Project Research: Consumerism and The Consumerist

I've decided to look at consumerism and the consumerist as a form of social position in society and how this is represented. From a sociological perspective, the two basic views of consumerism is Marxist and Functionalist. Marxist's see the consumer as the hard worker-man who has been exploited into materialism, therefore benefiting the wealthy, whilst remaining worst off themselves. The other perspective, Functionalist, is more positive, believing consumerism and materialism is vital for society to run smoothly and for the economy. As you can see there is a deep contrast between views, therefore there is a deep contrast of representations and routes that can be explored throughout my photography project.

Definition:Consumerism is a social and economic order and ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.

As the definition of consumerism states it 'encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts'. I think this is a key area I can focus on and explore the excessive amounts of consumerism today and the high emphasis on materialism today which is encouraged hugely by the media world.

Initial Research:I have decided to start my initial research by finding inspirational photographers which specifically focus on the idea of consumerism and materialism. I will then research these photographers in depth at a later stage as this creates a pathway to finding my own ideas.

BRIAN ULRICH:

I've have chosen to look at Brian Ulrich's work as I think he's clean cut photos depict the way consumerism and materialism is represented as perfect and a must have. He captures the repetition and monotony of the shop displays and the whole shopping experience that it almost seems clinical and alien, posing the question should we question how superficial everything is becoming? 

JEONGMEE YOON:

I've chosen to look at Jeongmee Yoon's work as I think his photographs particularly on the 'Pink and Blue Project' completely encompasses the stereotypical gender idea of blue for a boy, pink for girl forwarded by the toy industry, which parents buy into and in turn can help to form a child's identity.

WILLIAM KLEIN:

I've chosen to look at William Klein's work, especially in the field of fashion photography, as the fashion industry itself cannot only be seen as art but also from a slightly cynical perspective, as superficial and at the height of the idea of excessive materialism and consumerism, with their 'must have' 'in-season' clothes. I think in this photo in particular, it is interesting to see how Klein presents models, and in this black and white striped photo the models are practically identical, which in itself can be seen as superficial, following the crowd by consuming the latest desires in materialism rids us of identity?

QUENTIN SHIH:

I've chosen to look at Quentin Shih as I think his work especially in his 'Citizen of the State' project, asks many questions about society today. His photo's are extremely similar but the identities of those in the hospital beds are very different. I would like to explore this in further depth as I think it could link well to the idea of people falling victim to the hegemonic idea of materialism and what we should consume.

MARILYN MINTER:

I've chosen to look at Marilyn Minter's work as I feel it provides quite a simple link to my own ideas; a person consuming materialism excessively (quite literally). This could provide further inspiration for myself on how I could actually compose and illustrate my meaning and idea in my photographs.

CINDY SHERMAN

I've chosen to look at Cindy Sherman's work as she uses materialism of fashion and make up to create a range of different identities in her photographs, despite always having the same model (herself).

ROMAIN LAURENT:

I've decided to look at Romain Laurent's work as I think he illustrates over-excessive materialism and consumerism really well, which links to my own idea. I will use this as inspiration when considering composition to give meaning in my own photographs.

JOHN RANKIN:

I've decided to look at John Rankin's work, in particular his fashion photography as they focus on quite extrovert make up and saturated colour to achieve an 'industry perfect', superficial look. I think this would work well in my own work to portray the effects and result of a high emphasis on consumerism and materialism encouraged especially by the media world we live in today.

DAVID BAILEY:

I've decided to look at David Bailey's fashion photography as he's work is iconic in the fashion photography industry, an industry some say to be as well as artistic, a prominent one as regards superficiality in a world of materialistic consumerism. I love the way Bailey focuses on individuals in portraiture as well and this reflects the idea of personal identity as well as the beauty of artistic, yet superficial fashion and I think I could incorporate this well into my own ideas for the project.

Cassia Arellano:

I've chosen to look at Cassia Arellano's work because although simple, it combines the idea of the natural, with the consumer heavy world today through the use of projection technology. Once again like many other photographers I've looked at she uses a simple portrait to focus on the individual which seems to have been blighted by the monotonous bar code from forming any kind of individual personality, this is something I will use as inspiration when working out composition to display meaning in my own photographs.