Contemporary Culture As Mirror World
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Mirror as Metasign: Contemporary Culture as Mirror World Stephen John Haley “Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by creative work and dissertation)” May, 2005 School of Art, Victorian College of the Arts The University of Melbourne 1 2 Abstract The mirror, central to traditional Western epistemology and representation, has shattered. Yet its metaphors, mechanisms, operations and poetics continue to powerfully shape and evocatively describe, contemporary Western culture. The exhibition, After Reflection, investigates realist representation in a post-mirror paradigm, through paintings, prints and projections that incorporate perceptual plays, virtual imaging and digital modeling. The dissertation charts the history of the mirror metaphor and its reconfiguration through post-modernity. It suggests that while the metaphor may be superceded it remains useful and evocative but only if considered in the form of a mirror-ball rather than as a planar mirror. The dissertation examines the mirror metaphor and its relationship to a wide selection of aspects crucial to the arrangement of contemporary Western culture, art and space. The thesis is structured as a mirror-ball, in small fragments that both reflect on and illuminate aspects of the topic. The dissertation is thus divided into various ‘Shards’ – broad subject headings derived from the primary mechanisms and poetics of the mirror. Within each shard are a varied number of ‘Rays’ – lines of illumination arising from each shard that impact on particular aspects of Western culture. The exhibition After Reflection includes further speculations around the theme of the mirror and with the arrangement of contemporary space – both pictorial and actual. It is not intended to illustrate the dissertation but to be an additional supplement that visually elaborates on issues enmeshed and parallel to those addressed in the dissertation. The works have all been completed during the period of the candidature (from March 2000) They include six oil paintings, a set of Lightjet photographs (from the “Echohouse’ series) generated from 3d modelling programs and then face-mounted to Perspex. There is an additional three larger scale Lightjet photographs from another series. Finally there are projected works. One is a self contained DVD projection and the other is Mirror Land - a large scale 3d animation covering two wall and projected in a chiasmatic arrangement. Both works feature an endless looping repetition. All the works play with metaphoric aspects of the mirror and examine the construction of space in contemporary Western culture. This space has become increasingly rationalized since the Renaissance and mirror a more general abstraction whereby the real is evermore preceded by simulations. The work looks at the mirror land and suggests a mode of realism capable of addressing the situation where the real has increasingly been reconfigured into representation. 3 4 Declaration This is to certify that (i) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated in the Preface, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is less than 60,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Stephen Haley School of Art Victorian College of the Arts University of Melbourne; Southbank, Victoria 3004 5 Australia 6 7 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people that have been involved in the realization of this project. Firstly my supervisors for their generous support and advice. In particular Jon Cattapan, who was diligently involved with the production of the visual material; the insightful Edward Colless - and for picking up the reins in the final stretch, Dr Su Baker. For his early involvement as a supervisor, thanks are owed to Dr. Nicos Papastergiadis. I would also like to thank John Dunkley-Smith as co-ordinator of post-graduate studies for ensuring the smooth delivery of this work and Jon Cattapan once more for his help while operating in this post. Bernard Meade from the Computer Visualization Facility Advanced Computer Research at the University of Melbourne was an invaluable support with software advice, in preparing the 3d animation work, and rendering out the final files. The entire facility has been very helpful in providing hardware and software and additional thanks are also due to Paul Edwards and Dirk van der Knijff. For their support in preparing the final submission thanks are owing to the Director of the Margaret Lawrence Galleries at the VCA, Vikki McInnes and her volunteer staff; to Simon Maidment for providing technical advice and setting up the video projection work; to Michael Szczepanski for additional software support; and to Leanne Evans for designing and producing the catalogue, organizing the mail out and helping with the final printing. I would additionally like to thank Dr Chris McAullife for his comments on a near to final draft, and Dr Mark Pennings for his close and penetrating corrections of the manuscript. The dissertation is a much better document for their input and if problems remain, they are the result of me perversely ignoring their sage advice. For their general support and promotion of my work I would like to gratefully acknowledge my dealers Nellie Castan in Melbourne and Michael Carr in Sydney. To a large extent their support has made the production of the visual work possible. Nellie’s staff have also been much put upon during the organization of the exhibition and I would particularly like to thank Dana Kornhauser, Sybil Abbott, Oliva and Michelle. Although too many to mention individually, the advice, input and discussions surrounding the project by friends and colleagues also deserve special acknowledgement, along with the support of the various curators who have incorporated aspects of the work into other exhibitions. In particular, Robert Lindsay, Jason Smith, Suzanne Davies and Darren Wardle, Kate Shaw and Larissa Hjorth, Malcom Bywaters, Karen Quinlan and Marisia Lukaszewki. I would additionally like to thank the ANZ Banking corporation for funding the generous ANZ Visual Arts Fellowship. As the recipient of this award in 2004 I was able to purchase the needed hardware to produce the 3d animations that feature in the exhibition. 9 I would also acknowledge the generous support of the lenders to the exhibition – Stuart Dobson, Richard Hughes, Vivien Caprioglio, Evelyn Danos and Nellie Castan. Lastly, (although, in reality, firstly) I would like to thank my life partner, Penelope Davis, for all her forbearance, good advice and cheerful support. She above all others will be glad to see the end of this thing. 10 List of Illustrations (in Appendices) Plate I Jan Van Eyck, The Marriage of Arnolfini, Oil on Oak Panel, 81.9 x 59.7 cms, 1434 Plate II Leonardo Da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, Pen and Ink, watercolour and metalpoint on Paper, 34.3 x 24.5 cms, C. 1490 Plate III Rene Magritte, The Human Condition I, Oil on Canvas, 100.9 x 80 cms, 1934 Plate IV Rene Magritte, The Key to the Fields, Oil on Canvas, 80 x 60 cms, 1936 Plate V Johann Heinrich Fuseli, The Nightmare, Oil on Canvas, 75.5 x 64 cms, 1781 Plate VI Mark Tansey, Coastline Measure, Oil on Canvas, 221 x 309.9 cms, 1987 Plate VII Edouard Manet, Olympia, Oil on Canvas, 100.9 x 70 cms, 1863 Plate VIII Titian, The Venus d’Urbino, Oil on Canvas, 119 x 165 cms, 1538 Plate IX Juan Davila, The Studio, Oil on Canvas, 200 x 200 cms, 1984 Plate X Andy Warhol, Saturday Night Disaster, Synthetic Polymer paint and silkscreen on canvas, 302.6 x 208 cms, 1964 Plate XI Andy Warhol, Orange Disaster, Acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 4 panels each 76 x 83 cms, 1963 Plate XII Joerg Immendorf, Cafe Deutschland - Café probe, Synthetic resin on canvas, 280 x 350 cms, 1980 Plate XIII Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, Oil and Acrylic on 2 canvas panels 162 x 260 cms, 1991 Plate XIV Joseph Backler, Port Macquarie, Oil on Canvas, 1832 11 Table of Contents Mirror as Metasign: Contemporary Culture as Mirror World.. 1 Abstract.................................................. 3 Declaration............................................... 5 Acknowledgements.......................................... 9 List of Illustrations (in Appendices).................... 11 Table of Contents........................................ 12 Introduction............................................. 15 Notes on Structure ..................................... 21 The Spindle.............................................. 24 Brief History of the Mirror ............................ 24 Shard 1: Reflection...................................... 31 Introduction to Shard One ........................... 31 Reflection Rays ..................................... 33 Ray One: Reflection and Epistemology ................... 33 Ray Two: The Correspondent Mirror ...................... 37 Ray Three: Uncertain ‘Man’, Uncertain Mirror ........... 44 Ray Four: The Mirror and ‘Civilization’ ................ 48 Ray Five: Seeing the Self: the Mirror, Verticality and the Divorce from Nature ................................ 49 Ray Six: ‘Accurate’ Mirrors and Emergent ‘Man’ ......... 51 Ray Seven: Bourgeois Humanism and the Individual ....... 54 Ray Eight: Mental Reflections/Mirror Reflections ....... 55 Ray Nine: The Mirror and Anthropomorphism .............. 56 Ray Ten: The Mirror & Cultural Determination ........... 58 Ray Eleven: The Mirror and Objectivity ................. 60 Shard 2: Representation.................................