What you want, Whenever you want it

Paulsen, Jody

What you want, Whenever you want it

Master Thesis

2014

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Michaelis School of Fine Art

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

Nothing in the modern consumer society is consumed with more relish as criticism of consumption. Merely to consume appears to be morally reprehensible ? one should produce, make, be creative. What You Want Whenever You Want It is a project that reflects on contemporary culture, including movements of taste, tempo and style. It embraces the rich and varied iconography of popular culture ? films, advertising, images, packaging, fashion and music. By seeking, absorbing and emulating the content of these cultural iconography and collaging them together, i have developed my own idiosyncratic view on consumerism, specifically in relation to Western popular culture. According to Boris Groys, the act of shopping may often be misconstrued as a frivolous or meaningless activity. Wandering idly, touching, selecting and consuming are generally viewed as the primary urban leisure occupation of affluent Western society. Purchasing goods is an activity that does more than just satisfies one's general needs or desires. Rather, shopping is a communal and public ritual through which identity is created and altered (Hollein, M. 2002: 14). What You Want Whenever You Want It Whenever you want it is a mixed media body of artworks. The primary material is 'fuzzy' felt fabric. The felt used throughout my body of work is prepared using artificial fibres. Synthetic felt is available in a reasonably wide variety of loud and vibrant colours. The highly absorbent and dense texture of felt permits intense colour that is both bold and eye-catching. I have used the plasticity of the synthetic felt to create conceptual ties to the superficial and theatrical nature of Western contemporary culture, because this synthetic material allows me to emulate the striking and mesmerizing nature of my content. Each work in What You Want Whenever You Want It uses modes of art-making that involve collage and appropriation. The project customizes and recombines various existing elements of the commercial world. These modes of art making have enabled me to explore materiality through the juxtaposition of existing media. Collage as a fine arts medium has been significant in reflecting the social, political and cultural climate of the world throughout various movements in modern art (Waldman, D. 1992: 8). This body of work engages with collage as a medium as it allows me to re-contextualize existing fragments of media and make it into a new product on its own. In the recombination of these fragments, I aim to communicate new viewpoints on consumerism and Western popular culture. This thesis paper works to explicate my process and my artwork. It proceeds in sections titled 'The Materiality of Felt', 'Felt Suit (After Beuys)', 'On Form, (Robert Morris)', 'Experience (Mike Kelley)', 'The Impact of Collage' and notes on individual artworks. Firstly, The Materiality of Felt explains and explores the materiality of felt, focusing on its relevance to my artwork. Secondly, I discuss the artists that influence my work. Thirdly, I explore the history, impact and meaning of collage in terms of my art-making process. The fourth section focuses on individual artworks and content. Both the work and production process is described.

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