Visual Culture and the American Dream

agenda 8.4.15

what is the American Dream?definition from classic text

the visual culture of the "Dream"

“[The American Dream is] that dream of a land in which life

should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with

opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a

difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret

adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary

and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high

wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man

and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of

which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others

for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of

birth or position."

—James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America

(1931), 214-215Adams’s text is quoted at: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/american-dream/students/thedream.html

"...not a dream of motorcars and high wages merely..."

Louis Vuitton window display with sculptures by Frank Gehry

Frank GEHRY, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2014 (art museum branded with LV logo)

Frank GEHRY, Fondation Louis Vuitton, 2014

fashion + beauty in a fashionablesetting

is art just a decorative element in thelives of the rich?

Olafur Eliasson, , "Inside the Horizon," 2014, installed at the Fondation

Ellsworth Kelly at the Fondation

is this the role of art in our society?

design used to create deliberately hostile urban environments

is this the role of design in our society?

the pavement is colder than a bench, harder than a bench, and less secure than a bench

Sylvie FLEURY ELA 75/K (Won’t Smudge Off) 2000

is art's only role to sugarcoat socialinequality?

Krzysztof Wodiczko

• born 1943 Warsaw, Poland

• emigrated to Canada in 1977

• established residency in NY in 1986

• teaches in Cambridge, MA at MIT and the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard

Krzysztof WodiczkoHomeless Vehicle, Variant 5, 1987-9Aluminum, fabric, wire cage, and hardware60 x 36 x 56 inches (152.4 x 91.4 x 142.2 cm)

Krzysztof WodiczkoHomeless Vehicle, Variant 3, 1987-9

Homeless Vehicle in use,Washington Square Park,NYC

Krzysztof WodiczkoHomeless Vehicle, Variant 3, pictured outside Trump Tower, NYC, 1988

Wodiczko, Projection onto South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London, 1985

detail of projection

"Bat Signal," OWS, November 17, 2011

Stay in touch, y'all! Thanks for all those great discussions in the first half of the semester!