Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sub Culture -assignment 3 research
1.
Mass
Media- means by which information reaches a vast number of people through
different mediums such as radio, newspapers, internet and television. Sociologists
study mass media to explore the perceptions and behaviors of the audience and
how it effects them.
2.
Culture
Industry- this is in connection with Theodor Adorno as he discusses the
applications within media in the Frankfurt school concept of culture industry. the culture
industry's interest is to preserve its affinity to the narrowing cycle of
capital as its source of living.
3.
Ideology- A system of
ideas, one that forms a base for the economic and political policy. It is a
manner of thinking whether it be a group, an individual or social class.
4.
Popular Culture-
ideas, attitudes, images and perspective that lie within the mainstream of a
culture
5.
Counter Culture – subculture of
which the values of behaviors deviate from the mainstream society.
6.
Critical theory-
Critical
theory is a type of social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing
society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to
understanding or explaining it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the
surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep us from a full and
true understanding of how the world works
7.
Neo Marxism-
A term loosely applied to any social theory or
sociological analysis which draws on the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels, but amends or extends these, usually by incorporating elements from
other intellectual traditions.
8.
Conformism and
Creativity- A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the
customs, rules, or styles of a group, Another
example of the complexity of the relationship between creativity and conformity
can be found in fashion. Fashion is generally understood as a creative form and
a way of expressing an ‘authentic’ identity. However, Simmel, in an essay on
the philosophy of fashion draws attention to the ambivalence of fashion.
He proposed that: As soon as a fashion has been universally adopted, that
is, as soon as anything that was originally done only by a few has really come
to be practiced by all – as is the certain elements of clothing and in
various forms of social conduct – we no longer characterize it as fashion.
Simmel points to the ongoing tension between individuality and conformity that
is expressed in fashion. For example, clothes express individuality and
creativity but at the same time cover and conceal.
INTRODUCTION TO
SUB-CULTURE
We live in a society whereby individuals are understood and
defined by particular sub-culture ,A sub-culture being a term used to define a
cultural or social group within a larger mainstream culture.
Within a sub-culture lie diverse factors, namely common
interests, customs, beliefs, ethnicity and values, these characteristics
separate sub-culture from the dominant culture. A sub-culture can be
distinguished by the following aspects, choice of jargon, dress and appearance
as well as that particular group’s choice of musical genre. An example of a
sub-culture is Punk, ideally known for being a rebellious group of teenagers,
formed in Britain in the 1970s, a small group of teenagers stood their ground
and made a point through violence, music and clothing, this was their statement
of rebelling against the government. The Punk cultures had similar
characteristics as the Hippie Movement although Hippies were all about peace
and were anti-science people. (Chegg, 2013)
Konik -exercise 7
Thematising the ugly side of sublime
technological development in Sonzero’s Pulse (2006) as an inadvertent critique
of the ‘technocentricism’ of postmodernity”. South African Journal of Art
History 22 (3).
Konik is giving a description as to what Sanzero’s Pulse
(2006) was saying. He say that he is checking the ugly side of beautiful
technological development as an unplanned evaluation of the technological out
burst of postmodernity.
Nihilism in Japanese Anime -exercise 6
Nihilism – the belief that nothing has intrinsic value – has a long history of influence
on human society, even without actual recognition of this fact by the society being
influenced in this way at any specific time; the axiological effects of nihilistic
prevalence can be witnessed readily by the examination of cultural artifacts, such as
painting or, more accessible in the contemporary era, the media. Of course knowing how
to identify nihilism, and for this purpose understanding nihilism and its various forms,
are needed in this kind of examination and critique of artifacts. In this article a genre of
Japanese popular film art (while all film can be viewed as art it is not necessarily ‘high’
or ‘good’ art), namely anime, will be investigated more closely for evidence of nihilism.
analysis of anime, in its capacity as a popular
‘art’, as a means of interpreting cultural undercurrents in Japanese society, as any popular
medium could be said to serve as a vessel containing expressions of the axiological tensions
inherent to its ‘parent’ culture. I say this to support my argument concerning (signs of) nihilism
in Japanese culture. Some would argue that Japanese society is full of wholesome family
values, which on the surface it is indeed (much like American culture), but when one engages
with its art, including instances of popular art, one can bypass the saccharine façade presented
by the society in which it originates, and perceive the qualities hidden behind the façade of
conventional life, but evident in artifacts such as films, television programmes and literature.
I would like to point out that in its applicability as an interpretive concept, nihilism is not
particular to European society just because it was first explored by European thinkers, and that
it can be applied to any human society in which questions of meaning or value are important
– which, to my mind, would be any human society. The present article is predicated on this
assumption, which is arguably a reasonable one.
EXAMPLE
Akira (1988), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo,
because comparing it to Ghost in the Shell and Metropolis as far as its stance on nihilism goes,
one gets the distinct impression that it embodies a deep doubt in the face of technological
developments that may already have tampered too much with the primal forces of nature.
It is set in Neo-Tokyo, in the year 2019, after World War III, and reveals a chaotic, volatile
situation involving a corrupt government, insurgent terrorists, street gangs and the military.
When monitored at a government laboratory, one of the motorcycle gang’s members, Tetsuo, is
discovered to have genetic properties similar to those of Akira – an experimental subject who
was placed in cryonic suspension because of his colossal, virtually uncontrollable ‘natural’
potential. As Tetsuo becomes more and more powerful (and volatile), the narrative moves
towards a final reassertion of nature’s awesome, uncontrollable powers, in the face of which
puny humans can do nothing. The nihilistic element here is difficult to identify, because there
is hardly any promotion of new values (that is, active nihilism) for a future society. Nor does
it seem to advocate passive nihilism as the falling back on old value systems – these appear to
be corrupt and self-destructive. In fact, it seems to assert radical nihilism in a pessimistic way
as far as human society is concerned, but with a hint that nature will have the last word – in the
end the creative process will start all over again.
The broad picture painted by the anime familiar to me is therefore one of a society filled
with tensions concerning intrinsic human values, a culture that is torn between the more ‘liberal’
and personal value systems that constitute active nihilism in a world critically aware of the
falsity of passively nihilistic ideological structures, and the safe, simple security of retreating
into those very passive-nihilistic, preconstructed moral systems. As I have tried to show, anime
serves as a medium for expression of these tensions.
on human society, even without actual recognition of this fact by the society being
influenced in this way at any specific time; the axiological effects of nihilistic
prevalence can be witnessed readily by the examination of cultural artifacts, such as
painting or, more accessible in the contemporary era, the media. Of course knowing how
to identify nihilism, and for this purpose understanding nihilism and its various forms,
are needed in this kind of examination and critique of artifacts. In this article a genre of
Japanese popular film art (while all film can be viewed as art it is not necessarily ‘high’
or ‘good’ art), namely anime, will be investigated more closely for evidence of nihilism.
analysis of anime, in its capacity as a popular
‘art’, as a means of interpreting cultural undercurrents in Japanese society, as any popular
medium could be said to serve as a vessel containing expressions of the axiological tensions
inherent to its ‘parent’ culture. I say this to support my argument concerning (signs of) nihilism
in Japanese culture. Some would argue that Japanese society is full of wholesome family
values, which on the surface it is indeed (much like American culture), but when one engages
with its art, including instances of popular art, one can bypass the saccharine façade presented
by the society in which it originates, and perceive the qualities hidden behind the façade of
conventional life, but evident in artifacts such as films, television programmes and literature.
I would like to point out that in its applicability as an interpretive concept, nihilism is not
particular to European society just because it was first explored by European thinkers, and that
it can be applied to any human society in which questions of meaning or value are important
– which, to my mind, would be any human society. The present article is predicated on this
assumption, which is arguably a reasonable one.
EXAMPLE
Akira (1988), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo,
because comparing it to Ghost in the Shell and Metropolis as far as its stance on nihilism goes,
one gets the distinct impression that it embodies a deep doubt in the face of technological
developments that may already have tampered too much with the primal forces of nature.
It is set in Neo-Tokyo, in the year 2019, after World War III, and reveals a chaotic, volatile
situation involving a corrupt government, insurgent terrorists, street gangs and the military.
When monitored at a government laboratory, one of the motorcycle gang’s members, Tetsuo, is
discovered to have genetic properties similar to those of Akira – an experimental subject who
was placed in cryonic suspension because of his colossal, virtually uncontrollable ‘natural’
potential. As Tetsuo becomes more and more powerful (and volatile), the narrative moves
towards a final reassertion of nature’s awesome, uncontrollable powers, in the face of which
puny humans can do nothing. The nihilistic element here is difficult to identify, because there
is hardly any promotion of new values (that is, active nihilism) for a future society. Nor does
it seem to advocate passive nihilism as the falling back on old value systems – these appear to
be corrupt and self-destructive. In fact, it seems to assert radical nihilism in a pessimistic way
as far as human society is concerned, but with a hint that nature will have the last word – in the
end the creative process will start all over again.
The broad picture painted by the anime familiar to me is therefore one of a society filled
with tensions concerning intrinsic human values, a culture that is torn between the more ‘liberal’
and personal value systems that constitute active nihilism in a world critically aware of the
falsity of passively nihilistic ideological structures, and the safe, simple security of retreating
into those very passive-nihilistic, preconstructed moral systems. As I have tried to show, anime
serves as a medium for expression of these tensions.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
African Aesthetics -Assignment 4 research
here the brief was to research a local designer and showcase their work that contained African aesthetics, i chose to shoot a short documentary on Street painters, with the inspiration of Gerard Sekoto i managed to find a good local painter at the Duran Beach front, who had been painting for years. I interviewed him, asked what inspires his and his future plans.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Postmodern Design
By the 70’s the modern era of art was seen to be drawing to a close. With that a new idea
of postmodernism was born to express a climate of cultural change.
Precursors to Postmodern Design
Supermannerism and supergraphics were terms coined to discuss anything that broke
away from the modern style. These styles featured bold geographic shapes and colors.
And could be seen in design not only for print but in architecture as well.
Robert Venturi was the most controversial and the original architect behind the
supermannerist label. He proposed a radical design for the American Football Hall of
fame in 1967. It featured a electronic light display that could be seen form the interstate.
Early Swiss Postmodern Design
A lot of the postmodern push came out of Switzerland. They aimed for playful,
unexpected, neutral and disorganized layouts. Rosemarie Tissi, and Siegfried Odermatt
opened a firm together and along side of Steff Geissbuhler produced work that was like
nothing else seen before. (page 468). They used space and angles in new ways and
experimented with color.
Bruno Monguzzi was another artist interested in bending the traditions of design. He was
a designer, typographer and teacher.
A revolt and students in the International Typographic Style sought to re-invent
typographic design. New-wave typography was born.
New-Wave
Wolfgang Weingart taught at Basel school of design, he essentially pioneered the new
wave movement. He traveled to America and lectured and American design schools
where he was praised. He did work with photography and experimented with half tones
and work that broke away form typical grid systems. Weingart and his students…Dan
Friedman, April Greiman, and Willi Kunz…introduced such ideas as letter spaced sansseriff
type, stair-step fonts, ruled lines that punctuated space, diagonal type, italic type,
and reversed type.
Dan Friedman was perhaps one of them ore successful of Weingarts studies. His work
were paradigms of the emerging postmodern currents and he explored texture, surface,
layering, spacing, and geometric forms.
April Greiman helped establish this new wave in LA, and Willi Kunz brought it to New
York where his work was hailed as “quintessential examples” of postmodern design. He
did not use grids and could be called an information architecht who uses visual hierarchy
and syntax to bring order and clarity to messages.
The Memphis and San Francisco Schools
When the 70’s went out..the 80’s brought about more change. Function in design became
secondary to pattern, texture, and color.
These groups used pastel colors, exaggerated geometric forms, and laminates to convey
their messages. Form no longer followed function- it became the reason for design to
exist. The work was minimalist and predominant designers were Michael Graves,
Christopher Radl, Valentina Grego, Michael Vanderbyl, and Michael Cronin.
San Francisco postmodern design emerged quickly in the 80’s earning it a reputation as a
major center for creative design. In bay area design, elements are given symbolic roles
and become part of the content. (Remember the Beethoven work by Michael Cronin with
all the crazy colors and lines? Page 480)
Retro and Vernacular Design
The retro obsession was based off a history of graphic design now being taught at design
schools. Designers were learning respect for work from the 20’s and 30’s and wanted to
emulate it in their own work.
Vernacular work refers to artistic and technical expression broadly characteristic of a
local or historical period. This work paid homage to earlier commonplace designs such as
baseball cards and matchbook covers.
These styles thrived in book jacket designs and posters and were reminiscence of earlier
art deco work. This style even influenced corporate identity.
Charles Anderson developed the Classico pasta sauce bottles that were reminiscent of old
style mason jars with elegant typography.
Joe Duffy also helped developed key identity programs including work for Ralph Lauren.
Neville Brody emerged in London producing graphics and album covers. His works
developed from a vision to reveal not conceal, yet provide a logical approach to design.
He has stated that he never learned the correct rules of typography, leaving him free to
invent his own working methods. He did much of his work for “the Face” publication
inclusing work focusing on Andy Warhol.
Finally Paula Scher used a hand made style that went against what everyone was heading
towards with the use of computers in graphic design to create book covers and posters.
Her work was simple, and could be seen in the free your mind campaign for MTV.
of postmodernism was born to express a climate of cultural change.
Precursors to Postmodern Design
Supermannerism and supergraphics were terms coined to discuss anything that broke
away from the modern style. These styles featured bold geographic shapes and colors.
And could be seen in design not only for print but in architecture as well.
Robert Venturi was the most controversial and the original architect behind the
supermannerist label. He proposed a radical design for the American Football Hall of
fame in 1967. It featured a electronic light display that could be seen form the interstate.
Early Swiss Postmodern Design
A lot of the postmodern push came out of Switzerland. They aimed for playful,
unexpected, neutral and disorganized layouts. Rosemarie Tissi, and Siegfried Odermatt
opened a firm together and along side of Steff Geissbuhler produced work that was like
nothing else seen before. (page 468). They used space and angles in new ways and
experimented with color.
Bruno Monguzzi was another artist interested in bending the traditions of design. He was
a designer, typographer and teacher.
A revolt and students in the International Typographic Style sought to re-invent
typographic design. New-wave typography was born.
New-Wave
Wolfgang Weingart taught at Basel school of design, he essentially pioneered the new
wave movement. He traveled to America and lectured and American design schools
where he was praised. He did work with photography and experimented with half tones
and work that broke away form typical grid systems. Weingart and his students…Dan
Friedman, April Greiman, and Willi Kunz…introduced such ideas as letter spaced sansseriff
type, stair-step fonts, ruled lines that punctuated space, diagonal type, italic type,
and reversed type.
Dan Friedman was perhaps one of them ore successful of Weingarts studies. His work
were paradigms of the emerging postmodern currents and he explored texture, surface,
layering, spacing, and geometric forms.
April Greiman helped establish this new wave in LA, and Willi Kunz brought it to New
York where his work was hailed as “quintessential examples” of postmodern design. He
did not use grids and could be called an information architecht who uses visual hierarchy
and syntax to bring order and clarity to messages.
The Memphis and San Francisco Schools
When the 70’s went out..the 80’s brought about more change. Function in design became
secondary to pattern, texture, and color.
These groups used pastel colors, exaggerated geometric forms, and laminates to convey
their messages. Form no longer followed function- it became the reason for design to
exist. The work was minimalist and predominant designers were Michael Graves,
Christopher Radl, Valentina Grego, Michael Vanderbyl, and Michael Cronin.
San Francisco postmodern design emerged quickly in the 80’s earning it a reputation as a
major center for creative design. In bay area design, elements are given symbolic roles
and become part of the content. (Remember the Beethoven work by Michael Cronin with
all the crazy colors and lines? Page 480)
Retro and Vernacular Design
The retro obsession was based off a history of graphic design now being taught at design
schools. Designers were learning respect for work from the 20’s and 30’s and wanted to
emulate it in their own work.
Vernacular work refers to artistic and technical expression broadly characteristic of a
local or historical period. This work paid homage to earlier commonplace designs such as
baseball cards and matchbook covers.
These styles thrived in book jacket designs and posters and were reminiscence of earlier
art deco work. This style even influenced corporate identity.
Charles Anderson developed the Classico pasta sauce bottles that were reminiscent of old
style mason jars with elegant typography.
Joe Duffy also helped developed key identity programs including work for Ralph Lauren.
Neville Brody emerged in London producing graphics and album covers. His works
developed from a vision to reveal not conceal, yet provide a logical approach to design.
He has stated that he never learned the correct rules of typography, leaving him free to
invent his own working methods. He did much of his work for “the Face” publication
inclusing work focusing on Andy Warhol.
Finally Paula Scher used a hand made style that went against what everyone was heading
towards with the use of computers in graphic design to create book covers and posters.
Her work was simple, and could be seen in the free your mind campaign for MTV.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Benetton United Colors exercise 4.2
The core principles through which the Foundation operates are:
- the fight against hate and discrimination in all its forms;
- the support of new generations, where youth are the main actors and beneficiaries of concrete projects, communication campaigns and education activities;
- the dissemination of the social impact of Art, as the key tool of the Foundation in its activities against hate and discrimination.
The social impact of art projects, developed in close partnership with Fabrica, is at the heart of all the activities of the Foundation.
Hate is one of the causes of the lack of social and economic development of new generations:
- UNHATE communication campaigns, with their strong message promoting human rights, aim to engage the attention of the public and promote positive actions, where anyone can become a player in the fight against intolerance, from the global scenario to everyday life.
- UNHATE Projects support concrete actions in local communities to promote dialogue and the acceptance of diversity, and are implemented by associations and organizations whose beneficiaries are young people. These actions are selected for their capacity to bring long lasting and rooted positive effects in the target communities.
UNHATE Foundation is another important step in Benetton Group’s corporate responsibility strategy: a contribution that will have a real impact in the international community, involving a variety of stakeholders: the new generations, institutions, international organizations and NGOs, civil society and the general public.
- the fight against hate and discrimination in all its forms;
- the support of new generations, where youth are the main actors and beneficiaries of concrete projects, communication campaigns and education activities;
- the dissemination of the social impact of Art, as the key tool of the Foundation in its activities against hate and discrimination.
The social impact of art projects, developed in close partnership with Fabrica, is at the heart of all the activities of the Foundation.
Hate is one of the causes of the lack of social and economic development of new generations:
- UNHATE communication campaigns, with their strong message promoting human rights, aim to engage the attention of the public and promote positive actions, where anyone can become a player in the fight against intolerance, from the global scenario to everyday life.
- UNHATE Projects support concrete actions in local communities to promote dialogue and the acceptance of diversity, and are implemented by associations and organizations whose beneficiaries are young people. These actions are selected for their capacity to bring long lasting and rooted positive effects in the target communities.
UNHATE Foundation is another important step in Benetton Group’s corporate responsibility strategy: a contribution that will have a real impact in the international community, involving a variety of stakeholders: the new generations, institutions, international organizations and NGOs, civil society and the general public.
http://www.benettongroup.com/40years-press/img_our_campaigns.html
http://imgur.com/CJLOF
http://sweetfashionkerosene.blogspot.com/2012/09/ads-and-fascination.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)