Galaxy of Signifiers: G.I. Joe and Jenny Holzer

17Feb09

While watching the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie trailer during the Superbowl, I remembered an amazing article in the October issue of The Believer recounting the impact of G.I. Joe on visual conceptions of war, particularly during the 1980s, when most of today’s soldiers in Iraq were coming of age:
“G.I. Joe’s epic advertising [...]

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Tags: commercialism, contemporary art, G.I. Joe, installation, jason boog, jenny holzer, LED, military, protect protect, roland barthes, s/z, signified, signifier, television, the believer, the rise of cobra, visual culture

Dangerous Commodity

10Jun08

Playing with the concept of commodity in art can undoubtedly be a dangerous endeavor. Having a personal affinity for classical theory, I frequently find myself coming back to Kant’s contention in his Critique of Judgement that art should be “useless.” I understand this more in the sense that the artistic design on [...]

Filed under: commodity, contemporary art, critique, peripheral vision   |  1 Comment
Tags: coin-operated art, commercialism, commodity, contemporary art, theory