Lesson Six Notes.

Critical Studies Lesson Six: Globalisation.

What is historically unique about contemporary cultural environments is there composition from architectural structures, objects, images and people who did not originate within that locality and may have arrived within it from far flung places. A town centre will now comprise a collage of different places represented in images articulated through foreign objects and shown by the ethnic diversity of those people in it. Event or thing depends on everything else around it to take place.

Globalisation can be associated with multiplicity and diversity but also paradoxically with uniformity and homogeneity. Term first used to describe political and economic changes in the 80’s but later has gone on to accrue social and cultural associations as well term first derived from Marshall McLuhan.

1970’s globalisation replaced internationalism, first world countries loaned millions to third world countries. Structural adjustment loans introduced which forced these countries to deregulate their markets and allows international free trade. Allowed multi national companies to trade without considering individual states.

Documenta 11, production of art, cultural drive of globalisation today.

Fredrick Jameson if everywhere is connected how you can be given a space individual can’t conceptualise the given space you live in.

Andreas Gursky Large scale images distinctive for their incisive and critical look at the effect of capitalism and globalisation on contemporary life. Often depicts people as tiny protagonists caught in vast landscapes. Since 1990’s concentrated on sites of tourism etc, chooses to take images of places that are un represent able (too big) so uses many smaller images to create a representation of that space.

Simon Starling investigated the historical processes by which objects and situations are created, often focuses upon how we transform raw materials into usable objects.