The Devil at the Gates of Heaven

This thesis explores commercial display forms as spaces in which to investigate, through art, the complex interplays of physiological desire, spiritual longing and consumption. The research examines the forms and strategies of commercial retail, particularly in storefront display and advertising. These profoundly influence our desires, aspirations and self-image, and thus our engagement with, and ultimate consumption of, things. It might be said that we are defined by what we choose to consume. Yet the physiological and spiritual gains from consumption, compared to what we invest, seem thin. Accordingly, my research attempts to explore why we participate in this system, to understand how marketing taps into and subverts our urges, and to investigate how one might reveal and re-direct consumer culture’s promise of the sublime, to new ends. A key methodology is to study a group of artists, mostly New York based, who use retail display as a means to interrogate the relational meanings of objects, explore their social implications and build narrative. The contrasting works of three, Haim Steinbach, Josephine Meckseper and Carol Bove, are examined in detail. A number of theoretical approaches to consumer space are also examined. Among these, Rem Koolhaas’ concept of Junkspace runs a thread from physical Junkspace (malls, airports etc.) to a Junkspace of the soul; while Bernard Stiegler’s work leads to his concept of psychopower; the exercise of social and power mechanisms that drive consumption. The physical component of my research consists of sculpture and painting environments informed by the armatures of retail display, mall architecture, and commercial signage. These display careful selections of consumer products that speak to our darker desires and longings; particularly sublimated sexual urges and hungers for idyll, nature, nirvana and escape. Years ago, when I first came to the US, I was astounded by the intensity of consumption and the myriad appetites involved in shopping. That astonishment continues unabated, not least because consumerism is accelerating and spreading, worldwide, and into all of us. The project here is in part to put a face to consumption. One can only hope that this face is not our own.

Name thesis:degree_name

DocFA

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Fine Arts

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Basher, Martin

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Ingram, S
• Mule, P

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/49388

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/49388