The Commodity Self

I believe that we are the products of products, and the identities of everyone are controlled by the products we consume. Many of us constantly seek the latest items, from fashionable clothing to high-tech electronics. We want to reach that level of conformity that shows us to be trendy and well-off. In the process of seeking and obtaining these items, our personalities begin to change. Our thoughts and feelings about various topics begin to reshape themselves depending on the products we are exposing ourselves to. For example, a lot of people who are more economically healthy take things for granted and don't enjoy simple pleasures in life as much as those who aren't very economically stable. Companies constantly flash advertisements for products in our faces, using slogans that give us the impression we will receive more enjoyment in our lives if we buy their items. Many are easily sucked into this vacuum of consumerism, and they allow products to dictate the way they live. We are constantly forming groups that are centered on consumer products. Skater punks normally spend their money on skateboards and brands of shoes and clothing such as Vans or Birdhouse. Athletes prefer to spend their money on things such as exercise equipment and vitamin supplements. Many music enthusiasts buy instruments or music books, and so on. There is a small number of people who must develop consumer items in the first place, though. Those who work for companies that create the consumer products we associate ourselves with are the ones who control how our society is shaped over the decades. They create the products that influence our values and beliefs. It is true that people often distance themselves from some products that become exceptionally influential, and they strive not to allow themselves to be manipulated by them. However, our society is made up of so many types of products, and no one can avoid the influence of every single item.    

Henri Matisse

Biography:

Henri Matisse was born on December 31st, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. He initially studied and practiced law from 1887 to 1891. However, in 1891, he chose to travel to Paris, France to become a painter after a slow recovery from appendicitis led to his interest in the practice of painting. As an artist, Matisse worked under William-Adolphe Bouguereau at the Académie Julian. In 1896, he sent his artwork to a number of exhibitions in Paris, and he had his first solo show in 1904. His early work reflected a conventional form of naturalism, but he also studied art that was more contemporary, especially pieces created by the impressionists. Matisse then began to experiment with different shapes and colors, later being deemed a leader of the group les fauves ("the wild beasts") who were known for their use of vivid colors, distortion of shapes, and the extreme emotionalism their paintings tended to show. From 1906 to 1917, he lived in Paris, establishing his home, studio, and school at Hotel Biron. Matisse met Pablo Picasso in 1906, and they quickly became friends and exchanged paintings. Matisse shared an exhibition with Picasso in 1918. The two artists often served as inspirational figures for each other and performed similar artistic experiments (with their use of vibrant colors,etc.). From the 1920s up until his death, he spent a lot of his time in southern France, particularly Nice, painting local scenes. In his old age, Matisse was commissioned  to design the decoration for the Chapel of Saint-Marie du Rosaire at Vence, which he completed between 1947 and 1951. During the last few years of his life when he was often confined to his bed, he kept himself busy with decoupage, where he would create artwork with brightly-colored paper cut-outs arranged on a canvas surface. He died in Nice, France on November 3, 1954. Unlike most artists, Matisse actually enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime, and his work was favored by countless art enthusiasts all over the world. 

Why Henri Matisse?

I chose to do my research on Henri Matisse simply because I wanted to learn more about him and his work. I knew only that he was an artist famous for his abstract paintings until I decided to collect this biographical information on him. I don't remember learning anything about Matisse in my art classes, although I was taught a lot about artists such as Picasso and van Gogh. I also don't remember having ever seen any of his work before, so I was curious to find out what pieces of his typically looked like. I wanted to find out the types of things in life he preferred to capture in his artwork.

Samples of Matisse's Work:


The Horse, Rider and Clown (1943)



The Nightmare of the White Elephant (1943)



Odalisque with a Moorish Chair (1928)



The Moroccans (1916)

Vase and Fruit (1901)

Sources:

1.) Berggruen, Olivier. Hollein, Max. Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors, Masterpieces from the Late Years. New York: Prestel Publishing, 2006.

2.) Sternau, Susan A. Henri Matisse. New York: New Line Books Ltd, 2006.





Harrell Fletcher Response

I found the convocation on April 14th to be very interesting, not just because of the types of projects Fletcher chose to do, but also because of the fact that they were created with the help of people from numerous communities. I was intrigued that he strove for the unification of community members through art. One of his projects where he aimed to unify members was the "Garage Sale Series." During the development of this project, Fletcher went to various garage sales and collected items from families to display in an art gallery. His collection contained many different items, including old toys, hats, books, and tableware. He also asked the owners of the items about their significance and sentimental value while he was collecting them, and he typed up the stories behind each of the items on tags that were later tied to them for people to read. Many items that were similar were placed in the same area of the gallery. Some items that came from the same garage sale were grouped together, too. Those who visited Fletcher's gallery could enjoy learning about every item's background, and they could also find out who they had belonged to in the past, which was a real treat for visitors who were especially nostalgic. In a way, each item was insight into the previous owner's life. After the items were shown at the gallery, Fletcher had his own garage sale and sold these items back to community members. The project was successful in attracting the attention of many people, and Fletcher established some new relationships with families who participated in the creation of his gallery as well. One of the main points of his project was to get people interested in art. Many are very sentimental and love learning the stories behind other people's possessions. The value in nostalgia  that is shared by a lot of people was the key Fletcher used to encourage members of the community to come together and assist him with his project. I think he wanted everyone who initially had looked at art with indifference to recognize the importance of it in our society and learn to appreciate it. He wanted everyone to become active participants in the creation of art and realize that they are all artists in one way or another. Fletcher also wanted to bring people in the community together. The "Garage Sale Series" was a great example of community art because a lot of different families in the community were involved in the project. They all came together with the items from their garage sales to create a unified collection of art for the gallery. 

Has Peep Culture Finally Crossed the Line?

Initially, I thought right away "Okay, we're definitely starting to go way too far with this" when I read about people being filmed jumping off a bridge in "The Peep Diaries." I also couldn't figure out why the Hell anybody would want to pay to see someone on their deathbed at a museum. Who agreed to have this dying person exhibited at their museum to begin with? None of it made sense to me, and I was sick to my stomach realizing how obsessed people were getting with exploitation. However, the more I made myself think about the matter, the more my strong opinion began to change. I still can't say that I'm for T.V. shows and exhibits about death, but I'm also not against them anymore. The reason I can't say I have a specific opinion is because I really think it depends on the person viewing the deaths when trying to figure out if such things are damaging to society. Some people who watch "The Bridge" or visit the dying person at the museum could be horrified to the point where they might feel the need to see a psychiatrist after such an experience. Others might also be bothered by them, but instead of suffering psychological damage and possibly being mentally scarred for life, they would actually get something good out of it. Sometimes, it takes visuals or an in-person experience to evoke sympathy in people and make them understand how precious life truly is so they can work towards getting the most out of it while they still can. In his essay, Hal talked about visuals (reality T.V. shows) and other things representative of peep culture (social networking sites, etc.) as being the reasons why people are starting to become detached and show indifference for other people's pain, though. It's safe to say this isn't the case with everyone, but peep culture likely is hardening the hearts of some, with its constant flow of information on countless personal lives. Although, quite a few (if not the majority) of the reality shows that come out every year aren't even based on actual, true-life events. Just as manipulation  and recontextualization were used in the creation of Robinson's Fading Away photograph over a century ago, directors and crew members today often rely on their abilities in manipulation to make these shows come out the way they want them to.

Women in Art and Advertisements

For so many years, women have been displayed as objects of pleasure in advertisements. Whether we are looking at T.V. commercials, magazine ads, billboards, or ads on the Internet, images of flawlessly beautiful women can often be found just shouting "Look at me! Am I hot or what?" to everyone (especially men). Although countless ads show women who are half naked in poses that appear very sexual, men don't normally appear this way in ads. Since many ads are directed towards men, women are used to attract their gaze and encourage them to buy whatever it is that the ads are trying to sell them. Of course, the way companies try to attract the largest number of customers is by making the women in their ads appear as physically attractive as possible, often with them wearing a lot of make-up and showing off thin, delicate figures. People aren't likely to read a company's ad and consider buying something from them if the image is of someone unattractive and dull-looking. Not only do these types of ads attract many men to them, but they also often cause many women to look at themselves with discontent about their appearances, which pushes them to be consumers as well and buy items that they think will help them look like the models from the ads. Besides physical beauty being important in selling products or services, gender roles that are expressed in the images are also just as important. Females in advertising tend to look submissive and passive in their poses in order to satisfy the norms of society, and the men are usually seen in poses that display their dominance and aggressiveness. In a male-dominated world, it is essential that the two sexes be displayed this way if companies are to be successful in earning the profits they strive for. Most of us realize that advertisements where traditional gender roles are violated by the men and women in them usually aren't likely to encourage many people to buy the company's products or services. While women typically face exploitation in ads, the story is completely different for those women who appear in fine art. Artists who create pieces with women in them don't do so in order to make the best profits they possibly can like companies try to with their visually pleasing ads. They create these pieces so that others can appreciate the artwork and the women in them for who they truly are and recognize imperfect beauty in women as the idea that should be celebrated (since it represents reality).