An assignment written by

Monique Jean Louw 28121288

“The Theory of Affluenza within the Discourse of Globalism”

for the module VKK 410

Prof E Dreyer

University of Pretoria

Faculty of the Humanities

Department of Visual Arts

2011-06-20

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................ ii

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 1

2. GLOBALISM AS DISCOURSE.............................................................................. 2

3. A SOCIETY RIDDEN WITH THE AFFLUENZA VIRUS............................................ 5

4. SEMIOTICS OF CONSUMPTION........................................................................ 7

5. APPLIED ARTISTS.............................................................................................. 8 The Affluenza Project............................................................................ 8 Alex Ostrowski....................................................................................... 8 Barbara Kruger...................................................................................... 11 FLOWmarket......................................................................................... 13

Andreas Gursky...................................................................................... 16

6. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................... 18

SOURCES CONSULTED....................................................................................... 19

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1: Alex Ostrowski, The Happiest Book, 2008................................................ 9

Figure 2: Alex Ostrowski, detail 1 of The Happiest Book, 2008............................... 10

Figure 3: Alex Ostrowski, detail 2 of The Happiest Book, 2008............................... 10

Figure 4: Alex Ostrowski, detail 3 of The Happiest Book, 2008............................... 11

Figure 5: Barbara Kruger, I shop therefore I am, 1987............................................ 12

Figure 6: FLOWmarket, the FLOWmarket shop in New York, 2006...................... 14

Figure 7: FLOWmarket, Self-love, 2006............................................................... 14

Figure 8: FLOWmarket, Happiness from within, 2006.......................................... 15

Figure 9: FLOWmarket, No worries, 2006............................................................. 15

Figure 10: FLOWmarket, Life-enjoyment, 200......................................................... 15

Figure 11: Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent, 1999................................................................ 16

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1. INTRODUCTION

The main focus of this assignment is the theory of Affluenza within the discourse of

Globalism. The assignment will explore Globalism as a discourse and how the theory of

Affluenza is applied within the discourse. There will first be explained what is meant by the

term ‘discourse’, then an explanation and a discussion on Globalism as a discourse will

follow by focussing on how media, and society affected by media, plays a role in propagating

ideas within Globalism to understand the affect on our way living.

The argument will show how our society is ridden with the affluenza virus, firstly giving an

explanation of what the term affluenza mean and how it is evident in our global society. The

effects of the virus will be discussed as well as the semiotics of consumption. An analyses

and interpretation of four contemporary artists whose work shows the influence of

Globalism will suffice as examples of affluenzic values within globalism This assignment

concern the emotional and mental effects of trying unconsciously to be ‘better’, feel

‘valuable’ and the chase after what it takes to be admired and how these ideologies came to

be manifested within a ‘sickened’ society.

There will be a discussion of the Affluenza Project, an exhibition held in London in 19-28

March 2009, and the work of three contemporary artists who showcased in the exhibition.

These artists are Alex Ostrowski (1962), Barbara Kruger (1945), FLOWmarket. There will also

be a discussion of the artist Andreas Gurskey’s (1955) work in the 'Shopping - a century of

art and consumer culture', which was an exhibition on show at Tate Liverpool in February/

March 2001.

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2. GLOBALISM AS DISCOURSE

According to Michel Foucault, a discourse is the condition of a social practice and agency

(Foucault 2000:sp). Discourses are established when they are practiced and related to

(Backhaus 2003:8). Discourses are passed on through time and are constantly shaped and

interpreted because they are not fixed and unchanging (Backhaus 2003:8). Phillips and

Hardy (2002:3) argues that “social reality is produced and made real through discourses,

and social interactions cannot be fully understood without reference to the discourses that

give them meaning”. Globalism will now be discussed as a discourse.

The term globalization has been used since the1960s and academically since the 1980s

(Teubner 2004:6). In the 80s it was meant as the “expanding free market” and more

recently with reference to the political and the cultural (Teubner 2004:6). According to

McCrew (1992:23),

“Globalization refers to the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections between the states and societies which make up the modern world system. It describes the process by which events, decisions, and activities in one part of the world can come to have significant consequences for individuals and communities in quite distant parts of the globe”.

Globalisation does not only predominantly refer to the global economy and its external

influences on the international liberating of economies and communication (Backhaus

2003:6). NCCR North-South (Hurni, Wiesmann & Schertenleib 2003:3) argues that globalism

is a discourse entailing political, economic, social and cultural issues globally too. Giddens

(1995:10) defines Globalization as

“...a result of the increasingly (spatially and temporally) distanciated consequences of everyday actions. It is a process that not only comprises economic activities but virtually every aspect of people’s lives. Globalisation has to be understood as an aggregation of intended as well as unintended consequences of actions. It is therefore neither goal-oriented nor an external force, and it can be at the same time homogenising as well as fragmenting...”

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Norman Backhaus interprets Giddens’ definition as every action has a reaction, and taking

no action also has a reaction (Backhaus 2003:7). Consequences are sometimes intended or

unintended, and cannot always be consciously accounted for or controlled (Backhaus

2003:7). Every person contributes to Globalism and is part of Globalism. Globalism could

also be seen as a worldwide system of hegemony for example McDonaldisation,

Americanisation or even the English language (Backhaus 2003:7).

There are may different processes within a discourse and within Globalism. These processes

contribute to the changing character of a discourse and the diversity of what is social reality

(Backhaus 2003:10). Some of the processes worth mentioning is the globalisation of finance

and capital holdings, capital moves around the world constantly and even at a significant

faster pace in the last two decades; the globalisation of markets and market strategies

where businesses are subjugated to integration and standardisation within production

(Backhaus 2003:10). This leads to mechanical sufficiency and the reduction in human

resourcing where job insecurity is consequential; the globalisation of technology, knowledge

makes it easy to access information about better markets and about better and cheaper

products (Backhaus 2003:10-11). The process that is most relevant to the focus of this

assignment is the consumer behaviour and life styles. People’s choice of living is influenced

by production, service availability, markets and hugely by cultural globalization (Backhaus

2003:11).

The barrage of cultural messages received by an augmenting “public” are disseminated by

all media (TV broadcasts, movies, newspapers, magazines, books, music) and controlled by

global corporations (Backhaus 2003:11). They are successful through people’s integration

into global production processes by means of indoctrinated desire, wants and fragmented

“needs” in shaping identity and belonging to a group or community because of the

dissemination of these cultural messages.

Through these cultural messages people adapt to the globalisation of perception and

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consciousness that is homogenising even if there is a conflict in interest when people are

confronted with messages that go against their own cultural identity and norms (Backhaus

2003:10). The knowledge about this controversy is enough to make people more conscious

of their own culture and to adapt traits of other cultures even if it is not intended (Backhaus

2003:11).

Media and communication play the vital role in the 21st century, in the time of globalism and

technology (Teubner 2004:105). “Economic and cultural globalization arguably would be

impossible without a global commercial media system to promote global markets and to

encourage consumer values” (Teubner 2004:105). Seibert’s (1963) Propaganda model

theory states that media’s function is to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to influence

individuals’ values, beliefs, and behavioural codes that will result in them integrating

successfully into the institutional structures of the larger society, a society of commodities

and consumerism (Seibert, Peterson & Schramm 1963:1). This larger society can be

identified within the borders of capitalism where everything tangible and non-tangible is

assigned a value to be exchanged or to be used as a method of measurement; a society

always already concerned with currency. What are the affects of media and how does it

affect our behaviour towards ourselves? Does consumerism affect only what we buy or does

it commodify us as well; do we also become products to have a value?

To conclude, as in many other discourses, one solid definition and meaning of Globalism

remains contested, but for the purpose of this argument the above will suffice to now link

the discourse of Globalism with the concept of Affluenza.

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3. A SOCIETY RIDDEN WITH THE AFFLUENZA VIRUS

Men of wealth and success are surrounded by affluence that constitutes alienation from one

another (Baudrillard 1970:255). We are constantly surrounded by materials of all kind.

Baudrillard makes the comparison of the wolf-child that becomes wolf by living among them

and how we are becoming functional (1970:255). But the functionality referred to here is

not the self-sufficient functionality of an individual living meaningfully and contently, but the

functionality of yet another product between the sea of thousands. We live our lives

productively and not always qualitatively. Our hopes and dreams are dipped in flavours of

capitalism.

The “Affluenza-virus” is a term coined by Oliver James, the author of the book Affluenza:

How to be Successful and Stay Sane” (2007). James defines the ‘Affluenza Virus’ as “placing

of a high value on money, possessions, appearances (physical and social) and fame” (James

2003:xiii). According to James people whose values are shaped by this virus are at risk of

depression, anxiety, substance abuse and personality-disorders (James 2007:xiv). We have

become obsessive about measuring the worth of our lives to others lives through the

distorted lens of Affluenza values, we constantly try to ‘keep up with the Joneses’. According

to Schor (2004:9), television, media and advertisements that we are confronted with has

meant keeping up with more improbable and wealthy Joneses, “MTV Cribs” , home

improvement shows, clothes worn by the Desperate Housewives, sponsored clothes of local

productions, the homes depicted by reality shows and plastic surgery shows on how to

improve yourself and so forth (America’s Crazed Consumerism 2001:[sp]). Keeping up with

the Joneses is for the average middle-class person is not a goal that’s within reach anymore.

Today’s ‘Joneses’ is not the next door neighbour but it’s the fictional characters we see on

our screen , billboards and magazines daily. The ideas we use to interpret our existence are

questionable, contemplating another man’s possessions and living with a lifestyle obsession

makes us the by-products of capitalism.

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The fast growth of capitalist commodity production, especially in the last century, kindled

with consumer culture is responsible for the accumulation of material culture in the form of

consumer goods, purchase and consumption giving way to ideological indoctrination deeply

rooted within the culture of contemporary Western societies (Featherstone 1991:13). The

satisfaction from consumer goods is directly linked to the displaying and sustaining of

difference and individuality through the seduction of products or lifestyles either manifested

in an individual or witnessed by an individual. Emotional pleasure of consumption (of

products connotations or ideas of how to live life), dreams and desires originating from

capitalist commodity production generate bodily excitement and aesthetic pleasures that

are based on the principles of Affluenza (Featherstone 1991:13).

Our responsibility remains to question what the roots are of our desires, dreams and

pleasures and if it results in long term fulfilment or short periods of satisfaction quickly

turning into dissatisfaction. Are our needs replaced by confected wants which we did not

know we have? Are we regarding ourselves as objects in a ‘personality market’, how nice a

‘package’ we are? Do we believe that our internal lacks can be fixed by an external means?

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4. THE SEMIOTICS OF CONSUMPTION

The investigation of the ‘affluenzic’ ownership of materials as a way of defining one’s self-

image and communicating it to others (Belk 1986; Csikszentmihalyi & Halton 1981;

Isherwood 1979), and the symbolic meaning implications for social status and other cultural

attributions is a semiological construct. What is being investigated is the social counter or

signal denoting status and financial worth and why this type of worth is worthy of worry at

all (Burnham 1973:179). Holbrook and Hirschman propose that clothing as an example is

semantically charged with cultural signifieds and status. Pragmatically, the choice of

clothing is an intention to express and communicate yourself to others (Holbrook &

Hirschman 1993:15). Thus an object’s functionality is not what concerns us, it is instead the

objects virtue, Baudrillard argues that whatever man lacks is invested in the object

(1996:82).

Clothing’s most important function isn’t to cover your body but to act as a signifier of “this

is who I am”. By looking at a person’s clothes we can connote so much about them, or so we

are lead to believe by advertisement, media and the way people implement these notions

all around us. It doesn’t stop there, clothing or anything we add to our bodies, as a matter a

fact, doesn’t help us shape our identity but as we own objects, they start to own us as Tylor

says in the film Fightclub (Fincher 1999). We become a mere extension of that which wears

us. When Tylor addresses the fight club he says that what he sees is “an entire generation

pumping gas...working jobs we hate so we can buy [crap] we don’t need” (Fincher 1999).

We make our lifestyle a project of aestheticization of everyday life to display individuality

and identity through the “assemblage of goods, clothes, practices, experiences, appearances

and bodily dispositions (Featherstone 1991:86). Affluenza is a harmful/unbalanced

relationship with the representation of identity through one’s choice of clothes, accessories,

home, furnishings, decoration, and other activities. Consumer culture suggests that there’s

always room for self-improvement and self-expression, this leaves us always wanting.

People’s use of consumer goods has its own set of de-coding structure, where the common

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use-value of things are replaced by an abstract exchange-value, a sign-value (Featherstone

1991:67). The obliteration of utilities’ original capitalistic use-value by the dominance of an

exchange-value has shifted commodities’ becoming signs (in the sense of Pierce Saussure’s

semiotics) (Featherstone 1991:85). We are now confronted with an era of the consumption

of signs or of symbolic aspects, where a products’ ‘virtue’ is of great significance

(Featherstone 1991:85).

Everyday object become associated with immaterial needs/values (luxury, beauty, romance,

individuality) and are used for the legitimating of virtues we assign to ourselves. All this

within the semiotics of consumer goods or services, a tool to become our own artwork to be

analyzed.

5. APPLIED ARTISTS

The “Affluenza Project”

Affluenza Project was a multi-disciplinary fine arts exhibition that took place in London on

19-28 March 2009 (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). One of the biggest inspirations for this

project was the book Affluenza written by Oliver James (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). The

team in charge of this project was Hege Sæbjørnsen, Chelsey Browne, Iskra Tsaneva and

Kate Andrews. The featured artists of the Affluenza Project that will be discussed in this

assignment are Alex Ostrowski, FLOWmarket and Barbara Kruger.

Alex Ostrowski

Alex Ostrowski (1962) is a freelance designer who also occupies himself with art direction

and illustration projects (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). Ostrowski (Alex Ostrowski [sa])

writes that the exhibition questioned “whether our bloated Western culture really makes us

happy”. Ostrowski exhibited an artist book, The Happiest Book (figure 1), for the Affluenza

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Project. Ostrowski writes that we are all looking for happiness in our own way, he argues

that this is man’s most important purpose, “to hunt down and capture this intangible and

elusive treasure” (Alex Ostrowski [sa]). The University of Leicester conducted a research

project on the happiest country in the world, which resulted in it being Denmark (The

Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). Ostrowski decided to “visit happiness” (Denmark) in March

2008, and when he came back, he presented his visit in the form of The Happiest Book

(figure 1) (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]).

Figure 1: Alex Ostrowski, The Happiest Book, 2008.Artist book, 243.9 x 233.7 cm.

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Photograph by the author.

When confronted with an artwork like The Happiest Book (figure 1) different interpretation

could be made. Firstly, it is a book, a book is an object that is usually used for academic or

entertainment purposes. When we access books we expect to find either facts, theories or

stories that is fictional and non-fictional. A book can sometimes legitimize whatever is

written in it just because of it being a book and thought worthwhile to publish. The title of

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the book is also of interest, “The Happiest Book In The World”. Does this mean the book is

happy or does this mean that you will be happy when you have read this book or have

witnessed what is in the book to witness; it could perhaps behold information that is key to

enlighten you. Being happy can be considered as a state of being, a non-referential and non-

tangible concept that one can only define by feeling it. Therefore, it is a feeling, an emotion

and by looking at this book we see happiness as accessible within the pages of a book, in

other words, an emotion manifested into a physical object. One might also choose to

interpret it rather as a book that has accomplished to capture and document happiness as

witnessed by the author. One might also detect cynicism or strange humour in this

representation of happiness or maybe the artist was trying to question what happiness is. It

is likely that the viewer will realize that happiness is not something to be captured visually

and documented accurately. Maybe the problem is trying to capture it in the first place,

theorizing everything could be seen as a capitalist idea, everything is given an exchange-

value . Is happiness now also something to be given a value and something to theorize and

rationalize?

Figure 2 Figure 3

Figure 2 & 3: Alex Ostrowski, detail 1 & 2 of The Happiest Book, 2008.Artist book, 243.9 x 233.7 cm.

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Photograph by the author.

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Figure 4: Alex Ostrowski, detail 3 of The Happiest Book, 2008.Artist book, 243.9 x 233.7 cm.

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Photograph by the author.

Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger (1945) is an American conceptual artist and designer (The Affluenza Team

2009:[sp]). She has also worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the

art departments at various publications (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). She works with the

process of layering found photographs from different existing sources, she also incorporates

concise and expressive text (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). Her work is about control and

power and is evident with the choice of text that she layers onto her designs. In her work “I

shop therefore I am”, also exhibited at the Affluenza Project, her style of black text and red

background questions her audience about desire, consumerism, identity within a capitalist

world, individuality, autonomy and globalization. The message is emphasized by her choice

of visual material. The images and text that Kruger uses to make her designs are exactly the

type of imagery, linguistics and ideology which Kruger disagrees with and what is being

described as the symptoms of Affluenza.

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Figure 5: Barbara Kruger, I shop therefore I am, 1987.Photograph of the installation.

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Photograph by the author.

I Shop therefore I am, is a contested type of statement but yet the major part of the world

as a consumerist community do exactly this, we define parts of ourselves by the type of

shopping we engage with. It is an accessible way to buy things or engage in certain activities

to communicate ourselves to others, choice of ‘shopping’ it is believed to showcase identity

and personality and, as judgemental creatures we do conclude a lot about a person by just

their choice of clothing for example. When we go to an interview, work, a social gathering or

a family dinner, there is a lot to consider when getting dressed for an occasion. If we

demographically just inspect the type of shoppers in Pretoria, someone who buys their

weekly groceries at Woolworths and those that buy it at Checkers are in two separate

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categories when it comes to stereotyping them. The Woolworths shopper is assumed to

have more money, a better job and part of a more wealthy middle-class or upper-class way

of life. They may be accustomed to nicer (more expensive) things in general: car, home,

furnishings, appliances, clothing etc. The Checkers shopper is assumed to being accustomed

as having a more average income and life-style, probably also depending on how big the

shopping trolley is filled. He/she might not be able to afford the products at Woolworths

because of the type of job he/she occupies. We can assume a lot of things about both

shoppers but in the end comes down to speculation and stereotyping.

I Shop Therefore I am is an artwork that comments on the type of stereotyping that goes

with consumerism and the ideology that became manifested within shopping originating

from capitalism. It also comments on the ignorance of the statement that people do think

this way and questions the meaning of identity displayed in this way. Kruger’s statement

makes the assumption that who I am as a consumer is my identity as a person, or is this so

because we put so much emphasize on the idea by living according to the above statement?

FLOWmarket

FLOWmarket is a design group who make “products” that they think will be the short

commodities of the future. Among the items to be purchased in the FLOWmarket store are

happiness, self-esteem, inner calmness, stress killers, and choice takers. “The goal is a

holistic view of growth, embracing economics and technology as well as social and spiritual

aspects” (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). “FLOW is a mindset, an innovation tool and a

commercial brand. A mindset focused on sustainable growth. An innovation tool which

through the 3 sub-categories “individual, collective and environmental flow” concretizes the

parameters for sustainable growth. And finally a brand that through these 3 parameters

transforms and concretizes the mindset into commercial products and services” (The

Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]).

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Figure 6: FLOWmarket, the FLOWmarket shop in New York, 2006.Photograph of the shop.

New York.Photograph by the author.

The first FLOWmarket shop opened in 2004 at the Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen,

Denmark. FLOWmarket is a mindset, a commercial brand, a shop/space that sell empty

containers that have been labelled to represent the idea of for example Self-love (figure 4).

The shop in itself is an immersive environment where one is confronted with the values and

dreams misplaced or wanting in our lives. This installation could propose that it is as simple

as that, to walk into a store and buy what you lack, need or want immaterially in a material

form. The installation comments on unhealthy imbalances of our society and a need for

“sustainable growth” (The Affluenza Team 2009:[sp]). The installation also comments on

how people judge products and services on immaterial values.

Figure 7: FLOWmarket, Self-love, 2006.Tin container.

FLOWmarket shop in New York.Photograph by the author.

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Figure 8: FLOWmarket, Happiness from within, 2006.

Tin container.FLOWmarket shop in New York.

Photograph by the author.

Figure 9: FLOWmarket, No worries, 2006.Tin container.

FLOWmarket shop in New York.Photograph by the author.

Figure 10: FLOWmarket, Life-enjoyment, 2006.Tin container.

FLOWmarket shop in New York.Photograph by the author.

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Andrea Gursky

Tate Liverpool’s exhibition Shopping- a century of art and consumer art curated by Max

Hollein and Christoph Grunenberg, was an exhibition showcasing the influence of art and

shopping on one another. It also focused on how consumer products and art are presented

and sold throughout the 20th century and especially the 80s and 90s (Consuming Passions

[sa]). In the last century artists have been borrowing images and strategies from mass

consumerism and re-presenting as their art. Hollein and Grunenberg’s approach to the

curating of this exhibition was not of the negative effects, excess or evils of consumerism

but rather of the race of marketing, promotion, creative people and commercial display as

well as advertising (Consuming Passions [sa]). They curated works which referenced

advertising, promotional display, retailing and the psychological strategies of the afore

mentioned (Consuming Passions [sa]). Works (photographs, installations, etc.) from artist

such as Richard Prince, Martha Roster, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Jasper Johns, Claes

Oldenberg, Andy Warhol to name a few, were displayed. Grunenberg (Consuming Passions

[sa]) wrote about the exhibition “I think it's a fallacy that we can escape the desire to want

to have new things, to buy things. We have to accept it, to be conscious of it, and accept

that when we buy something it's because we like it, and it signifies something about

ourselves. It's nothing to be ashamed of”.

Figure 11: Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent, 1999.Chromatic colour print, 207 x 337 cm.

Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.Photograph by the author.

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Andreas Gursky (1955) born in Leipzig, West Germany, studied mass production and mass

consumerism in his large-scale photographs. 99 Cent 1999 (figure 11) is a large-scale

photograph of the tightly packed shelving systems of an American 99 cent store. This

photograph with its rigid structure and composition is fairly big in size. We are confronted

with this type of image every time that we walk into a shop but viewing it as an artwork the

visual stimuli in this picture plane is quite excessive. Advertisers and product developers

create this type of visual vibrancy to capture the attention of the everyday shopper. Gursky

displays the supermarket as an aesthetic experience, something to view and to enjoy. This

could be to focus our attention on the skill and the creativeness that go into product design

and advertising. On the other hand, it could also comment on how products have elevated

to the status of fine art. Colberg writes about 99 Cent “this is the world that we have

created (and a large part of which we are now forced to ignore), and Gursky’s work makes

you look at it. No more, no less” (Colberg 2007:[sp]).

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6. CONCLUSION

The theory of Affluenza within the discourse of Globalism was explored by looking at

Globalism as a discourse and how the theory of Affluenza is applied within the discourse.

The term ‘discourse’ can now be better understood as well as Globalism as a discourse.

Media and society affected by media, plays a role in propagating ideas within Globalism to

understand the affect on our way living and the argument showed how our society is ridden

with the affluenza virus, firstly by giving an explanation of what the term affluenza means

and how it is evident in our global society. The effects of the virus was discussed as well as

the semiotics of consumption. An analyses and interpretation of four contemporary artists

whose work shows the influence of Globalism followed as examples of affluenzic values

within globalism This assignment was concerned with the emotional and mental effects of

trying unconsciously to be ‘better’, feel ‘valuable’ and the chase after what it takes to be

admired and how these ideologies came to be manifested within a ‘sickened’ society.

The assignment concludes with the following applicable quote from Holbrook & Hirschman

(1993:236),

“consumption is not only the purchase of goods or services, it includes any formof procurement, usage, or disposition directed toward consummation in the satisfaction of needs and wants. This means that consumption encompasses any behaviour confers value and that thereby reflects the influence of underlying motivations. Hence, by its reflection of motivating needs and wants, consumption mirrors a dramatic character’s disposition and helps to reveal the nature of that personality”.

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