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BRAND

Mobilized Representations of Mass Culture Exhibition Catalog

Curated by Sonyah Seiden

OFF

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Table of Contents !Museum Layout 3 !Statement of Intent 4

Individual Works (in sequence of display)

Life’s a Beach, Miyazaki, Japan, Martin Parr (1996) 7

Life’s a Beach, Weymouth, England, Martin Parr (2000) 8

! Small World, Pisa, Italy, Martin Parr (1990) 10

! Ain’t Jokin’, Black Woman with Chicken, USA, Carrie Mae Weems (1987-88) 11

Ain’t Jokin’, Black Man with Watermelon, USA, Carrie Mae Weems (1987-88) 12

! Absconding Papì, USA, Katherine Sullivan (2009) 14

Galileo Papì, USA, Katherine Sullivan (2009) 14

! Hiding in the City: Mobile Phones, China, Liu Bolin (2013) 16

Hiding in the City: Chinese Magazines, China, Liu Bolin (2013) 18

!Final Remarks Exhibition Plans 20 ! Book List 21 !Works Cited 22

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The exhibition space should be located on the ground level, open to the public, with the exhibition title in large print outside. It is an open-floor layout that encourages discussion and allows the audience to hear others’ reception to pieces. Walls should be an off-white with all writing printed in matte black, in Futura font. Numbers signify sequence of display, matching the order listed in this catalog; * signify placement of artwork descriptions & analysis provided. The statement is located on the wall directly across from the ticket desk. The ‘gift shop’ area, where the exhibition ends, will only sell easily distributed materials. A poster wall displays posters of all works in the exhibition, and a bookshelf with books for reading, and for sale, with a large reading table and benches. There will also be free post cards of selected works for pick up. A 20% discount is offered to all education professionals & students.

Museum Layout

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Mass culture is often treated as a vocalization or representation of popular beliefs,

desires, and aesthetics—hoping to speak lucidly for that society. Representations are

often reduced to a singular iconic image and motif, or phrase that alludes to anything

from a singular component to an overarching idea. Any belief that permeates its

surrounding culture to such a degree that it becomes an integral component of that

community is bound to be represented in art. Art can aid us in questioning whether

the ideas are valid and relevant, or stale and antiquated. Within the gallery and

museum setting, these common social values and norms are elevated to an academic

standpoint, bringing an uncommon audience to the museum, as well as bringing up

uncommon themes amongst the upper echelons of society by making it fashionably

appropriate to discuss and examine the commonalities and differences between

community spheres.

In a large way, art has always been a testimony to mass culture and societal beliefs

of respective time periods, as the ideals of aesthetics, politics, and religion are often

captured and incorporated into artistic motifs. Within art history, we take the art and

discover historical context through stylistic components of composition, colors,

patterning, and subject matter, to understand what the ‘norm’ was and how it was

presented and idealized.

But within a relatively short period of time, mass culture and its criticisms have

become a subject of art in itself. This motivation has come about more recently as

artists gained the freedom of choosing subject matter through liberation from

commissions and guilds. As art progressed, artists achieved greater abilities to

explore the subject matter, and present their own interpretations. By the Modern

Period (18th & 19th ct.) the artist played the concurrent role of an intellect,

commenting on society, while also participating in a culture that embraced new social

spheres, thereby speaking on its behalf.

No longer simply a product of art, mass culture and art often work in tandem—

especially in contemporary times—to establish and confirm ideas, while using them to

act as a mirror for the audience with aesthetic consideration.

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Statement of Intent

The easiest example of mass culture within art is often Pop Art and Ready-Made

contemporary pieces from which names such as Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Jeff

Koons, and Damian Hirst emerge. However, the over-exposure of their works led

them to seem easily contrived and culturally exploitative, becoming trite statements

that are easy to confirm or deny. Contemporary art also makes it difficult for the

viewer to maintain significant thoughts and responses whilst in the museum, and can

leave those who are not connoisseurs unsatisfied. Pop Art relies on aestheticism and

reproducible capacity, the icons and style saturating art theory so that its ideas are

exasperated.

This exhibition expands upon the understanding of ‘mass culture’ within art as beyond

the Pop Art and Ready-Made movements by selecting relevant topics of the recent

past from both well and lesser-known artists. The artists within this exhibition

wholeheartedly believe in the statements they make, lest they would not take the risk

of creating the works. Many of the artists participate in larger social movements and

activism. The selection, however, hones in on critiques ranging from pointing out

fallacies of mass culture and understanding, dangers behind common practices, and

sardonic moments of layman desires and activities through straightforward symbolism

and high aestheticism.

As supposed representations of a population, these works often have more on the

line than aesthetic differences. Their reception largely relates to what individuals

identify as the problems and peaks within a given society, as well as if they feel ideas

are properly stated.

This exhibition incorporates works that are meant to push the limits of the audience’s

minds in multiple ways, but the use of humor and aesthetics prevents feelings of guilt

and shame. Considering representations of mass culture are often denunciatory or

subversive, if the topic in question lies too close to home, viewers may feel personally

affronted. With this in mind, the exhibition offers representations of multiple cultures

and subcultures. Through ideas, representation and creation, viewers are exposed to

commentaries on a variety of ‘mass cultures’ which prompt social discussion.

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Part of our discomfort with the subject is its simultaneous evaluation of both low

culture and high culture, reminding us that within art ideas often move from the

masses upward. The personal nature of artwork and its reception is conducive to the

purpose of social commentary, yet jeopardizes cooperative reception—as per the

artists’ intention.

This exhibition has a dual purpose. Its hope is not only to put forth and elevate

common societal ideas, but also to challenge viewers to address their own like or

dislike for the subject matter, as well as artists’ representation and methodology.

Each piece and respective commentary should bring to mind a society beyond our

own, and simultaneously expand our horizon and understanding, and humble us.

Furthermore, this segues discussion to the strengths and shortfalls of our own

community, as we see it through mass culture.

Following the order of display, the exhibition opens with Martin Parr photography

from the collections Life’s a Beach and Small World. Through his travels Parr has had

the advantage of representing a multitude of cultures, with these collections focusing

on vacation. As a way of introducing the topic of ‘mass culture,’ Parr’s photographs

are a lighthearted, humorous take on what are popular activities of leisure and fun.

While they make obvious habits and desires of specific cultures, the motivations and

desires of each culture are easily transmittable and understood.

Transitioning to America, Carrie Mae Weems establishes a dialogue of a commonly

known problem with racial stereotypes of African Americans. While her message is

obvious, she uses humor and documentary style photography to establish a point of

conversation. Her photographs present disapproval of what is often perceived as a

negligible offense in American culture.

The next two works displayed from American artist Katherine Sullivan are a unique

perspective and representation of a highly sensitive subject of religious politics. In

approaching issues with Catholic institutions both currently and in the past, Sullivan

relies on decadent colors and strong aestheticism as if to trick the audience into

leading an important discussion.

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Ending back with China, Liu Bolin recreates the emotions and associations of mass

media and its influence on society through sheer volume and repetition, as well as

visual wit. While the society Bolin speaks of is dissociated from Western culture, the

media experiences he involves himself in have permeated global society, and act as

closing statements that persuade us to understand the relationship between media

and ourselves differently.

!!!!!At a cursory glance, the slight bird’s eye angle of the photo overlooks the immediate

expanse of what is clearly a popular vacation spot. The upwards, zoomed out angle

and a second look reveals that this beach is actually Seagaia, a manmade

construction, with a ceiling, fake buildings, and a fake sky—reminiscent of The Truman

Show in its manufactured perfection. The crowded ‘beach’ is an iconic and ironic

moment of relaxation for local Japanese, who fill up the scene, providing a scale that

makes obvious the space’s vastness. This scale also presents the subjects as miniatures

or dolls within a world of curious fantasy, and reenforcing the fabricated nature of

the space.

The repetition within the landscape of skin-colored forms with black circles dot image,

and evoke feelings of anonymity within the enclosure. Though, being a photograph

we are able to distance ourselves, and accept this image as conveying a common

activity of leisure in a culture different than our own—making Japanese leisure slightly

peculiar in what comes across as a willingness to engage the fantasy that Seagaia

(which holds the Guinness World Record for largest water park) created for them as

consumers of leisure. The subjects are indulging themselves in the fantasy as a way of

relaxation, very much analogous of any delusion humans engage to ameliorate

adverse circumstance. In maintaining Parr’s aim of capturing and conveying moments

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Life’s a Beach, Miyazaki, Japan, Martin Parr (1996) 3m x 3m, vinyl print, available from Magnum Photos

The Works

of recreation, the slight yellow tone, and grainy feature of the film photograph adds

to the ‘family vacation feel,’, meant to play off the idea that these photographs could

very well be taken from any family vacation album—this family happens to be from

Japan. By capturing a moment that implies an entire experience, Parr here creates an

iconic reference to Japanese leisure culture.

!!!Originally from his series ‘Think of England,’ Parr incorporated this photograph into

his series for exhibition and photo book printing of Life’s a Beach. A droll take on the

photographic faux-pas, Parr’s blurred out central figure replicates the funny accidents

experienced the world over by well-intentioned parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents,

or general vacation-goers. What is almost dismissed as a badly taken photo is, upon

second consideration, an intentionally directed layout to feature the ironic vacationer

relative to the larger, English coastal landscape. The unfocused nature both pulls our

eyes to the woman as a blip in our periphery, but also calls our attention to the crop

clarity of the background. The simple aesthetics of ocean blue and white stripes, and

the blinding white frames of the central subject act as a drily witty remark on the

fulfillment of the normal British experience of inactivity: dress, drive, eat, walk, swim,

repeat. Similarly to the photo of Miyazaki, this image purposefully establishes

understanding of repetition and commonality within its stereotypical context.

From their placement in the greater collection Life’s a Beach, we deduce that the two

photograph represent the quintessential experience of that culture, without being able

to confirm this ‘fact,’ as a consequence of the photographic medium. Abolishing the

possibilities of misconception, the purpose of the collection is not to provide a

generalization of the society, rather, to expand the horizon of human-ness, to de-

conventionalize what it is to have fun and relax, and make them relative terms.

As a photographer who began experiments and education in photography at a point

of history in which photography was relatively irrelevant to mass culture, he has

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Life’s a Beach, Weymouth, England, Martin Parr (2000) 0.5m x 0.5m, ink on paper, available from Magnum Photos

clearly aimed to remedy this by capturing succinct images of mass culture throughout

the globe, connected by decided themes. However, this motivation should not be 1

confused as an attempt to give a voice to a culture, but rather to connect all cultures

in shared desires.

Our reading of a photograph does not occur as an unadulterated experience, but

instead with an entire lifetime of assumptions and pre-existing notions regarding

images and figures, and how they code. Featuring beach vacations throughout the 2

world, Parr’s photographs take on a wry tone that gently mock the joy citizens find in

what audiences identify as peculiar and foreign behaviors, but are clearly normal

and enjoyable when they exist within context. And so, in compiling photographs

taken over an extended period of time and travel the world over, Parr avoids

criticizing a singular culture, instead pointing to both the similarities and differences in

the mild and relatable subject of vacation, and begging us to view more images.

By offering a variety of perspectives on a common experience in contemporary

society, the luxury of leisure, Parr’s work achieves a goal of photography “to probe

and suggest larger conditions, which underlies the notion of an image’s potential

‘universal’ appeal and international language.” In doing so, he provides a social 3

commentary on the level of discussing the weather: trite and repetitious, yet

enjoyable and satisfying in its own right.

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Left: ‘Spain, Benidorm,’ originally from Common Sense (1997) Right: ‘Italy, Lake Garda’ (1999)

While not belonging to the same collection, his photograph Pisa, Italy from the Small

World series has a similar intention and effect as Life’s a Beach, and does well to

exemplify the comical tone that is so well achieved within much of Parr’s

photography. Featuring four primary subjects: three tourists and one tower, the image

capturing the common impulse to push or hold up the falling tower from a hilarious

third-party vantage point, exposing the cliché action for what it is. In doing so, the

photograph reveals the duplicity of attaining a genuine experience in a tourist

location as popular as the leaning tower of Pisa. Travel, similarly to leisure or

vacation, is a privilege that allows anyone to feel part of the elite on some level, be

that intellectual, cultural, spiritual, or financial. Yet, by divulging the ‘dirty secrets’ of

travel that we carefully hide from our friends and family back home, he undermines

the strange feeling of what is best described as accomplishment attained when

brandishing a photo documenting your experience.

Within the image, the presence of three figures at different distances create depth

and visual irony that mimics the exposure of a desire to present a common, typical

experience as genuine or authentic. While a frequent and relatable experience—as

we have all undoubtedly enacted this behavior—it is far easier to smile at another’s

travel faux pas than to admit our own. By visually commenting on the irony of mass

travel culture that extends across cultures through the iconic tower of Pisa experience

Parr facilitates our admittance and acceptance of embarrassing moments as real and

human. The use of humor in composition provides relief, presenting an opportunity to

redeem our stereotypical behaviors in admitting we all do them.

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Small World, Pisa, Italy, Martin Parr (1990) 0.5m x 0.5m, ink on paper, available from Magnum Photos

‘Milan, Duomo’ (1986)

!Dealing with the highly politicized and ingrained racial stereotypes that prevail within

21st century America, Carrie Mae Weems turns a detrimental image of what it is to

be Black in America into a humorous anthropological documentation. In the simple,

black and white photography that captures a clearly planned, but intentionally bland

image, she utilizes photography as a medium of truth and validity—a frank statement

of ‘reality,’ that holds more meaning authority than other mediums of representation. 4

Intentionally displaying the statement and title in a simple font with all capital letters

she confirms this photograph as a fact of evidence, a captured moment of truth of our

contemporary society. The African American woman as its central and singular

subject, holding only a piece of fried chicken is a representation of the stereotype

often perceived as benign ( idea that all African Americans like fried chicken is a

popular comedic thread of racial understandings.

In presenting solely the woman, and solely the piece of chicken, the combination of

the straight-forward imagery and its accompanying title captures the experience of

being reduced to a singular characteristic. Weems presents to us what she describes

as “the simultaneous feeling of being in it and of it” as an African American woman

in present day. Furthermore, she places a face and expression, dissatisfied, to the 5

person who lies behind the misconception, empowering them. The phrase, acting as a

signifier, therefore transforms the image into what we initially believe to be a

satirically anthropological representation of what it is to be an African American

according to the non-Black perspective. Similarly to how traditional anthropology and

documentary photography treated non-Western cultures and peoples, often resulting

in objectification. However, through knowledge of the political activist, Weems’,

greater message this document transforms into an anthropological image of a racial

stereotype, a document of the category placed on African Americans, undermining

the purpose of the stereotype, while simultaneously calling to mind the implications of

a narrow Western history.

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Ain’t Jokin, Black Woman with Chicken, USA, Carrie Mae Weems (1987-88) 50.8cm x 40.6cm, gelatin silver print International Center of Photography, copyright Carrie Mae Weems

!With the same aim of exposing “racist vernacular tropes” within her collection,

Weems brings up the topic of another supposed food-of-choice: watermelon. A racial 6

stereotype with little basis that has prevailed from the era of slavery and colonialism,

the belief that African Americans have a particularly strong taste for watermelon is,

above all, demeaning and often used to portray the group as goofy and simian.

While it is often dismissed as innocent or foolish, thus inoffensive, it transforms within

Weems’ photograph to become another presentation of evidence for how any

stereotype, even one as laughable as the appetite for watermelon, distills an entire

existence of complicated hopes, thoughts, pains, and wonderment into an animalistic

need for food making it difficult to see them as a whole person.

This time a man holding an entire watermelon stands before a plain white sheet,

looking beyond the camera presumably to the photographer for instruction, with a

slight expression of distaste or impatience. Again, the photographic document is

presented with a statement and title in the same style. When viewing the images in

tandem, their messages build upon and strengthen each other in reiterating the

message, and in recreating the documentary style through repetition and uniformity.

The stylistic motivation for providing her audience with documentary evidence is a

way to “engage the rhetoric of records and evidence” making her audience face the

reality of stereotypes with gritty honesty, at the expense of their own feelings of

confirmation and completeness. For whether or not viewers have actively engaged 7

the food-based stereotypes here presented, we still must acknowledge their

persistence, and the greater implication that if innocuous ones still exist and confine

our view then, presumably, detrimental ones still exist, as well. This realization

undeniably begins to undermine its basis within society, which is not that it is true

(which stereotypes are ironically often recognized as false or incomplete), but that

they are harmless. 8

The combination of methodological documentary-style photography and basic

undeniable aesthetic quality is the central focus of praise for Weems’ work, and for

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Ain’t Jokin, Black Man with Watermelon, USA, Carrie Mae Weems (1987-88)50.8cm x 40.6cm, gelatin silver print International Center of Photography, copyright Carrie Mae Weems

good reason. Not only does she surpass the limitations of anthropological form, but

she successfully incorporates wit and humor in order to broach the subject of race.

Due to the fact that our reading of an image is influenced by prior experiences and

assumptions, the intended audience will likely meet these photographs with a smile as

we identify with it as evidence of humor. Though, through qualifiers within the body of

work, such as the series name, Ain’t Jokin, and the serious expressions of her

subjects, Weems establishes the idea that this, in fact, is not funny nor harmless,

though ironic. Rather, she capitalizes on anthropology’s past in order to completely

reverse its purpose, and truly provide a voice to the subjugated. She answers

demands of the discriminators, and those discriminated against, by making blatantly

clear that such systemic behaviors have a real, emotion-based outcome. She has

pointed out the fallacy in attempting to establish the self by limiting the Other to a

singular characteristic. In Karen Jacobs’ words, Weems has adopted this practice in

order “to move beyond the perceived opposition between its politically reformist and

aesthetically subjectivist identity in order to restore its potential for political and social

critique;” in doing so she enables both the African American subject, as well as the

audience to ascend to a higher standard of being. 9

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From Ain’t Jokin (1987-88)

As an artist with a strong rhetoric for political activism through aesthetically charged

pieces, taking advantage of the vibrant color capacity of the gouache medium,

Katherine Sullivan is no stranger to creating statements. Exploring tensions of

hierarchal structures, she aims to display the faction between systems expressing an

ideology to protect and guide, and the consequent displacement of power under their

oppressive regimes.

A strange form that confuses in its being undefined, the figure’s identity emerges upon

connection to its title. Absconding, meaning to escape or evade punishment, Papì, the

slang Spanish word for ‘father,’ typically used in a personal conversation, now used

in place of Papa or Pope, morphs the form in our minds to a being whose dress

resembles the rich red of papal robes, the creases and placement of what must be its

head form the impression that it is stealing away with the sun and moon tied to its

back. The black form that almost seems to have a rubber texture cinched with green

ropes must be its face, distorted and hidden, while at the bottom left of the robes a

trunk pokes out, wrapped around a sharp object and to the right the wisp of a black

devil’s tail follows behind as the figure makes its escape. At the bottom, rather than

having feet there is a murky cloud of black, establishing an air of mysticism and

illusion. Set against the delicate background of stars, the figure floats off into the

distance. Eerie and sinister, as a representation of the Catholic Church and its Pope,

this image is far from what we desire to see from the religious institution, and nothing

like their modes of self-representation.

!!!The second image, a theme in variation, takes on a more literal representation. A

cape incorporated with the same blue night sky and stars, dissolve to reveal the red

robes and emerging trunk, yet this figure’s bottom is evaporating more quickly and

mysteriously, blurred into a watery state. Rather than a conspicuous facial form, we

see a hooded figure with what seems to be eyes peering back at us through a slit

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Absconding Papì, USA, Katherine Sullivan (2009) 76cm x 56cm, acrylic and gouache on paper, copyright Katherine Sullivan

Galileo Papì, USA, Katherine Sullivan (2009) 76cm x 56cm, acrylic and gouache on paper, copyright Katherine Sullivan

sporting the Pope’s distinct mitre (ceremonial hat or turban), while a malformed

shape lies below. Optically elusive, what could be a hand appears to be pulling a red

cloth close to the figure’s face. The being’s bundle of objects and tools stick out from

its side, curving metal and straight edges of wood that replicate astrological and

mathematical tools disrupt each others’ paths to form a cross.

Within these two images, it is her combination of visual components and well-thought

titles which contextualize Sullivan’s statement. While she is presenting a commentary,

rather than alluding to contemporary issues surrounding the Catholic institution, her

intention is to rehash an old issue surrounding the church at its height of power and

domination: 15th & 16th century Europe, at which point their crusade against

knowledge, science, and astrology led to the persecution and subjugation of many

great scientific leaders, such as Galileo Galilei (Italian scientist and astrologist), the

lyrical inspiration for the second title. Following Foucault’s explanation of history, art,

and culture, there is no context external to history. We are, as humans, attached to

our past as a very result of being born into the human construction of time. 10

Sullivan’s perspective is unique in creating a highly contemporary display to demand

acknowledgement and reparations of the religious past. Sullivan constructs an

alternative storyline that comments on the strength of Catholic mass culture that

worked to stalwart scientific and cultural development for centuries, an endeavor

many believe to be a veil for maintaining the “Roman Catholic excesses” so many

leaders enjoyed. 11

In creating works that focus on ideas of foucauldian philosophy Sullivan’s accounts

center most largely on the displacement and absorption of power, thus she chooses

topics of history where there exists or existed oppression and limitation. Within these

two images she addresses the suppression of knowledge and education that became

part and parcel of the aim to abolish heresy.

Irrespective of the time period, religions require commitment to the experience of

being part of the religious institution from its member, meaning that “religion has

been and is itself a form of popular culture.” In displacing and adapting the image 12

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of the Catholic Church and its papacy in paintings, a medium which the Church has

long celebrated, Sullivan establishes a voice and narrative to counteract the dark

history that affected societal development. Her works here do not present a rebellion,

or call to action and revolution, instead they demand we recognize the influence of

religion on greater history and humanity, while pulling her audience in with artistic

appeal, and repetitive compositional elements. Preventing the past from escaping our

memories, Sullivan wants to begin the conversation in a more substantial, relevant

context.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The wall of cellular phones before us is slightly warped—a figure simultaneously

blends in and emerges from the background as the colorful screens produce a rich

variation of color and movement. The artist Liu Bolin, also known as the ‘Invisible

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Hiding in the City: Mobile Phones, China, Liu Bolin (2013) 3m x 3m, vinyl print, available from Klein Sun Gallery

‘Papì Totem’ (2009)

Man,’ has coyly placed himself within his own composition in a game of hide-and-

seek. Once we identify him within the image, there is no way to erase him from our

minds, as an integral part of the scene we are constantly made aware of his

presence.

During contemporary times, in which the excessiveness of media and communications

often overtakes our immediate attention and diminishes the importance of what

occurs around us, the screen has an identity in itself and by association provides us

(their possessors) with an alternate identity. We exist in a world where more people

have cell phones than toilet access in lesser-developed nations like India. Where

demand for new technology is inexhaustible, and production happens at the expense

of social justice. Where the screen is so commonplace it is a necessary appendage

for proper functioning, and justifies the extraordinary demands made by producer

countries on their citizens.

The variety of cellphones within the image evokes the idea that there are a lot of us

(those who consume), who strongly believe that our consumption is individualized,

unique—this cellphone is my cellphone, one I chose, one I use it is unique once in my

possession and use. And yet, these behaviors and beliefs are actually commonplace,

and product of mass culture and consumption. The different phone models speak to

the patterns of use inherent to man’s presence and domination on Earth, while also

expressing an ironic tone of monotony. Technology culture guides the world, but the

phone is also a highly politicized image within Bolin’s home country, China. As a tool

of resistance, the cellphone has often allowed citizens to bypass the regulations and

oppressions of their state by using messaging apps and non-wifi communication to

avoid controls and continue their activism during demonstrations and protests. A call

to the opportunities and downfalls of modern technology, Bolin’s hidden existence

yearns to be discovered and recognized, as often so many of us do. He takes

advantage of the concurrent monotony and individuality of the handheld devices, a

quick symbol of automated diligence to the technological postmodern society, but

also of opportunity and promise.

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Continuing his experience of disappearance and emergence, Bolin stands here as

part of printed mass media. A form of culture, creation, and curation, the magazines

and newspapers here speak to the censored press of the Chinese state—a press that

aims to represent an idealized China to its people, that demands a positive outlook

through the newly established consumer culture. A press that presents foreign

languages, though not foreign ideas. One that demands attention and belief, but

resists questioning. Presented in another colorful and impactful display, the action of

becoming one with media is not new, but instead re-imagined. The disposable

material of mass culture, similar to cell phones, reference the temporary nature of

contemporary consumerism which now burgeons in developing nations as a middle

class forms. In creating, consuming, and believing this cultural production we support

its outcomes, often ignoring the negative consequences.

After the destruction of his studio in 2005, which was a part of the artistic

cooperative Suo Jia Cun in Beijing, Bolin looked towards a greater experimental

space, and broke ties from all limitations of a canvas, instead involving himself in the

‘natural’ landscapes and cityscapes of industrial China. An outspoken activist, Bolin

openly acknowledges the intent of his works as a way to speak of the ‘purging’ of

Chinese minds, and ideological restructuring to fulfill the aims of the leading

communist party in the name of material production. 13

The processes and motions of Bolin’s method, the experience of intentional, pensive

creation, is a vital aspect to his work. Having selected a motif or pattern for his

background, Bolin patiently stands as part of his composition while he is literally

painted into it. The process can take hours, and no attention to detail is spared as the

piece comes together. He explains that his adamance in completing the task acts as a

literal way of standing for his principles. Bolin makes himself part of the statement, 14

thus representing the result of our engaging in such cultural norms as our identities

blend into what we learn our identity should be, at the expense of what it is or could

become.

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Hiding in the City: Chinese Magazines, China, Liu Bolin (2013) 3m x 3m, vinyl print, available from Klein Sun Gallery

The artworks selected were purposefully non-aggressive in their delivery, and I

veered away from selecting works that aimed for shock value over quality of

message. Rather, I searched for and selected what I believed to be a representative

body of works that discuss issues surrounding contemporary culture. I especially

aimed for pieces that somehow incorporated humor and visual wit, which I find to be

fantastic facilitator which eases the discussion of difficult topics.

While the works do represent viewpoints or experiences from around the world, I

recognize that a large influence of my selection is my American nationality. However,

these works do not have to speak only to the specified social cause or injustices of a

given country. Across all societies there exist dissociations between ideology and

practice, between exclusion and the impulse of identifying ourselves as part of a

group to resolve the desire to be included.

It is my full intention for this to be an experience of discovery, both of art and of the

self. This exhibition should be viewed with an open heart and mind—it is not an

intention of the artists nor mine to actively hurt, but that can be an unintended

consequence of conveying hurt felt, be that in the present or past. Instead, the

exhibition and discussion area should be viewed as a place to find consolation in the

fallacies, incongruities, ironies, and hilarities of being human. Moreover, it should be

a space where we are willing to accept that we all engage and need mass culture in

some way, shape, or form as it aids in creating identity—a concept that can exist as

either individual or collective.

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Exhibition Plans notes from the curator

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Book List (Suggested) Entry for book access is free. !The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture by Theodor W. Adorno Ways of Seeing by John Berger Liu Bolin (The Invisible Man) by Liu Bolin, eds. Sarah McNaughton, Elizabeth Misitano, Elena Parasco Philosophy for Dummies by Martin Cohen The Photograph Graham Clarke Bitches, Bimbos, and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls’ Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes Guerrilla Girls The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art Guerrilla Girls Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society by Dustin Kidd 50 Art Movements You Should Know: From Impressionism to Performance Art by Rosalind Ormiston Life’s a Beach & Mexico by Martin Parr Martin Parr: the Non-Conformists by Susie Parr Aesthetics and Its Discontents Jacques Rancière Culture & Imperialism by Edward Said Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton The Hampton Project by Carrie Mae Weems Constructing History by Carrie Mae Weems Spatial Matters - Art Architecture and Activism by Ai Weiwei, eds. Anthony Pins & An Xiao Mina Van Gogh On Demand: China and the Readymade by Winnie Wong Yin Wong

Alliez, Éric, and Peter Osborne. “The Materiality of the Immaterial: Foucault, Against the Return of Idealisms and New Vitalisms.” In Spheres Of Action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013. Pp. 98-106.

Considering quintessential questions of Foucault’s philosophical endeavors, Éric Alliez and Peter Osborne outline reasoning and potential answers to the dilemma of assimilating art, power, and aesthetics as a method of revolution or rebellion. Comparing the differences between literature and art, they lead us through a systematic debate of philosophical concerns. The deliberation of power structure and its influence on aesthetics creates a space to understand Sullivan’s work as an expression of limited liberties, and put it in the perspective of an irrevocable and inescapable reality of the nature of history. Clarke, Graham.  “How Do We Read a Photograph?” In The Photograph.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Pp. 27-40. Clarke’s second chapter “How Do We Read a Photograph?” offers vital answers to understand how audiences receive, code, and interpret different types of images, while including a semiotic and cultural discussion of the photograph and its history. By explaining the authority photography holds as a medium, his text is useful for analyzing both Parr and Weems’ works by re-focusing the viewpoint from which we take on their message. His chapter on documentary photography aids in reading Weems’ work, specifically, by verbalizing the intent and result of a documentary-stance through a multitude of examples that span throughout photographic history. CUTLER, JODY B. "Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and

Video/Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series." Afterimage 41, no. 6 (May 2014): 34-35.

A generalized discussion on Weems’ oeuvre, this is a reaction and commentary on her exhibitions, as well as a review of the retrospective stated in the title—a summation which is also captured in the book featuring Weems’ photography. While brief, it offered insight into the purpose and intention of the artist, and explained the higher goals, aims, and actions of Weems as a celebrated activist through art and photography. The review also established specific ideas in relation to the series included within this exhibition, and sparked questions and ideas relative to her works. Dawber, Stephen. "Martin Parr's Suburban Vision." Third Text 18, no. 3 (May

2004): 251-262.  Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost  (accessed May 10, 2015).

In a critical take on Parr’s use and directorship in photography, Dawber mentions photographic realism and its effect on the expressivity and photography as a natural method of communication. Specifically taking on issues of British photography, implying the ‘complications’ being sourced in post-colonial guilt, Dawber explains how photography exemplifies a transformation of England since its immediate and distanced past. While not the most useful text, it did offer an alternative viewpoint by discussing ideation

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Annotated Bibliography

and reasoning’s existing within Parr’s photography aside from the generalized discussion surrounding his works, and offered a new perspective on what it is to be an ‘objective’ photographer—ultimately questioning Parr’s works and intentions, rather than adulating them. International Business, Times. "Liu Bolin: A Conversation with the ‘Invisible

Man’ [PHOTOS]." International Business Times, January 2012., Regional Business News, EBSCOhost (accessed May 10, 2015).

Interviewing the artist, this feature in the International Business Times provides direct answers and quotes from the artist, providing primary documentation and facilitating clear understanding of his works. In asking questions specifically related to the series from which the photographs in this exhibition were sourced, the answers offer successful understanding of each scene as a way of speaking for the entire body of creation in which Liu Bolin ‘disappears.’ Discussing the implications of existing and practicing creative production in a state-communist society, Bolin explicates his frustrations with censorship, destruction, and the limitations that result. Further, Bolin describes how the process of creation is, in itself, the source of his message as much as the final result. Jacobs, Karen. "Flies in Amber: Documentary Objects as Subjects in Carrie

Mae Weems." English Language Notes 50, no. 1 (Summer2012 2012): 55-66.

Discussing a different body of work created by Weems, Jacobs focuses on the politically charged project entitled From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, a project she pursued after her creation of Ain’t Jokin. A resurrection of anthropological and documentary photography featuring African women with an overlay of phrases such as ‘You became a scientific profile,’ the collection is meant to provide a voice to the objectified women of ‘cultural’ study of colonial roots. This article acts as a way to incorporate commentary on the Weems’ general methodology as a vehicle for political activism in the museum and gallery setting. Additionally, Jacobs incorporates Rancière’s theory on art as action to the purpose of the photographic medium in light of Weems’ greater activism. LANE, GUY. "Photography from the Photographer's Viewpoint, Guy Lane

interviews Martin Parr."  Art Book  13, no. 4 (November 2006): 15-16.  Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost  (accessed May 10, 2015).

Similarly to the interview with Liu Bolin, this longer, more in-depth discussion on the photographic medium and its history places Parr in a strange position of evaluating and commenting on the presence of photography in the gallery and museum setting. Once Parr evades the demand for negative commentary, the interview refocuses to his specific chosen act of creation in the photo-book, and how that impulse is based in his own experiences as a student of art. Expressing ideals of education, and dissemination of ideas, Parr is able to

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convey the importance of his tendency to photograph in a serial nature, and his reasoning for compiling photos into collections for presentation. While the photographs presented are detached from their entire series, his motivation and justification establish the individual photograph under a new pretense, and allow us to view them differently. Marsh, Clive. "'High Theology'/'Popular Theology'? The Arts, Popular Culture

and the Contemporary Theological Task." Expository Times 117, no. 11 ( A u g u s t 2 0 0 6 ) : 4 4 7 - 4 51. A c a d e m i c S e a r c h C o m p l e t e , EBSCOhost (accessed May 10, 2015).

A discussion on the relationship between art, theology, and culture as part one of four, Marsh takes on a theological perspective with a message of intent and necessity. In discussing modes of representation and art as a vehicle for theological discussion, Marsh considers theological academia in light of the newly developed modes of representation and mass culture, as well as opportunities for communications. While Katherine Sullivan’s pieces take on a clearly atheological tone, understanding the perspective of a theologian and reviewing his explanation for the relationship between art and religion in the contemporary context is a way of placing Sullivan’s work relative to their commentary, as well as hers, putting forward a necessary perspective. !

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! of !24 24© Sonyah Seiden for Franklin University Switzerland

As Parr explained in Guy Lane's interview, "Photography from the Photographer's Viewpoint, Guy Lane 1

interviews Martin Parr," in Art Book 13, 4, (2006).

Graham Clarke, "How Do We Read a Photograph?," in The Photograph, (Oxford: 1997).2

Ibid.3

Graham Clarke discusses the concept of authority, validity, and accuracy in "Documentary 4

Photography," in The Photograph, (Oxford: 1997).

As quoted in Karen Jacobs, "Flies in Amber: Documentary Objects as Subjects in Carrie Mae Weems," in 5

English Language Notes, 50, 1, (2012).

Jody B. Cutler, "Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video/Carrie Mae Weems: The 6

Museum Series," in Afterimage, 41, 6 (2014).

Ibid.7

An idea that Karen Jacobs explains well: “Viewers who have never heard of post-structuralism or the 8

critique of the humanist subject nevertheless can hardly escape the implications of the ways this mode of address de-centers and fractures their (necessarily racialized) standpoint.” For more see "Flies in Amber: Documentary Objects as Subjects in Carrie Mae Weems," in English Language Notes, 50, 1, (2012).

Ibid.9

An idea discussed by Éric Alliez and Peter Osborne, "The Materiality of the Immaterial: Foucault, 10

Against the Return of Idealisms and New Vitalisms," in Spheres of Action, (Cambridge: 2013).

Clive Marsh, "High Theology/Popular Theology? The Arts, Popular Culture and the Contemporary 11

Theological Task," in Expository Times, 117, 11, (2006).

Ibid.12

"Liu Bolin: A Conversation with the 'Invisible Man'" in INternational Business Times (January 2012).13

Ibid.14