Multisensory Art In Contemporary Visual Culture

730 Words3 Pages

Laura Marks argues that visual and cultural studies originated out of the intention to correct the evident elitism and disciplinary narrowness of art history and related disciplines. Nevertheless, the move toward visual culture has created a sensory hierarchy of western philosophy which only the distance senses are seen as mediums of knowledge with the idea that only vision and hearing can be a means of beauty (Marks 2008:123). Artists are appreciated as exponents of the trained eye, who are supposed to know how to look and appeal to visual satisfaction. Their total dependency on sight has almost completely denied the sense of touch, smell, taste and hearing within an artwork (Lauwrens 2012:1). Thus I will investigate the role of multisensory art in contemporary visual culture by using a cultural studies approach. There will be a discussion on certain forces of power that are implied and operate within multisensory art in visual culture and the relation between these forces. Discussing the sociopolitical and historical context within which multisensory art exists and functions as well as how this context influences the power relationships and vice versa. Analyzing how the sensory contribute to …show more content…

Audience
Cultural studies needs to remain a philosophy of plenty that will attain to the masses. The culture of consumerism ultimately has an overpowering effect of the approach into production. Consumers are directly in relation to the producers. The consumers are the force that drives the production. Their culture, taste and context determine the success of the product. (Hartley 2003:5). In this instance the artist can be seen as the producer and the consumer as the audience the institution aims to attract.
New media
Capitalism
The participants in the capitalist structure in the art market have completely internalized it, making resistance nearly impossible (Alberro 2009:8).

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