Taryn

TARYN'S PRESS PASS

As I read this article I kept thinking about fashion. I was thinking how fashion designers are constantly using "preexisting artistic elements in a new ensemble" (I was not lead to this idea because of the word ensemble!). As I continued and read how "detournement is a game made possible by the capacity of devaluation" I started thinking about this idea of art and culture making its way to our clothes and how this everyday use is, in a way, a devaluation of something that was once precious - (art, color, form, etc) - now made common (through everyday wear). This became more clear to me as the article states about the expression of "our indifference toward a meaningless and forgotten original and concern itself with rendering a certain sublimity" . Fashion is the perfect example of something that is "a combination of parody and seriousness [that] reflects the contradictions of an era in which we find ourselves confronted with both the urgent necessity an the near impossibility of initiating and carrying out a totally innovative collective action". All the time now fashion is attempting to make a difference - like the GAP's adds to help research of AIDS through it's "innovative" red campain (of course the GAP invented red!). Fashion is a means of expression weather it is simply the words you wear (like TWCDC) or a blatent screaming of status (like GUCCI).

I think that people today are so inundated with consumerism that they start to redefine art as what they buy. We have all become collectors of things and these things are defining culture and taste and history. There is such a shift of what is important that it is changing our thoughts on the everyday. As we looked through advertisements during class it just validated my thoughts about Detournement and what Berger wrote about advertising and art history. Our adds are mimicking art and comprising different elements to create a parody that devalues each of the different aspects - creating a new scope and effect. That said it seems apparent that Advertising is an example of Detournment - I feel that fashion is the extension of these adds to a new level of reality - we become the living Detournement.

What a topic to tackle! This reading was so interesting. I feel the topic of cool is too large to take on because it means so much and has so many different definitions by different people. Although many of the points were interesting - I did not agree with some of them. I feel that cool is being redefined all the time - mainly because if everyone becomes a rebel - then no one is a rebel - because it is then not only the norm, but it's not cool.

I did not agree with the part about how cool is not political - and politics can never be cool - I keep thinking of Micheal moore, and Bono - and even Paris Hilton with Sean John saying VOTE OR DIE - and if I recall correctly that was the year that paris forgot to vote even after her back up with VOTE OR DIE - and it was so lame that INSPIRED me to be more interested and involved in politics.

I feel that power is cool. People taking interest and doing something and that is the opposite of "cool enabling people to live with uncertainty and lowered expectations". Power is connected with high expectations and responsibility - the authors example of Christof from the Truman show shows that power and responsibility are cool - HE CUES THE SUN!

Maybe I just have a very skewed definition of cool - but toil and sacrifice are awesome if they enable you to live abroad, on nothing but hard work for years - I understand the idea of escaping the daily grind of hard work and discipline as being cool - but many time it is just for an alternative version of hard work and discipline. - hiking everest is not easy or cool from laziness.
oh, also i think there are a lot of other cool presidents - and I am sure it is not just me.
AND - baby boomers are going to rule the world for a while rather than the young.
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