Ethical Integrity Essay Example for Free

Ethical Integrity Essay This paper will deal with the concept of ethical integrity relative to the economic crisis of 2009. In order for this concept to make any sense, it must be a social ethic, guides to life and behavior for living in society. But the current state of western economics mas made it clear that revolutionary ideas need to be introduced into our conceptions about ethics, largely utilitarian and relativist. In this paper, the damage done to western economics–and the public perception of economics–will be seen through the eyes of four very different, but complimentary authors: John Locke, Pierre Proudhon, Murray Bookchin and GWF Hegel. All three will be used to deal with the elements of ethic integrity in a time of radical dissatisfaction with the status quo: a status quo where the state and the corporate governance of the western world is coming into question like never before. Proudhon was a revolutionary that functioned in the tradition of Locke. He takes the contract of free peoples that was so dear to Locke in forming the state and takes it one step further: that the state, as outlined by Locke, is not necessary at all, if the main basis of it is the contract in defense of natural rights. The state, in this view, seems to be an unnecessary middleman that always grows far beyond the bounds the libertarians like Locke seek to imprison it (George, 1922, 534). For Proudhon, then, all politics is coercive and power hungry, and hence, Locke’s libertarian theory just provides the groundwork for later tyranny and statism. Proudhon is the creator of a system fo exchange called, for lack of a better phase, â€Å"mutualist anarchism. † What Proudhon saw in his day (the late 18th century) was the wild industrialization of life, the making of quick fortunes and the basic instability of life that was the lot of the average worker and small business man. Such a view would fit to our own day as well. But what Proudhon envisaged is the dismantling of the central state and the large corporate behemoth into t mutualist federation of communities (George, 1922, 535). For him, the man was not a citizen, for that was a mystification with no meaning. He was primary a producer: an industrial worker, farmer, fisherman or banker. It was here that his economic worth was found. All others, the state and the corporate boss, were mere parasites that produced nothing. But if the ethical option of revolution is a proper one, then what would replace the huge modern state? This is the essence of mutualism: the morally integral person manifests his integrity by making and keeping contracts with other people and communities (George, 1922, 538). Anarchy for Proudhon is the moral force that binds individuals and communities to contracts, contracts which represent mutual agreement. If this is the case, then the state makes little sense: the force that binds is the community whose moral force as well as one’s reputation serve to cement ties one person (producer) to another. In other words, each community of producers, functioning in the larger community of diverse members, have their worth in their skills in a trade or producer’s association: this means that the function of this skill in the society requires a moral approach to contracts: by refusing to hold up one’s side of the bargain will expose the person in question as morally fraudulent and hence, outside of the system of mutual exchange, and hence, needless to say, broke. Mutualism means moral integrity because one’ ability to exchange goods and services by way of contract is the basis of an orderly society, not the direction of the state or the creation of needs by corporate bosses. The nature of revolution, then is the gradual taking of political power away from the sate and the corporate boards by these societies of mutual aid: producer’s organizations of farmers, mechanics, etc. Hence, what Locke began as the contract among free property holders to create a state is taken to its next level: workers and producers protecting their autonomy by joining in associations to function on the basis of mutual aid, guaranteed by contract and personal reputation. In other words, Proudhon takes Locke to the next level: from the mutual aid of property holders to the mutual aid of all producers (Proudhon, 1977, 12ff). In both cases, the idea of contract and mutual aid is central, but, since Proudhon is writing in an already industrialized time (Locke, right at the beginning), much has changed since Locke wrote, and the world of industry and finance has destroyed individual autonomy, not enhanced it. As in our own times, both the state and the corporate actors have grown into a symbiotic monster that sucks the average worker dry in taxes and debt. The reality is that no rational person can look at the economic system in the western world in 2009 and claim that it has protected autonomy, community and property: it has done exactly the opposite. Hence, this paper’s focus: the creation, basis and reaction of the morally integral person to this crisis.

Conceptual Art: Responses to Capitalism

Conceptual Art: Responses to Capitalism When Situationism evolved from the Letterist movement, in the middle of the last century, it set itself up in opposition to two other two other politically motivated groups: Dadism and Surreallism. Situationism, however, was only incidentally political, and rather than subverting the art world, aimed only to redesign its context, including the attitudes of the public, so that art could become something anyone could do or enjoy- something integrated into everyday life. Historically, arts efforts to bring down capitalist structures from within have been very ill-fated, with artists finding themselves ignored, scorned, crushed or – perhaps worse- accessories to political agendas. Artists and writers must work harder than ever to devise means of opposing or exposing capitalisms deceptions, but many commentators appear to have reached the conclusion that the battle is barely worth fighting. As we shall see, Jean Baudrillard argues that criticism of the status quo is no longer possi ble through art or literature and that the only efficient way of dissenting from capitalist society is to commit suicide, Modern art wishes to be negative, critical, innovative and a perpetual surpassing, as well as immediately (or almost) assimilated, accepted, integrated, consumed. One must surrender to the evidence: art no longer contests anything. If it ever did. Revolt is isolated, the malediction consumed. Thus the avant-garde movements in Europe put the artist under pressure to exhibit a certain individuality, while also – rather contradictorily- being a producer, and as prolific, political and reactionary a producer as possible, There is a lot of talk, not about reform or forcing the Enlightenment project to live up to its own ideals, but about wholesale negation, revolution, another new sensibility, now self- affirming or self-creating, rather than a universalist or rational self-legitimation. This in turn suggests a tremendously heightened role for the artist, the figure whose imagination supposedly creates or shapes the sensibilities of civilization. In a sense, the avant-garde has been socially commissioned to forecast the future, to scouting out new intellectual terrain, Aesthetic modernity is characterized by attitudes which find a common focus in a changed consciousness of time The avant-garde understands itself as invading unknown territory, exposing itself to the dangers of sudden, shocking encounters, conquering an as yet unoccupied future. The avant-garde must find a direction in a landscape into which no one seems to have yet ventured Early Attempts to Overthrow Capitalism In many ways, Dada and Surrealism represent the most successful artistic rebellions against capitalist norms, as they have attacked the conventional assumption of meaning itself, and in doing so drew attention to the ridiculous fact that such an assumption existed at all, Dada has often been called nihilistic and its declared purpose was indeed to make clear to the public at large that all established values, moral or aesthetic, had been rendered meaningless by the catastrophe of the Great War Dada preached nonsense and anti-art with a vengeance It is as though the Artist jumped before she was pushed. With its effort to close the gap between producer and produced by making everything equally alien, Surrealism also sought to negate its creator, using, pure psychic automatism intended to express the true process of thought free from the exercise of reason and from any aesthetic or moral purpose . Habermas, too, asserts that Surrealism poses a threat to arts existential rights, but still fails in two ways, First, when the containers of an autonomously developed cultural sphere are shattered, the contents get dispersed. Nothing remains from a desublimated meaning or a destructured form; an emancipatory effect does not follow. Habermas draws attention to the levelling affect of contemporary communication networks: networks which challenge the hierarchical assumptions of classical Marxism, and which have, in scale, surpassed what any postmodern commentator – even in the 1980s- could have imagined. More so than ever, our media are democratic and interrelated, A rationalized everyday life, therefore, could hardly be saved from cultural impoverishment through breaking open a single cultural sphere art and so providing access to just one of the specialized knowledge complexes. Any active dissent can be transformed into a commodity, a product to assist the perpetuation of capitalism. Catchy slogans devised by revolutionaries are used to sell mortgages, paintings that challenge conventional assumptions about beauty and form are written about in books to be sold, and bought by galleries where their beauty and form can be admired and valued- bought and sold. As the â€Å"Anti-Naturals† recently wrote, on the subject, â€Å"It is the nature of the Spectacle to transform all experience into a consumer commodity. It is no surprise, then, that so much of modern capitalist production should be focused on the authenticity swindle. It is not merely that we are told that our authentic self is only a credit card order away. We must be told what and how to purchase. Since, in the midst of the Spectacle, all experience is real only when it can be consumed, it is natural to follow the guidance offered by the array of products engineered to address each particular need. In reality, it is quite easy to mass market to hundreds of millions of individuals,‚ since each quest is identical in its basic features.† Any words spoken against can be turned into rallying support. Art, like any powerful weapon, can always be turned against those who use it. Whatever doesnt kill power is killed by it. In this way the Dadaists watched their anti-art works being systematically categorised as works of art, and were forced to focus their whole project completely on the evasion of this recuperation. Five years of agitation against capital, war and morality, brought them to an impasse of suicide or silence. Everything the Dadaists made, said, wrote or performed seemed to be turned against its critical purpose and used against them- and they abandoned the project. Effectively, they went on strike. The Dadaists left a legacy in the form of recuperated, commodified art works, and in multiple imitations of their style and attitude. Their advocation of collage and photomontage is now everywhere in advertisements, their paradoxically anti-art art surely at the very heart of current post-modernist critical theory. They were correct in their belief that this capitalist appropriation was inevitable while they were merely producing, and not controlling the means of production, but in some ways, they did in fact constitute a challenge to bourgeois morality. Dadaism questioned the philosophical assumptions which justified smug bourgeois attitudes, and uncovered the hypocracy of World War 1s brutality legitimising propaganda. In the end they felt that their subversions of established values were merely contributing too much to the culture they had been trying to undermine. The Situationist Asger Jorn was emphatic about the failure of Marxist theory, to liberate of art from commodification , â€Å"Instead of abolishing the private character of property, socialism does nothing but augment them as much as possible, rending humans themselves useless and socially non-existent. The goal of the development of artistic liberation is the liberation of human values by the transformation of human qualities into real values. Here begins the artistic revolution against socialist development, the artistic revolution that is tied to the communist project . . .† Debord and the Situationist Reaction to Capitalism Debords 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle, represented an attempt to articulate as fully as possible the Situationist philosophy. The term spectacle refers to the colonization of everyday life by commodity in late capitalism, an extension of alienation experienced between production and consumption. The spectacles subjective, one-directional effect requires a kind of non-participation, eventually resulting in a breakdown of communication between people. Situationism distinguishes between classical and modern forms of capitalism. Where classical capitalism demanded that wasted time describes any time not spent at work, modern capitalism actually reverses that, using advertising and other spectacular means to declare that it is the time spent at work that is wasted, and work is justifiable only because it provides the monetary ability to consume. Marx wrote that, the worker feels at home when he is not working, and when he is working he does not feel at home The Situationists describe the spectacular society as a place where, the spectator feels at home nowhere, for the spectacle is everywhere . As Debord himself explains, So long as the realm of necessity remains a social dream, dreaming will remain a social necessity. The spectacle is the bad dream of modern society in chains, expressing nothing more than its wish for sleep. The spectacle is guardian of that sleep . However, the spectacle was not unique to capitalist society; the Situationists worked on a theory of the concentrated spectacle that would incorporate individual influences on capitalist regimes. This was principally contrived as a rhetorical framework to include the cult of personality in the dictatorships of places such as Cuba, the Soviet Union and China. The Situationists argued that the same tricks that society used to sell fast cars and kitchen appliances were used to promote and deify figures such as Chairman Mao. In anarchic efforts to subvert the spiritual and fiscal poverty of urban life under the tyranny of the spectacle, the Situationists developed a revolutionary art, departed from artistic convention. In their article Preliminaries Toward Defining a Unitary Revolutionary Program, Debord and the Marxist theorist Pierre Canjuers, assert, â€Å"At one pole, art is purely and simply recuperated by capitalism as a means of conditioning the population. At the other pole, capitalism grants art a perpetual privileged concession: that of pure creative activity, an alibi for the alienation of all other activities (which makes it the most expensive and prestigious status symbol). But at the same time, this sphere reserved for free creative activity is the only one in which the question of what we do with life and the question of communication are posed practically and in all their fullness. Here, in art, lies the basis of the antagonisms between partisans and adversaries of the officially dictated reasons for living. The established meaninglessness and separations give rise to the general crisis of traditional artistic means a crisis linked to the experience of alternative ways of living or the demand for such experience. Revolutionary artists are those who call for intervention; and who have themselves intervened in the sp ectacle in order to disrupt or destroy it.† Initially, the work the Situationist International produced was aimed at ridiculing formalist conceptions of the art object: Asger Jorn bought amateur paintings at flea markets and painted over them, subverting notions of authority and value. Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio invented a style of â€Å"industrial† painting where the canvas was over a hundred metres long, then cut strips off for potential buyers, thereby subverting traditional preconceptions of arts autonomy. In reality these processes were eventually absorbed by a capitalist art market bought, sold, exhibited, written about, and for the most part, politically neutered. In his 1974 book Theory of the Avant-Garde, Peter Burger points out that the avant-garde artists main goal is to shock the viewer, typically accustomed to organic or formalist works of art, in the hope that such withdrawal of meaning will direct the readers attention to the fact that the conduct of ones life is questionable and that it is necessary to cha nge it He goes on to state that, Paradoxically, the avant-gardist intention to destroy art as an institution is thus realized in the work of art itself. The intention to revolutionize life by returning art to its praxis turns into a revolutionizing of art. This is the kind of logic that prompted the Situationists to agree to stop producing art in 1961, when they decided to cease considering themselves artists. Any remaining members unwilling to abandon traditional forms of art, including Jorn, Pinot-Gallizio, and Constant found themselves either being forced into ideological resignation or expulsion. â€Å"It is a question not of elaborating the spectacle of refusal, but rather of refusing the spectacle. In order for their elaboration to be artistic and authentic in the new and authentic sense defined by the SI, the elements of the destruction of the spectacle must precisely cease to be works of art. Once and for all. . . . Our position is that of combatants between two worlds one that we dont acknowledge, the other that does not yet exist.† In The Situationist City, Simon Sadler write that, in abandoning early Situationism, the Situationist International abandoned its imagining of utopia a devastating decision, surely unprecedented in the history of the avant-garde, and yet at the same time surely the situationists greatest contribution to that history: the recognition that in changing the world, avant-garde art cannot be a substitute for popular redistribution of power It seemed that the SI recognized that for any avant-garde to succeed, it would do best striving to produce artists, and not art. The Dadaists, too, were aware that both art and artist are part of the capitalist system, and consequently as guilty in their participation as any other commodity or worker. Marcuse and Adorno, in contrast, argued that the Dadaist project was misguided for its attacks on conventional art. They saw art as an autonomous entity, separate from capitalist interests, and something intrinsically apolitical that must be preserved rather than aggressively undermined. For Adorno, art bears an essential negativity derived from its peculiar Form; its rearrangements of reality are conducted according to a system quite alien to those of capitalism. This â€Å"Form† grants art a: refuge and a vantage point from which to denounce the reality established through domination. While Adorno and Marcuse criticised the anti-artists for attacking artistic Form, they agreed with the avant-gardists in their slightly utopic aspiration of abolishing the distinction that existed between art and the rest of reality. In fact, Marcuse wished to see a society organised around the aesthetic principles he believed resided only within art. Both argued that this integration could not be achieved if artists were allowed to participate. Art should be kept apolitical and protected, in a realm conducive to calm reflection that might remind us of the truth an authentic life can afford us after the revolution. So, although they expressed their rejection of this view in different ways, the Dadaists, Surrealists and Situationists all aspired to a collapse of the distinction between art and the rest of life in present: â€Å"everyday life†. Instead of waiting for the revolution, all three argued that the integration of art and life was in fact necessary for the achievement of revolution, a revolution made possible only by a combined cultural, ideological and economic assault on capitalism. Asger Jorn, again, on the failure of the socialist revolution, â€Å"The capitalist revolution was essentially a socialization of consumption. Capitalist industrialization brought humanity a socialization as profound as the socialization proposed by the socialists that of the means of production. The socialist revolution is the fulfillment of the capitalist revolution. The one element removed from the capitalist system is saving, because consumptions richness has already been eliminated by the capitalists themselves†¦ Real communism will be the leap into the domain of freedom and of value, of communication. Contrary to utilitarian value (normally known as material value), artistic value is the progressive value because, by a process of provocation, it is the valorization of humanity itself. Since Marx, economic politics has shown its impotence and its cowardice. A hyperpolitics will need to strive for the direct realization of humanity.† Walter Benjamins Authentic Opposition: Crisis of Reproduction Walter Benjamin is probably Adornos most established opponent, particularly since The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, a work that concentrated upon defining the aura of traditional art preceding 1900, and assessed the decay of this aura under the impact of new media and cultural technologies. Benjamin argues that art has lost its authenticity because of mechanical mass reproduction in our capitalist-orientated culture industry. He is concerned about shifting attitudes to art, which came about as a consequence of the introduction of mechanical means of reproduction. Formerly unique objects, located in a particular space, lost their singularity as they became accessible to many people in diverse places. Lost too was the aura that was attached to a work of Art which was now open to many different readings and interpretations Unlike his Frankfurt School colleagues, however, and especially unlike Adorno, Benjamin argues, this loss of authenticity is actually a positive thing, because it democratizes and politicizes art. Benjamins claim that arts loss of authenticity might actually help free people, not enslave them in a capitalist culture industry starkly opposes Adornos ideas. In addition, each stage of reproduction of an original work of art also contributes to its loss of aura. According to Benjamin, then: culture has been transformed into an industry; thus art has become commodified; contemporary culture is the machinery by which oppressive ideologies are reproduced and disseminated; new media technologies such as phonographs, film and photography, serve to destroy arts aura and effectively demystify the process of creating art, making available radical new access and roles for art in mass culture; the spectator has become a collaborator and participant, who joins the author in determining the meaning of the production of the work of art. Art is successful only when it enables the critical contemplation of a viewer. Benjamin happily equates authenticity with authority- the authority of oppressive institutions such as the church or the state- and history. As Benjamin explains, the work of arts authenticity is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced Until the 20th century, artworks retained their aura, their â€Å"authenticity† precisely because of their inability to be mass-reproduced, whether religious artifacts or one-off paintings commissioned by individual wealthy patrons. This conception clearly presents aura and authenticity as profoundly undemocratic, as the means of artistic production remain in the control of the rich and powerful, then able use such art to maintain control over the masses. The introduction of mechanical means of reproduction of art, particularly photography and film, caused the very foundations of this setup to be radically altered. For the first time it was possible for anyone to acquire the means to take photographs of a work of art, or at purchase an image of the work. However hard cultural elites in the late 19th century had tried to protect the aura of art works, the social advance of the masses and the invention of media such as film, which depends upon distribution to the masses, had led to the inevitable decay of the aura in the 20th century. Benjamin marks the distinction between manual and machine reproduction of art, The whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical, and, of course, not only technical reproducibility, he states, Confronted with its manual reproduction, which was usually branded as a forgery, the original preserved all its authority; not so vis a vis technical reproduction Benjamin states two reasons this occurs. Firstly, machine reproduction is more independent of the original than manual reproduction; secondly, technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself. So mass-produced copies are able to engage with the wider world in a manner not possible for the original or one-off copies. Benjamin summarises his ideas concerning reproduction by asserting the technique detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. Many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence.† So to allow the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, is to reactivate the object reproduced, â€Å"It is these processes that lead to the tremendous shattering of tradition which is the obverse of the contemporary crisis and renewal of mankind In Benjamins conception, then, state and religious authorities have steadily lost the ability to control general access to such works of art, particularly since the 20th century began. This is most apparent in relation to the cinema, which destroyed the traces of aura with which art had been traditionally imbued; Benjamin cites arts historical value as a fundamental part of magical and religious rituals. In the process, capitalism strips art of its the idealistic, theological halo- to some extent a happy consequence and restorative, as it returns the art object to its non-utilitarian presence, its everyday reality. For Benjamin, an artworks â€Å"aura† refers to its uniqueness and the phenomena of distance, however close [an object] may be. He uses gives the example of distant mountains and a trees bough over head, both contain aura because they are images have not been effectively reproduced mechanically . Beyond the concepts of aura and authenticity, Benjamins concepts of reproduction and reversibility represent the core of his concerns about way in which arts role in society has been fundamentally altered in the 20th century. Benjamin proposes that the artworks aura of authenticity has withered away because of its reproduceability, and the process of reproduction brings art into closer proximity with a mass audience. However, paradoxically, as the authenticity erodes, the works essence becomes forefronted in the process, as it starts to become designed for reproducibility. As Benjamin describes it, â€Å"for the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. . . . From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for an authentic print makes no sense. But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice – politics†. Benjamins commentaries on the effects of reproduction inspired other writers, such as Lechte, â€Å"it is the process of reproduction as such which is revolutionary: the fact, for instance, that the photographic negative enables a veritable multiplication of originals. With the photograph, therefore, the spectre of the simulacrum emerges, although Benjamin never names it as such. The photograph as simulacrum by-passes the simple difference between original and copy† Barbara Krugers Situationism and the Irresistible Collage of Society Barbara Kruger addresses the negative aspects of capitalist society as an artist, writer, curator, lecturer and graphic designer. Her art is displayed both inside and outside museums and in a range of different forms. Occasionally her prints are framed and hung on the walls of museums and galleries in the traditional fashion, but Kruger is endlessly inventive, and often writes text to be printed or projected directly on the walls or floors of a museum. In Picturing Greatness, a photography exhibition curated by Kruger in 1987 for The Museum of Modern Art in New York, text was printed in large black type across a central partition. Kruger selected photographs for this exhibit from the museums collection, and according to the words on the partition, the photographs were mostly of mostly famous artists† who happened to be predominantly white and male. The text on the partition claimed the works can show us how vocation is ambushed by clichà © and snapped into stereotype by the camera, and how photography freezes moments, creates prominence and makes history. Krugers work continually questions the definition of art, artists and the ways in which â€Å"great art† should be exhibited. In this work, Kruger challenges the overwhelming dominance of male artists and draws attention to the females apparent invisibility in western art history. Just like the Situationists under Guy Debord, she has altered the meaning of art by rec ontextualising it. Crucially, the visitor to Krugers exhibition does not need to be familiar with the original photographs before seeing the show- even the uneducated viewer could read Krugers text, look at the original images and come to their own conclusions about the meaning. Thus the work achieves a kind of unique political democracy. Kruger has a background as a graphic designer, and as such creates effective bold images which are in many ways visually indistinguishable from advertisements, but rather than trying to sell a product, appeal directly to our social conscience. The subject of her text is always I, me, we, or you, as though Kruger engages in conversation with the viewer. Her messages probe the assumptions of the capitalist status quo: You are seduced by the sex appeal of the inorganic, When I hear the word culture, I take out my checkbook and We have received orders not to move. Similarly, Constant, of the COBRA group, proposed a city as a kind of physical expression of his utopia of â€Å"free play† which, in parts, bears striking resemblance to representations of the Internet, in books such as Mapping Cyberspace (with wild lines pouring out of the metropolis perhaps representing bandwidth and site traffic). Made with perspex and bike parts, Constants models and his diagrams for New Babylon demonstrate his yearning for future as something mobile, organic, animated, and self-celebratory. For Constant the city was a sort of perpetual festival of leisure. With its intricately connected wires suspending clear circular layers, ramps and walkways, Constants New Babylon recalls some kind of tensile organism. As Constant describes it, â€Å"The unfunctional character of this playground-like construction makes any logical division of the inner spaces senseless. We should rather think of a quite chaotic arrangement of small and bigger spaces that are constantly assembled and dissembles by means of standardized mobile construction elements like walls, floors and staircases. Thus the social space can be adapted to the ever-changing needs of an every changing population as it passes through the sector system.† Analogues with the Internet are irresistable. Equally, he could have been referring in a general way to those unique social structures which have grown from the anti-globalisation movement – structures which, although provisional, pragmatic and short term, are nevertheless ideologically committed to social change and serve as emblems of the ongoing struggle against capitalism, a battle fuelled entirely from reserves of creativity. Constants is city as collage, similar to that celebrated by the less politically motivated group, Archigram, in the UK (many of whose members now design massive architectural features for megaband stadium concerts). In this time of desperate connectivity and complicated layering of urban cultures, with invisible webs of communication engulfing us, the need to understand the city as a place beyond work and production seems more pressing than ever. The Situationist reaction to capitalism is also excellently expressed through anti capitalist collage: for example that of the General Lighting and Power group, whose slick mock-advertising images of soft focus female forms in leotards and computer graphics of office interiors and car accidents, wryly annotated with entertaining aphorisms such as: Aerobics is necessary: progress implies it (I see you baby, shaking that ass) and God is in the retailing Comparisons to Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger are obvious. Charles Rice, too, has observed the oversized billboard signs now proliferating in major cities, arguing convincingly that they serve to perpetuate the distance between the real and the impossible,these spatial fantasies effectively deliver identification with the distant and the unattainable† Many writers have noted the similarities between the Situationists idea of the derive (that is, the navigating of a city via means and routes other than those originally intended) and the experience of â€Å"surfing† the internet. Colin Fournier, architect and educator makes some potent observations on this area. It would seem that many of the characteristics of the internet reflect the S.I.s utopic city. The things considered prerequisite for their utopia: an ephemeral, negotiable type of city, where uses were determined by the population, surfing the web is like the idea of drifting or â€Å"deriving†, flaneur-like, through a city. The Situationist city and the web are uniquely flexible, anarchically dynamic: spacial relations secondary on any given route. The internet always seems to somehow recall the old Surrealist idea of using a map of one city to find ones way around another. Art as Capitalism: the Medias Re-appropriation of Images Increasingly, the media is becoming governed by imagery, and the average consumer is overwhelmed by visual information on a daily basis. Through sheer competition, the commercial sphere has been forced to use stranger, scarier, more extreme imagery to earn the attention of bewildered customers. Magazines such as Vogue have lured artists to their pages, where they are seen as innovative, visionary powers for re-inventing a complacent visual vocabulary. Thus, the traditional hierarchy of photography, in which the commercial and conceptual worlds were segregated, has been broken down into a fluid, integrated world- mutual respect has ensured that crossing the boundary either way no longer carries the taint or disrespect it once did. A new generation of artists have grown up with the rather cynical and postmodern idea that all things are commercially viable. Contemporary art school graduates are less likely to see their ventures into the commercial realm as contamination, and more as a necessary aspect of their endeavor. Commerce is incorporated into art at every level, from the means to the ends to the theme. That the common thread of art and fashion- the human body- has become such a commodity, seems like an obvious extension of this. Fashion spreads frequently borrow art photographers for their pages and mimic, in the case of Diesel and others, with considerable irony- the current art world trend towards narrative ambiguity and deliberately theatrical tableaux that recall â€Å"theoretical† artists like Jeff Wall and Cindy Sherman. Russel Wong is one such new generation artist, his work strongly informed by todays cultural fascination with celebrity. Wong has become famous through striking portraits of personalities from sports to music and movies, famous for capturing moments of vulnerability, warmth and humor. A number of Wongs photos have been used on the covers of international magazines. My photos are never confrontati

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov: The Last Tsar of Russia Essay

:Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov, the last standing Tsar of Russia officially known as Tsar Nicholas II, autocrat of Russia. Nicholas II was born on 18th May, 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo, Russia. Nicholas II was the eldest son of Alexander III and his Empress Marie Romanova. Nicholas was eldest of six children. He had three younger brothers, Alexander, George, Michael and two younger sisters, Xenia and Olga. Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917, his reign saw imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to an economic and military catastrophe. Tsar Nicholas II influenced and sought change in the historical events of Russo - Jap War, Bloody Sunday, October Manifesto, The First Russian Revolution, World War One and the abdication of the throne. Thus bringing about change in Russia and the autocratic system of ruling that lead to the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty. Nicholas firmly believed in the same traits as his father, Tsar Alexander III. After the sudden death of his father in 1894, Nicholas II was crowned Tsar of Russia, and left to rule without any knowledge and training of leadership skills. The state of Russia’s economy and military was in the fate of Nicholas II. As he was unprepared for the new and challenging role to govern the extensive Russian empire. Nicholas II complained to his brother-in-law stating that, ‘I am not prepared to be a Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling’. Nicholas II was different compared to that of the past Tsars, Nicholas’ II early interests did not revolve around political matters. His father, although wanted him to be tough but his personality was the exact opposite. Soon after the death of his fath... ... factor within it self that contributed to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. As a result the impact of World War One and tensions that arose in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicated by the Duma. As the primary source, ‘At Last’ –Brisbane worker, 22nd March 1971, indicates that the majority of the people did not want a Tsar ruling Russia thus the need for the a revolution. The big hand, in the source represents the size of the people and the forcible removable of the Tsar as it burst through chair. By the second revolution the Romanov dynasty has ended due to the execution of the Romanov’s. The fall of the Russian Empire was a result of a complex web of factors. The ultra conservatism and political inexperience of Tsar Nicholas II greatly contributed to the fall, as did the huge socio-economic changes, modernisation, industrialisation of the period.

Dances With Wolves Essay -- essays research papers

The film, Dances with Wolves, staring Kevin Costner gives a historically accurate presentation of the Sioux Indians and their way of life. In this production, Lieutenant John Dunbar, played by Costner, is rewarded for his heroic actions in the Civil War by being offered an opportunity to see the American frontier before it is gone. Dunbar is assigned to an abandoned fort where his only friends are a lone wolf and his beloved horse, Cisco. After several weeks of waiting for more American troops, a Sioux Indian makes contact with Dunbar and reports this finding to his chief. This incident sets off a train of events that would forever change John Dunbar and the Sioux tribe he encounters. When Dunbar realizes that the Indians know where he lives, he becomes extremely paranoid and spends his days preparing the fort for another confrontation. He buries all the extra materials in fear that they might fall into enemy hands. On one of his daily rides around the frontier, Dunbar comes across an Indian woman crying under a tree. He sees the imminent danger from the woman’s self-inflicted wounds and determines it is his duty to return the woman to the Sioux camp. Dunbar dresses in his best uniform and shines his boots to prepare for the meeting. When the Sioux spot Dunbar they are immediately alarmed and confront him ready to kill. Kicking Bird, a Sioux holy man and the first Sioux to know of Dunbar’s existence, discourages the fight claiming that the white man is not there to fight. Wind In His Hair, a fierce warrior, tears the Sioux women from Dunbar’s grasp and the lieutenant is allowed to go freely. That following evening the Sioux council discussed w hat they would do with their new neighbor and decided that Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair would revisit Dunbar’s fort to find out why he was there. Dunbar welcomed the Sioux to the fort but was worried of what they planned to do with him. The language barrier was met head on, as neither could understand each other. Using gestures and objects, limited communication was accomplished on the first visit. The Sioux continued to visit Dunbar and each day progress was made. Dunbar taught the Indians some of the white culture and Kicking Bird was anxious to discover why he was in their territory and how many more white men would come. Both sides were forced to overcome the language barrier and their mutual fear and distrus... ...w village, he took the trip back to the fort, promising to catch up with them later. Upon his arrival at the fort, a new fleet of soldiers had settled in. They quickly spotted Dances With Wolves and attacked him. The soldiers killed his horse and arrested him. Dances With Wolves would not cooperate with the American soldiers but would only speak to them in Sioux. Due to his lack of assistance, the soldiers were forced to transport their prisoner back to Fort Mays to be hung. Before the Americans could make it to Mays, the Sioux attacked them and saved Dances With Wolves. Dances had proven his loyalty to the Sioux and abandoned all his white ways. The transformation became complete. Lieutenant John Dunbar went through several drastic changes to become Dances With Wolves. In his short time with the Indians, he turned enemies into friends and foreign customs into his own. His view of the Sioux changes more severe than he does. No longer does he view them as savages without order, but now he sees them as a civilized group with more heart than anyone he has met before. His experiences with the Sioux help to open his eyes and change him into a man he never was and never thought he’d be.

The Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla Essay -- Aztecs Broken Spear

"The Broken Spears" by Miguel Leon-Portilla The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the â€Å"god† that included a human sacrifice, which was seen by the Spanish as a disgusting act, this trigged Spanish hatred for the Aztecs. When the Spanish saw the resources that the Aztecs had, they quickly started taking advantage of the Aztecs weaknesses. The Spanish had more power; they were better equipped than the Aztecs and more advanced. The Aztecs’ leader Montecuhzoma was a weak leader, he was more of a coward, more concerned with his well being and safety than the safety of his people and kingdom so he quickly surrendered under pressure. The Spanish used surrounding enemy tribes to take over the Aztec lands, then began to massacre men, women and children. When the Aztec became angry and started to fight back, they were quickly wrecked by the diseases the Spanish ...

Eastern Religions Analysis Essay

Modern western medicine is based on knowledge and technological innovations appeared in 19th and 20th centuries. In contrast to eastern traditions, modern western medicine rejects the role of mind and soul in treatment trying to explain everything form Rationalist point of view. Recent years, eastern religious traditions penetrate into modern medicine brining new understanding of diseases and their causes. Alternative medicine is a ‘branch’ of modern medicine which applied eastern religious traditions into professional medical practice. The main advantage of eastern religious traditions (Daoism, Hinduism, etc.) is interpretation of mind-body interaction which sees human mind and body as a part of the world order, nature and cosmic environment. Following eastern religious traditions, modern medicine uses meditation techniques and relaxation as the main tools to treat many incurable diseases. They program mind towards positive thinking and health. Eastern teaching includes unconscious ideas that shape everyday behavior, namely the right decision, the right attitude and truth. â€Å"By going to a practitioner skilled in one of these arts [eastern practices], patients feel that they are getting a complete doctor – someone to treat their medical condition and to give them wise advice about life as well† (Dworkin 2001, 3). As the most important, eastern religious traditions use herbal substances and other natural ingredients as an alternative to surgical treatment methods. Today, more and more drugs consist of herbs and vitamins as the most effective and safe measures of treatment. Eastern religious traditions prove that chemical substances are ineffective if a person (patient) cannot change his attitude towards life and his diseases. Dworkin explains: â€Å"Alternative medicine stands between medical science and organized religion, and therefore stands between what is known and what is unknown† (Dworkin 2001, 3). In spite of great knowledge, the role of eastern religious traditions and their practical application is still limited by rational knowledge of western society. Modern India is influenced by globalization and westernization processes which changed social ideals and beliefs of modern generations. The remarkable feature of modern society is that it does not reject and ignore old beliefs and values applying new traditions and innovation to its cultural heritage. Following Frawley, it is possible to interpret Hinduism as: â€Å"the Dharmic soul of India, [which helps] to rise up from deep sleep and realize its true heritage† (Frawley 2002, 113). Popular culture of social and intellectual elite is primarily viewed by strong traditions of people, as well as religious dogmas, and Hinduism is the source that influences popular culture. After the period of colonialism and Communism, this change in national consciousness and mind is a result of the collapse of a stable world-view created during 20th century, which led to panic and moral decay. In modern India, social norms play greater role than Hinduism and are seen as a priority. Some critics admit that some Hindus are distance themselves from religious traditions â€Å"avoiding being seen going to temples, Yet â€Å"†¦ may go to churches and mosques as a demonstration in their universality of religion.† (Frawley, 16 cited Thaiyar 2002, 113). This tendency shows that modern generations are free to practice a high degree of ethical pluralism in their personal life choosing personal religion and way of life. Changing ideologies required changes of common people who are the base of popular culture. Still, Hinduism has a tremendous impact on cultural and social life of Hindus as a part of historical development and national identity. In general modern society is suppressed by social changes which influence world perception and culture, but, at the same time and again are associated with the â€Å"reformed† religion, which demands strict code of ethics and beliefs. Today, most Hindus subconsciously follow Hinduism traditions and philosophy, way of life and food patterns as a part of national culture they cannot change. Hinduism penetrates all spheres of social life and cultural norms reshaping modern nation and its values formed during the 1950s. References Dworkin, R.W. (2001). Science, Faith and Alternative Medicine. Policy Review, p. 3. Thaiyar, S. (2002). Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the Modern World. International Journal of Humanities and Peace, 18, p. 113.   

“Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose Essay

Rose challenges the view that intelligence can be measured by the amount of schooling a person has completed. He suggests that blue-collar and service jobs require more intelligence than meets the eye. He describes his experiences growing up observing his mother as a waitress in coffee shops and family restaurants. He depicts his mother as a dynamic woman who loved her job and put her heart and soul into being a waitress. He described the way she memorized who ordered what, how long each dish is supposed to take to prepare, and how she became a professional at deciphering the emotional needs of her customers and colleagues alike. He also details his uncle’s work at the General Motors factory and shows the amount of intelligence that was required of him as he rose from being on the production line to supervising paint jobs. Rose explains how he observed different types of blue- collar and service workers in action, and came to the conclusion that each of them have a skill that takes a lot of mind power to master. I agree with Rose that the amount of schooling a person complete doesn’t necessarily measure their intelligence level. Especially in today’s economy many people can’t afford to pursue higher education, and that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t make excellent doctors or lawyers if they could afford the schooling. Not everyone has the means to acquire degrees and titles; some don’t even have the desire. I believe that higher education is a worthwhile endeavor, but I also believe that it is the best route for some and not for all. Attending college is not the only way that a person can lead a happy and fulfilling life.