LINK
EMI is in perfect stature as the Culture Industry in this case of an artist being turned into a commodity. Releasing music from an artist because they can and because they can't release anything new or original. The turning of music into a commodity, through which mass production kills the aura, now has the final 'nail in the coffin' as it is rearranged and reformated against the artists wishes.
It seems as though a likely move for the record label to release their most commodity-based tactics on the artist just as they try to loosen the grip of the Culture Industry. As the article noted, artists that stay signed forever do not have to endure a forced Greatest Hits compilation because they are still producing commodities for the label.
In regards to my last blog on Radiohead and their ability to defy the Mechanical Age of Reproduction, it seems as though the aura killing beast is revealed as the Culture Industry. Art is not disgraced by the machine, but those who use the machine. The media is only a mechanism of engagement if it has people to engage with it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Teen Pregnancy In The Media
LINK
Teen pregnancy has had a major influence through it's portrayal in the media. The extent of it's impact brings forth the boundaries and layers that exist within the media. When I say layers, I mean the degrees of media that are all connected. A young girl can have a child in a film or on a TV program, which has an obvious effect but allows for more subjectivity and deciphering by the viewer. A young girl who is an actress in a film or on a TV program can become pregnant and this is portrayed in the media through tabloids, news shows, etc. There is a distinction between the fictional and the non-fiction that we all recognize, however in the case of this article it's as though each form of media is regarded with the same care.
This shows the media as Play in all it's forms. Even in it's most non-fictional presentation, it still presents the audience as an arena for playful speculations that lack permanence in our lives. This is where the pregnant teens are faced with the reality that Play cannot exist outside of the media. The boundaries of Play and Reality have been crossed, and it's as if we peer into the arena of Play without the safety of being within that arena ourselves. This shows how ubiquitous the media truly is, as it is inescapable to the point where we would rather have media than our own true life experiences.
Teen pregnancy has had a major influence through it's portrayal in the media. The extent of it's impact brings forth the boundaries and layers that exist within the media. When I say layers, I mean the degrees of media that are all connected. A young girl can have a child in a film or on a TV program, which has an obvious effect but allows for more subjectivity and deciphering by the viewer. A young girl who is an actress in a film or on a TV program can become pregnant and this is portrayed in the media through tabloids, news shows, etc. There is a distinction between the fictional and the non-fiction that we all recognize, however in the case of this article it's as though each form of media is regarded with the same care.
This shows the media as Play in all it's forms. Even in it's most non-fictional presentation, it still presents the audience as an arena for playful speculations that lack permanence in our lives. This is where the pregnant teens are faced with the reality that Play cannot exist outside of the media. The boundaries of Play and Reality have been crossed, and it's as if we peer into the arena of Play without the safety of being within that arena ourselves. This shows how ubiquitous the media truly is, as it is inescapable to the point where we would rather have media than our own true life experiences.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Hiding Behind the Sunglasses
LINK
Corey Worthington is a young Australian boy he held a party that went too far and erupted into an event that made news around the world thanks to this entertaining Youtube video. Corey hides behind his glasses throughout the entire interview. In further interviews and reports, Corey dons the bright yellow sunglasses and a colourful baseball cap as if it were his trademarked look. However, this look has become a disguise. Creating and sustaining this image, Corey is able to not own up to his responsibilities and transcend the boundaries that the media has created for me.
Further coverage of Corey gives him more realization that he is in a public space to play and not experience the harsh consequences of his actions. He knows the minute he takes off his sunglasses is the same minute he returns backstage and back to the punishments that await him.
This is a perfect example of Silverstone's concepts on Play and Performance within the media. It also is a fairly humourous example to relate to Bakhtin's Carnival theories, as the party itself became carnivalesque and now it has extended itself more theoretically into the media coverage of the event.
As patronizing and condescending as the reporter is in the interview, she needs to realize that her interview with Corey further redeems his lack of responsibility of the event. With every second that he is on the screen, he is living longer in the arena of play and does not have to follow the rules of society. Corey has transcended the boundary, and the longer he can sustain his own conception of a media image, the longer he can stay out of the painful consequences of his crimes.
Corey Worthington is a young Australian boy he held a party that went too far and erupted into an event that made news around the world thanks to this entertaining Youtube video. Corey hides behind his glasses throughout the entire interview. In further interviews and reports, Corey dons the bright yellow sunglasses and a colourful baseball cap as if it were his trademarked look. However, this look has become a disguise. Creating and sustaining this image, Corey is able to not own up to his responsibilities and transcend the boundaries that the media has created for me.
Further coverage of Corey gives him more realization that he is in a public space to play and not experience the harsh consequences of his actions. He knows the minute he takes off his sunglasses is the same minute he returns backstage and back to the punishments that await him.
This is a perfect example of Silverstone's concepts on Play and Performance within the media. It also is a fairly humourous example to relate to Bakhtin's Carnival theories, as the party itself became carnivalesque and now it has extended itself more theoretically into the media coverage of the event.
As patronizing and condescending as the reporter is in the interview, she needs to realize that her interview with Corey further redeems his lack of responsibility of the event. With every second that he is on the screen, he is living longer in the arena of play and does not have to follow the rules of society. Corey has transcended the boundary, and the longer he can sustain his own conception of a media image, the longer he can stay out of the painful consequences of his crimes.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Radiohead rides the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
LINK
Not too long ago the band Radiohead released their new album in a way that had never been done before. They gave the consumer two options: you can purchase the album in the form of mp3s for whatever price you like OR you can pay $80 and get the entire album in mp3s right away to tide you over until december when you will receive a box containing a CD, a Record, a book of art, and a bonus disc of music.
Radiohead's new approach brings to mind the arguments of Benjamin's essay "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". The aura of the art is corrupted because it is produced initially through means of mechanical reproduction. While a CD itself is no better for it's mechanicized production, I still felt uneasy about the process. I still clutch onto CD's and have not made the shift to using an Ipod for I feel as though I am supporting the artist more. I like the small bit of aura that illuminates from the jewel case. The artwork, lyrics, and design makes the album more of a conceptual piece than a few songs slapped together for consumption. To have the album in a form that you can touch makes you feel as though it is real. As opposed to the music transferring from your computer and onto a little piece of plastic that you hook headphones up to.
Yet, this issue still contains so much uncertainty. Radiohead is making more money directly through their process. They are gaining the most control out of this process and in comparison to working with a label whose methods of production are now becoming outdated it seems as though the artist in this situation is 'free' and less like a mechanism for production. Radiohead, through their liberation, are now more real. Unlike Benjamin's critique, where he finds these methods of reproduction make the art less real, we are now seeing the artist becoming more real through the evolving methods of reproduction.
Not too long ago the band Radiohead released their new album in a way that had never been done before. They gave the consumer two options: you can purchase the album in the form of mp3s for whatever price you like OR you can pay $80 and get the entire album in mp3s right away to tide you over until december when you will receive a box containing a CD, a Record, a book of art, and a bonus disc of music.
Radiohead's new approach brings to mind the arguments of Benjamin's essay "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". The aura of the art is corrupted because it is produced initially through means of mechanical reproduction. While a CD itself is no better for it's mechanicized production, I still felt uneasy about the process. I still clutch onto CD's and have not made the shift to using an Ipod for I feel as though I am supporting the artist more. I like the small bit of aura that illuminates from the jewel case. The artwork, lyrics, and design makes the album more of a conceptual piece than a few songs slapped together for consumption. To have the album in a form that you can touch makes you feel as though it is real. As opposed to the music transferring from your computer and onto a little piece of plastic that you hook headphones up to.
Yet, this issue still contains so much uncertainty. Radiohead is making more money directly through their process. They are gaining the most control out of this process and in comparison to working with a label whose methods of production are now becoming outdated it seems as though the artist in this situation is 'free' and less like a mechanism for production. Radiohead, through their liberation, are now more real. Unlike Benjamin's critique, where he finds these methods of reproduction make the art less real, we are now seeing the artist becoming more real through the evolving methods of reproduction.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Bomb threat = Art?
LINK
This occurance recently of Icelandic Art Student getting arrested for what he considered to be art poses an interesting predicament for the ideas of Silverstone's "Play". As the student wanted to transcend the boundaries of law and safety, his labelling of the sculpture and event as Art was another way of engaging in "Play". Just like the child who lashes out and quickly squeals "I'm just playing", this artist may also be under scrutiny for acting the same way. His lack of knowledge of the AIDS event shows his childish play-like attitude towards the sculpture. As anyone who would take this creation seriously would've researched and presented something to which no obvious flaws would be possible. The serious artist would be as meticulous as someone who was actually going to bomb the ROM though. Maybe that is where the distinction lies? Maybe he is lack of meticulous behaviour shows that he is in fact just testing the boundaries and going outside of his own reality.
What also interests me about this article is the fact that it shows the power of the media. While the court stated that none of the evidence be presented to the public, which basically means that his artwork will never see the light of day, the true piece of art is the event and with the media coverage of this event his piece of art has actually been shown to the public. This type of art transcends all types of tired mediums, although similar types of art have been covered in the past. I think it would be quite clever for the Art Student to step back, write a manifesto or abstract of the piece, and declare that his work is done. The event, which he created, has been presented, and to claim every step of both his and their court's actions to be pre-meditated would certainly makes this piece even larger in scale. The media would then make it an even bigger story, and who is to say that the Artist wouldn't claim that as part of his plot as well?
This occurance recently of Icelandic Art Student getting arrested for what he considered to be art poses an interesting predicament for the ideas of Silverstone's "Play". As the student wanted to transcend the boundaries of law and safety, his labelling of the sculpture and event as Art was another way of engaging in "Play". Just like the child who lashes out and quickly squeals "I'm just playing", this artist may also be under scrutiny for acting the same way. His lack of knowledge of the AIDS event shows his childish play-like attitude towards the sculpture. As anyone who would take this creation seriously would've researched and presented something to which no obvious flaws would be possible. The serious artist would be as meticulous as someone who was actually going to bomb the ROM though. Maybe that is where the distinction lies? Maybe he is lack of meticulous behaviour shows that he is in fact just testing the boundaries and going outside of his own reality.
What also interests me about this article is the fact that it shows the power of the media. While the court stated that none of the evidence be presented to the public, which basically means that his artwork will never see the light of day, the true piece of art is the event and with the media coverage of this event his piece of art has actually been shown to the public. This type of art transcends all types of tired mediums, although similar types of art have been covered in the past. I think it would be quite clever for the Art Student to step back, write a manifesto or abstract of the piece, and declare that his work is done. The event, which he created, has been presented, and to claim every step of both his and their court's actions to be pre-meditated would certainly makes this piece even larger in scale. The media would then make it an even bigger story, and who is to say that the Artist wouldn't claim that as part of his plot as well?
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