFQxgC&dq=the+business+of+brands&hl=en&sa=X&ei=K8fyT9-oEMbL0QWZqoSwCQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA

what is branding

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dS9FK9mD5UUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=what+is+branding&hl=en&sa=X&ei=csfyT_bnN5SN0wWi--WvCQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=what%20is%20branding&f=false

teach yourself marx

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EA1LGgAACAAJ&dq=teach+yourself+marx&hl=en&sa=X&ei=L9TyT8msBqGs0QW4nq2wCQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA

the total package

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xm2cPwAACAAJ&dq=the+total+package&hl=en&sa=X&ei=chPzT7CRF4LS0QXJ2-CvCQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA

Marx theory of economic crisis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e8rt8RGjCM

Marxism explained

Das Kapital: Marx

Karl Marx

Marx: Capital: A critical analysis of capitalist production

Marx: MANIFESTO OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY

Marx: Commodities

Apple online presence

8 Inc. Apple store designers

Store designers of Apple stores.

Apple Retail stores

An insight into how Apple stores have evolved and adapted to meet the needs of the consumer.

Apple Architect

Dissertation Proposal

//Dissertation Topic

Panopticism/Branding/Consumerism

//Issues/Questions to be addressed

Assess the panoptic measures 'Apple' uses in order to meet the needs of the consumer and remain a superbrand.

Branding theory: What does a brand needs to be successful? How is 'Apple' branded? How does 'Apple' maintain it's brand status?

Consumerism: What are consumer needs? Why do consumers buy? How does 'Apple' meet these consumer needs?

Panopticism: What are the panoptic measures 'Apple' takes?
(publicity/use of products/advertising/store layout/store location/store window display)


//Method/Approach

Branding theory: Marxist, Marx

Consumerism: Consumer Culture, Baudrillard

Panopticism: Foucault

//Primary Source Information

Description: Interview Eight Inc, Apple retail store designer
Location: http://www.eightinc.com

Description: Apple store visit
Location: Leicester


Description: Images of Apple products

Location: Apple Store


//Books/Articles/Resources already located (minimum 6)

1 . Shipside, S. 2006. Karl Marx's Das Kapital: A modern-day interpretation of a true classic (Infinite Success Series). Infinite Ideas.

2.  Foucault, M. 1995. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. 2nd Edition Edition. Vintage.

3. Shields, R. 1992. Lifestyle Shopping: The Subject of Consumption (International Library of Sociology). Routledge.

4.  Blythe, J. 1997. The Essence of Consumer Behaviour (Essence of Management: Prentice Hall Series). Edition. Prentice Hall PTR.

5. Lyon, D. 1994. The Electronic Eye: The Rise of the Surveillance Society (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press): 57-80

6. http://www.eightinc.com

//Relevance to main area of study

Branding design

Graphic design within retail

Dissertation Notes

ESSAY

Assess the panoptic role within consumer spaces. Focusing specifically on design within the area of retail

Store layout, window display and tactful graphic design are all important factors in encouraging consumer consumption within retail. To ensure there is a high rate of sales and a low rate of deviance within retail, consumers are continually confronted with the measures in place from the moment one enters the store. These measures are present within ‘a range of organizations involving new modes of regularizing activities in time-space (Giddens, 1987 p183) From the offset, consumers are drawn into the shop via the store’s prudent windows displaying the commodity lifestyle. On entering the store they are then faced with a constant reminder of the surveillance in place within the store and the disciplinary measures in place with in society; CCTV cameras, the presence of a security guard, security tags on products, prosecution warnings and a well thought out store design. It is, however, predominantly this layout which many stores takes on to ensure visibility of it’s customers, which essentially leads to one self-regulating as not to steal goods but instead purchase items; thus proving that panoptic measures are ‘appropriate for any context in which supervision was required’ (Lyons, 1994 p57-80). This demonstrates ‘the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life’ (Foucault, 1977 p62) through this ‘omniscient power.’ (Foucault, 1977 p62) (Fig.1)

Bentham’s Panopticon is an architectural model of this arrangement present within retail spaces which brings about ‘the utopia of the perfectly governed city.’ (Foucault, 1977 p62) The panoptic model is an annular building designed with a central tower; this tower has windows which open to allow the inner side of the ring to become visible. The outer periphery of the building is divided into cells which spread the width of the building. Each cell has two windows; one on the inside which corresponds to the tower’s window and one on the outside, enabling light to flood the cell. A supervisor is placed in the central tower. Through the use of the backlighting created by the outer window, when in the cell, one can be clearly viewed by the tower’s spectator but cannot see the disciplinarians themselves. (Foucault, 1977) The Panopticon works on the basis that ‘visibility is a trap.’ (Foucault, 1977 p64) by ‘dissociating the see/being seen dyad’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) it is ‘exploiting uncertainty as a means of controlling subordinates’ (Lyon, 1994) (Fig.2)

The one in the cell is ‘seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication.’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) This model ensures that ‘discipline brings into play its power.’ (Foucault, 1977 p62) It is arranged in a way which deprives the inmate the knowledge of whether they are actually being watched by the disciplinarians in the central tower, however, they are aware of the punishment if they are caught doing wrong therefore resist temptation and do right; ‘obedience was the prisoner's only rational option.’ (Lyon, 1994) This ‘invisibility is a guarantee of order.’ ‘Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power.’ The panopticon produces separate individuals, rather than a collective group, to which one is ‘caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearers.’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) This operational discipline allows one to self internailise their behaviour, thus producing docile bodies; ‘subjected and practiced bodies.’ Discipline, or the fear of discipline, ‘dissociates power from the body’ and ‘turns it into a relation of strict subjection’ A ‘disciplinary coercion establishes in the body’ (Foucault, 1977 p138) and produces an ‘infinitesimal power over the active body’ (Foucault, 1977 p137) The panopticon is a model of how society organises its knowledge, its power, its surveillance of bodies and its ‘training’ of bodies. This new mode of power is known as Panopticism.

Bentham claimed that the ideals of the panoptic could be applied to any situation where control is required:

‘. . . punishing the incorrigible, guarding the insane, reforming the vicious, confining the suspected, employing the idle, maintaining the helpless, curing the sick, instructing the willing in any branch of industry, or training the rising race in the path of education’ (Quinn, A 1977 p94)

Applied to retail, the panoptic store layout design exercises panopticism to ensure ‘no disorders, no theft, no coalitions.’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) It is the rules and regulations of the store that regulate power. Power is not a thing or a capacity people have; it is a relation between different individuals which only exists when it is being exercised. The exercise of power relies on there being the capacity for power to be resisted. ‘Where there is power there is resistance’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) In the case of a store, customers could steal merchandise if they wish to, however, they are aware of the legal consequences that will come if they do commit an illegal act and as a result, usually, choose not to. Instead one will adopt the socially accepted behaviour traits within society and become a docile body.

The use of security measures visibly in place within a store ensure that power relation is ‘visible and unverifiable.’ (Foucault, 1977 p65) Surveillance aids such as CCTV cameras, security guards, security tags, shop assistants are all constant reminders to the customer that they are under the watchful eye of the store. The customer is aware that there are security measures in place within the store, however, they can never be sure as to when they are the subject themselves. ‘A real subjection is born mechanically from a fictitious relation.’ (Foucault, 1977 p66) The customer will ‘become the principle of his own subjection,’ (Foucault, 1977 p66) as they begin to mentally control their actions.

(Fig.3) Store layout can also be used to encourage expenditure. This is particularly relevant to IKEA stores; their shop floors are tactically laid out in a way which they promote spending. In creating a graphical trail, using vinyl stickers on the floor, they are able to direct the customer through all the areas of the store before proceeding to the checkout. Despite offering ‘shortcuts’ on the map of the store, many will not take these routes but instead continue on the devised path. This design encourages customers to pick up additional products whilst exploring the store. In effect, IKEA will ‘impose upon them the methods he thinks best’ (Foucault, 1977 p67) so that customers ‘will not only find what they came for, but also be inspired by unexpected ideas and low-priced products as well.’ Each one of the 325 stores is riveted with ‘hundreds of inspirational displays’ The product combinations on display provide customers with novel ideas and know-how on contemporary interior design. Some IKEA stores offer up to 10,000 different products in an attempt to allow customers to ‘find solutions that best suit their needs.’ It is essential that IKEA stores are large in size to allow the company to offer a deep range of products that can be taken away and enjoyed on that very day. This large space is also used to ‘inspire people in realistic room settings and real-life homes.’ In making the ‘range come to life’ visitors are encouraged to shop at their own leisure and get comfortable within these real-life settings. ‘To sit, lie down, open and close drawers. To compare styles. Compare prices. And imagine the possibilities’ inevitably deciding to purchase more products from the store. Having structured their stores to ensure customers play an active role in their shopping experience, IKEA relies on their customers to ‘choose, collect, transport and assemble IKEA products themselves.’ It is for this exact reason that ‘the IKEA trademark represents the leading home furnishings brand in the world with more than 300 stores in more than 35 countries and more than 130,000 co-workers’ IKEA have seen an increased 734 million customers pass visit their stores in 2011 and 208 million copies of their catalogue distributed, thus resulting in a turn over of 26 billion for the year 2011. (www.ikea.com)

(Fig.4) Another panoptic measure used to lure customers into a store is the window design. Harvey Nichols are a great example of this, their flamboyant window displays create a sense of grandeur to which customers want to associate themselves with in a strive to enhance ones self image in order to fulfill ones ideal self. ‘The window-displays flaunt the commodity; offering it to the casual passer-by in a tantalizingly incomplete manner. It forms ‘an enclosed area, at the same time totally exposed to the gaze and inaccessible to the hands’. (Shields, p29) This ‘display of commodities’ is ‘a mechanism for facilitating the social comparisons upon which ‘wanting’ is based.’ (Shields, p28) Self-concept is a person’s ideas or feelings about themselves; people will buy products to contribute to their self-concept. (Blythe, 1997 p47) ‘An image of the self is projected into the world and renders some aspects of it attractive; ‘all possess in themselves the original of that beauty which they look for externally’ (Pascal, 1850, 2 : 133).’ (Shields, p28) This self-projected role is confirmed or denied by the people that surround them. (Blythe, 1997 p47) With a desire to complete the self-concept, people will pursue ‘in consuming such objects, to incorporate an idealized self, to make the self more real, and to end the inner despair of not having a self.’ (Shields, p28) People are indirectly creating a ‘work of art’ which they hope to impress others by. (Blythe, 1997 p47) Based on the feedback one receives, one will modify their behaviour; this is known as self-monitoring. (Blythe, 1997 p50) ‘Self motoring has three forms of expression: concern for the appropriateness of behaviour, attention to social comparison as cues for appropriate self-expression, and the ability to modify self-presentation and expression across situations.’ (Nantel, 1986) The existence of this behaviour has essentially led to the invention of whole industries to cater for this need; the window display is one way of ‘pulling’ the passing shopper in in order to sell these commodities. (Blythe,  1997 p50) Via this showcase of products the shop has to offer and the proposed lifestyle that will accompany it, people feel inclined to enter the store and, possibly, purchase goods to enhance ones self concept. (Mesher, 2010 p142) The role of the display is ‘to create a memorable vision and to portray the brand values in one punchy statement.’ (Mesher, 2010 p148) (Fig.5)

Using a large pane of glass facing the audience in the street, these windows can be ‘treated like a stage’ in order to ‘capture the publics attention from just one angle: the street’ (Morgan, 2008 p44) Harvey Nichols use bold graphics, mannequins and props to create an impact; in it’s bespoke ‘outlandish style‘ all available space has been utilized to create this innovative window scheme, (Morgan, 2008 p55) ultimately providing their customers ‘a visual treat; an exciting and rewarding experience; even a bit of escapism and theatre.’ (www.barberdesign.co.uk) The essence of the brand is portrayed through the shop facade, this is primarily achieved via the graphic communication; ‘fascia signage, a projecting sign, window details and lifestyle graphics as part of the windows display.’ (Mesher, 2010 p142) These brand principles will then be interpreted into an interior scheme to ‘project a stronger message to the customer’. (Morgan, 2008 p55) As indicated by Dalziel and Pow: ‘A brand’s message should be strong, clear and consistent across all communications; the design of every touch-point throughout the customer’s journey needs to be considered.’ (www.daziel-pow.com)

(Fig.6) In the same way that IKEA shows the customer inspirational displays of real-life home settings in an attempt to encourage spending, retail stores such as Harvey Nichols tactically position images of the ‘ideal woman/man’ throughout the store’s interior. These visible reminders are, consequently, viewed by the consumers as idealistic; thus consumers feel inclined to purchase the goods on display in a strive to live the ideal lifestyle and be a certain type of person. ‘There lay in every want the aching need for self-expression.’ (Shields, p27) In purchasing goods, the consumer is then given a shopping bag with the store’s brand identity tactfully positioned upon it. (Fig.7) This is a small yet effective panoptic measure which can serve an extensive role to the store; the consumer will want to be associated with the brand by others in order to add to their self-concept. Consequently, people will see the purposefully designed shopping bags on the consumer thus providing the brand with free advertising.

All in all, the above assessment illustrates the panoptic measures a retail store will take on to advocate the sales of goods. It is notably a combination of the store design, window display and retail graphics which reduces the customer to ‘recognize that it is in their interest to act according to the norms,’ and take on the ‘power of self-policing’ (Simon, 2005 p7) which aids a store’s ability to ‘attract new customers, keep your current ones, and boost your profits.’ (www.barberdesign.co.uk) Acquiring an understanding into consumer behaviour is then an additional factor which a store can use to increase sales figures. Ultimately, all consumption is ‘conceivable as the desire, for, as well as the desire of, the self.’ (Shields, p27) The panoptic store layout allows many stores to use a ‘regularized observation of activities..’ ‘..in order to seek to control them.’ (Giddens. 1987 p186) As Bentham suggested, ‘the more constantly the inmates are inspected, the better the institutions will be.’ (Quinn, 1977 p94-95)  It is, therefore, evident that ‘the efficient operation of the Panopticon was obviously in the interest of society as a whole.’ (Quinn, 1977 p96) and still is in todays society; ‘a world where vision is increasingly attenuated, dispersed and mediated.’ (Simon, 2005 p4)

Fig.1:

(J. Bentham. Plan of the Panopticon (The Works of Jeremy Bentham, ed. Bowring, vol. IV. 1843, 172-3). Cf. p.201)

Fig.2:

(N. Harou-Romain. Plan for a penitentiary, 1840. A prisoner, in his cell, kneeling at prayer before the central inspection tower. Cf.p.250.)

Fig.3:

IKEA store Coventry, Visited: 06/01/12, Authors own image.

Fig.4:

Harvey Nichols, Leeds, http://www.harveynichols.com/stores/leeds (08/01/12)

Fig.5:

Harvey Nichols window display, http://thewindowdisplayblog.com/2009/12/25/twinkle-dazzle-glisten-at-harvey-nichols-christmas/ (08/01/12)
 
Fig.6:

Harvey Nichols store Leeds, Visited: 09/01/12, Authors own image.

Fig.7:

Harvey Nichols store bag, (http://www.monro.co.uk/hand-finished-paper-carriers.html) (08/01/12)

Bibliography

http://www.barberdesign.co.uk/retail-graphics.php (20/12/11)

Bart, S. (2005) ‘The Return of Panopticism: Supervision, Subjection and the New Surveillance’ Surveillance and Society 3(1): 1-20.
http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles3(1)/return.pdf

Blythe, J. 1997. The Essence of Consumer Behaviour (Essence of Management: Prentice Hall Series). 1 Edition. Prentice Hall PTR.

Foucault, M. 1991. Discipline and Punish (Penguin Social Sciences). 1 Edition. Penguin Books.

Giddens, A. 1987. The Nation-State and Violence: Volume 2 of A Contemporary Critique of Historical Materialism (v. 2). Edition. University of California Press

http://franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=concept9 (20/12/11)

Lyon, D. 1994. The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press): 57-80

Mesher, L. 2010. Basics Interior Design: Retail Design. 1 Edition.  Ava Publishing.

Morgan, T. 2008. Visual Merchandising: Windows and In-Store Displays for Retail. 1 Edition. Laurence King Publishers.

Nantel, J and Strahle, 1986 ‘The self-monitoring concept: a consumer perspective’, in Richard E. Lutz (ed.),  Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 13 (Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research).

Quinn, A. 1997. The Confidence of British Philosophers: An Essay in Historical Narrative (Studies in the History of Christian Thought). 1 Edition. Brill Academic Pub.

Shields, R. 1992. Lifestyle Shopping: The Subject of Consumption (International Library of Sociology). 1 Edition. Routledge.

Task 1: Panopticism (Re-worked)

Choose an example of one aspect of contemporary culture that is, in your opinion, panoptic. Write an explanation of this, in approximately 200-300 words, employing key Foucauldian language, such as 'Docile Bodies' or 'self-regulation, and using no less than 5 quotes from the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan.

To ensure a factory runs continually with a high rate of work and no coalitions, a factory operates using a system in order to ensure each factory worker's behaviour conforms to the desired behaviours of the factory manager. This is based on the Panopticon model of how modern society organises it's knowledge, it's power, it's surveillance of bodies and it's training of bodies; a system of 'permanent registration.' (Foucault, 1977) The form of power imposed by the factory manager enables the factory workers to become 'docile bodies' who are 'self-monitoring', 'self-correcting' and 'obedient' through systems in place, such as workers timesheets and an open work place. 'Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility thats assures the automatic functioning of power.' (Foucault, 1977) However, it is the 'discipline' which 'brings into play its power.' (Foucault, 1977) The workers themselves hold internalised mental control rather than having physical control imposed on them by the factory manager; in a conscious state the workers will behave in the way in which they think the factory manager wants them to. This demonstrates 'the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life.' (Foucault, 1977) The open plan factory layout is key within this structure and uses the rules of the Panopticon model; thus ensuring that each person can be seen by the factory manager but not know when they will be seen; the power in the factory is 'visible and unverifiable' (Foucault, 1977). The power status between the factory worker and that of the manager ensures the workers are highly productive as they are aware they could be watched at any given time, this is the 'utopia of a perfectly governed city.' (Foucault, 1977) whereby a 'guarantee of order' (Foucault, 1977) emerges. The factory manager is a constant reminder of power to the workers which results in the worker being 'caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearer.' (Foucault, 1977) However, power is not a thing or a capacity people have, it is a relation between different individuals which can only exist when it is being exercised. 'A real subjection is born mechanically from a fictitious relation.' (Foucault, 1977)

 

 

References 

 

Michel Foucault, 1977. Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. First American Edition Edition. Pantheon Books.

Portfolio Task4: The Gaze (Re-Visited)

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

Alexandre Cabanel, ‘Birth of Venus’, 1863

Berger’s above quote is clearly demonstrated through Alexandre Cabanel’s ‘Birth of Venus’ painting, 1863. Berger insinuates that men and women hold different roles within society; he alludes that male figures haves higher social presence than women. Men are valued by the amount of power they hold, whereas a woman’s presence signifies what can or cannot be done to her. Cabanel, a male, has painted the female body in a way that allows the (male) viewer to enjoy looking at it. The body is presented to you surrounded by ideological apparatus to give the notion that she is ‘The Goddess of Love.’ Her hand is raised across her face to cover it; this positioning also suggests that she may have just awaken from sleep or is just about to sleep. The gaze the viewer places upon the woman is not returned by the female figure, this allows the viewer to objectively view the woman without being seen. There is no dialogue apparent. 'The nude reveals how women have been seen and judged as sights.' (Grange, 2005. p5) A sense of being appreciated by men replaces her own sense of being; she acknowledges this role and presents herself as the subject. This gives way for people (men) to look without anyone ever knowing; it is only when a gaze is returned that you are forced to look at someone as a subject not an object. This is a subsequent example of men looking at women and women becoming objectified; the target of someone else's gaze.

 

Sophie Dahl, Opium, 2000

The gaze is concerned with power. At the core is a male fantasy of domination over women, she is there to be taken. 'Her nakedness is not an expression of her own feelings but that of the male viewer.' (Grange, 2005. p5) These social ideologies of men are then played out to society. We live in a culture where these images of women are played out over and over again to the extent where it becomes the norm for men to view these images of woman. It is a visual reminder to men that women always take the submissive role in society and that men are dominant figures. This recent image of Sophie Dahl for the Opium ad campaign illustrates the degree of sexual inequality which is still present within our society today. This unequal relationship allows males to continue to view the woman with power over her. As with the oil painting, the gaze is not returned by the woman and the body is positioned in a suggestive manor.

Common to both these images is the sense of the woman being watched and the gaze not being returned, making it acceptable for the (male) viewer to look upon her as and when they wish. Nevertheless, Berger makes the following distinction:

‘To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude.’ (Grange, 2005. p6)

Still today this nude can be seen in the media and is predominately there for the male viewer to enjoy.


References

Ashley la Grange, 2005. Basic Critical Theory for Photographers. 1 Edition. Focal Press.

Portfolio Task5: Hyperreaility (Re-worked)

http://jezebel.com/5426296/photoshop-of-horrors-hall-of-shame-2000+2009/gallery/1

http://www.photography-colleges.org/celebrity-photo-shopping-revealed-16-pics-of-celebrity-photoshop-blunders/ 

Hyperreality is a condition where reality is replaced by simulacrum. Simulacra is the current stage of simulation; it is a representation of the real. One form of hyperreality is a magazine cover showcasing celebrities which look picture perfect. These images of 'perfection' derive from other equally false representations, for example Hollywood ladies, thus developing the idea of beauty which is then copied to the extent that it is presented upon glossy magazine covers. The cover designs portray celebrities to have perfect shiny hair, flawless skin and amazing figures, although this often is not the case and it is the use of photo enhancing software which aids the production of these images. These enhanced images then become simulacrum of the real person; they do not actually look like this but this is the image of the person that is portrayed to the real world. Due to this perceived image, the person featured may even be passed in the street without the realization that they have previously been seen on a magazine cover. This media manipulation that is believed to be real then leads people to want to look a certain way, be a certain person, have the perfect lifestyle. People become insecure about their own features, believing there ears are too big, nose is not the correct shape, breasts are too small and will consequently turn to drastic measures, such as surgery, to change what they see as imperfections in a strive to become a copy of the person they see on the magazine covers; closer to the hyperreality. The reality of what a real person looks like directly juxtaposes the images on magazine cover designs. These perfect images that people measure themselves against are not reality but instead hyperreality. Thus proving that 'We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.' (Baudrillard, 1994, p. 79). Reality is far from the world of hyperreality and can very rarely be reached.

Bibliography

Jean Baudrillard, 1995. Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism). Edition. University of Michigan Press.

Reading around 'Institutional Critique'

Institutional Critique 

The act of critiquing an institution as artistic practice, the institution usually being a museum or an art gallery. Institutional criticism began in the late 1960s when artists began to create art in response to the institutions that bought and exhibited their work. In the 1960s the art institution was often perceived as a place of ¿cultural confinement¿ and thus something to attack aesthetically, politically and theoretically. Hans Haacke is a leading exponent of Institutional critique, particularly targeting funding and donations given to museums and galleries. In 1971, the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne rejected his work Manet-Projekt 74 from one of their shows. The work was related to the museums¿ recent acquisition of Edouard Manet¿s Bunch of Asparagus and detailed the provenance of the painting and Nazi background of the donor. During the 1990s it became a fashion for critical discussions to be held by curators and directors within art galleries and museums that centred on this very subject, thereby making the institution not only the problem but also the solution. This has changed the nature of Institutional critique, something that is reflected in the art of Carey Young, who considers this dilemma.


In relation to graphic design Adbusters are an example of this. The Adbusters website is the 'institution' where the work produced showcases culture jamming...

Culture jamming graphic design will be produced as this is the type of work known to be exhibited by Adbusters.

CTS Task Tutorial

Today's tutorial has helped me see the few bits I need to change within the tasks in order for me to get the best mark possible. Best get to it........

Globalisation, Sustainability & the Media

(Video...Media as a propaganda device.)

Aims of Globalization:

//Socialist:
Desirable for collectivity ...share wealth and distribute between.

//Capitalist:
Desirable because it increases the amount of markets you can tap into and make money out of.
Restrictions on trade.

Westernisation of all cultures
We are theoretically unified
Not so much a shared culture these days ...globalisation
"McDonaldization" describes the wide range sociocultural process American socio-capitalist businesses dominate the rest of the world.
America is the dominant force upon the world at the moment.
Marshall McLuhan ...writes about how the media will change the world. New technologies extend our own senses and us a s individuals (tv allows you to see further)

GLOBAL VILLAGE: (before internet) in new communications world, it would shrink and become an integrated community where everyone knew each other ..heightened human awareness. This would make us more responsible for our actions.

Communications in the world has increased ....this has desensitized to the pain of others (footage of twin towers attach, army troops fighting)

The internet...

Centripetal forces: bringing world together in uniform global society.

Centrifugal forces: tearing the world apart with tribal wars.

CULTURAL IMPERIALISM...
Perialism creating dominance ...making everybody think in the same way
Culture present that everybody in the world is expected to live up to

Mass media is the vehicle for cultural imperialism. The global village is a simulation culture, it is not a real one.

The 'Free Market': every media operates under one hub
One company can control many channels and magazines
They control the gender of all the material they own
One voice that gets spread globally.
This reflects the American capitalist system ...powerful vehicle.
The way it is spread is unequal too ...target north America first (for reason of money making)
2. Western Europe, Japax 3.Developing economies, 4.Rest of the world

SCHILLER: this emerging power can be thought of as new emerging societies. Local cultures are destroyed in order for the new cultures to be formed.

Big Brother is an example of this ...it is desirable to be on television and become as celebrity. BB is spread through different medias across the world. Not authentic African culture it is just American culture imposed upon Africa.
The effect of this is cultural assimilation.
LATEST: skin whitening cream! They want to be fair like white colonizers.
Functions like giant system of propaganda.

The News is far from anything but factual ...it is incredibly biased.
Chomsky & Herman (1998) Propaganda Model- 5 basic filters

//Ownership (who controls them)
//Funding (how get money)
//Sourcing (how get their info)
//Flak
//Anti Communist Ideology

...stories have an agenda beneath them.

//Ownership

Rupert Murdoch....

Can influence who runs the country.

/The Sun on Sunday
/The Sun
/The Sunday Times..... (ownership list of news information goes on)

New stories are only as good as the events you are allowed to record.
Have to ask delicate/non-offensive questions to Barak O'B
Cannot see what goes on in Number 10

Most media organisations are funded by advertising (except BBC)
If they upset people who advertise with them ...they will be dropped

Business pressure groups effect the content of what they are going to say.
(US-based Global Climate Coalition GCC) -pressure any media that propose plant is dying etc.
Information spread to protect the interest of corporate capitalists.
Media is used as a form of propaganda.

Anti-Ideas ...news used to oppose ideologies that legitimises our ideologies.

Environmentalism ...in order to be able to save the planet, need to overthrow the current gov structure.

The Production and Critique of Institutions

Aim: Examine historical development of practices of institutional critique in relation to corresponding development of the modern art gallery.

Work becomes an object ...external existence. If your paid by someone else to do the work, when see products of your labour and get money for it you feel disconnected from work you have done. Sell labour for a wage.

Maintenance of class was false conciseness. Core idea of ideology ...not free to think through ourselves our position of the world.

T J Clark: Ideology ...particular social classes in conflict with one another try to naturalize situation.

Marx: social institution play important role within society
New social institutions
French Society 1796: promote core values of new french state. New public art museum. Create spaces devoted to celebration ...matched ambitions of new french republic. Development of Louvre. One of the first Art museums. Bringing individuals together and making them aware of their presence within society. Free and equal access.
Promote values of new regime: Eugene Delacroix, Liberty leading the People, 1830.

Belief in progress. Condensed French cultural life in single space. Freed from poverty.

Material circumstances generate/reproduce ideological constraints.
Social existence determines consciousness. Place in world generates our beliefs.