Recently an artist was commissioned 25k by the city for an iconic piece that would create a buzz, he is well known for that kind of provoking art. However what he presented to the city was um, not what they were expecting.
Take a wee look for yourself....
So the main question after the shock and rage was, Was it a success?
After all it did its job, it attracted ALOT of attention, and it got the buzz, granted its unconventional, but art doesnt have to be conventional, thats the joy or art.
So in short, Yes, it was a success, it did its purpose, and after all, its not about the art or the newstand simplicity of it, its about the concept IN the art.
Similar to the John Cage silent composition that i discussed previously, its not about the actual art, its all about the meaning, the concept, its what we take from it.
So i guess you are wondering why the title is 'Simulcra' well its simple, todays topic (the one i want to focus on anyway) is the exhibition of ones self. ie our art, our reputation and how we get it all out there.
We do this every day, especially with the five main ones i spoke of at the start (apple, google etc) our internet presence is a global one, so we are unaware as ever click we make is building on our exhibition of ourselves.
A fun wee story was given as an example of this global presence, nothing to do with art really.
There was a dinner party (we'll cut out names and such to save time here) and there were 8 people at this dinner party.
During the party one of the people mustve posted a photo and status on a media site, lets say foursquare or facebook for handyness. later that night several people commented on the photo, and discussed a lamp in the background of all things.
which surprised a few guests as they werent all in on this status. but thier GPS let others know they were there.
Kind of made them ask themselves whats public and whats private these days, if not a dinner party or lamp in someones house, it even had their GPS. So the 8 people calculated thier friends and anyone that could see thier where abouts and internet status, taking into account mutual friends and all that.
In the end the person dinner party with the help of the internet actually had over 3million at the dinner party, the privacy line has been blurred so much by social networking, its mind blowing.
Theres a french philosopher called Jean Baudrillard, a social theorist an critic. He was concerned the way in which Technology and its progress affects social change.
As he spoke about consumerism and gender relations and the understanding of history, he asked 'how do we know the gulf war actually happened' answer? we dont.
I know its a drastic statement, but it makes its point.
The point is, we take what people say for granted, goverments and news crews etc
It makes us ask ourselves, How do we know what is real?
Real is a moment, and retelling the moment is representation.
This is where Simulcra comes in, it basically means when we simulate something, mainly our lives. and we do this like the people at the dinner party, through social networking sites.
And it has lead us to become the same way inclined as Jean Bodrigard, we dont believe anything, even if we were there,
we are generation dont.
as in we dont believe it until its out there on the internet, retold and photographed.
Fun fact i then discovered, Job interviewers check social networking sites, including facebook.... makes you definitly question what all youve ever put out there in that public space, after all once its out there, theres no going back.
we've become a generation constantly living in sumulcra.
its the story we tell about ourselves.
Then it hit me....and about the every other one of the 80 students in that lecture, This is why we were given a blog as an assignment.
...let it soak in...
Our presence on the internet, its us exhibiting ourselves, its useful and yet it could destroy our careers as easily as it could star them.
This blog is to teach us to control ourselves, its teaching us how to present ourselves and constantly think think think, before any action.
Given nothing is real- we must control how we present ourselves, as it is creating a sense of ourselves.
Soooo watch out for your own simulcra, thinkwhat your online exhibition is like. are you proud? or are there skeletons in those virtual closets?
Claire
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