The Dilution of Avant-Garde Subcultural Boundaries in Network Society
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The Dilution of Avant-Garde Subcultural Boundaries in Network Society A Dissertation Presented to The Academic Faculty by David Jimison In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Digital Media Georgia Institute of Technology May 2015 Copyright © 2015 by David Jimison The Dilution of Avant-Garde Subcultural Boundaries in Network Society Approved by: Dr. Carl DiSalvo, Advisor Dr. Sarah Cook School of Literature, Media, and Culture College of Art and Design Georgia Institute of Technology University of Dundee Dr. Ian Bogost Dr. Eugene Thacker School of Literature, Media, and Culture School of Media Studies Georgia Institute of Technology The New School Dr. Janet Murray School of Literature, Media, and Culture Georgia Institute of Technology Date Approved: January 9, 2015 Acknowledgements As one who has spent my life as a practitioner, I found the transition to writing a dissertation to be a very difficult challenge, one that I surmounted only by the wonderful help and support of my mentors, colleagues, family and friends. First, I would like to thank each member of my committee for their enduring patience, and their passion for the subject matter. Dr. Carl DiSalvo, who encouraged my return to the doctoral program, and who provided much needed straight talk throughout my struggles to persist. Dr. Janet Murray, whose brilliance and passion inspires renewed vigor, and who served as a wonderful mentor to me throughout my decade at Georgia Tech. Dr. Eugene Thacker, who helped launch my research and introduced me to so many delightful philosophers. Dr. Ian Bogost, who managed to be both critical and encouraging, and thus pushed my work into better theoretical grounding. Dr. Sarah Cook, whose amazing knowledge of digital arts benefited my theoretical work, and who has helped me realize the connection between my dissertation and my own artistic practices. I am also grateful for the wonderful help I received in writing and editing this dissertation. Esther LeMair who worked jumped into tasks with a moments notice, and copy edited the entire dissertation. The Georgia Tech Communications Center provided enormous support to me, and I want to thank iii Karen Head who organized the support to meet weekly with me, even over the summer, Dustin Hannum, who helped tackle chapters 2 and 3 over the summer, and Becky Weaver who worked with me through the rest. Becky met tirelessly with me, listened to my various problems both with writing and in general, and was a phenomenal support throughout the process. It was such a pleasure to learn and appreciate writing with such skilled persons. Second, I want to acknowledge my collaborators and colleagues at Eyebeam, where I was an artist, and at Fever and F#, the digital agencies I helped start. In particular, I want to thank my past collaborators: David Boyhan, Jeff Crouse, Jena Gagliano, Jacob Milam, Eric Olson, Joo Youn Paek, Julie Robinson, Stephen Shearer, and Travis Thatcher. Without the communities and spaces of collaboration, I believe (and argue in the following pages) that our creativity stagnates. Finally, I want to thank my friends and family. My parents, John and Mitzi, were incredibly enthusiastic and supportive. My wife, Melissa, who took care of me in between writing sessions, when I was practically catatonic, and who traveled around the Americas trusting that I would one day finish my PhD. And finally, my brothers, Steven, Peter, and Andrew, whose presence has kept me grounded. iv Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... IX LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... X SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ XII I. INTRODUCTION: THE DILUTION OF AVANT-GARDE SUBCULTURES ....... 1 II. THE HISTORY OF THE AVANT-GARDE AND SUBCULTURES .................... 13 Subcultures are a Cultural Phenomenon ............................................................ 25 The Five Traits of the Avant-Garde .................................................................... 51 First Trait - Against Primacy ........................................................................... 52 Second Trait - Provocation of the Public ....................................................... 62 Third Trait - Alienation & Elitism .................................................................. 69 Fourth Trait - Death, or Recuperation by the Mainstream ............................ 74 Fifth Trait - Scenes of the Avant-Garde .......................................................... 81 III. THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE AND NETWORK SOCIETY ........................ 99 Space, the Everyday, and Social Power Structures ........................................... 99 Spaces of Representation .................................................................................. 108 Network Society ................................................................................................ 114 Realized Abstractions .................................................................................... 120 Access ............................................................................................................. 122 v Absent Presence ............................................................................................. 125 Homogenization of Space .............................................................................. 128 IV. THE BOUNDARIES OF AVANT-GARDE SUBCULTURES .......................... 136 The Capital of Avant-Garde Subculture ........................................................... 139 The Boundaries of Avant-Garde Subcultures ................................................... 152 Slang .............................................................................................................. 155 Fashion .......................................................................................................... 159 Accumulation ................................................................................................. 163 Esoteric Knowledge ....................................................................................... 168 Physical Spaces .............................................................................................. 170 The Evolutions of Avant-Garde Subculture ..................................................... 187 The Recuperations of Avant-Garde Subculture ............................................... 194 V. FLUIDITY, RETROMANIA AND INTERNET SUBCULTURES .................... 206 Riding the Wave ................................................................................................ 211 Fluidity & Retromania ...................................................................................... 218 What of Hipsters? ............................................................................................ 226 Slang // Hashtags ........................................................................................... 233 Realized Abstraction ..................................................................................... 236 Access ............................................................................................................. 237 Absent Presence ............................................................................................ 238 Homogenization of Culture .......................................................................... 238 Summary ....................................................................................................... 239 Fashion // Health Goth ................................................................................... 240 vi Realized Abstraction ..................................................................................... 244 Access ............................................................................................................ 244 Absent Presence ............................................................................................ 245 Homogenization of Culture .......................................................................... 245 Summary ....................................................................................................... 246 Accumulation // BandCamp ............................................................................. 247 Realized Abstraction ..................................................................................... 249 Access ............................................................................................................ 250 Absent Presence ............................................................................................. 251 Homogenization of Culture ........................................................................... 251 Summary ....................................................................................................... 252 Esoteric Knowledge // VICE INC ..................................................................... 253 Realized Abstraction ..................................................................................... 256 Access ............................................................................................................. 257 Absent Presence ............................................................................................