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DUALITY: A UNION OF OPPOSITES
David Allen Wade
December 2004
CHAPTER I
DISCLAIMER: AN ARTIST'S PROCLAMATION
From personal perception, there seems to be a gross
difference between what art is (or should be) and what
art is perceived to be by the standards of a fragmented,
Late Capitalist1 culture. My
work intends to alleviate this gap- to return a line
of communication that relates art to a massive audience.
On its most basic level, Flotsam and Jetsam
appeals to the viewer's sense of exposition and humor.
The viewer is intended to focus on the visual and aural
elements that function first as a spectacle. That is,
the exposition of the characters and environment is
intended to engulf the viewer to the point of suspended
disbelief. The work intends to, in effect, convince
the audience that the characters and environment exist,
to create a hyperreality. After the audience accepts
the characters and environment, comic elements can take
hold. Issuing a pratfall to each character (the latter
fall being intentional) caters to an audience's understanding
of physical humor as well as situational (or expectational)
humor- presenting the banana peel as the tongue-in-cheek
vehicle of the dotard. Jocosely, the banana also serves
as an overtly obvious phallic symbol in its placement
on the character Flotsam. This overstatement is intended
to not only appeal to the viewer's sense of juvenile
indiscretion, but also to his/her level of expectation.
The humor draws from the irony of the expectation level
of the audience- the irony of the juvenile innuendo
found within a "serious" or "intellectual"
work of art.
On a higher level, Flotsam and Jetsam
is intended to function as a sort of allegory- relating
the value of confrontation to deceptively trivial matters.
This interpretation is intended to derive from the narrative
itself in conjunction with the book-end quotations.
Noting each character's reaction to the trivial adversity
of a banana peel, the viewer should posit an inferred
preference. By relating that preference to the quotations,
the viewer is expected to mentally "triangulate"
the communicated message or "moral" of the
"tale." That message is the value of confrontation.
Flotsam and Jetsam intends to remind the viewer that
seemingly mundane details and the individual's personal
reaction to them characterize the human condition. That
is, by overlooking the simple obstacles, the individual
is overlooking the "reality" of life. The
assertion of this message is intended to motivate the
viewer toward self-actualization.
More implicitly, the animation serves
as a critical, personal evaluation of Postmodernism
and Modernism in art. This is evidenced in objects that
embody the characters and the immediate surrounding
environment. The placement of these objects, the objects
themselves, and the related artists represent a personal
critique of the roles of various artists or art movements
through recent art history. In the character of the
pessimist Jetsam, the viewer finds a number of "trash"
objects that carry direct references to artists. The
Mucha cigarette box, the Kinkade business card, the
Bob Ross aerosol can, the Erwin Wurm styrofoam cup,
and the Toulouse-Lautrec crumpled paper display specific
relationships with Jetsam (the character) that correlate
to personal views on the roles of the artists' works.
For example, Erwin Wurm's signifier occupies the pelvis
of Jetsam. This is intended to relate the potency and
necessity of Wurm's work (specifically, Wurm's One Minute
Sculptures exemplify the urgency of art and serendipity
that arises from it). Another example is the business
card of Thomas Kinkade. The card occupies a peripheral
area of the character, the right foot. This is intended
to relate the superfluous nature of his work (Kinkade's
work is also presented to a lesser degree as a false
foundation in that Jetsam's slip occurs on his right
foot). These criticisms culminate around a "Modernity
versus Postmodernity" opposition- intending to
ultimately place Flotsam and Jetsam outside of that
paradigm.
Additionally, Flotsam and Jetsam seeks
to ameliorate the separation between commercial endeavor
and gallery (or "fine art") production. By
presenting media associated with commercial art (computer
generated video and graphic design print) within the
context of a formal gallery, the presence of the former
is validated in the realm of the latter. That is, the
presence of a commercial medium (in the space associated
to more traditional art) posits a level of acceptance
in society indirectly through the acceptance of the
gallery director. This is an attempt that Takashi Murakami
has more successfully achieved by the marketing of gallery
subjects to a commercial environment. Through the independent
production of shirts, stickers, and prints, Murakami
exposes the character of Mr. DOB (the character that
inhabits many of his paintings and sculptures) to the
commercial world, as a means of linking the two realms.2
Rather than establishing a connection between the two
realms through a particular subject of imagery, Flotsam
and Jetsam intends to create a connection through the
association of its medium.
Conceptually, my work seeks to progress
ideas iterated by Derrida, Jameson, and Murakami (among
others). Fredric Jameson's views on the function of
postmodernism in art augment my own. Specifically, Jameson's
structuralist views appeal to my sense of communication
in art.3 I attempt to create
clear, concise messages that deliver a level of definity
to the viewer. This is a definity that intends to leave
a lasting impression on an audience and avoid a loss
of communication into Derrida's "abyss." Jacques
Derrida's concept of the abyss and discussion on the
nature of binary oppositions are two concepts that have
also influenced my work.4 Flotsam
and Jetsam attempts to explore the combination of binaries
that form dialectics of opposites. These binal dialectics
can be found in the work of Takashi Murakami- my third
major influence. Murakami and similar Superflat artists
focus on the combination of cute (or innocent) imagery
with scary (or carnal) imagery. By exploring a medium
not directly addressed by these artists and critics,
computer generated narrative video, my work attempts
to validate and expand on their methodology within the
contemporary art realm
Defining Postmodernism
Postmodernism has dominated contemporary art for the
latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of
the 21st. Using an emphasis on plurality and pastiche,
combined with technical novelty and the spectacle, postmodernism
has inherited the success that Modernity lost. An assessment
of postmodernism could be derived from an account of
these key elements.
Plurality (also referred to as the expanded
field) is the simultaneous and proportionally valid
multitude of interpretations within a particular work
of art. This concept comes to fruition when the artist
reassigns signifier-signified (or symbol-referent) relationships.
By applying new meaning (or additional meaning) to pre-established
imagery, the artist multiplies the number of interpretations
that particular imagery can hold. Roland Barthes describes
plurality as:
Networks [that] are many and interact,
without any of them being able to surpass the rest;
this [ideal post-modern work] is a galaxy of signifiers,
not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning;
it is reversible; we gain access to it by several
entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared
to be the main one.5
Plurality is incorporated to allow the
viewer a level of interactivity with the work. By presenting
a field of interpretation, the audience can personalize
the meaning of the artwork. Plurality also serves as
a means of reusability. That is, as the viewer revisits
and reanalyzes the work, different and new interpretations
are posited.
Pastiche, or nostalgia, is the second
element of Postmodern art that is emphasized. This aspect
of Postmodern art could be defined as the act of referencing
without reason. Where Modern art references earlier
imagery comparatively (the dadaist, Marcel DuChamp's
LHOOQ references DaVinci's Mona Lisa in a comic sense),
Postmodern art alludes to earlier imagery without intention
(the pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein's BLAM references
early comic book panels without denoting positive or
negative assessment of them). In other words, the Modernist
reference relies on the stature of the referent to define
a separation between both works, whereas the Postmodernist
reference does not require contextual knowledge of works
to establish its connection between them. Fredric Jameson
describes pastiche as:
The imitation of a peculiar or unique
style, the wearing of a stylistic mask, speech in
a dead language: but it is a neutral practice of such
mimicry, without parody's ulterior motive, without
the satirical impulse, without laughter, without that
still latent feeling that there exists something normal
compared to which what is being imitated is rather
comic.6
The concept of the spectacle is a staple
of Postmodernism that derived from the application of
plurality and pastiche. As the application of pastiche
redefines past works in terms of the present, the application
of plurality creates an individualization (in that the
pluralistic work creates an individual interpretation
for each viewer at every viewing). The spectacle, in
general terms, refers to the presentation of an artwork
itself and how the work reflects society. The idea of
the spectacle is linked directly to the commodification
of artwork through the validation of society (or society's
preferences) by that particular artwork. That is, when
society commodifies a work, it confirms the work's reflection
of society's preferences while simultaneously incorporating
that work into society's present moment. Guy Debord
provides an augmenting view:
In order to describe the spectacle,
its formation, its functions and whatever forces may
hasten its demise, a few artificial distinctions are
called for. To analyze the spectacle means talking
its language to some degree- to the degree, in fact,
that we are obliged to engage the methodology of the
society to which the spectacle gives expression. For
what the spectacle expresses is the total practice
of one particular economic and social formation; it
is, so to speak, that formation's agenda. It is also
the historical moment by which we happen to be governed.7
Technical novelty, or a general emphasis
on media, is another aspect of Postmodernism that derived
from the emphasis of plurality and pastiche. Technical
novelty, the emphasis in the exploration and acquisition
of new media in art, is a superficial response to the
separation and commodification by the spectacle. In
other words, pastiche creates a loss of meaning in its
neutral reference- a loss that is assigned to the spectacle.
To respond to this loss, the artist progresses naturally
to technical novelty from the more intangible concepts
of individualization and separation in the spectacle.
That is, as Postmodernism eliminates the artist's ability
to create a unique aesthetic, the artist reclaims this
uniqueness through choice of medium. The artist's individualization
through medium is logically derived from the commodification
of the spectacle- in that both arise as materializations
of abstract concepts. This emphasis on media is described
by Jameson as a spatialization that has come to consciousness:
Postmodern spatialization here plays
itself out in the relationship and the rivalry among
the various spatial media- in the claims and formal
powers of video over against film, for example, or
of photography over against painting as a medium.
Indeed, we may speak of spatialization here as the
process whereby the traditional fine arts are mediatized:
that is, they now come to consciousness of themselves
as various media within a mediatic system in which
their own internal production also constitutes a symbolic
message and the taking of a position on the status
of the medium in question.8
Here, Jameson alludes to the connection
between media and pastiche. That is, with the realization
of choice in the function of references (whether nostalgic
or symbolic), the artist realizes that the medium itself
has become a reference, and the art has become a commodity.
Deconstructive theory, a mainstay of Postmodernism,
suggests that the bond between signifiers has broken
down. Whereas, in structuralist modernism the interactions
among signifiers and signifieds create an order to the
image, in deconstruction this order is abolished- thereby
presenting an isolated and disconnected group of signifiers.
Exhibiting structure as illusionary, this theoretical
discourse values the materialistic, pluralistic, intertextual,
and schizophrenic nature of signifiers. By deconstructing,
or breaking down the relationships between signifiers
and signifieds as well as between multiple signifiers,
the deconstructive method removes definite or universal
meaning from signs to produce a plurality in interpretation.
As the image is deconstructed, the material and schizophrenic
aspects of the work are revealed. Jameson solidifies
these descriptive aspects:
Schizophrenia [is] the breakdown of
the relationship between signifiers… an experience
of isolated, disconnected, discontinuous material
signifiers which fail to link up into a coherent sequence…
a far more intense experience of any given present
of the world, since our own present is always part
of some larger set of projects which force us selectively
to focus our perceptions… [The] signifier in
isolation becomes ever more material- or, better still,
literal- ever more vivid in sensory ways, whether
the new experience is attractive or terrifying…
As meaning is lost, the materiality of words becomes
obsessive, as is the case when children repeat a word
over and over again until its sense is lost and it
becomes an incomprehensible incantation… a signifier
that has lost its signified has thereby been transformed
into an image.9
Relating to Postmodernism
I have developed an intimacy with postmodernism-
being reared, educated, and tested while in its embrace.
In this way, my relationship to postmodernism could
be comparable to that of a parent and offspring. Through
an institution of art, I have received a discourse on
the successes and failures of previous art movements
from a postmodernist perspective. These academic studies
eventually lead to the failures and successes of Postmodernism
itself. As a graphic designer, I have put into practice
the fundamental ideas of postmodernism in the consecrated
realm of social commodities. Through commercial practice,
I have exploited the nature of the postmodern reference
and interpretation.
I seek progress; conceptually and visually
I consistently find myself searching for a more subtle,
concise method of communication and narration. As a
product of Postmodernism itself, my preferred media
are those which best relate to (and best reflect) society-
that of commercial print and video. And, being in a
progressive mind frame, I often receive the criticism
of being inconsistent or unstylish (i.e. concept, methodology,
even mark-making techniques vary from work to work).
This criticism, from a certain perspective, is a just
assessment. However, from my mindset as a current scholar,
the proclamation seems a bit mislabeling. To inherit
any particular visual motif or recurring element (within
unrelated works) is to submit to a stagnancy that would
seem to limit the artist's visual and conceptual palette.
Whereas other artists may look for serendipitous elements
to occur in the stroke or the production process, I
attempt to eliminate motif between works to allow serendipitous
elements to flourish within the language of the individual
work itself- to avoid an "imposed language"
of a set style and to avoid unintentional connections
between works.
CHAPTER II
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM: ACCEPTED REFUSE
The endeavor of categorizing Flotsam and Jetsam may
be more difficult than it initially appears. In its
production, one could assume that the work is postmodernist.
Through its presentation, one could assert that Flotsam
and Jetsam is modernist. Through its intentions, one
could ascribe structuralist or poststructuralist views
to the piece. As an act of clarification, an exploration
of these aesthetics as they relate to Flotsam and Jetsam
could provide insight into the role of the work within
the art realm.
Modernist/Postmodernist
Flotsam and Jetsam could be first viewed
as a modernist work. In considering the intent behind
the choice of medium, I assert an obsession with the
"new." That is, the modernist aesthetic of
describing the present through the "newness"
or novelty of its style or imagery is displaced, in
this instance, to the choice of medium. My attempt to
describe my current perspective on art could be categorized
as an expression of a "new" perspective or
"new" ideology. Instead of creating a new
language of imagery in a traditional medium (sculpture
or painting), I have used the medium itself to create
the new language. By choosing a medium that remains
relatively unexploited (computer-generated narrative
video), I create a set of imagery that remains distinct
and individual.
The functionality of Flotsam and Jetsam is another aspect
of the animated narrative that diagnoses it as modern.
Modernistic work is inherently functional in that it
utilizes the references it creates. That is, as postmodern
artwork references previous styles or works with a level
of neutrality, modern artwork references previous styles
or works with a specific intention (whether parody,
exaltation, denouncement, etc.). Because of the intentional
placement of the trash objects within the characters,
Flotsam and Jetsam references other artists or art movement
through a hierarchy ranging from august acceptance to
censured rejection- a hierarchal reference that carries
a functionality that is modernistic. Jameson provides
an explanation of modernist aesthetics in terms that
apply to Flotsam and Jetsam:
Modernist space offers itself as the
novum, as the breakthrough onto new forms of life
itself, the radically emergent… modernist space
proves to have merely reproduced the logic of the
system itself at a greater level of intensification,
running on ahead and transferring its spirit of rationalization
and functionalism, of therapeutic positivism and standardization,
onto built space not yet even dreamed of.10
The modernist notion of the ready-made
shares an interesting relationship with Flotsam and
Jetsam. The concept of the ready-made revolves around
the reusability of trash or found objects. By presenting
refuse as "high art," the ready-made presents
a conflict between that which is rejected (or without
function) and that which is accepted (or functional).
For example, Fountain, by Marcel Duchamp, presents a
typical, early twentieth century urinal as an exalted
fountain. Duchamp takes the common and presents it as
sculptural and unique. Similarly, Flotsam and Jetsam
presents trash (or rejected) objects as critical and
functional (or accepted) elements. This similarity extends
to the intended function of imagery. While the urinal
is intended to function as an object d'art that references
its previous function through parody, the trash objects
in Flotsam and Jetsam are intended to function as objects
of refuse as well as the characters' anatomy. Both works
relate the notion of recycling or re-functioning of
obsolete objects.
Figure 2.1 Duchamp's Fountain with
Image of Artist and Exhibit Space
The emphasis on a push toward Utopian
society through art's exposure is another staple of
modernist work. In Flotsam and Jetsam, this aspect of
modernism can be found in the allegorical message within
the narrative and the beginning and ending citations.
As an appeal to morality or ethics, the allegorical
intention of Flotsam and Jetsam appeals to the idea
of a Utopian society through self-actualization on an
individual basis. This moralistic appeal is augmented
by citations before and after the narrative that reference
venerable historical figures as a means of validation
(this moralistic or ethical validity is then transferred
to the narrative itself). It is by the moral/ethical
call-to-arms of the narrative and citations that Flotsam
and Jetsam displays its Utopic, modernistic appeal.
Flotsam and Jetsam is also postmodern
through its emphasis on pastiche, medium or technical
novelty, and the spectacle. The aesthetics of the imagery
in Flotsam and Jetsam are nostalgic of Surrealism in
that they reference its stylistic language. The minimalistic
environment and isolated elements found in Flotsam and
Jetsam share similarities with that of René Magritte
or Salvador Dali's work. The environment, specifically,
shows structures that emphasize a basic or primitive
cubic architecture similar to the structures of Magritte's
early paintings. The characters resemble the aesthetic
choices made in early Dali paintings by their fragmental
or isolated sense of space. Even in later Dali photography,
there is a fixation with forms free-floating in air.
This visual stylization in Flotsam and Jetsam directly
correlates to the aesthetic elements of the Surrealist
movement without directly commenting on those aesthetics.
It is through these aesthetics that Flotsam and Jetsam
exhibits the pastiche that is characteristic of postmodernism.
Figure 2.2 Details from Dali and
Magritte imagery, and Flotsam and Jetsam
An emphasis on medium and obsession with
technical novelty are characteristics of postmodern
work that lie within Flotsam and Jetsam. The medium
of production, video, is selected with specific intent.
Indeed, an emphasis on video as the medium of production
can be found in the intentions of the work itself. As
previously stated, the video medium is chosen to establish
a relationship between commercial art and gallery art
("fine" or "traditional" art). This
intent creates a context for a specific audience. By
creating a contextual reference through intentional
presentation of medium, Flotsam and Jetsam characterizes
the postmodern emphasis on medium. Equally, an obsession
with technical novelty is characterized. The use of
computer-generated and computer-altered imagery in Flotsam
and Jetsam relates an obsession with the technical novelty
of the medium. While the character animation could have
been achieved through more traditional means (i.e. stop-motion
or hand-drawn techniques) and the environment could
have been realized through traditional photography,
these methods were dismissed for a "newer"
or "current" production method. This line
of reasoning reveals the obsession with technical novelty
within Flotsam and Jetsam.
Finally, Flotsam and Jetsam is postmodern
in that it submits itself to the spectacle by means
of commodification, meaninglessness, and separation.
The format of Flotsam and Jetsam appeals to a sense
of commodification. That is, by creating a two-minute
narrative, I appeal to the disposability or "digestibility"
of a product. The duration as well as the tempo of the
narrative recalls a television advertisement mentality
whereby the viewer is presented with only the necessary
amount of narrative information in a limited timeframe.
It is this aspect of the narrative's presentation that
links Flotsam and Jetsam to commodification. The meaninglessness/emptiness
associated with the spectacle is found in the imagery
of the narrative. The environment, for example, refers
to a fairground without particular relevance to the
plot or characters. This imagery, then, submits itself
to the spectacle in that it is presented only as an
exploitation of itself- presented without intention.
Likewise, the "non-art" trash that composes
the characters (the Popsicle stick, the nine-volt battery,
the "3D" glasses, etc.) is spectacular in
that it provides neither particular insight to the characters
themselves nor my intentions as a producer.
The separation that is characteristic
to the spectacle is found in the individualized interpretations
of the audience. As Flotsam and Jetsam is intended to
function on multiple levels, the individual viewer will
create a unique interpretation of the work based on
his/her levels of understanding. Further, as the audience
completes successive viewings, interpretations will
continue to vary on an individual basis. This separation,
in a sense, is the derivative of plurality transcribed
to the audience. That is, because Flotsam and Jetsam
is intended to have multiple meanings, it is pluralistic.
Thus, it creates the separation and individualization
that are typical of the spectacle.
Structuralist/Poststructuralist
Structuralism, a method associated with
modernity, is a mode of communication that is present
in Flotsam and Jetsam in its use of a hierarchy or a
chain of signifiers to produce meaning as well as its
reliance on universal signifiers or symbology. Through
the use of symbology, Flotsam and Jetsam creates a foundation
that produces functionality within the work. The trash
objects that compose the characters are universal signifiers
("universal" meaning understood by capitalistic
society) in that they represent objects common in American
culture while referencing well-known artists. This assumes
an iconography in the images or names of the referenced
artists themselves. The characters themselves function
as archetypes (the universal symbols of storytelling)
by the use of generalization in characterization- by
the unspecific roles they portray. All of these elements
(the trash objects, the referenced artists, the archetypical
characters) serve as icons to a specific, intended audience.
The intended meaning of the work, therefore, can only
be derived from a reliance on them. The interactivity
of these symbols can be thought of as a hierarchy or
chain. First as a hierarchy, the signifiers operate
as a scale of acceptance regarding personal views on
the artists (as mentioned in a previous chapter). Moreover,
a hierarchy is latent within the presentation of the
symbols themselves. At the bottom level, the foundation,
the achetyped characters provide general positions in
favor or against higher levels of symbology. Progressing
up the hierarchy, the trash objects transcribe the positive
or negative context of the archetypes onto the highest
level of symbols, the names and images of the artists.
This hierarchy could also be conceived as a chain- where
the initial links are the archetypes and the final links
are the referred artists. This chain of signifiers leads
the viewer to an intentional meaning, thereby creating
a function to the imagery- a functionality characteristic
of structuralism. This function and foundation of symbol
and structure present Flotsam and Jetsam as a structuralist
endeavor.
"Then there is a second position,
the more radical of the two, what one might call the
poststructuralist position."11
Poststructuralism in Flotsam and Jetsam is evidenced
through the work's fragmentation, plurality, and deconstruction.
The fragmentation of Flotsam and Jetsam is found in
the imagery itself. The elements of the characters and
environment are isolated through an "overload"
of signifiers within the image. That is, as I supersaturate
the objects and environment with signifiers, I intend
to overload the image to the point of fragmentation-
to the degree that the image itself cannot fully describe
the "world" or "reality" that it
illustrates. Consequently, this "emphasis on everything"
isolates each object and element of the environment
by creating a multitude of signifiers within them- in
essence, their own separate universe. For example, the
juice box that functions as Flotsam's right leg has
multiple levels of signifiers within it. From its explicit
signifier as a right leg, to the signifiers revolving
around the juice box within its environment, to the
signifiers relating to the alteration of its traditional
packaging, to the signifiers of Damien Hirst and his
image on the box, even to the text of the ingredients
listed on the side of the box itself, the levels of
signifiers within the work produce an immeasurably expansive
realm that isolates the juice box from the rest of the
work. This fragmentation of poststructuralism exposes
an inability to distinguish the totality of the work
as well as an inability to distinguish anything as outside
of the work- an inability to determine the edges of
the expanded field. This indistinct boundary of interpretation
could also be thought of as a plurality of interpretation.
Plurality/Duality
In considering the postmodern and poststructuralist
aspects of Flotsam and Jetsam, one must inherently consider
the work in pluralistic terms. As presented in the previous
chapter, plurality embodies the elements of expanded
field, signifier reassignment, reusability, and interactivity.
Within this particular work, these elements are evidenced
through my intentions as the artist. By reusing signifiers
such as objects of trash, I reassign them to signifieds
that are not directly associated to those objects, thereby
offering new meaning. In doing so, I leave the new signifiers
exposed- that is, the trash objects are exposed to a
myriad of interpretations by their reassignment as body
parts or artist avatars. These signifiers create an
expanded field of interpretation or an unlimited range
of meaning. The unlimited range of interpretation in
Flotsam and Jetsam could revolve around analyzing the
objects of trash juxtaposed as body parts and in relation
to the figures they represent. Interpretation could
also revolve around the characters and their exchange
within the narrative. Consequently, this unlimited range
encompasses combinations involving the interaction between
the trash object interpretations and the character/narrative
interpretations. The final piece of the expanded field,
the environment, also presents an unlimited range of
interpretation regarding minimalistic fairground atmosphere.
The environment, along with the characters, the narrative,
their parts, and even the medium itself create an expanded
field of interpretation in which the viewer can interact
with the work. This interactivity is perpetuated through
the interplay of signifiers. From the various combinations
of signifiers to signifieds, an individualistic meaning
is gained. This meaning is augmented or altered as the
viewer pursues various avenues of the work. For instance,
the viewer may achieve a particular interpretation through
analysis of the narrative itself. This analysis may
then be altered as the viewer engages the signifiers
of the trash objects. This interpretation may be altered
again when the viewer engages the signifiers circulating
the environment. This process could continue for the
viewer ad infinitum. Subsequently, this interactivity
produces a level of reusability in Flotsam and Jetsam.
As with other postmodern work, the audience can return
to this imagery and posit an interpretation different
from that which was initially derived. As the viewer
continues to discover new elements within the work,
the work rewards the viewer with new insight.
When an expanded field is limited to a
set of binary opposites, it can be thought of as a duality.
That is, as a plurality denotes a range of interpretations
within an expanded area, a duality could denote the
number of interpretations associated with the combination
of two distinctly opposite elements- two binary opposite
signifieds that combine into one signifier. This limited
signification produces a finite, yet distinct, range
of interpretation- in a sense, a semi-plurality. Roland
Barthes refers to this notion:
[For] as nothing exists outside the
text, there is never a whole of the text (which would
by reversion form an internal order, a reconciliation
of complementary parts, under the paternal eye of
the representative Model): the text must simultaneously
be distinguished from its exterior and from its totality.
All of which comes down to saying that for the plural
text, there cannot be a narrative structure, a grammar,
or a logic; thus, if one or another of these are sometimes
permitted to come forward, it is in proportion as
we are dealing with incompletely plural texts…12
Barthes suggests that the application
of narrative structure (or for that matter, any form
of "internal order") imposes a limitation
on the "incompletely plural text"- which asserts
a totality to that text. The totality of the work, or
finiteness, characterizes the work as structural, and
consequently outside of Barthes definition of pure plurality.
A latent duality is intended to exist
within the presentation of the characters' "trash"
parts. This duality displays itself as opposing messages
regarding my personal perception of art- messages of
acceptance and rejection. When considering the previously
mentioned placement of objects (and their referents)
within the characters, one is intended to interpret
an acceptance of those referents by the acknowledgement
and assignment in their respective characters. Simultaneously,
an interpretation of rejection is intended in the forms
by which the referents take. That is, by illustrating
the referred artists as elements of refuse, one is intended
to interpret a rejection of those references, as the
items themselves are often discarded. While it may remain
unclear what specifically is rejected (the artists themselves
or their ideological movements), the references still
carry a dual function- the conveyance of acceptance
and rejection.
CHAPTER III
DUALITY: A UNION OF OPPOSITES
By narrowing an expanded field of interpretation down
to that of two specific, opposing interpretations, an
economy in communication could result- an economy that
could clarify the intent of the artist as well as allow
a serendipitous interplay between interpretations (an
attribute carried over from plurality). That is, by
communicating a preference for both sides of a binary
opposition, an artist could narrow the expanded field
of interpretation to a more controllable, specific,
yet still multiple, edict. In a sense, one would trade
plurality for duality- trading the "galaxy of signifiers"
for a union of opposites.13 The
idea of combining binary opposites is not a novel perception.
In fact, Jacques Derrida uses it frequently as a method
in derivative reasoning (specifically, in reference
to a dissension into the "abyss" of communicative
meaninglessness).14 However,
the idea of combining binary opposites has heretofore
been unaddressed as an emphasized element in the realm
of visual art.
The materialization of duality would not
seem to spawn from its reification, but, rather, the
opposite holds true. As the creation of unclassified
art warrants a new classification, duality's reification
would spawn from its materialization. As a primary example,
the previously mentioned Superflat artists would suffice
as an embodiment of
duality. By combining the animé and manga related
signifiers of cuteness and scariness ("kawaii"
and "kowai"), Superflat artists attempt to
elicit multiple responses from an audience, in order
to achieve a more complicated connection between viewer
and image. Takashi Murakami summarizes the automatic
(perhaps non-deconstructive) nature of the superflat
image:
It is the moment in which, even if we
don't completely understand what we have glimpsed,
we are nonetheless touched by it. This is what we
have come to call "art."15
Eliciting an automatic response from a
presentation of binary opposites might be popularized
(and claimed) by the Superflat artists, but the method
can also currently be found in the work of non-Japanese
artists such as Charlie White and Mark Ryden. These
American artists (White showing work in American Superflat
exhibitions) employ variations of binaries (i.e. alienation
and comfort, acceptance and rejection, etc.) to evoke
similar responses. This binary mentality is not isolated
to the art realm. As Murakami and the Superflat group
have commodified their gallery incarnations, other commercial
endeavors have solidified the cultural acceptance of
dual-natured imagery. Figure 3.1 displays the cute,
yet violent teddy bear known as Gloomy Bear (and its
accompanying tag). This "toy" presents what
designer Mori Chack refers to as the "natural"
relationship between real animals and humans.16
This stuffed animal, distributed in Chax Colony™
stores in Japan and online internationally, could exemplify
a cultural iteration of this otherwise artistic aesthetic.
Gloomy Bear presents a preference for both ends of an
opposition- the explicit opposition in this instance
is between the assumed pacifism of a "cute"
teddy bear and the violence of a "realistic"
bear. This opposition could also be labeled "innocence
versus carnal knowledge". The opposition within
Gloomy Bear is identified through explicit symbology.
The figure itself refers to the perennial "teddy
bear" image through its bulbous forms and simplified
features (i.e. the oversized head and simplified eyes
and muzzle). Meanwhile, the "bloody" features
of the figure (the symbolic blood running from the mouth
and covering the claws) imply violent acts that a real
bear would commit. By combining signifiers of opposing
signifieds (the symbols of "teddy bear" and
"violent animal"), Gloomy Bear creates a dialectic
of opposites. In this particular instance, commodification
asserts the preference for both sides of the inherent
opposition. That is, by creating a commodity of symbols,
Gloomy Bear submits these opposing symbols to the spectacle
as one unit- the viewer (or consumer) is presented with
the acceptance or rejection of this product as a whole.
In other words, through purchasing the product, the
consumer verifies the preference for both parts of the
explicit opposition.
Figure 3.1 Bloody Gloomy Bear and
Detail of Tag Design
Another iteration of duality could be
found in the more recent work of video artist Bill Viola.
The Passions is a series of twenty video works exploring
emotional facial expression and body language. In this
instance, the conflicting binaries are located in the
presentation of the work itself. Through video capture
and altered playback, Viola takes otherwise temporary
actions or imagery and prolongs them to a point of eternal
or iconic status. This is a conceptual element that
dates back to Viola's earlier work- referred to as the
multiple functions of imagery. In Reasons for Knocking
at an Empty House, Viola describes these functions as
particularly "temporary" and "eternal,"
in that they operate as images that describe the moving
sequential and the timeless, respectively.17
Figure 3.2 Progressive Stills from
Viola's Six Heads
By combining the two functions in The
Passions, Viola intends to produce iconic imagery out
of naturalistic, momentary actions. Figure 3.2 illustrates
Viola's emphasis on iconography while exploring the
dual nature of its function. Six Heads refers to a study
by Antonio de Pereda that was created in the late seventeenth
century. This reference could be thought of as a general
reference to the religious imagery of antiquity. By
creating minimalistic figurative imagery with antiquitous
(almost banal) reference, Viola subsequently adds emphasis
to the context of the medium itself. In doing so, Viola
creates an emphasis on the dual function of the work.
Given the emphasis on the combination
of binary oppositions within contemporary works as well
as in commodities of culture, one could present an argument
for the materialization of duality. In considering the
dualistic aspects of the work of Bill Viola, Mori Chack,
and the Superflat artists, duality's presence is materialized
in imagery and function. Through its reification, duality
demonstrates a distinction from plurality and other
emphatic elements of Postmodernity.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
Through Flotsam and Jetsam, I attempt to communicate
to an audience on multiple levels by presenting a plethora
of interrelated signifiers. From explicit levels of
sight gags and narrative to implicit levels of commentary
on art figures and function of binary opposition, my
work intends to create a comprehensive realm for the
viewer to engage while maintaining a structure to that
realm. Creating humor and exposition on its most basic
level, the narrative then progresses implicitly to an
allegorical state. Still more implicit, Flotsam and
Jetsam is intended as a critique on various artists
through a scale ranging from acceptance to rejection
based on the placement of their images within trash
objects as body parts on the characters. Finally, Flotsam
and Jetsam is intended to function as a duality through
its presentation of these artists in trash objects.
Ascribing the artists to unnecessary refuse and simultaneously
placing them within critical areas of the body offers
a binary opposition of acceptance and rejection within
the imagery.
As an offspring, scholar, and practitioner
of postmodernism, I have developed a personal understanding
of its concepts. Through a definition of postmodernism,
one can achieve a greater understanding of my work.
As an artist, I attempt to expound on the ideas of my
influences: Jameson's structural theory, Derrida's communicative
theory, and Murakami's practical application. Through
the exhibition of commercial print and video
media, I attempt to appeal to a greater general audience
that would not ordinarily show interest in a "gallery"
or "traditional" art medium.
I present my work as being both modernistic
and postmodernistic, structuralist and poststructuralist,
pluralistic and dualistic. By juxtaposing conflicting
assertions, I intend to demonstrate the conflicting
or overlapping nature of art's definition. In Flotsam
and Jetsam, one can find functional referents and nostalgic
referents within signifiers; one can find structural
hierarchy and democratic equality within imagery; one
can find an expanded field and a union of opposites
within interpretation.
Duality (a union of opposites and a communication
of preference for both ends of an opposition) materializes
in commercial and gallery artwork, in commodity, and
in Flotsam and Jetsam. By combining the signifiers of
cuteness and scariness, Superflat artists like Takashi
Murakami attempt to elicit multiple responses from an
audience in order to achieve a denser relationship between
audience and work. Likewise, Bill Viola appropriates
opposite temporal aspects of imagery to produce uniqueness
within his work. By taking real-time video and prolonging
it to a near-eternal state, Viola engages the viewer
with two simultaneous versions of a moment in time-
the temporal moment of an action or reaction and the
eternal moment of iconic imagery. As a commodity, Gloomy
Bear presents two opposing views on the idea of a bear.
That is, as a "teddy bear" it signifies innocence
and cuteness, while as a "real" bear it signifies
carnage and scariness.
As a scholar and artist of postmodernism,
I find a deficiency in the definition and function of
art- deficiency in its description through criticism
and function. My work aims to lessen this deficiency
- to return a line of communication that relates art
to a massive audience. Flotsam and Jetsam is my attempt
to employ a union of opposites (along with a number
of other elements) as a method of turning this communication
deficiency into a more structured, functional mode of
art.
Endnotes
1. I take the term "Late Capitalism"
from Fredric Jameson to describe a period of time spanning
the past twenty years. Throughout this work, I use capitalized
terminology as a description of historical placement
rather than an application of the term itself to the
noun it describes. For example, "Postmodernist
society" would refer to the society of the latter
half of the twentieth century, whereas "postmodernist
society" would refer to a society from any time
period that displayed postmodern ideology.
2. Margrit Brehm, "A Lesson in Strategy
(Morphed Double-Loop)," The Japanese Experience-
Inevitable (Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2002), 36-40.
3. Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or the Cultural
Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1991), 251-259.
4. Jacques Derrida, The Truth in Painting (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1987), 7.
5. Roland Barthes, S/Z: An Essay (Paris: Editions
de Seuil, 1970), 5.
6. Fredric Jameson, "Postmodernism and Consumer
Society," The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern
Culture (New Press, 1982), 114.
7. Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle (New
York, NY: Zone Books, 1995) 15.
8. Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or the Cultural
Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1991), 162.
9. Fredric Jameson, "Postmodernism and Consumer
Society," The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern
Culture (New Press, 1982), 119-120.
10. Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or the Cultural
Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1991), 163.
11. Fredric Jameson, "Postmodernism and
Consumer Society," The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on
Postmodern Culture (New Press, 1982), 115.
12. Roland Barthes, S/Z: An Essay (Paris: Editions
de Seuil, 1970), 6.
13. Roland Barthes, S/Z: An Essay (Paris: Editions
de Seuil, 1970), 5.
14. Jacques Derrida, The Truth in Painting (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1987), 7.
15. Takashi Murakami, SUPERFLAT (Tokyo, 2000),
5.
16. Mori Chack, September 17, 2004 <http://www.kidrobot.com/detail.php?sku=BLGP>.
17. Bill Viola, "Video Black- The Mortality
of the Image," Reasons for Knocking at an Empty
House, Ed. Robert Violette (London: MIT Press, 1994),
202.
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