Remix Dialectics and the Material Conditions of Immaterial Art Olivier Sorrentino A Thesis In the Humanities Program Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April, 2017 © Olivier Sorrentino, 2017 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Olivier Sorrentino Entitled: Remix Dialectics and the Material Conditions of Immaterial Art and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Chair Dr. David Pariser External Examiner Dr. Christine Ross External to Program Dr. Owen Chapman Examiner Dr. Rosanna Maule Examiner Dr. Norma Rantisi Thesis Supervisor Prof. Trevor Gould Approved by Chair of Department of Graduate Program Director Dean of Faculty Abstract Remix Dialectics and the Material Conditions of Immaterial Art Olivier Sorrentino, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2017 Remix Dialectics and the Material Conditions of Immaterial Art proposes the art of remixing as both a dialectical approach and creative tool for understanding immaterial art, and by extension, the immaterial economy. Artworks defined as ‘immaterial’ are not limited to digital domains, but instead describe objects that reduce their concrete presence to incorporate more communicative means of artistic expression. A work’s inherent concepts and narrative anecdotes, the status of its author, its provenance from known collections as much as its process of fabrication and links to a particular history or geographic location, all contribute to its value as immaterial art. Having said that, such objects are not altogether ethereal and often generate artefacts that are reviewed as material culture, promote socio-political structures that one may analyse under historical materialism, and reflect the financial interests of immaterial economies which thrive on monetizing service, knowledge, and cultural industries. As a remix artist, I transform and combine such immaterial features, and utilize these processes as the subject matter of my artistic production. To organize my discussions around the theoretical concepts, studio creations, and case studies to come, I devised a framework first inspired by the dialectical methods attributed to Hegel, to position ‘subjects’ and ‘objects’ as opposite categories of beings, then ‘index’ humanity’s experience of reality in the gaps between such opposites. From this layout, my chapters focus on issues of authorship, objecthood, and indexicality to explore the praxis of remixing in current contexts of globally networked societies. I then problematize the resistance of certain mass- oriented cultural industries to fully convert to network-oriented processes, which results in generating a crisis of representation. My studio works address this crisis via creative strategies of negation, withdrawal, and destruction. With No More Heroes, I remix Hollywood films by deleting every frame in which the main character is seen or heard. Video Pistoletto is inspired by the gestures of Michelangelo Pistoletto, where I damage LCD video monitors. In Fontana Mashup, I simulate the slashing of priceless paintings to contrast the inflated value of the original masterpieces against their deflated value when copied. iii Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made this doctoral project possible. First and foremost, I am truly grateful for the sustained mentorship of my supervisory committee: Professor Trevor Gould, Dr. Rosanna Maule, and Dr. Norma Rantisi. Their insights have profoundly impacted the progress of my research-creation studies, as much in terms of producing artworks, articulating concepts as when correlating the latter to current affairs and geo- political occurrences. My appreciation extends to the generous and frequent support of Dr. Bina Freiwald, Director of the Humanities Doctoral Program, who with the assistance of Sharon Fitch was crucial in helping me fulfill my academic duties. I must also point out the invaluable aid of Dr. Rebecca Duclos, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, particularly in providing me with an important reserve course to broaden my teaching experience. I am equally flattered by the interest expressed by my external readers, Dr. Owen Chapman and Dr. Christine Ross, for their sustained attention and comments put forward at my dissertation defence, as well as Dr. David Pariser for chairing my defence. In the final moments of completing this project, I owe my utmost gratitude to the inexhaustible support of my family, Miwa and Xavier Kojima, whose care constituted both the foundation of my perseverance and the source of my vitality. This academic journey was also facilitated by sharing indispensable data with my fellow doctoral candidates whose talents know no bound. Among the skills of my seminar mates I count Norman James Hogg’s quiet introspection, Dana Samuel’s savviness in literature, Lenka Novak’s creative vision, Natalie Fletcher’s implacable methodology, and Felicity Taylor’s attention to the details of intellectual property, to have indelibly marked the shape and substance of my doctoral writing and studio creations. I am immensely indebted to my pal in banter Karen Tam, for her contribution to proof- read this paper. Numerous agencies and organizations supported the logistical tasks of my studies, from my seminar training to conference and exhibition opportunities, including: the Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Concordia University’s Graduate Awards Office and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture. I acknowledge the latter’s assistance, in addition to the following artistic and cultural centres that have generously welcomed my work: Agence TOPO, Angell, Art Souterrain, Castiglione, Circa (POPOP), FILE festival, Glitch Art, and Trois Points. iv Dedication To my parents, Monique et Jean, who both passed during my doctoral studies. v Table of Contents List of Presented Research/Creation Works vii List of Figures viii 0. Introduction 0.0 Preamble 1 0.1 What is a Remix? 2 0.2 The Material and Immaterial Dimensions of Remixing 8 0.3 The Framework of my Research 15 0.4 Overview of my Chapters and Fields of Study 22 1. Chapter One: Authors 1.0 Preamble 27 1.1 What is an Author? 29 1.2 Against Mass-Oriented Media 38 1.3 No More Heroes and the Shared Aura 45 1.4 Aggregated Authorship and Collective Memories 52 2. Chapter Two: Objects 2.0 Preamble 61 2.1 What is an Object (and a Thing)? 62 2.2 Subjects as Objects 69 2.3 Remixing Objects 80 2.4 The Material Conditions of Immaterial Art 88 3. Chapter Three: Indexes 3.0 Preamble 99 3.1 What is an Index? 101 3.2 The Art Index 107 3.3 Mashing Up Indexes 116 3.4 Heterotopias of Remixing 126 C. Conclusion C.1 Summary of Previous Chapters 135 C.2 Responding to my Findings and Research/Creation Question 140 C.3 Interpreting the Outcome of my Findings 144 C.4 Discussions for Additional Research/Creation Projects 147 Bibliography 150 List of Referenced Visual Works 161 vi List of Media Works All works below by Oli Sorenson (Olivier Sorrentino), and presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofDoctor of Philosophy (Humanities) at Concordia University 1. Oli Sorenson, No More Heroes, video and film poster remix series, 2008-ongoing. http://olisorenson.com/art/nomoreheroes.html 2. Oli Sorenson, Video Pistoletto (initially from the exhibition entitled La Societe de la Place des Spectacles, 2014), performances, installation and photography series, 2014-ongoing. http://olisorenson.com/art/sps.html 3. Oli Sorenson, Fontana Mashup (initially from the exhibition entitled Ready-Made in China, 2016), performance, lacerations and oil on canvas, 2016-ongoing. http://olisorenson.com/art/fontana.html vii List of Figures Unless specified otherwise, all illustrations designed and created by Olivier Sorrentino Figure 1: Static vs. Dynamic Pendulum Models 17 Figure 2: Nature vs. Society Models 18 Figure 3: Dialectical Framework Model (Partial) 19 Figure 4: Dynamic and Ongoing Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis Cycles 21 Figure 5: Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis Cycles for Subjects and Objects 24 Figure 6: Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis Cycle for Oeuvres 25 Figure 7: Applying my Dialectical Framework to Barthes and Foucault’s Exchange 34 Figure 8: Comparing Hegel, Marx, and Remix Art’s Subject / Object Relational Models 70 Figure 9: Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis Cycles Including Indexes 99 Figure 10: Applying a Dialectical Framework to Williams and McLuhan’s Exchange 100 Figure 11: Comparing the Segments of a Commodity’s Lifeline to its Profitability 117 viii Introduction 0.0 Preamble Before unpacking the concepts and objectives of this research/creation project, I must clarify that these will be developed from the perspective of my own art production. In this sense, I cannot claim to exhaust all the possible uses and meanings of remixes beyond the limited settings of my subjective experience. Particularly in this introduction, I will discuss how the themes of my dissertation have emerged from personal creative decisions and sensibilities, and how this discussion will often require an autobiographical and autoethnographic voice. The research