Capacidad de Carga Efectiva (CCE)

Chapter!4!–!The!ProsumerCArtists!

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4.1!Mark!Leckey!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

4.2!Ericka!Beckman! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

4.3!Frances!Stark! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

!

In!the!first!chapter,!I!looked!at!Toffler’s!identification!of!the!‘proactive!consumer’,!

which!describes!a!labourer!for!whom!technology!enables!better!working!conditions!

and!greater!leisure!time.!Toffler’s!prosumerism!was!to!improve!second!wave!

capitalism!for!the!benefit!of!the!individual!worker.!It!would!also!break!from!

distinctions!between!Sector!A!and!Sector!B!work,!and!counteract!prejudice!against!

specific!forms!of!productive!and!unproductive!labour,!supporting!universal!and!equal!

opportunity.!Prosumerism,!by!Toffler’s!1980!account,!is!a!positive!labour!form,!which!

can!yield!profit!whilst!also!being!antiYcapitalist!(by!‘deYmarketising’!labour)!and!

feminist!(by!eliminating!‘the!invisible!wedge’).!The!prosumer!is!a!term!that!Toffler!does!

not!so!much!apply!to!a!particular!demographic!or!profession!but!promotes!as!a!future!

mode!of!employment!potentially!beneficial!and!liberating!to!all.!Tapscott!and!William’s!

later!version,!by!contrast,!is!applied!to!a!group!of!individuals,!inspired!by!open!source!

computer!programmers,!whose!competitive!instincts!might!be!pitted!against!one!

another!and!encouraged!to!modify!and!expand!open!source!software!(or!its!later!

iterations).!This!‘prosumer’!is!an!Internet!user!working!among!a!community!with!

whom!they!are!trying!to!establish!their!technical!skills!and!capacities.!These!prosumers!

do!not!identify!themselves,!but!are!rather!identified!by!capitalists!as!a!means!of!free!

labour!to!improve!their!software!for!no!financial!reward.!This!corporate!mobilisation!

of!free!workers!cuts!down!financial!overheads!and!increases!revenue.!!

!

So,!after!the!reality!of!the!latter!term!overtook!the!meaningful!ideals!of!its!

predecessor,!and!beyond!recent!theses!calling!for!change,!where!everyone’s!imageY labour!is!ripe!for!exploitation,!what!kind!of!agent!might!be!uniquely!equipped!to!

advance!from!forms!of!prosumer!critique!within!its!highly!contested!imageYenvirons?!!

Before!moving!on!to!some!examples!of!artworks!where!the!nature!and!substance!of!

prosumerism!is!rendered!in!different!ways,!it!is!worth!considering!how!an!artist!might!

be!equipped!to!critically!engage!with!the!kind!of!‘work’!involved!in!prosumerism.!

Making!art!has!always!fallen!somewhere!outside!the!rubric!of!‘labour’!proper.!While!it!

has!always!depended!on!some!degree!of!patronage,!it!has!also!hardly!conformed!to!

what!is!understood!as!labour:!it!would!have,!for!example,!no!place!in!Boltanski!and!

Chiapello’s!evaluation!of!labour!in!France!under!the!‘New!Spirit!of!Capitalism’,!despite!

their!general!appeal!for!emergent!forms!of!‘artistic!critique’.!Making!art!does!not!

(necessarily)!generate!a!steady!salary!or!a!pension,!it!doesn’t!earn!or!qualify!for!

welfare!benefits!or!entitlements!that!other!salaried!jobs!might.!Its!payment!is!

precarious!and!often!irregular.!What!then!qualifies!artists’!works,!or!rather!this!

evaluation!of!artists’!works,!to!accurately!or!adequately!identify!and!manipulate!the!

terms,!conditions!and!produce!of!this!new!form!of!free!labour?!Well,!it!is!precisely!

these!difficulties!of!distinguishing!between!the!productive!and!unproductive!aspects!of!

creative!or!artistic!practice,!both!as!a!semiYprofessional,!semiYvocational!lifestyle!but!

also!as!creative,!communicative!endeavours!which!initially!influenced!the!

development!of!postYFordist!ways!of!working!and!which!now!uniquely!qualify!it!to!

reflect!back!on!this!new!productive!mode!of!imageYwork.!So!here,!when!artists!identify!

this!new!kind!of!labour!within!their!work,!or!begin!to!relate!to!it!in!different!ways,!

prosumerism’s!recuperated!form!of!‘creative’!labour!is!exposed!anew.!!

!

In!this!chapter!I!describe!the!works!of!three!artists!at!some!lengths,!firstly!a!selection!

of!works!by!British!artist!Mark!Leckey,!secondly!two!works!by!American!artist!Ericka!

Beckman!and!one!final!work!by!another!American!artist!Frances!Stark.!In!different!

ways!these!works!adopt!a!prosumer!as!their!central!protagonist,!be!that!dramatised!as!

an!alter!ego,!a!fictional!lead!or!an!avatar.!In!each!work,!the!artists!use!still!and!moving!

images!to!illustrate!their!protagonist’s!subjective!experiences!of!this!activity,!those!

images!created!by!or!representative!of!different!forms!of!prosumerism.!In!different!

ways,!these!case!studies!depict!and!problematise,!dramatise!and!undermine!

prosumerism’s!methods!of!display!and!exhibition!and!the!subjectivities!that!are!both!

produced!by!and!productive!of!those!displays.!In!the!following!two!chapters!I!will!look!

at!the!intrinsic!and!extrinsic!elements!of!prosumerism,!respectively,!and!how!they!are!

brought!together!and!exposed!through!these!specific!works.!!

!

When!I!reference!the!works!of!Leckey,!Stark!and!Beckman,!I!sometimes!collectively!

refer!to!them!as!works!by!the!‘prosumerYartists’.!Although!there!are!many!different!

ways!in!which!a!contemporary!artist!might!chose!to!embody,!perform,!parody,!subvert!

or!otherwise!critique!prosumerism!as!a!new!mode!of!production,!I!propose!that!these!

particular!case!studies!have!a!specific!and!complex!relationship!to!prosumerism,!

showing!the!new!kinds!of!subjective!responses,!technical!tools,!social!behaviours!and!

exhibitionary!practices!involved!in!the!activity,!creating!a!sophisticated!evaluation!of!

its!affective!properties.!They!are!each!structured!around!fixed!narratives!and!do!not!

require!of!me,!as!a!viewer,!any!degree!of!cooperative!participation!or!coYproduction!of!

the!work,!as!I!might!be!required!to!produce!as!an!online!prosumer.!I!will!elaborate!on!

the!critical!significance!of!this!distinction!later!in!the!thesis.!Suffice!to!say!at!this!stage,!

that!by!‘prosumerYartist’!I!mean!that!these!artists!are!making!sophisticated,!dynamic!

works!from!the!substance!or!stuff!of!prosumerism,!rather!than!necessarily!continuing!

the!job!of!prosumerism!within!the!work!or!demanding!their!viewers!perpetuate!that!

activity.!!

!

The!works!that!I!have!selected!represent!the!affect!of!the!image,!the!appeals!and!

disturbances!which!this!activity!brings!and!the!different!agencies!that!encourage!and!

capitalise!upon!this!activity.!In!showing!the!variety!of!prosumerism’s!myriad!affects,!its!

allures!and!pitfalls,!they!exhibit!a!critical!distance!from!this!activity.!Theirs!is!a!very!

selfYconscious!form,!showing!their!protagonists’!experiences!as!prosumers,!articulating!

the!highs!and!lows!of!these!experiences.!While!recognising!the!affect!of!the!image!

upon!their!protagonists,!the!viewer!of!this!work!might!also!acknowledge!their!capacity!

to!have!a!similar!mixed!response!in!their!own!life,!as!prosumer.!I!will!go!on!to!assert!

that!these!works!do!not!immediately!renounce!or!condemn!prosumer!platforms!in!the!

same!vein!as!chapter!three’s!prosumer!critique,!nor!demand!we!do!the!same,!but!

instead!provide!a!different,!reflexive!viewing!experience.!

!

Also,!for!clarity!sake,!these!artists!are!working!with!a!range!of!images,!creating,!

sourcing!or!reproducing!the!mode!of!online!work!of!prosumers!outlined!in!the!

previous!chapters.!However,!they!are!not!explicitly!working!with!‘stock’!photography!

and!if!so,!this!is!not!necessarily!highlighted!during!the!course!of!their!work.!What!links!

their!work!to!the!microstock!industry!and!‘big!bang’!I!describe!in!the!second!chapter,!is!

their!protagonists’!role!in!the!mode!of!production,!through!representing!the!

experience!of!developing!or!fostering!a!voracious!appetite!for!images!and!a!greater!

capacity!and!instinct!to!generate!them,!or!as!Frosh!observes!the!new!‘pseudoYcyclical!

consciousness’!that!underpins!stock’s!assimilation!and!production.!These!artists!are!

positioning!their!protagonists!as!agents!like!the!microYstock!producers,!where!the!

experience!of!their!encounter!with!images!is!drawn!out,!dramatised!and!performed.!!

!

*!!!!!!!!!!!!*!!!!!!!!!!!!*!

4.1!Mark!Leckey!!

!

Mark!Leckey!is!my!first!example!of!the!artist!as!prosumer,!and!the!only!one!who!

directly!claims!the!term!to!resemble!his!working!process,!thinking!about!himself!as!‘a!

kind!of!prosumer,!where!you!produce!and!consume!at!the!same!time!and!with!the!

tools!that!prosumers!use’.^!205!It!is!more!than!simply!this!claim,!however,!that!qualifies!

my!interest!in!his!work.²⁰⁶!His!identification!as!a!prosumer,!as!a!producer!and!

consumer!of!images,!is!in!keeping!with!his!longYterm!evaluation!of!the!cycles!of!imageY consumption!and!production,!not!specifically!from!the!perspective!of!an!artist!but!

rather!as!a!malleable!and!willing!consumer.!It!is!from!this!experience!as!a!consumer!

that!he!evaluates!in!first!person!narratives!accompanied!by!the!same!images!that!

provoke!them,!the!phenomenological!effects!of!the!consumerYdirected!image!and,!by!

proxy,!how!those!effects!keep!him!producing!and!in!turn,!the!wheels!of!prosumerism!

turning.!While!this!is!a!process!that!he!names!as!prosumerism!in!2008,!it!is!a!cycle!that!

is!evident!in!his!work!from!its!beginnings!in!the!late!1990s.!!!

!

The!title!of!one!his!earliest!works,!‘Fiorucci!Made!Me!Hardcore’!(1999)!(Fig.!1!–!3.),!

refers!to!an!Italian!sports!clothing!brand,!emblematic!among!particular!groups!of!

young!people!involved!in!an!underground!dance!music!scene!in!the!early!1980s.!This!

brand!could!have!been!substituted!for!any!other,!he!maintains,!the!important!aspect!

being!this!process!of!identification!with!a!commodity!through!their!image,!as!‘brands!

imprint!themselves!on!your!psyche.!They’re!just!sort!of!there.!I!share!brands!as!much!

as!I!share!archaeology!and!ancient!sites.!Those!two!things!are!what!make!me!up.!It!

seems!impossible!not!to!acknowledge!them,!but!not!in!any!kind!of!critical!way.!Fiorucci!

Made!Me!Hardcore!basically!says!that!a!brand!made!me!transcendent.!That’s!what!I!

meant!by!the!title.’²⁰⁷!The!artist’s!articulation!of!his!relationship!with!the!branded!

image!as!a!form!of!spiritual!transcendence!is!a!claim!that!reappears!consistently!

throughout!his!later!work.!While!we!cannot!dispute!any!claim!about!the!kind!of!

subjective!relationship!he!has!with!images,!the!artist’s!language!clearly!plays!on!how!

consumerism,!or!consuming!an!object!via!its!image,!might!provide!a!spiritual!

encounter,!an!alternative!to!organised!religion!and!a!cultural!form!irrespective!of!class.!!

Leckey!has!said!of!the!period!prior!to!which!he!made!‘Fiorucci’,!that!‘[…]!in!those!ten!

years!I!was!looking!for!a!way!of!responding!to!the!world.!Trying!to!find!something!I!

could!make,!to!find!a!language!of!communication.’²⁰⁸!!During!that!time,!Leckey!was!

involved!in!music!production!and!DJYing!before!returning!to!make!art,!retaining!the!

methodology!of!sampling!but!this!time!in!more!visual!terms.!He!says,!‘the!main!

influence!on!me!at!that!time,!that!gave!me!a!structural!way!to!make!it,!was!Johan!

Grimonprez.!Dial!H&I&S&T&O&R&Y!(1997)!had!a!massive!influence!on!me!when!I!saw!it.!

And!Craig!Baldwin!who!worked!at!this!place!Artists!Television!Access!and!he!made!

what!he!calls!cargo!cuts,!which!are!based!around!this!idea!of!found!footage.!Fiorucci!is!

about!the!culture!of!the!used,!sampling.!All!the!music!is!made!through!sampling!and!

through!those!kinds!of!techniques.’²⁰⁹!So,!in!these!quite!early!stages!of!Leckey’s!artistic!

career,!he!begins!to!blend!moving!images!from!a!variety!of!sources,!in!a!way!that!

closely!resembles!music!sampling,!or!editing!of!found!footage.!It!is!quite!specifically!in!

the!substance!of!that!mass!produced,!or!publicly!broadcast!audio!and!visual!material!

that!Leckey!was!interested!at!this!point,!cutting!material!from!diverse!sources!and!

transfiguring!it!into!his!very!own!work,!an!approach!that!has!remained!with!him!

throughout!his!career.!!

!

‘Fiorucci’!was!made!from!excerpts!of!video!cassette!reels!of!different!concerts!and!gigs!

compiled!from!friends’!archives,!excerpts!of!documentation!of!the!Northern!Soul!

dancehalls!of!the!late!1960s!and!early!1970s,!discos!of!the!mid!1970s!and!underground!

rave!scene!of!the!1980s.²¹⁰.!Manually!sampling!and!editing!VCR!to!produce!works!

marks!the!early!development!phase!of!Leckey’s!image!‘consumption’,!a!phase!that!

predated!new!sampling!and!editing!techniques!facilitated!through!digital!technology’s!

marriage!with!the!Internet.!The!work!follows!dancers!caught!on!camera,!moving!to!

increasing!tempo,!their!expressions!intensifying!according!to!their!immersion!in!the!

music.!The!varying!tempo!of!each!clip!is!emphasised!through!the!original!time!gage!

seen!at!different!corners!of!the!footage!on!screen,!which!slows!out!of!pace!with!the!

viewer’s!real!time.!Purposely!out!of!sync,!his!subjects’!enthrallment!is!emphasised.!The!

crowds’!euphoria!is!exaggerated!as!if!participating!in!an!almost!spiritual!ceremony.!

Congregation!through!music!is!conveyed!as!a!visceral,!spiritual!experience.²¹¹!Later!on!

in!his!work,!Leckey!performs!the!euphoric!participant,!articulating!and!emphasising!his!

immersion!in!images!through!a!willing!and!purposeful!overYidentification!with!them,!

‘Using!these!brands!is!a!way!of!figuring!out!what!my!relationship!is!to!these!things.!But!

at!the!same!time!they!magic!up!these!things!that!are!incredibly!beautiful.!Or!that!can!

be!used!in!a!way!that!is!transformative…!when!I!use!that!stuff!it’s!because!I’m!very!

ambivalent!about!it.!I!don’t!know!what!its!power!is!and!I!can’t!just!be!critical!of!it!

because!it’s!part!of!the!fabric!of!the!world!I!live!in.!I!don’t!know!how!to!step!beyond!

that!wall!or!be!detached!from!it.’²¹²!He!claims!(unlike!the!many!critics!have!responded!

to!the!work²¹³),!that!this!is!not!a!capitalist!critique,!but!rather!an!effort!to!identify!or!

perform!some!of!the!‘transformative’!affects!that!images!or!commodities!have!

through!marketing!or!advertising.!The!work!raises!some!propositions!about!the!

branded!image!as!a!form!of!communion!and!a!means!of!transcendence.!The!moving!

image!is!edited!to!reproduce!this!transcendental!moment.!!

!

In!his!later!‘Parade’!(2004)!(Fig.!4!–!6.),!this!assimilation!of!the!image!is!shown!to!

physically!transfer!through!the!protagonist’s!body,!played!by!Leckey,!via!his!

appearance.!‘Parade’!is!set!in!a!round,!dark!film!studio,!at!the!back!of!which!a!large!

screen!plays!image!sequences!rotating!on!loop.!A!glamorous!man!appears!at!intervals,!

walking!against!the!direction!of!the!projections!shot!from!a!camera!pivoting!at!the!

studio’s!central!point.!The!soundtrack!is!marked!by!the!steady!beat!of!his!footsteps!

between!a!synthesised!voicing!of!the!work’s!title!and!other,!asynchronous!beats.!

Projected!images!behind!him!include!a!nightscape!of!audioYvisual!stores!on!Tottenham!

Court!road,!black!female!rappers!soliciting!the!camera’s!gaze!and!the!display!window!

of!a!gentlemen’s!luxury!clothing!store.!These!images!are!also!brought!forward!as!

rostrum!shots!as!if!travelling!through!Leckey,!and!as!the!work!develops!Leckey’s!

appearance!channels!the!sheen!of!these!images:!his!costume,!originally!entirely!black,!

becomes!increasingly!lavish!in!colour,!decoration!and!texture,!his!hair!has!been!

treated,!he!is!wearing!makeYup!and!his!skin!appears!airbrushed!too.!The!transition!

from!external!image!to!its!assimilation!and!representation!as!external!appearance!is!

presented!here!as!an!ongoing!cycle.!It!is!a!complicated!dynamic!that!curator!Catherine!

Wood!noted,!‘rather!than!presenting!a!coherent!identity,!the!film!proposes!its!subject!

to!be!lost!in!a!struggle!to!distinguish!between!interiority!and!surface.’²¹⁴!It!is!here,!

struggling!to!distinguish!between!the!image’s!(and!his!own)!interiority!and!surface!that!

Leckey’s!work!identifies!the!transcendental!power!of!the!consumer!image.!‘Parade’!

refuses!to!distinguish!an!original!or!‘true’!over!its!representation.!Here,!the!artist’s!

‘original’!appearance!is!altered!during!the!process!of!his!imageYassimilation.!There!is!a!

mise&en&abyme!here,!where!an!image!appears!within!another!image.!Leckey’s!

appearance!is!ever!more!artificially!rendered,!airbrushed,!glamorised.!The!proximity!

and!flux!between!a!man!and!his!image!becomes!clear.!Although!Leckey’s!appearance!

in!‘Parade’!is!not!a!drag!performance:!the!work!would!suggest!that!‘identity’!is!both!

the!cause!and!effect!of!our!imageYperformances.!!

!

Several!years!later,!Leckey!begins!to!use!a!different!method!of!imageYsampling!to!

explore!the!impact!of!the!image!on!selfYperception!and!selfYrepresentation,!the!

inherent!sculptural!or!threeYdimensional!quality!of!those!images!themselves!and!the!

very!substance!of!that!appeal.!‘Cinema!In!the!Round’!(2006!–!8)!(Fig.!7!–!11.)!was!an!

ongoing!series!of!lectures!performed!in!a!cinema!or!film!auditorium,!a!work!that!now!

exists!as!a!video!(2008).!Its!first!incarceration!was!at!the!Oberhausen!Short!Film!

Festival!in!2006,!where!Leckey!was!asked!to!curate!a!programme!of!moving!images.!He!

had!been!invited!by!British!film!curator!Ian!White,!who!was!devising!a!programme!of!

screenings!that!would!question!the!viewing!conditions!for!art!in!a!cinema!context,!a!

series!called!‘Kinomuseum’.!Guest!curators!were!asked!to!conceptualise!the!cinema!as!

a!temporary!museum!in!which!images!might!be!objects,!where,!fuelled!by!the!

imaginations!of!an!audience,!any!inversion!might!be!temporarily!plausible,!so!that!not!

only!does!the!cinema!become!a!museum!but!that!also,!conceptually,!‘the!museum!

becomes!a!cinema!of!multiple!points!of!view,!its!content!the!very!nexus!of!its!

meanings’²¹⁵.!The!museum!itself,!the!project!might!claim,!is!performed!and!we!the!

audience!are!embroiled!in!that!performance.!!

! !

White!invited!five!different!contributors!to!work!within!this!programme,!artists!and!

curators!to!interpret!the!project’s!conceptual!playfulness.²¹⁶!White!regarded!Leckey’s!

as!fundamentally!underpinned!by!the!question!of!the!relationship!between!image!and!

object,!their!different!material!status.²¹⁷!Leckey!envisaged!the!performance!as!a!formal!

museum!lecture,!based!on!conversations!with!students!he!was!teaching!at!the!

Staedelschule!in!Frankfurt.²¹⁸!The!title!alludes!to!‘theatreYinYtheYround’,!an!

architectural!construction!where!theatre!audiences!surrounded!the!stage!from!360!

degrees.!Originally!a!device!in!Roman!and!Greek!theatre,!the!architectural!structure!is!

often!used!in!contemporary!productions,!intended!to!provoke!stronger!audience!

engagement!or!integration.!Adopting!this!same!conceit,!Leckey!pitches!the!auditorium!

as!a!museum!of!inclusion.!The!screen!becomes!a!display!case!for!imageYobjects,!a!

museum!vitrine!for!historical!artefacts!or!collectable!curios!to!be!spot!lit.!The!title!

refers!to!this!new!imaginary!architecture!providing!an!immersive!engagement!with!the!

image!as!object.!Leckey!begins,!dressed!in!a!tuxedo!and!spot!lit!at!a!screenYside!

rostrum!at!the!side!of!a!dark!auditorium,!‘This!presentation!is!an!attempt,!by!me,!to!try!

and!grasp!a!particular!experience!that!I!have!with!certain!things!in!the!world,!things!

that!I!mistake!for!images!or!pictures!but!that!somehow!impose!on!me!their!actual!

weight,!density!and!volume!–!their!being!in!the!world![…]!How!does!an!image!find!that!

presence?!!And!Y!in!turn!–!channel!its!effects!through!my!body?’²¹⁹!

!

Leckey!reads!from!a!script;!the!presentation!formally!divided!in!four!titled!chapters,!

each!a!separate!sequence!of!moving!images.!‘Meat!&!Potatoes’!is!writ!across!the!

introductory!image,!superimposed!like!a!rudimentary!handwritten!scroll,!large!and!in!

capital!letters!so!as!to!fill!the!screen!entirely,!the!outlines!of!the!red!and!black!letters!

appear!uneven!and!painted.!And!so!begins!a!slideshow!of!Philip!Guston!paintings!from!

the!late!1960s!and!1970s,!(‘Head,!Bottle,!Light’!1969!‘Friend!to!MF’,!1978,!‘Painter!in!

Bed’,!1973,!‘Shoes’,!1980)!and!as!it!progresses!the!artist!begins!to!speak,!his!register!

beginning!to!shift!from!knowing!expert!to!responsive!poet;!an!oscillation!that!

continues!throughout!the!presentation,!

!

They!are!MEAT!and!they!are!POTATOES!

They’re!down!to!earth!and!they’re!flesh!and!blood!

They!are!DUMB!and!they!are!DUMBERER!

They’re!thick!as!a!brick!and!a!bit!puddin’!headed!

They!are!MENTAL!and!they!are!MATTER!

And!that’s!because!they!are!images!AND!they!are!things.!!

So!they!are!Grey!and!they!are!Pink,!

They!are!Dense!and!they!are!Rude,!!

They!are!Earthy!and!they!are!Hearty,!And!as!paintings!that!feel!like!sculptures!–!

or!as!the!Campbell’s!ad!at!the!time!said:!They!are!soup!that!eats!like!a!meal.²²⁰!!

or!as!the!Campbell’s!ad!at!the!time!said:!They!are!soup!that!eats!like!a!meal.²²⁰!!

In document ESCUELA SUPERIOR POLITÉCNICA DEL LITORAL (página 33-0)