Caan CycSTUART EWEN ALL CONSUMING IMAGES The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture (Revised Edition swith New Introduction by the Author) ‘A Member ofthe Pesas Books GospContents & Acknowledgments ‘pernopvcrion: Shoes for Thought af In the Eye's Mind (GAFFER OND: Images Without Bator..." 1g ‘CHAPTER two: Goods and Surfaces 2g SEnpuERS OW THe VLE WonLD ay | er.z aD SOCIAL, omit C30!) hr Tan on te subbartnees 387 Se oF ee CHAPTER THREE: The Marriage Between Art and Commerce INTEENATEO WINS 4 | CONBUMERENCDNERUNE «9 / IMAGE AND 2 Imoge ond Identity ‘CHAPTER FOUN: Chotea People 57 MARKS OF DIEMINCTION 57 {FREE APMISIONS 72, ‘CHAPTER FIVE: "The Dream of Wholeness” 78 DEFRING PERSONHOOD, 76 FATWA OF FULMLIMGT, PHOTORAPAY “Ko Cisne 8,71 tu benno OF MDReNNE er —E—EEY"5 Image and Power in a Changing World (HAPTER six: Varithed Barbar 2 "MELOOK OF MsTORY nw | Tm LOOK OF KE FUTURE azo ‘CHAPTER SEVEN: Mechanical Sentiments 135 4 ‘The Politics of Style tm Contemporary Culture ‘Charmin nici: Form Follows Value 159 ee Be TRS 7 | a ‘cuarran sive: Form Follows Power 15 YARD DoDI a8 REGULATING LNs gy | mtn auna OF recENcAL ‘atencTion "sep ts chesney Rou SF TO ‘CHAFTEN Tex: Form Follows Waste 99 consricuous cowsunanion “35-1 mrssne *ORSOLESCENGE ayy 1 MERCHANDSEAND MENON 248 CONCLUSION: The Paitial lements of Styl 259 Notet_a7e Biblogaply 28 Index 97 Acknowledgments a ee tie bck commenced inthe lst months of 98 Begtaing {hen. any people ge me sustenance, providing nln a ic wipe mo $6e more laying a sued to meke nen oof non config subj, maging te on Tal tak ad etal erin of those whose openness, advice and Iendship con tuted he a . a sett For ths bok was done at the New York Public oe Tats Mew Library of Hunter Cllge, sa atthe Bue to aa sf Columba Univesity nach ese the bran sed sie als were exraodnaiy bopf, The sas ofthe Nasa Minseacs Resarch Advancement in Tokyo, the Walker Art Contest mag els th Jaan Society in New York Cty, and PRECTS sags jen de Yeceptive caso some of teens rambling of hs Project. eet he the chou and insight of many hikers provided spice ad spraton aman tn Bes rate fe comDiewous. Unknowingly—and without beng fre ‘aml theycontbited much tothe pegs ta lion 1 Saoatiat to thaak members ofthe Medi and Cale Roundtable Nos net Now York City and ofthe Mastachset nts fr made 7 MINE) in Truro. Ast pursued tis projet bo gee Prgided me with unbroken ales of enaship and ace, ney sides a Hunter and tthe CUNY Gradate Sel con- nce hs projet and is realation. Adrienne Rye end bridge si gaits Were exeen ecarchers and soot, Jun Milian ot 1a EEL et some of th taped interews I eonduced. Chris Wn, ‘ica founder ofthe Blue Man Croup, pode important innghteos modern atchitecture, Discussions wi Sooee Walters tnd Betsyht ete oy Car ela el prepatin gecpitin chuenme cement cigarette Sees aeeeeee ey eee ee ioaptee ie eennaren Sracatiemirage ance ines ts nr Ot na pi bough a nao! cation toy wage a Ean ny tt Cl Bo le fer age ‘onl Sno ie book 1 also want to thank Mifon laser ker Fama, Chee Peatinan, and Stove Heller who Brought my work to the atenon the Amerean Tat of Grape Aan ve deg, Corny more oneal. Thos aly post pblton nesta iped to eles th bosk--and mem the entacombs ef teu Genie dco. ‘Novas before, want to thsk my sons, aul Ewen and Sam Even The ail sve to any ne honest antag gting more a calf al of =~soang My parents, Sty nd Ewen, continue ‘rth humor to dle theft ter "When ths book was fst published, my find and etor Steve Fruer ws wth me, encouraging and demanding. Nowa hi no eaten appear, want otha Jo Ann Miler preset eta. ‘Mom a tre sie Benny compat we hs book remain deicated She wa sve when twas rt being wren td, for the new eon, er gudance has agin ben estiAll Consuming Images| Introduction to the New Edition a ow doe be tent Cie? ‘Wein oe wht sn ey hy ‘Dea jour ee vckan he hg yo a? Hash ach, The ic of he Lambe S cos senators ages neat te cl yom pnd Soe nseanaratas eh te dee meet ope i oe ot elt eee SLE catcegaentetcring aoe omnes paper ete Sedegret ted Sheil eraneh seks co Gah ih Feta hors sin Ne or er Sect earch Wr Mere Be oe semame scone: Hea, eer eet een eae ee Eee eee a aes saat rahe ep retee See ere se ee ee oan os ee ceecra Jame extent. the book's continued relevance reflects the fact that {LAME writen during «tine when ow funier lement of et (Boalt gence feta tele oe rn yaaa eno fst ier cso Eerie lores eo Sata oy ccs, segues ean et te a age i hie sro ‘ance, ve) poy statement bey carly chosen el ose ‘eel “re pint popu nthe economic sphere, the domision ofthe image sels evident, [Ply ascendant busines are those that tae highly proieha, mor transient, representations: news and entertainrest patos ‘igtal information technologies, marketing and opinion mangers and perhaps the quintessential image-haiking enterpi the er ‘tent to which this book appeared in the right, atthe right time. Tiegh ll Cosmin mage waterless en. eyo which i as vote, Lressed the une tae egy 2 Stsmunen am he sing fae We aos compromise ts hipnes tome ext ths ee umber mscious reac pe unberosfec es, may alo empsin the ok on All Consuming Images is Fundamental fundamentally «work of ity, an at- ‘rot fsa the moder contin f ind he er od nsleading and mild) preoccupation wih she within broad pateras Sigeln a cot tat ho ack ne’ carer ina ‘hs beak loos ote falar in an uti vay. Hsuney the ee serine tough lean exited fom the pa If prune SERIES car be isting story pended tana be seg BeBe por become tlighle, While syle and image ae imprrsnentctogorls, mala by delintion they leave lating sometimes pant toprintom the ny, epeole’ re Beyond writngan expense hatay Los de ie ‘Sts a proving eoget pone ofthis pecona dentin ake ‘rye that spe ad inage alle ve people iu chee tases led foxy esearch though formate a many sapete weet ofa nts rear. The textanets of orn ppl dtalng tnd cussing the importance of te win he eee fo te tot prt uncollected "To ares ths problem, whe waking on theft edition ofthis tak, weno ets at Hunter Cllge ofp. Foca ne signet led wri pli gg ie Gn fhetr aon experones and porceftons nar cy eine power an! meaning of sein thirties, Though burly a seats. Bing, Hunter’ uncommonly dese swden ly pode smu lyotperspctvs tat shel ight onthe ere fled expen In the pages ht fll ths ne var, te rents ote sign set remain remarably vd. loquent often plgent. Years ter they were wen, ty lsat the per af oe conten rary fe Michel H, whose expnton of le Ue bart ou essed to antipate the ar of Miche! Jordana cual fron, Marl NS eling account ofthe struggle ora bona Ande deat stench warts Bet Liss ME, owe sadness a Bull be tasted, nating ber mignon from «sal town in Pent thee sl was an expreson of the ner bel of eon, to New York Gy where people ag thenseles not t bear with an ema ‘cali dspe ga of mg ion bet eee er tearing” al of tr ord wen fre clas that man vs poe Uiy now forte, connae oso For this new intoution I thought i would be interesting to vit ay students onee more. Whit coulda new generation tell me sbout the ‘meaning of sje in thei ives? The ne essays lke Use wit ea lier, lfordd evocative ghmpses a the disquteting crossroads of ste self image, and society ona ndvidval level, Some ofthe new papers adres themes snd conceras Td encoun: ‘ered before. For example, in both set of easy, being stich ssodated with isues of socal and economic disparity, Following patterns Lat ave persed for centurion, ditinctont of ahead ead {us conte fo set standards for those who wath tobe les a people without money or cache, particularly thse ho dave tobe Senived or accepted, the aquson al ye wea ‘This evident nthe story Tansy B vo ge opin Brent, Colors, an environment where the lok of toney les Faoeog «mes dere hat et he and her ng moths tole fa selves, she soon absorbed the leson that appearances weld be her ‘abation, Wil remarkable ardor and with no eden snse of ar bivalenee, she ssembe an ident for heal fom he elise te espe ndimags that made up her word Aer baleen ‘he emerged—by her ov estinatlon asa“ leader” {a yi of dap cons, hs enmen of ‘hs nd basen ste ahs fl taf acs Tao ges ul ay eter diet etamorpnc me into aya ee Sheblened me tires ander lnerath spot Byte tie {rin jury ela fd aL oe oto ‘st popu ten age gelsn Lov Angles oe th hooatog ‘und spent ay ds pucng mystic hoa Creag ‘hl [oe fep whe bsg oem tend my nina, ty Breton Torey Nike gh st a iy oa tured Gas tat agar on Fn segs Th co bednauthente sre comiotable vs yaad mst Shing bob Sind mary «wend. as cp by these dene gous gh oy ‘dslecert yar bing Ty Bt option hee ion iy mello me o bee ste peo ht Lam. a war io seers ths Voce st sdf el being pence ‘wera a gases ond il be cand een {ili Lot Leon sgt fr Stpeman ae tes ers tet ree war gana te ett Shiney sruuinierger nas ine beter sen acne ericemestetigecnesmp es Sos 4 my town, the trends were alays st by he kid who came fom: wealthy fies, These lds were the popula’ ds who coudened Uemeles the ete group of my high schol. Tht parents wore well ee a og inate noncetshen, pao cosas weet Aentes “at igeeaean nen Socarercemegoot ienicentatncaogeariar oan Fo iy hs ronments no ao To be acknowledged a sponte olan eis be Famine Cased “The ky tn fitng in was conforasty to hs. sye, something tht I leared to do very well The eansequene of nancnfomiy mas being ignored, Ifyou dazed to be diferent you Beane isle, 8,1 learned to wae he wal, and ea thetalk Tronic she ft Lng Mand tended Hunter Caloge— wir dey tc ome tenon arlene oi. "eared so well in fact that when I tapped ou of tht wold nd ame to Hunter many people that met hgh ht Tvs one of thse elite ‘wealthy shat jst deseribed whe, natal, Lan ar fom it My ‘amis notch we dont ow alana, and Tam theft oo my ‘immediate fly to ated college, Adopting this syle was my on ‘eas of evining scaly nih sth, bot afer I gaduted sd ef that eneonnent, became somewtut of dsdaaige to me. Tam const miu by ees who see hs ae that I poet ‘Bk tht Tao a slo that nage Among ny students, pr stave ve emigre fo many aif ferent beatin, Bor athe Philp, Fen atin mae ‘wo today "barely making ends eet She wees bout he poe othe eitln "Whe fm vig yy oe ey areas other and Tall lot so and rein oe room i apie o these conditions, her moter stgled to put her and er brother “through Catholischool bess she bleed the we necded tots {good education” At hol, however, Fn war tormented by fet tgs of en fo ar relay affent sae. Sheed evn tle, ‘oppo upsppeorancs, 1 tMy clsamates woud hive snaids ad imported clothes, Lwoud tll thom hae T havea mal, ve ta ig bust an el the hat my Shad money. oes on fle that Thad ober, Whe Ts i sith gue remenber sealing money from my mer to buy an ‘imported chocolat ad eld my hssnates that sy mother brought ‘om Americ. After Fannie's family came tothe United State, thei fortunes began to prone, 1 tpg, thing got Bete and my mathe could now fod to prvi ‘a wth ae nets. We were ea buoch of ala tht wa tose From cage. My brother bought those bag jeans and Teron ‘oot MY mother bought expensive ever sad rete tre bet oom howe. In adon, I bough asme-brand clothes snd wore = pote shoes. Fora coupe of yer, Li le T went to tenth trae witha new sense of pride tnd eonSdene. now wales ht hal ‘eth my heed ol phigh == For Fannie, however, the sequistion of style was double-edged. She rarates er downfall with x succinct eloquence ude new fiends nd started skpping clas. twas oon the end of he term and fad all ny eases. Bald the nage id aot wd fea allot myself to ts image, Faced with stylistic peer pressures and economic fats, some st- ents evolved throu sear «rejection of dictated trends a way oF forging sn affordable and independent sense of identity. Lourdes S vito grew up in the South Bronx, dscrbes herself ae coming fom & family of “working parents whe never bad much money” This she ex- in, “ut land tol to develpiog the same orto seas he ‘ther kids in the neighborhood.” For Lauds, the look of wealth was defined by the expensive designer sjes of hip-hop, something she wanted 10 part of Tospend as much money she other kd ont oes. ae cos expense that we cal do witht, Whl everyone ce wes beng, ‘aoa ino the hiphop cle, ma ad ny utero develop ‘curovn ook. tok more aerate route by lye desing in black ‘mag my ove elothes nd, a ines, desigug sy own hin For ek spe Iool tk plan acko white shirts nd pall ny on desis nl th eye pints. OO coe ‘While Lourdes chcces may hve felted her t some exe, she ‘is comforable wih who she and how she express her slaty {hsough hr owe syle My mother some eft tht 1 marced omy om dun, Shope sedi won byt at ie vec ga ‘toms ebelon pat the nom towing opi oe tracey ae my per gus went pin gras ‘sti igadealtometobe asaptey ere dha greg tans hooked beyond wha hy sev oe us pone LaToneytB, a young Acan-American woman, deserbes the hip- hop fashion, similar, a too expensive, She also sees ita ase wh strongly negative racial connotations, ‘This syle, whlch originated in prson, was norm n East Flats, Broohy. ‘The baggy pants were inital worn by pene wo wore allowed to wer bel. The ula neler were pated fom, ‘inmates prohibled out ces in thei cho, “ithebeling guint core domed negative by sey” La Teja chose ed 0 adopt a “pep sea se oe, “Etats, pleted srt and ite! bon ow see a cold pure i emer: al sts Fah he ce Been nent ad ak My epton of inner city slo cused me to sulle grave ue and ‘he embarssment of being refered to ats “OMEO’ bck on th de, wht on the ni), AT bas lated LaToneys fom her “nin pees,” her “peppy se of dress placed er na crocs poston in elation thr white fends swell What kes ber ccepabl to them she lates, | Inakes hor uncomfortable with here or my ite fends, I ats dierent black the we he ‘ck ied whol ber whiter shuld ne, ye Tw a os Sane sstararmy plea dreing LaToneya discussion of syle reveals inner tumall an esentil questions af denny Shean ecu. Da at ob aft ener hep uit ri wat nin ch he ner ne tht deta dept these of acter et My Pa ‘mes ris hier cont dees ef wy ack eet ele my andy hte gut th vo eas Wana, ‘eagle wh se les lt”The conflicts of style cut many ways. Damian P, who wears the Jow- slung, baggy pantseck of hiphop, andiat home vith the bok at La ‘Taneja ha unnod reports tt ote ar no exempted in from hag t defend ef an screen uy panes, ‘Tome. srinination i incorporated int the word ape’ Tve been dseminated agent. When peopl ee my os pants, Tm util thyg or hood... Sle amy Me has very power fet cases neo gt flowed in tors and ob ood [dn thy tose wth diferent pisos, by tose who think theyre Bete, een ‘hgh they ve node wh tor wa Lam about ‘Damian’ story dramatizes the ways that the meaning of syle i transformed within diferene contets Sa does the tale of Viorel ‘anew Unga Sots om Rom fou ya ar th of Communism in that country. Aecordng to the precepts of the CCenucestean dictatorship, he espns, “bright lively colors were un suitable wit the condition of heing being & socialist worker,» prood comin West clothes, ike jeans, wore banned st ‘unethial: They repee- sented the rook elt, «dager toot and stay of or pet ‘odaist Repub a danger to sayin gene” Agins what he saw as a monochromatie militaristic state, Viorel and his friends embraced Wester style as their potest against the ‘read of Communism, He describes attending tn “ofl sponsored ‘workers demonstration,” under the watchful eye ofthe sctet pole, (The ert gn wa ching nd ed wih ch interest ‘erwere weit it tne os nd bl ter eth wal ‘plist ok bad lps spy pit onthe Yessy et ce Stinks ve pte eo Wem ag ‘agen, bre ng i nd earings nai sr fr and tac. [We wer ca ne gue for wal er th cout en aod yl thon le. They ‘edhe or ad as, ou ing ray Sel tess pln Weld 1 Rona sdsting a aon” syne sensbilty gue hima sense imma fom the domme cultare Dat or yo ier wen be tng tothe United States, this lon stats ade hm fli Ut ‘employed, nd unable to decode the ial excopony he encautred ‘mong “the multicolored erowe," Vor so e | ict nee sncly rejected "fog na unitemity had ag, Rend i gui ‘ein Tne Sur. The ating ead teynore Tf depen Innis ole ‘uch Sonahog was oily rosy {Mh Tes Sq be mh). ‘Tis ma ry mies ht ion peg ae Uden They bal old men nd gee Eva loch. Oe diy werent aucune ‘world ot tee bend mp } See, When {purchase ay magne. the Rn thing nl fook fr nbs ins, what the mses re ering forthe now hae os. Sipe ply jor gartn ny fe pra tomes oy oy alsomming wih sce nd ssng tev amis ad tis how 1 wat you to dently me. noge yo of speaking nt without ctl epening ayo : Tan B, ftom Brentwood confides that, as ll, the med ‘ed her witha textbook for sie sucess, guing ber towact Present cavern fashion snd modeling 1 dreamt of the dy that my fae woollen print nd al be ids at my sol conld oo bager tee me. Tish ened bey ato setfimage as ach itll abanbed my enone tte me sae deduced that med exentily defines boty Thus f wera te be secepte by the med, ¥ would be consieed ball Tats prety eteptive fr thiten eared thers ike Mari C, fel far more conflcedsbont consumable tages. For Mare, the nuance of popular image hs bossa teatng and detrinentl ntl proving af. dress tee, mae eagles 1 must amit, bg an Aican-Amesian chi I pled wih Bari. ented tobe leer bens she ba hi you sould comb witoutowing to be detuned Is under th impression that she was pe Fee, so 1 gradonly began wansorming ny tage tobe Ike Ber 1 Moped cling and became an exerci fat, o Become sim. {rowing up did vt eae the mda printed sag in ind but tert worsened. Locking army model, yo ee sim more whe lie incorporated Brbis mage. For this ean [bese ‘nore determined to nok ke Bate. At 11 bleached my bi atl ore bu contacts Beez thought would prove my nage and ‘make me bape but dt. al was unbappy th myself andthe ‘ey Hoked Unt Toke p and bene wae ava that asd ferent Thad a St nove and ig Ep ting Ue Barbie. As T Beare smote aware the more disturbed Twas with the medias poral of ‘omen, paral lak women hs gun of meta ards nd he prance smesages, ured prominently in a unbe ef my salen papers Naz so ome om lan Bt acyl New Yr, cow lges that "it is mpossible to sy thatthe medias portrayal of beast {nea doe ot leet men any wey Tales tne the mos when tn not feeling good about aye To lustate ths point she de- Serbs photogrph of hel tha she does ot ke. “This picture propaes uncertainty ad the nea to fel beat yt Is overshadowed by insecurity... Think the thig that thas me the so abut tis peture my mperat ase, The ae tat bln © ‘ny greta edit This nae remit am no white. Even in the face of such uncertainty, one may resi Thief the choice Naz has made, riven by a ferce commitment to who and what shee 1 hve afi fr bey in some ways Ako many people be reggeted thet I wold te tore boul Kal I cul st ny nose Se The ot yt ested wth Als rea fea ug, ing everyday ako ot ent hse age nh Fe ne SON RSLT tii, th lee yee fd ai expr, td ht ee apr fo edi “mge fey. ave ay red fob ee rate a NS ey tee es "boc an obsessive tile; aftenproventing my fm deeping Justo agp inking Beng are ose and act onthe wr 1 began to resent stare to ny my owe company moe han tat fcthers THe tbe alone solide bar bye ingued me Td een wht Twas wearing becae Td ot a tht wy end ‘So mmny pple des to accomplish spe gal he beng pop [ar or impacting thei fll etzens in cesta ay. There was avis ‘pt of me psig that way, tng aka the seat ay Ase wrote his esa in 1998, hneves, Exley’ personal struggle to 16 tain sple-less was faltering, “My wlationship with syle took Marve twist not too Tong aya” he reports ‘To my astonishment, someace told me I shoul bea made. Ove he eto weak several poop tld ne the same thing, T meine Ioeling to fend of mine who hs done some shots for agra and ‘sid tha shoul deftly ake photo for orto Hea ave ‘hat ok they ae looting for I presume tis fashionable ok tht ison, bt Look the phloem penn inthe mit of ng, ‘ogetheballroling [dnt know ft wllwork or get me some money ‘Hoeven i rsingand one hat the eects se ght fad upasone of then inthe se chan as model folate wed torabel agit Ele str cosas an eaifing lesson. chatted thee hcton of th agent te sume tine, genre sl tel or a eid perpen inthe market for ae ol ‘Where nal derma engin practi, even the caumtense of refs a Be sore it a uta For pope o maint pesos egy a sr ay ed to culate ere svar of te vil ln. Roaing en ent group of testimoniesas compared ith the fT we pres bythe extent ht banal conte hil ed en place ‘When this book appeared 98, ita stun lar ed ot et emerge an anf edad encom Bee ppl $dered contempt or poplar sen sd general rane bet pop shratue tbe at nelgnes Weenie Fermin, and the edvatinal erin has not moved ach tha tal ofa csp ea ce 2085 In primary nd secondary ecto," Mery ny fou In college nd universe aly an a oud 1s deartnents~e subject of nol mein and pol tre re ‘racing grovinginfre.Prhaps move npr n ych h [porrestons nthe utr, ny pola om nse say {Soetthe vole of imag et reei i Osea ee eel ae ch a oe ee ee ee Te Sa eal pi cach spat en Oe olin ath pr es, st people woul yas HOSP Sain eke gvm ured ml dae BET super sctch hee wth wy ond earings nd ih eed and ching ox ar a ot po soinured epee adew fame yee aso ny chest ‘fer wosghy pling mode ad tet my publ 7 ‘niu damon ng esa eng. ‘ao te ght ner tog, Bay st from er arage pint of fe poops subject surice ‘Ser deta te aur twee tgs eal i ble. hy do ates ptr? Spy beats he les hs deed (eS a itn indie i gee am ny ‘agi he te ty argo om le ‘Seniing oy naber ‘oy Ubon wCatbepom eau web pen ao seenl nes TWhertodile ic hsp Ths no sent of at the Stacy so mach ae-pon ws tid ep ck les Tat” tom eying neh bau sige It neiosathng he ry hl yd oe yet rt Ser a pao se I ft hse very maa How the wounds were fh ae Leh} omer en why band Or ho dara le he 1 may my moter od hr ng ony Enger conde te 5 a doer y bert. Exon ny sds pase on fr Bente crtbe pw. eiupsllaf ur pstre tha ke Betsy, ay ono he lca inage and expr nore Wat emai abot ety her lingo olen fom ers, 0 oe he inal expe Hon in lant the soy se bi. The Fe realty of the ‘ ‘rom pletue, beyond is personal poignancy, leds Bety to ponder Ted gdantn moe general thecal potest her nell Unortunaey, mags Ie (Cis) are dplyed in every some of our lites, turer wor suetance hat are mde oes tel es td to undermine what bing hua soot When Meds a oF Image ptr, Lwondr wht that personel, Wha ces them hurt orlugh rey. Lontkacw the aver tomy questions, beens the society [ven wants to detour usr hat hams pect fife, to make ws more ke machines cold deen “This ability to pierce the cryptic language of images esenti fe hope to make Sense of confit and injuries in our word. My students ‘essays show some of the ways hat young poople ving in the shadow af the image ace struggling to develop a criteal understanding so that they may fad more meanings personal denies than those tendesed In the marketplace of sje In this sense their quest and that ofthis Deok are the sane. Wile people, ike the students quoted, come to _gsps with the power of stl, the purpose ofthis book toes in hl probe by drawing fathomable inks between the privacy of personal eroepton andthe grand panorama of historia change, After this book ame out Hleamed a numberof thing which, bad un derstood them earlier and mare fly, old have infuenced how 1 famed my orginal argument. Ths new edition presents an oppor nly to make amends. Research conducted fort sabsoquent book PRI ‘A Socal History of Spin-added a new dimension tony thinking ‘out the power of mages» Research the history of public relations in the United States, exploring the rise of «profession that socks to forge public eitudes—to "engineer consent” as one leading prac toner termed it—I ran into an intelectual tition that shed light aot only on the of public relations, but onthe proliferation of Images as tol of persuasion over the pat centay igh the tations repercussions fr the history ofthe United Sates would be considerable, eonignated in France toward the end the ninctezth cent In 1855, the eminent soinlogat Gustave Le Bon publised « book entitled The Crowd: 4 Study ofthe Popular “Mind A year alter the books French publestion, tha becomes ternational best-seller, ransated into nineteen languages. Win 0 decades, Le Boo’ ideas had begun to reshape che thing fall who ‘were concerned with reaching influencing the public mind For any ‘one intrested in tho history and slgeanoeof visual communication, ‘The Crowd remains required reading,Atte core, The Crowd asthe eal diatribe ofa French mudde- clas acai wows teed bythe ef workings many Sn agitated bythe mounting democratic attacks on embedded cs tom of deference, For Le ba, the collapse of Napoleon ls Second Epi andthe be bo teing workers upriig in Pari 0 May of aby were hashing ofthe pest teed moder. Not “sly, the sci nmol ofthe Peri Commune heralded &“ars- tonal” prtod to which old hrarhial patterns of rue bad been Shaka by sepublcen standards of popular sovereignty. Apple by a0 vo uray democrat pales, Le Bon~—the soil sentst—craved der. “A knowledge of the psychology of crowds is today the last re “ures of the states,” he warned end The Growd was nothing les thn hi get ae je tye smi he beter o contd Folloving inthe fotteps of Thomas Hobbes, Le Bo reece the id x ht had shaped eral plea alg since the eighteenth tena the notion at people wer ninety feingy He veil he Hel of popular sverlgy the ss Som or eanple thst underpinned ye Decaration of Iedependene, {Rich the overthrow of mints goverment was sted she Teespable nt of reasonable men “Whle'Le Bon believe hat mies indus, ie ims, wore cade of resson ad elton, besa" cro” te rslvetl monte tld by dark nd atonal foes. “Among rds he ago the “conscios leo the nnd f sal ipor fence hn compact vith ts anconsou ie* Th mob was den by tmpulsvenes, italy incapacity to reason, absence of jue soon Twes driven not by ts mld, ut by pal cord Te Bon and oles wo followel is eal —~incoding Cabrel Tada sn France, rab Walla and Wet Monroe Towa in England — tere the fate ofthe decidedly moder cence of weal pelo ‘Thy believed the capacity to salvo and ply t “th ational” ep ‘ated the bey to ell stably the moder er, As Walls pro- ounce into th “empleo plie” col ao longer ely on Teele oppeaisto eon, Ison, const largely nie cretion _ otopinion, bythe delbete espltation of sobcoseos. nonrational fnerence> "The nuence of Le Bon and his pes on these of ataran thinking in tenteticentry Europe, and acon puta, as langbeen spprested by strane Lsslaowa ean which inthe United States, whe working cls multe sna contentions tides reform movement dated the sep of ie ete nthe Est to dade ofthis century, Lo Bonen Wea ao fund a recep tye aullenc. Robert Pa, the inflsental “Chicago Schoo soci slog, ws pana nisenced by Le Dont teus# Theodore Roosevelt throughout hs presidency kept Le Bo wings a bese By the Fst Wo Wr sca pokey ns fang he illo underpinnings for mw Aman srg peru ving profound ect on lending pte ecnoet ooete le stars Bera andy Lee. waa uate the thkng of ake pont, cami ead Wego on © create national propaganda bre to oboe publ semen on behalf of the First World War, and afterward er e zed as the nation’s fren interostor of public pion An infest qemu curl men anon te sale From the 19250, scl pycologists hve routinely conducted ssa esl se! of pp etna se iessages that would be mos eae or rung ap 2 snpute ‘crowd. Le Bon had laid the way for such schemes. mon ‘To know the art of impresing the imag of com to Iowa the same tie the art of gveraing the. Crow be alms dergooe the infuence of dons, Whoever can saply te wth. Soe ey their mat? Aid Le Bor ree on he metal eof ol, tanh ‘hates pcan cu ining mods meet omit end lf ges ee insu empty cpento the inpresns ges Ar ih age, td he image ol teat eal pei ter nee a tng log ennaton withthe rt ‘Our oum son [he conde to is mile las readers shows ws the lncaerence within these ages, but cowd slot Mind to She trth and confscs withthe rel event what the deforming ation of !mapaaon la perinezed thereon. A crowd sera dtingices beswee the subjective andthe objective Le aceps area th ages oked int mind though thy moe often ve only ery dts Iason with obered ft Inthe 18505, Le Bon, sought to dssct the mental ves of he urban rnases, people tht be, like many bourgeois scientists of the time, ‘sumed tobe intelectully defective, Yet a social pychology matured,the Le Bonian obsession with the irationsty Che Mh ts Hein i he ee ame cong th eatin tt agree ‘ee tn EE Se Ee ences ite mae en el nia Sti ot i vee Sg fanned Ped ci nde i nant irs of noel Cae ee ee ee ae ee ee See eee See eee por eee ea aE ep ener Greeters eet el oar ae ees eet ee ey Spann cence ee cee nein areas ee pete ‘Were oh these. The Hollywood “dream factory" was gunn tterna- Soviean RANG Soe es gece mere capri pe Tae ga es ceeds eee eas eee betepe eenortey resem cece ities er "fog teas dovlpments ocd th Jom oft oa ae on ea acte dime wat pic easton pechieelppeninipernd rin operat gece aie el aS carn rr ert ec Cee ee ee ce ger ats Ure tee Senn eo re ee el Se at oe are ‘he mango oe seer wl ut of mde of gener wishes i corbitaetetaie aan Safe eet cc keaect hata at Soe a ee Sa oe pec drains soe gar ede alee mitigate foun parc ioton yeaa penton cage, {os iui ofan inoatindooet ne nds copaoneal cae Tee van perc anos Sa Seated en ochre Saterday an tt elas i Simply put Lippmann ss that an oar images wold pr nit eer to hares he rata energy ofthe mse proving the public’ pasion whl, the me tne: making he ening ‘tht ws actly beings Nore than een yan ister ch hk ing cones to shape Gh ontous of public fea every june. Inge ney Homing the nl ht He gmk pb ramen eng eu eo sae tine. eninge Hc lpr in the emergence of his devlopnent. went pad the onal atom of ib, ses etin A pol ion res oe hal ao gst ml Jona Lippmann-—ee wel opinion manager proersooals tay onto ham se roman ky fr peting he nas na? "To some extent thir oxo was doubles the rect of fthand ebseration. Daring ter Htimes ne eset uk ape fal now vs techniques —many of which ere dcuse a ths book — ser idgaf rept th atone {wen he ways pope soe andthe piel word toy nab leaving Enlightenment techniuet of raonal agunet hind, the demote! mage of modern vial med dey appa coy inner ow een ee pt me So th neler pet of Hla Bs schon tt cul infor the tse whic plc nd esoocc ede ap ‘rome te enterprise of publ communication. Photographs hve kind af aor ve the agton tdi ‘he pesto word bad yesterday and ha spolen word befor hat. Thay ‘com terre The coe, nga, ott witha hemaing and they ce te ont fort fod fo he mid onc ‘hi Any descrip nwo or vem ay Ie pear. roger ano. {ort of memory bela a pitt rt he ied. Bato he [ome screen the whele proces of sbnenn, desing, reporting, ad ten imagining las bee accomplished foros. Without ore tele tan Ismwded toy awa, the elt which yur imagination savas am ingatis ele fon the sxe. er cborver sm ths ew eukure of aga roving a dhrect conto tie pbs mor pal asin aed detest Se French el ner Georges Dubanel deserted te viel eda tnvitonment ofthe Uated States find by ashes repeltony, {hd expoone conned to ena the refcxea "hn of mar turbation of the eye."** Dabanelshyperele is emarkabl yet hi dosption ply mane delenit had, byte 12 tan enabigucns aon the tera of Amer is Tis “asabaon ofthe oes a ey coming dst etre ofan ine sje tre ad 2 elsonscons device employed tthe ey lpg compl toce pfs “raesof these develbpnents—s ay ctl observe of Ameren ering can dicery- fut he arin of mode person Dat he ‘Pyehie mechanisms by wh aged tar wor ae apne ‘A im the sl pepe felis af women’ ta iy nl neha stoi ile aout American edveaton prepares st abot ‘much es interpretthe oomiresent tay th vada The i ils of hte a ln, veer may poe clues egaring the porentovs lnk Hetvoen marae imag od ine le. There scene in Onon Wells Gtcen ene Gn) here in atom to mle en ofthe ie charmer dag one “Rost Kane’ former busines manager Beast aod maar on he texte of human memo rein hoe Youth “A alow wil embers lato things you woul ik hed Femomber he bop “You tale me" One day bck in 881s rosing veto est nthe fr. ale lle ou there was ander fry pig Andon here was 2 “sent get of Awe ress sed nada nascar hie so And Tonya br fr ae send She dnt see me al Bat ‘beta mon ast gone by since, tht Thea dug ha gi ‘Bernstein’ haunting tle speaks tothe pychodynamies of the mind the power of the incidental to inseribe elf upon aifegining b> este sguseance dt far outweigh the objective magnitude ofthe tet fom wich kv den Fem erhom ase on ‘ment of phtorepy. et eld athe Sn hth apt he ‘wondering gaze" of humanity Olver Wendl Holes Ste an vd amateur photographer, deserbed photography as amir with a tmemony” With he observed, oe could the mest ecg of ou Alsons, tha which the apo andthe plilesophr andthe oct hae ate used the ype of nub and une Angie lr lain to “bjecu As spoke the vernacular of aon td Fanta. Tmt ably to entrap the evanescent moment—deljing the passa sf tine sel photogrphy aso eed customary notion of mora 4. Photograph had the capac to grb transent stares, to enshrine the commonplace, the fortuitous, to hold onto tgs that previously sano a tf tet lamer fea. Freud wrote eens ofthe posers tht such ephemera impres sions exened upon te unconscious worldgy the che Forgan, apparently ineental moments of ie sood at the heart of character developmen, he belived, proving elemental keys to our desis and scones. Wii each fo thes gentry erento co cealed, asserting thet nunc avating aloe “his may be pat ofthe eloquence of modem images tc ality to replicate and rgniy the inmesmurable power of te nomen tin Inuman experienee. Photogaps provided new sal prude. They ould reser the gil inthe white dress, arrest the npesoned ees ofa young man standing ona ferry boat. ns pregant sles, po. ‘ograpy coud rok the depts of longing In ight of such queston, Dohamels pomographie harcteration of American moderne Sncessant masturbation ofthe eye-earumes en oracles wan “Links between image and ines Iie were quickened bythe deve pment of cinema, Applying new forms of visu styling, in {he flaunahers bogan to consciously employ opal ssjectey athe foundational langugeof la. The eragraphers lens, teers jisapositn of shots and sone, became surogats fo What soci Bsychologit Hany Overstreet termed te “eye of the mind" x ht Wand Kin lorowing toe ne Fears ‘med “the otal unconaceas Focusing on small, itinerant det, the motion picture exmera could move i, infusing the commonplace with uncommon sgl ‘ane; lingering expectantlyon things which, In consctous fe, ght command litle attention, Through calslated pays of shadow and light, mes could be silenly printed upon occurences, providing +subjective rendering of bev eves. montage, crosscutting ‘ier teiniqus of eng, the sabia process of mental esc ‘ton provid grammar fe soteling that furber fed onfsed™the rlatonsip bowen new frie of wal expression Sd the contours of pcb le ‘a darken heaton: movies were serving totanform the dynam icsofimer he ntoamusy etersinment "The fn” Walter Benjrin ‘woe in 1996 "has ented or eld of perception with methods ‘ich can e lasted by tose of Freudian theory Te ngage of Cinema, Bajemin aged nicked the langue of unconsou ay holga By closeups of thigs around us, by fsusing on hen deta off tila bjs. by exploring commonplace mews under the ingenious {uidnce fhe camer, he Bl, on the one hand, extends ou orp [eason ofthe necesties which re our Hives, onthe oer hand ‘manages to amore us of an Smmense td unexpected fel of acto, With the sep space exnds wih slaw maton, movement ctu, Evidently differnt aarre opens ill othe ener than apens to the aaked eye ony because an unconscious pene tested space is substituted for a space consi explored by man, "The scef racking foralighter ra spe ala ote, te ial ow bat ely gos oa beeween hand and meta ot omen hom hw hs Macenteswth our too, Here the came ntervenes wi the resoures oft verge and ings, interaptions aod ‘oktions, extension and aceleratons, ds elargoments and ede tons, Tho camera inbodace to uneatclous opts ds peo sna to consis pee By th spas, photographs and moves had deeply fected the vi sul mpfr aig eye itp Undantuod ther world. The associaton between nage tame however the deing of x “unonsciu opts Benn put se aon tpn ie bounds phy a Hn Sep dng nae rg of acs ea ay SGlofommaatag Pe meee Porbebgesl “fo Le Bom, Lipp, and the cones ters who embraced sees ihe mat aentinnaentef person, ssl ha ‘Str of vial ature was potent and sg, Hf moder leaehp ‘rs tbe ound ine city to poke successions of wana ‘neta pins for the publica lrg, the modem dames of image nating th growing commerce in aeodied suas the subtle poctelogilshetr af photography and fin—rendered por Cites Trdg such tates ve tad move eee He hiv reprodced image could be Hed rom any sure, applied to {ny surfice to tant aye ot ell ay product, ‘as lacus delivered athe Nev School for Social Research, Hany Overstreet summarized the proces with remarkable cay Counseling stents on themes eat appreach oil pesason he zeroed in on what he femed the power of selective emphasis the ase of pictures where what finchuded within the frame, and what i xed debe, Bonoving om th tein of Bypass selective pictures artful lag the “power of suggestion” within the Ayame ofthe conmaniaions pecs Thy coal be empiye 9 “induce an imaged esperene” the ind of ewe, serviceable nena ocurence that woul! gid a person unconsaly tovard ce tin desired conchusons or acts, Inte fae ofthe nao “power of suggestion.” Oversee aed. the spettor wl be una that he ‘ven in the proces of being persuaded. He epined: “The secret of al tue persion it indice the perso to persuade himself. The hi task ofthe persuder therefore, st induce the ex perience. The res wil take ca fel. “The secret of af hat person i el tod what be overvbelm ingly feels. Practice ia geting ppl ofl theruces Io staton erfore te surest rut percents ‘fol thought on the eloquence of images Inthe yous preodig the Fut World Wat, most people desiring to shape publ opinion tl Tooke athe printed wor a the mos ellesivestament thle aS the perspective of cl payeology tok hl ths changed ‘Beyond the iste imation of modern, ors in eal - aige prompted by photog or cinema, thre ray alo have been Tr cpsterclgil dynamics t play bed Le Boe Lippmann snd ther fcination withthe permasvenes of ges. Tis sggested in"To Soe and Not Sea 055 ee study recounted by the nero {davtontllr Olver Sack Sacks dashes «man be calls “Virgil” who, chogh “bind since cary clilcood” has his eyesight surg ested a the age of “The artic ewses onthe oridable icles ig encounters with {he onset of sghednes, i inabity to proces the faa val dita provided by hs eyes. While Ving “retina and opie nee were Sethe, were transiting impulse tobi bala, Sacks reports, hit ‘ind could male no sna then”ep mcg tre ede pr be ute enna mt eet Vasco anhste aang inde s Vani ager ak Sagan it ey cere cane cmepen ee ee rg eberponenn rage Sere eaten eee ence tah ce eae a oe Se a One learned, sight allows for "simultaneous visual perception, the making of eee aera oes erent re ig epee ay ete een ap ae eral de sae re eon oonEe erate aren Pa ny tatige gaat som pee eee sein estat i mine cases Me en eee eg et “spine oer ged se sah ee eur ed ecm Pepe i tie nse segerg soe ge pelt Berd gee ete eng rhe Sona ee eos ape ech Sete po a ee at ny lec oe ec hone ergo ee en ae res ofS ih fee ee a lene es Pe bee cer ea Peep eee terns eater ein ms cig ie re fon Bees cele gerne Seems reeee re Stuart Ewen Naw York Cy onary 1999 1 That Kalber, "Te Mtg eee Yo Hr gun. Aut Ste en FA Slay 9f Sa 6 2 Ste Behe Gnd A al fe pir ad 9 om Vi, Homey Nate ite a 0 5 aka 10 dt ert, “The Crom he Pal” fr acct ‘he een ich ners ie eng wd apn Ba es tell TC alt Pa ed rH Ch ta pa ‘Wied Monee Tse The at of Ha ced Wor (998 ‘Sqrind rel Crp lag nd An of te a 8 58-208, Sem a. yf te * 21 Sie Bae Hao Calin “Remy he Noy se a Th Man oto (Gogo) pp agen 1 We Lip, The low a: Soe ue Opie ge. Engi ™ ve 5 Wer Lip, oe Opn a) pp i-o Ciel dens fo ei i ar 1 Ome endl snes,“ Seg dia Sen Te Aan My ‘thin fT Replat Neal Pho sey tang 85) 6 Rona Een, The pin Came (ip 17 Wie exon “Te West Ati an ge of Mesh Rept in Wier ent Hons 98 pp. 98 28 Hany Overt nec Haman hr 5-78. 2 he ST Seat ore SeINTRODUCTION Shoes for Thought as was Decomber, and the fl semester a Hunter Cllogo was coming to an end. To prepare student for an upcoming Enal examination in “Introduction to Mesa Studios,” my tenm-teuching collegues and T were conducting a “review seein.” ‘The couse, which examines the rise and sigifance ofthe mast ‘media within an emerging word market society, bad—for many ofthe stadents—eised important quetone about the relaonship between Image and power inthe modorn world, There wesw wnderstandable feeling of ansiety in the room, but at the end of un hourand-a-half| session my colleagues and fl that we had done our best we wished the students well on the final and alld the session ton clove. let the lecture hall and headed for my oice with the weight of last minute “things to do" on my mind. Ring down the escalator, Ihowever,Islanced beh me and noticed oneof the stent from the class coming swifly down the moving stairs behind me, waving and toying to eatch my attention T stopped atthe thid foor landing and ‘waite for him to reach me- ‘Out of breath, and with the Familiar look of nal exam ter in his yes be approached me, “Profesor Bwen, Professor Ewen,” he gasped, “Can I ask you one more question?” "Sure" Teeaponded, attempting to soothe his nerves, "One more question," he repeated, and then in dead seriousness he contined, “Profesor Ewon where did you get your sho?” Thad just pent the better part of two hours reviewing cous mato: sal with studants in the elas, and my ohoss wore—for this young ‘manof vimost importanceMy Sit reaction, hopelesly profesor, was “why bother?” On re fection, however I ook heart. This ky with ingenuous clarity, had trod the essence ofthe course Inthe contemporary word, where the mass media serve a increasingly powerful arbiters of lity, the rimacy of stle over substance bas become tho normative concious ‘ness. My shoes were after all what te course was al about. On sme level, they are hat this bok fall about ‘eet methinks hg ween nity in oie etme een, by my beng sk a conte on trisioto atin of esys ned Deyont Spe tobe pls IpPnBCIS anced erst owas When ta ft eld to dothe piece’ Tepnna hat I felt uae ot beng a stent tr prsctions of aretctreo ty planing. Ths editor shor sal protean expsning tome thal wafer aha Thad Been stn dou forthe previous tn So yur ed hath hd ‘Puntod an erates o write the pec, he would have eked oe: My TRepone watt tettve "OM yes Ite” abd T agree fo concider ‘ring the ple Ts ws the boing, and ave been psn the {opie oft with gest fron ever dice "Tiron it eon thet ay ht oto “eerch the top 1walked out of Rote othe lel subway sation, with the preps of aing the tn up tothe Butler Library a Clunbia Un ‘ent, At the enzance tothe station 1 glanced a then stopped fo ick atthe newatand nest to the ston doors Among the hades of kt aot magazine covers, the word "aye" appeared asin tid ages, Onnews maprins pris nagaznch msc orented mega Shen, magus sou eon architelir and tater dein toma, and so, "se" was repented ender named tebe & ‘uuvorl category, wabscending opal boondais an accolade p> ‘led to peopl, places, autades andthe Sl not sre what ste ‘is I roeeded othe ary wth the lw fa ws on te teal ofa bo topl, univer preosspation «key to undetanding {he contours of contemporary cure 1 iat escort rary sobering Loking though he ‘nd catalog Tunderstood hat this wold bes daunting tote, Cale thonewaten, the car xg ered fo las Thre war redi {Ble refrenst9 "See Fashion, Clthing but I had spent nore th ‘yea in the sections ofthe sacs devted costs tho history of fain, nd fasion merchandising, snd sesed the ies well os the utgymaf the material fund on thre lve? 1 the card catalog there were ako rome ferences to works on erry seam Sr Jr and B Whites The omens of rT ‘Style tomame the best own of them. * This was not what waslooking for ether, I thought to mal, ealizing that Twas abou to wckle subject that was, at best, amorphous; subject that had no clear shape toi and lacked the kind of concreteness that has shaped the catalogs ‘oF knowlege that scholars and students depend upon for tell eidance Sle was definitly more than a question of fashion in clthing or inlteraryexpresion, It was part of an ether, «general sensibility that touched on countless arenas of everyday le, yet wat Kimited by none of them. It was something intangible yet important, everywhere and ‘ower, inchoate. This intangity, this lipperines, bas pursued me Throughout the writing of tis book (One ides that I encountered again an gain in my early brary work ‘was the notion of syle” as employed by art historians, o by historians ‘Farchitecture. Within the convention of Use diptines, sje ea visual motif characteitic of « particular ara. Usually employed to rtselonie cous wi tals soot ais: "When my daring hs and died ve bought te wast expo coi, 1 amambe at thy ere able to bay Him When hey were im he cemetery. ry hwy fighting Broke up batreea the Chrisin aed Mose mas ‘Wien they were boat og bck there, afer four weak fund the sured clin eaten by Worms "lnc omach eight tht ny lathe won te. oa’ aord eying ew cates hep seuchng in the lets and wear retro igs counted tho sel that exploded i hy ros lt igh 65. asad that our ulin il sanding In Maral N's diary, th jstapostion of tyleconsiousness snd war sssuines a powerful trary dimenson. The Sure botwoen theFy tena eninge gn elm a ee Fae re ree ine be es tne re Co a meacaetaee a yn x len Wek ae cis rh uf et a of oe om Sc ee ee coer ee See ee raneengace a SoS Serene een eee eee Sorenson 1 bonin hink about hose expences sine ldo to he present day, ha ave intoenced ny eso eT bin to otic that tose peroncs ar induenced by culture. “Black American Cue Becrse black culture is cnet 0 mI sin more ready capable to Sant with thos forms of etal expression hat ve meng ome ‘whe talking abut se... For empl, alboigh Black Arenas -esk and wit these angege as ober Amero, th way le oop construct the Engl langage diferent fm other group in ‘Ameri Thi difernce i fen depicted by ceca yt in the Jangung. Through ths hyn. rented th separate om ter groupe who speak the ne language, For Deniso H—, a young black woman, style was anything but coherent. Deno sar her “spe” asa pastiche of diverse and contend. ing images, asthe fredom todo and be what I want, the ony Twat, {et me explain” "Tverd brown dealol hia Bob Marly and the Ras Tafa ‘ans who over Btepian Emperor Haile Sela I at tnt meme ‘error sister) ofthe bourgeae Black srry Alpha Koe Ai Tama member ofthe Daughters of fey, Bota ala wo ine apa fhe Hunter CllegeCheelenders, got the member exclave vent suede cab the “Paras Carag," tam ale «Spi Burton fexcher forthe New York City Hour of Edaaton My pret bongo ‘many Bick ce orpaniations, and withthe tennis on weekend eeeeeetea suburban way fife re lly burgeie our) yet haveing in ‘ny nose. look ke Whenple Goldberg (or so I've Ben albu my toon iahann Carel “These stories are resources rarely encountered within the confines of scholarly or academic works, When ene does ran across ther in print, stismos often nlterary wring. A pregnant exarple—Ralph Ellison’ Aeseription of man he observed in Harlem—provides a reflective ‘rumination onthe ecleeie phenonaenon of tle Hat Ihave tried to ‘write about inthis book. Elsons words provide a iluminating pst serit to those of Denise 1am reminded of lghtsinnd, Misayed, Ao Amoian-etured individual who could hve ben taken for anything fom a suring ‘Anglo Soran Egyptian, eained Send Americ Ian toasted ‘member of ein beso Jems. This young man appeared one snoy Sunday ftornan oa New Yorks Rivera Dive near ge Set. where drupted the vial psc ofthe promenading throng ying pin ‘shiny new bie Volisagen Bete decks out wth + searing Rll Royer raditor ‘Clad is handsome ac eiding ats aya-saard riding breecher of Hglsh taxing, he tak the eur willing an ape Sab haughties-— leather ingore A dy das a right nd ‘many colored the coat tht tiated por Jn waubein ile) times wed from Ms boa soe dawn tothe args, lary {are of his reechestop, whe sf, above i ool ‘lack Homburg te taunt angle, sted meal onthe (rt of his huge Af od ea ‘As though allthis wore ot enough to az, delight or ico lute hi obtervere—orpreetate an international inient involving charger of cra ivan of yt boundarar he paced tou ler en expensive Jganse singlens rex camera, postin op ‘he outa masonry baad whlch pr Rivers Park in at ‘onan atte tml tier Then wth bl ap sera he ah, ested pation bee ier. her e eed hit elbows upon Rs top, ed, end gave himself sharp movie rectors commands at Ace pve, then began taking sre of lft Know that hens sted overente aed Nn a liveth USA, home boy bon pen projeting snd recoding it ‘tive verve soming oH eompex of tral entity» Viewed from agi ethn-cutural perspective, ner his etre, ors, ‘ot his es wa of «whl, Yt he conducted imal with an obvout pride of pron and of propery, sting all end sundry to nie and‘onder in eons to ise a iow sign and smb: ion work fat. Thema hie war aon oreo wy, his emp ‘ent concealed by his este esting, And hit een ay ot ‘hesomewtt comic hing of ser, bat in the maltrgheinprovsed oem the wif taposton of mod. ‘Whatever hi plies urearoflacome, Mrarchal tats, and such, he ead his ental “Americanos” hi eewbelng sau upon tional forme ofthe Western setts, Whatever the dem be retuned to pret, Be ws exerci an Antericn fedom and roduc ofthe meling pot andthe coco or uncoacous ene it ‘rows Curly, Be wan an American ates. his Ale and ds mboland prot ht bros, camer, Vllowagen, eed Homburg sed ern quaitons pen tat pot. In doing they layed Iroverenty upon the nmbslsm of atin, property and ator, a sugesed new potable of prfctin. More than esresing pets ‘hos symbol the ol aiding American qustons Who am What stent ach of these vernacular representations of yl sw product of the particular history, contraditons, and experince of the peron who {eligi oF G Elson piece) the pert whom iis deseribing Every story could be pursued to reveal many things aboot the patculat individals and groups that are spoken for the way people expeess ‘eaves, the way they conform the way thoy rebel. At the sime time, however, a T ead though these and other ac ‘counts, I encountered certain siulties among them, At some pot ‘in nearly every one of thom, the question of style was inked fo com sumption, and to the power of the mass media to covey, may, refrac, and influence popular notions of syle: Each biography wes Inextrcably woven into the brie of «society where the use td com, sumption of style has become a farination of the milion, an inchoate csrmark of "domocrary,” a conta feature of everyday fe Te ths ‘gestion the prominence, signieance, and consumption o sje as ¢ ‘modem historical phenomence-—that tis book attemps o trae, Stuart Ben TANGARY 088 F | ;CHAPTER ONE “... Images Without Bottom . ..” % ‘Sle ado og .b ey to gen E. week on television a tant aced woman named Elsa Klensch ‘ost «program titled “Style” The pram focus ofthe show rovelves ‘round the new designer collections transporting us to major fashion ‘hows around the word, but thre is more ‘Some features center onthe homes of the people in the word of fashion design: cates in the countryside near Rome, converted fara houses in rural Connecticut; fabulous playpens overlooking Pars, Stl ‘ther tems desl with the dally iver of popleernployed inthe "worl {one dare net eal it sdustry) of fasion. Wo fallow a tawny Milanese ‘mannequin through her regular two-hour bed and fc eatment at Sergio Valente. We observ busy New York model, rollesating sad {aking tepdance lesions intimately shaving er longing to “rake iin the musi theater. We glide through tho byways of Tokyo with Toko, ‘ slonder fashion model with “the most famous Japanese face in the world" Her spare time, we earn is divided between shopping for her ‘new apertment and praising traditional Japanene uddhlsin Matort, tls and its spiritual rejection coat withoot confit, “Accompanying commercials blend ight, telling wf the sing valu of Tab col, o of the way that Henry Grethel clothing wil lead 1s into accidental end anonymous romantic encounters with beautifal ‘women—oF meni slogant hotel rooms,‘We see that sje about beautifl mouth watering srfacos, but we seemore Beyond delaying surfaces, the uninterrupted message ofthe television progara i ta style makes UP & way of if, a utopian way Fle marked by boundless wealth. The people we view apparently Inhabit « universe of bounty. They wear dreses costing thousands "They live in eales, ‘Their encounters with interior designers lead to Tinvectained fights of faney. Their desires, ther fantasies, thee whim rv pally tested nt objective forms There are no confit. ls the mame of "good taste” Here 1 no mention of east. There no anxiety about affordably: "This way of ie a marked by an endless sucesion of material ob- {oct yo tail that curiously wems to lat beyond the terms of the Eat ort, This i essential tothe magic of eye, its fascination and achentment Pst of tho promise of sje that wil it ws out ofthe Areariness of ness “atthe eter end of the tunnel of television, however, ste viewer: cheaper closes no estas bills piling up; no stranger tothe ansietes fdas placed within the constrains of pesality. The viewer sts, ‘tatches, embedded in the nite terms of daly fe. From this vantage oink the lower sengaged in relatzonship with style It s relation Ip that offers a pledge, « pledge repeated scrost the panorama of ‘American consumer culture again and agai, day in and day out Every ‘ay feats detalls (thing hows, routine abject, and atte) can, through the sorcery of syle, be transformed, Without ever saying #9 ‘crplstly, the media of ye oer tot the viewer out of hi or erie fin place him or her in @ utopian notherworld where there are no Conf ne needs unmet; where the ordinary by Its very nature— xtranedinary. ‘Style today isan incongruous escophony of images, strewn across the social landscape Style may bo borrowed from any source end turn up ina place where is least expected. The stylish person may look ike duchess one week, a murder vietim the net. Style can hijack the “ial icon of sstnauts, or poach fem tho ancient pagoantey of Guatemalan peasant costumes “snadvertsement for Neiman-Mareus p84), one of themet fasion ble department stores inthe United States, reveals syle’ ability to ‘onsite what Herbert Marcuse once deseribed asa "iy of oppo. Sites” In an sd for women's clothing, the newspaper dpay oles ‘realots ¢ choice batween two stylistic polarities. ‘One pole directions “Atitud,"a col and selcondent expres sion af arcraic ate, The typeface her elegant and conservative. ‘Above ia photograph of « woman, poised Parisian perhaps, wearing ‘etme e's nN 1 broad-brimme chapeau and haute couture cot, Her daiate hand caress the brim of her bat; her skin is maiky white; her eyes are Dassive and vacant, Below he, the words ATTUDE 1 postion wth regio people oti ATITUDE 1 wearing the crrct hing a the crest has ATITUDE Is eet a. we see 6) srrrone 1 mode ATTITUDE dressing o pene msone ete, ‘stb an srauation -STITUDE tolling the avene, STITUDE i Neiman Maou, On the sume page, on the other side of a sharp, jagged no, es ‘nother vision of syle, “Latitude.” Far from the “eultured™ refinement ofthe aristocrat, hiss about breaking the rales, violating taboos. The ‘typeface here is scrawled, in bela graft stokes Above ia piture oF 'snother woman, languid and breeding Semitic ype, wearing the ead scarf ofa Palestinian and Ieose iting desert eat, She recline; her ‘rms fal back above her hes. Her skin live, glistening with moi ture, and hor dark eyes look of to the id, gazing in the direction of forbidden desires. Below het, the words: ‘urn feedom fom row renin permting edo ‘rrrune 1 changing the srucure opment, however, whenever, {he mood hte ser lsh ‘artTuDE 1s whatever el comfortable ‘rer ood ‘rerun drei ope youre rerun ving the set io and, once more, Cling world views ate translated into sy, images to be pur chased. As disembodied! images, they can be easy reconciled, both‘svailable fom the sme source. As the a concede, we ae instructed {hat style may fall on “the eto igh" oF «strongly dened line” yet Aepenng onthe "momen a imagination,” either may be appropr te, Style makes statements, yet bas no convictions. "Our stock the sdvertisementconctdes, “are fll of both looks. Ask any N'M salesper son for litle dieetion—or jus sty the word, Attitude. Or Laide.” Obedience or selfletermination, conserentive of radical, Brahmin or Uniouchable,Superego o id; any of these dais may be purchased, simultaneously, in the word of syle, le the style markotconattes a presentation ofe way of if, ia way coffe that i unattainable for mos, nearly al, people, Yet this dows’ ‘mean that syle it relevant to most people tis very relevant tis {the most common realm of our society in which rhe ned fora better or diferent way fle is acknowledged, and expressed on level i not met. Tt consists a polities of change, albeit "change "hat resides wholyon the surface of things. The surfaces, themselves, are lifted from an infite number of sours. “Theimagery of lite culture isa ongoing aspect of tye. A magazine advertisement for Benson & Hedges "Deline Ultra Lights paces Wo large, goi-eged packages of cigarettes i font ofa sweeping spiral taiease, draped in moted tones of very and pink Halfway up the stats ‘ voman ins beaded evening gown, dragging « white mink tle up thickly tarpeted stairs, has her eigarete lity an elegant gout in black twxedo. Meanie, in anther ad in the same magazine, an unseen hand pours Chivas Regal scotch into a sparkling crystal slipper. Esch mage reeks of money, ofering the consumer 1 democratic promise of limites passsty hile, atthe sume time. projecting the sheltered rerogatves ofan elite few. Assuming the iconography or “tia” of lites may for some, representa change forthe better an elevation of talus. More and more, however, style oles other visions of change, Grawn from an endlest repository of images ELLE magazine presents a photo feature entitled “Paaltary Mode”Sutry, daring members of "pricey platoon” display the poten: Al allure of tary gar-"Wake tp to the fan of fatigues,” challenges {he tet tan enticing woman, preparing for “combat.” removes het bultondy pans, revealing camoolage pantie upon her Forward thrust Ip. TAKI, a Sick magazine on “shin, trend and leisure living,” pre ‘sens profle of Ennio Capa, "rising sta” ong fashion designer “is “Fapanese-infuenced collection," comments the magazine voting tho New York Tine) “looks like what ne imagines «rebel spans totalitarianism would do to make desb clothes individual and! hes ‘ince as aes: With Ksropean tditions of ote etre, an onately famed pore of nee wars conspicuous ag ofan of faving rive wot Tay, ‘pchsign of wat have been democrat welt to ayant tome {he corrct sph purchase A ele Pot o's Men by Lanes Crnaehroae [AV ight an adberanmont ora Chon bige mer a ae {ing sey.” Polite! transformation and eration come through “with nargy and free" pat ofa bol, senssl now lok Warring on th ele tyranny of ais snd sate,” thea continues, Esprit jeans offer an “Elegance” that “untfshion and ant-luzary.” To underscore the pole egalitarian fim of the product the Jas are modeled by two “real” young ‘women—not profesional medsle—whse credential re listod t re= ae an akmesphore of inteligence, physical and sirital health, and frm social commitments. Both blonde and blne-eyed—confrmig to the Aryan, photogenic Ideals ofthe fashion trado—theve two realy ‘are. Cara Sthanche of Berkeley, Callforaia another symbol of youthful deals), isan “English Literate Staden, Parti Waites, Anti- Friend of the Dalai Lama,” Her ry Actviat,Dogining Winer en fhe Dal La a at O Donna of Son Franca, # &“Waltros! nasa IDS esto, Gt, et estan ar eo Feminine word of tes et Seiden And bese onsen, sing conotton sl Ses ment wee thy are siultancout, evcerated of meine : ad for looming Pal’ Calecion "dru som ee nate cater of pale andar references Fee pei the ad “hack-oSchools anything bul 8 SOT Song Fou costatvits. We condone coicuus clothes bese ngulam conviewon. Ad fundamentalist Ble In Wee S Connection, The Fall’ Clleeton. Junior aves ito « ergot loomingdal' Prom couse cular osopsteaed ry, TEER tenon for powreniv thinkers” Tear and concept Site findamentaio cenpicious consmption, new age—mell wr ceerceon wi oftnconte seta fahion statement ne Dag everthing, snng nothing Here, amid the polyme huge, we are tlie by empty promi of tne If the “ios” of style not realizable if, it is nevertheless the ‘ost constantly avaabl icon from which maay oFus daw the visual {grammar ofopr ves Ttisa behavioral model thats clesely interwoven ‘wih shader patterns of survival and desire. It sa "hard to define ‘but eay to recognize” clement in our curzent history. Often sey, at tines unselnowledged, style works on the ways that people understand and relate tothe word aronnd them. a fence ean be seen within the insecure, but nonetheless Formative, bboundaes of adolescence, when the seurch for identity accelertes ‘Anite A, now a twont)fouryear-a college student, cones, When wasn high shal cu out en adverionment frm amazing ‘sz hang tony ll Tho a read "Greate a ag” nig bol white eters, Lda remember what had war fran ever reaiyared Talmpiy wanted to remind mle werk om myst. Wed to ‘eeu takon by someone who could caso that intone anes jut by entering on was fen xpred By thet aa! ‘Lia E—twonty, fos that sto “is osaly related to averting” “My elements of sje," she ready admit, "ere what's spread erase the pager of Vogue Bile and Glamour magazines,” She explains, “ght now mn themida of style chang. Tm making ysl ners ‘es at for yb to grow ou Roman otremely sort lene sven Feo 1t et et te aay cae on me. Twat vay complimented 10 why change The anog, orakovn, Her iage everywhere weap se nage tht taking me dese longer bl So wl a that verfl mode of lkexpreson, away tn wtih onl abi thee ean fo ae he Ia the sup inthe South Brom spent mh fh choc sd usesons playing baseball For halos at santa Of the gue, prt of wining {plete pe om nu sndors. severe the bls he ket or aly bk sameness Meret eas esl ded it. tne cnr marron When bee dink the fat cps while sn epenent grees ee ‘sean ssn fap "Cet oF nee a eae seenage Tock en opponent add teal inoue ey Fh ark orm vey ening ad hoes Micha sons of se bt en haped bythe corer competion of bsketal ut it has aio hen muted Oy noe ans ‘he marketplace: Michel discus the wee common inte oe cow of etblsing and eprningcalur ascri ‘When row up wore battall maser and Za Jens. wore ny ba ‘emote in brad on waves, and walled wth sop. kv eae Statement tht my fonds nd Tinted wih wide gewing as "he "hing” to wer basketball neers i the phates ough tout sore Foranewecme oth United Ses th peptic f marke shennan pom Se Rn {song min win row opin fens nacre ee s"etiionl her ennui wih je" menesoen Nene Schaar ofmenny nPoraai oases ‘ood "th ayn whch th ner beng of eee Herein thtnted Sates ebravey front ee ome fm he exert oi a thas fe Not only tes ar beng shape... bt alo perception of cow sel The interaction f pele nd exvronment bing armed de My perso experience has ben dificult ane. Tare are wap hich fel aaconic na mader sity. founds temendous ‘ereacein my perspectives oflfeaad tht oot peopleiascommneseT to agin to understand why fe ile soit... Oly now Tam 0 Br ST Li 8 to eet TERT accent er homey ety ‘which displays a glarour of ages without bottoe without real mesn “; ple think they could buy, then sh, acme omen pe ih hey ct inns imat nc ebrman er oe RESTS res mn os aes ope steno te chu tates ase Goma engi et seer cegercenepcr anda acs Bip ce mcrae seb ie nmr coche ea nan tau eile sins inceaestaretan Gicomaraincnia ge Teams se ct ek el pew onset latin te kevin nin cl Sica nl ee caesar Teorey tessa iremepttse ‘er cay Sartre! ve indcheecr Se enema ci cea arte ane tech met SSS eee hs caren tierra imines eee ke Sender tetas trea Stee er rn mcs Seer eaten mene oma ier Sem roe ee eaneneemcereeeres Se taste Pee mgr smtp ns gn mo ed om lof stems, decorative objects aerted astonishing powers. They could explain the world as it was, ratify etablithed patterns of kinship and power oF expres visions of something beyond the conventcnal terme ‘oFesttence: a horor or consolation Yet within such traditional sities, the role of imagery and decors ion difered signieantl from the volute phenomenon of styl in modern life. Traditional imagery stood fr a unchanging or eyelical ‘world, frozen in time and space, herarchieal and state, where every tne knew his or her assigned place ia the “great chain of being” Moder syle speaks toa werld where change ithe rle ofthe day, where one's place in the social order i @ matter of pereeption, the product of diligently assembled iasions. Tday, style i one way by which we pereevea world in ux, moving—apparenty—ever farward, whores traditional soit’ se of imagery invoked » sense of per. etuity, which conformed toa general oitlook on le ‘The power of style, and its emergence ar an increasingly important feature in peoples lives, eannot be separated from the evolution snd sensibility of modernity. Style isa visible reference pont by which ws have come to understand life n progress. People’s devotion to the sceleration of varying styles allows them tobe connected tothe "rel ly” ofa given moment. At the same time they understand tat this sven moment wil give wey to yet another, and another, and th 58 does, styles wil change, agnin and agaia. A serge of rootednese oF ermazency iselusivein the world of syle anditisperbaps this quality, ‘more than any othe, that ecaterstyle inthe madera world. On the one Jnand, style speaks forthe ris ofa demacratc ciety, in which who ne ‘wishes to become i often sen a more consequential than who ane (On the other hand style speaks for s society in which coherent meaning ‘sed to the hil and in which dit has provided s content of enti tal discontent. ‘Bat the qustion of syle cannot be Kmited to the eam of subject ty. Syl isalsoasgneant element of power Syl, td, isiextice [My wore ito the fabri of set, plieal, and econamie fe Is the ‘reduct ofa vast and seamnlomnetwork of industries, The production ff sumptuous images, or the very few, was once limited tothe sired ‘workshops ofthe medieval monasteries: now, the prodetion andar kKoting of syle is global, touching the ves and iagintions of etl everyone. Design, of one sort or another, is afined to aot every ‘conceivable commodity and styles noe lade ut” Feo what the art tiie Herbert Read once dispraginly termed a eontinaous and “gor fd soup Kitchen.” It to the historic development of thit “soup Jetchen," end fo its implieatins, that we now mt fanGoods and Surfaces & Were adel by engine, tan emp Bil with ge “aren iy fet he CHAPTER TWO suiynns of the Visine woRLD igo, aid century marked by technologie wonder, Over ‘Wanda Hees ped the Sto hee ales he weld write ‘ing homage t0 wht be understood to be the rot remarabe {chicvement of his tine: phaterphy.Photosraph, the prominent New Bnglnd man of str shaped "ha ed the mor Botng OF or ns” and as prt hom, ever efor endure Selo our eyes The momentary line, te netabn memory, the Acta’ nd testred era Soul now be Hed fo he pret place anime separated fom the power rap oft tral Eevionment yt ema el visa nd permanent For Holes, the procar of photog pty bad Sc an craig previ Ssinaginta “congo over matter” Too photomph he saertoh ee Sor wth memory “Ts sity fo cate and preserve he dsm comtenance cf hing wa for Hoes, changing te pss of perce, nding {erp i he wy pomle wl std idea the {oe Before photeany, be eins, the etre of persons ‘ic, oan eect retary bound othe anus materia to substance Tru, paintings could fasten upon the elles of the material world, but they wore, a bes, costly and will depictions, tme-om fuming representations wrought by the carefl hand ofan rst. Now, yrith the bsth of photography, the physical environment could be forced o yield is manifold appearances dseetly, Form could be scp. {ated from mater A now realy, shaped bythe Alurshing of domatees sized surfaces, cold take ba For Holmes photography signaled the beginning of time when the “image would become more important than the obec tel end woud in fact make the object disposable." Holmes foresaw atime when nis: ‘aces would be routinely appropriated from any conceivable source, ‘ol would then ake on an autonomous, yet objective, life of thes oma “Form,” he procimed, “Ws henceforth divorced from mater Intec, matter as visible object sof no great use any longer except a the ‘mould on which form isshaped. The card between tpt tad mater ality had been severed. In his ossys, Holmes delineated a world in which surfaces were ‘suming "the effect of solidity,” and where the play of images within the vaporous ether of perception was coming to signi am ever meng the dea that images could be the concave expresionofreaiteeg lt, one hand, ae exit autonomousof that reality on the cther Teche produced surfaces were beginning ta vie wth lve experience tthe Structuring of moaning. The image offered s representation of eae ‘more compoling than realty tel, and—perhape even tines he very definition of reality into question. Intrinsic to Holmes's analysis was his prescient understanding that the ability to reproduce the disembodied appearance of things gon fended the coming ofa vast wd mobile market in imagen, eek ase wor had never before sen. Freed from the encusbrances of wat the lok of the vstble world could now be eatly and nomena, roproduced, Mattern large mass must alas bee tn dar form cheap aad transportable Wehave otter of ration now nord ot tos uss wih the coe. Ey conciable ae! f Nature ad Are om seal of ts suface for we ten wl hunt all earns, Best rand obec a thoy hunt ext in South America, forth sng et lease the crc a of il worth» ‘With remarkable, i unwitting, clasty, Oliver Wendell Holmes had ai ot the contours by which the phenomenon of syle operter inthe ‘world todey. Holmes was writing of photography, yt his perceptionete word hint ble mages, ssenivey to peopl related a Fon rote contr, wo and a & rei sr @e aord te scat faye Socom mile alld ro Sesh wa Me ay as he const far it ple would xn navi sTyLe AND SOCIAL MOBILITY unctenth contr su te fovering fate on nse tbe nee ag eotomn mere in yl were sow centr before To bing of devant tw regan ot ad eae hte Ages reread bun i EAN of em fe. Aer porkd when cra if bad teen dom See weiy mouse etnon sae a recht ac, aay sled, ben bender tnformed the onc-marial {nso habs commit a irl Cling he ‘era real patos of apasansetioncy, the towns bane “rant wena for ounces, neg male mony exon Citas previouly contol by the montero, now sed it She tonite hans ice ed eave independent artiane. Monte forme dai fate power war ow bg tng police goods forte toa rowing nara landed anduban “athe exchange in gods boca mor nd more common, anda ‘he fnucing of burgeoning proc btn necnry, merchant tnverpiourhed Aah tl ping porn fda, {he bepming oft markt sctery were unin. pis in hes epg we there ofs noble fr of wealth ch changed {hey soul abe oan. Wheres the old oder ar pres tated on te notion ofan eternally faed stem the new tows He feprcrted ovat predated on ng the gown of mane {Sha th expan of ares the cea of wea, progr ath poe ne vn ate pt oben ‘ter hon ha ued he emerging woth ft ove erly ‘redut f eteprssip Marcon nd ata, od at {uence ow dovelopnt, spend «poplion of be Indic agnting throu soy, opens beyond he me often taper fel ado stl vy within erat io Fueled by their desire for franchise and satus, the merchant class ‘mimicked and appropriated consumption practices of the nobility (Commer activity made houriou tems more ready avalable than before and provided prosperous merchant the wherewithal to acquire them. Although the merchants fortunes were a product of commercial entorprise, their consumption paterns were designed to eiain the magic trappings of landed heritage. The rests of this tendency sharacerized—t0 large extent™the gee ofthe bourgeois ed! of style on into the nineteenth century Conspicuous contimption, as ‘Thorstein Veblen would name it, was the mark of tts, In 2 word here nobility sil ued, the merchant clas ied upon symbals of excom whic ad ustomarily oon prerogatives of landed elite ~—atonaste the acquisition of land, other item entered the feld of ‘bourgeois consumption, Elaborate clothing, a commonly understoot snark of power, was now available toa socel merchant This caused the nobly some consternation. Before the rie of merchant wealth, the sartorial right of nobility were asuured by the fact that nly they ‘could alfrd to aquive sumptuous garments. Painstaing and debts needlework was at their disposal. With the expansion of meretnle ‘weilth, however, the nobly begaa to erect legalistic means to protect ‘heir privilege, From the ions on, the od feudal order began to estab lsh “sumptnsry laws,” specie guidelines governing the weerag of apparel. Even within the detailed prosriptions ofthe law, howe, the rising prominence of tho bourgeois was evident. A law adopted in ‘Augsburg in 90, for example, noted that “nly princes, knights aad their Indies were pormitted to wear brocade” and "welvet garments ‘were for patrician,” but the law als llowed members ofthe “upper bourgeoisie” “thee ellens of velvet to decorte thelr henddreses"* “Aspleing merchants alo fled the developmeat a broader marek ‘in art objects, Earir in the Middle Ages, intreate erfts were the product of localize, “household” econoaty; atl object forthe ‘mast part, were produced forthe pleasure end grandeur of landowners Beautiful lumina manuscripts and orvamental hanaerfs arly changed hands, except “inthe form of occasional presents or in the ‘execution of direct ccramisians given to particular eratsmen”* With the expanding market im rts ctl however, rt bectme a press. ‘ous item to purchase. The trade in at objects begun to grows ews ‘becoming something one could acquire. [> The emerging commerce in appearances i well ilustrated by the pro- | liferation of “dela edition” manserpt book which camo wit the ‘se ofthe commercial towns Bore this period, booke were aticles of“supreme lusory,” treassred possessions of feudal nabs. The lor involved in producing one illuminated manscrpt wie enormovs ‘Ment, sometimes your, were spent creating these sacred objects af ‘beauty. Owmerthip of books was an incontrovertible sign of ones statue {nthe worl, andiven the aligioas nature of mse text —one' lao ‘nest a Cod Clearly, these valumes were callected more forthe némira tion they inepzed than for thei torary se, and book caf and design sevenfusted this display faction, ‘With the emergence ofa bourgeois market in style, however, inte cst in such one-ofakind reaures became more wiespresd. To fod {market of hungry consumers, new workshops were established to produce illuminated an decorative Books of Hours ornately illtated Feligiousealendars which, inthe pas, were entreorinarly are spec ‘mans of beauty. Even belore the development of the movable-bpe Dnting pres, Flemish artisans modernized the labor proce n onder to satisfy the mimetie desires of parvenu tute Marcel Thomas, keeper in the Department of Manuscripts, Bibiothéque Nationale, Paris, de- scribed the intricate division oflabr that prevailed in hese new, ma letoriented worlshope ‘The trade thse Books of Hears a the vil monopoly of cera speci weeshop, andi thes, above al, an ingenious divin of ibou owed tine to be seved and made pombe proper ms produc ton Ao of hs indexed in Flanders an mints would produce ental tock sone for ech ofthe man cpu stv he [Naty the Aanuneiton, ots} whl serie opi ot the dierent Calendrs ofthe various doce 2 that they cou then be joined on howe secon ofthe Book of Hours which i ot vary from does 0 ocee huinstos even perfected «proces which peated tern ome sever] cops fom ane ein” ‘To prosperous townfolk ofthe fourteenth and fifteenth century, the ability to aaquze such ema of boty was a sign that, from ll peat ‘nces one had arid, Another example ofthe emerging market in style I found inthe expanding industy of rlision leonograpy By the fifteenth century, religious at, hitorialy associated with monateres and cathedrals ‘cool be brought int the hora. The gravitation of religous art fom the sanctity ofthe eathedtal to the secular and personal realm of the home may be understood asa mattr of syle se well of religion, (On. qualitative and fanctioal ove tye embodied esignicent ans formation. Previously, dominant imagery bad spoke on behalf of the eee BBiencers pie ond ee Reclame, Hon Sees Sry imagery it generated. tn tix Reais Ets Gee Be aes Agenmaan ‘that association is still clearly jenna ‘drawn, While the one bun- nena Geer alsa, essen on [eit gol inten sorte hithe ated dowd Pet sium Ulett deeed Davids ley nth endive west ‘onto nb egret ‘noe is ReMNOAHTUM, a, en aca PONE ctu. toma hlorarchie worldview feudalism, It was representation of wordy, ‘and presumably heavealy, chain of being. Even the clothing of mabey and clergy belonged more to ax ofc than to peton It represented ‘certain station in th brond range of Bued stations that encompassed the whole of humanity. ‘With the bourgeois marke in syle, however, images becaine more and more—marks of individual, eutonamous achievement. They be ‘ume property, posession, things tht reflected upon the person who ‘owned them, moro tan onthe inteicate web of obligation and power that constituted society. Where images and things ad once connoted ‘one's place within an immutable network of social relations, they were ‘ow emerging as form of social cortency ia an increasingly mobile ‘commer ore ‘When th burghersofthe late Middle Ags decked themselves with the vollof estocrati sje, they established a pattern that would advance ‘over the centuries to follow. The instalation of syla asa device by ‘which people sought to strengthen an nrure footing i the word was {decidedly moder evolution, one which inthe twentieth century iseasly recognized. Yet despite this familar, the style ofthese mer ‘chants was insignia ways diferent from the scope or texture of style that we experience today ‘One ofthe mest drumatie difrences was in acces Inthe contempo- ary word theives of yl are fe Feaching: their song touches nearly every imaginable commodity hoy ae rgulaly employed by people 15 pat ofan idiom of everyday fe. During the formative period of a ‘money economy, however spe Ya stil province of elites. Tt was 8 oncet of thous rebively few merchants whose expending weil a lowed them t stain the Sonography of prestige: For the overwhelm ‘ng mijoity, peat fe and poverty set the boundaries of existence Even with the growth of tes, most townspeople lived in squalor. In ‘hand tormouth world, material goods were sree; they were simple Vernacular predicts, made from ready evalable resources, and crafted wt hoe. TInsparable fom the question of acces to syle lay that of produ: tion Todays style market is geared tothe rhython of ass production, inextricably Hnked tothe proliferation and promotion of standardized os fore the nineteenth century, such a connection would have then unimaginable. Style was defined by elegant handicrafts, each pro ‘doce individually, om conception to competion, To be a person of {syle—arstoerator bourgeiimplied the ult to pay for snd cm ‘mand the patent silt of etsans inthe saisfction of o's desires, 2B the seventeenth contury, a market in stle had booome a fixture of| Bropean elite cuiture. Inthe reign of Lous XIV, he monary struck ‘deal with mereanie capitalism, establishing Fran's suprente post $n as & marketer of syle. The king's prinipal Snancial advisor was Joan BepeistoColbot, the son of cloth merchant from Reims, Colbert ‘sitehed his merchant roots othe splendar ofthe court and “gathered togetherall the plnsand expedient ofhis predecesiorsfora prolonged altempt a establishing an ently slfsulcing national economy.” At the heart ofthis enterprise lay Caer’ ingenious strategy for French ‘economic development. “With our taste," he declared Tet ut make ‘war on Barope, and through fashion conquer the wor Cental t0 his notion of taste was the promotion of the French syle indutrioy, lidstis marked by an ably to construct nd comminieste an rst. trate veneer Since that time the predominance of French hau cote ture has boon legendary. As dlutrated by the case of Colbert in the ‘court of Louis XIV, the “skinning” ofthe aritoeratic world wa, ran cally, sehioved by the very foree that was-in the lng ran—undermis- {ng ts storie dominion: an advancing, moblle market cconony. Fr To alurg extn, Colbert’ novation epee a clminion sor than bing, Testy to coteas assy eae ola o he aly wales rnc ora at ch sit aed chore Byes center Wen ee pean market wore Sl with reed aad ios yea ee re ne pt, rae wonr fas J nol ens otibtedtoen ncaa oe ‘for those capable of purchasing it. pees "he varity of ots hat pred ito Western Farpean sai which ncengy dei Bropean nar te a Apondeni—to arg dgreo=on the devcopmes ol Eee bts nto resncerichsewofthe woil Te oat eae Css, sd the esabhnen f plntaton deve inthe ee ade nian hay tarry Hon nen nate Se rgd satrcomciois ral nwt See toc owt ofiatratinl Siping andthe pcos eel at "hve aantropologt Sy Mins ha rare ee ‘mpviation and mas proton of omer matics ae ae Pub The word walling an cwoceSeieg Ca tpn th varity of slo be cnc ‘Aron the crags oy tt gen ene tho mare. slice were en whch, tft ay apen fo have Mle oe Sy te calle, oon, aca gr An eons fee fhe, however luniats he seins of elon seen ry ma eg horns sb en Bef the Eterna, ard been x masta of on ‘aie ray, Comtg om th ide Eas csr fhe, 220 entered eter bly tl end teeta eo Consumption vs an usable mark fence By ree ‘catey, hone sects wee cing the bunnies oo secing th tenes and alrite el pono moe wealthy commoners decorated their dinner tables with “wubsleties” sade of sugar Wie hing nd achihops were displaying magefcent sugar cates mounted Knights, the asp Upper clases begun fo combine “course pute” wet.-mar with marsipan pst achieve analogs islofecte atthe festive bles. Sore fhe people were proba ony newly enna eters were premperos merchants or petty?i i i the illusion of roaring fie is intensified by the use of red tinfoil. The ‘board bout copper ven neve ed fo coking nd ity pe {er mugs ct of wih no one dis. On the wal hang debts ever een and pnd hunting topes never wom toad however ‘nylon serve particular purpose tls must ao ea be vous fren i shape, A ragicet Gutenberg Bibles discovered fp be t woos an a earved cups ax erchosron, The Batter ki = “Turkish dagger. the way Pronan Beimet, the mbrellesand nig in amount Sermonete,a pista Thelema the fermofa bust brat of tye, tbe pion rin shel he ignule f the Eifel Tower Tho borg es monk, made teopen whol gulleine st every gp the clean ntti model of a expres engine.” Architecture was deeply affected by the separation of surfico and subtance: Up wit the nineteenth century, formal architecture ade eur we of load-bearing wall,” walls that—in adalion to any dee {alive motif they mit bave—provided the support system of the building held the bung up. Eventhough i was common to apply neoclassical or other facades o brick wall urfacesUroughout the igh teonth centry, walle served an gnportant structural fenetion, ln de ‘Saning them at architect had to combine porposerofenginering and ‘crnamentaticn simultanoouly. ven when orate faces were used to ‘cover wall urfsce, they required the ane consuming skill of one ‘alters to produce. There was a connection, «symbiods, between the Intreaey of the image and tho method of craft being used to fashion that By the 1856 and sBgor, however, these interconnections between senage, structure, and method of construction were, i large degree, severe. "Madern” methods of construction, employing n inner ra, ‘ural frame that held the bing wp, began tobe wsed more and more {tequontly. Developed in the United States ia the 18304, thee now Jsnds of bing erginally had wooden “balloon fim” structures ‘which were then covered with sin” By the 184 the Halloon fame ‘construction of buildings became a randard approach to incistial lrchitetore, a wood was replaced by iron inthe Infrastructure ‘Cantal thls now approach to costuction was the fact that walls hi longer payed a structural rol. The became decorative “curtains” tobe hing and atached oat the stroctural fame. As walls ost src tural sgnicance, however, their ornamental rpect xclated, Tike tho Ihowschold objets that trensmited & caoophony of appearances rao the “unreal,” external wall panels were also being stamped out oe 7 4m a multiplicity of often discordant styles, With the development of industrially manufactured east ron panes, emboreed to wisest the look of ther places and times, the dsembodied sin became «repulse feature of madera architecture, ‘With the re ofthe Ballon fame and the curtain wall, th enter. prises of the engincer and architat became increasingly separate, ‘hen at odds with one another. While the engnoert tak was ne af Inking building structurally sound, the architect ws becoming what ‘ne industrial designer ha ell "herchant of whimsy" The eclee tio and pretentious quality of much ninetonti-century architecture [betriys this commitment to surface a an end in and of sl. In Chi igo often considered the birthplace of modern architestre, carton Fling fronts, moldod to look ike various hts, were the vogue between 1855 and 170, Afr this period, other materials were {ied Tn each ease, however, there was an intrinsic tenon between the look of a baliding-—which attempted to reproduce & tle originally schieved by the chil ofa preindustralcrftsman—and a method of onstruction which was only hastening the degradation or anaiiaon ofthe decorative rae Siple in architecture was becoming a matter of pure appesrance Substantive istues wore more and more inconsequential. There was #2 sll-consuming effort to cape the multifiriou auras of elegant gran ‘door, and to employ those auras to construct a veneer of elation. The Renaissance was thre for the taking: other oftentatlous mots smulipliod as well- Romanesque, Roeae, Baroque, Italianate, each pro: ‘ded « ord shel an eye-catching alternative realty [Nowhere id the trump of the superficial eave it mark more power: fully than at the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Held in Chicngo, a8 ‘ebuto tthe vigor of American indstalism, the fi eonatitted an ray of faade. ven promotional iterature forthe exposition noted the ‘tonic tension between the furs neoclasicl ofcal mage and the ‘contest ofthe American Midwest “How awoot tito hin that great ‘things and great thoughts cannot di; that out ofthe aw young fe of the prises should spring this lovely bit of Grecian genie" The cntite fair was 2 Sialy constructed masquerade, Tron frameworks Wwore covered by iron and wood shoots Facades were then applied. ‘molded oat of staf» coneotin of coment, pater, and jute Ser Tf the substance of the firs eanstrution was uniform and ebegp is surfaces recalled precious symphony of styles. The "White City." the focal pat ofthe fir, wns a tribute tothe Renaisancs. "The Midway ofthe air on the other hand, appropriated a wide and‘sent meanest i is center Wnts es iver ed eed ea eRe sie, evident inthe ice, we ses ur thee aches ea ‘epl on varia to safe srt Recently some peaches Tomar emt ie tn cpt elt ent ‘oom tetomt desgnd for Bet Stores by SITE wehiene | Fannin ete pt oman nd ‘im a tho centr of labal content, “The Midway in fet ome cols sdthow, with return hops, ‘xis and theaters extonding dow age coer, hone ey ideandamilelong. Here the Beau: Arts eo asics ofthe Coen of onorthe Wt Cty gave wey to Barnuengue ele, fined order to exuberant cos. Farge threaded thi wy on fot, ot ‘ated char among. hay bla exc atctons: mages snd page us, Vieanese Steet and Turkish beau, Sout Seu and tet sod (German cates nd Indian tec ‘Tho entire world nits various viual icerations, was there ee the taking, What Oliver Wendell Holmer had seen asthe intron ctomne of photographie technique had been elevated tothe level of social rice A trade in stylishly emblazonod surfaces hid been estblshed a @ ‘nan urban industrial world, where traditional hierarchies patterns of work snd family life were dntegating, aud where new promises of economic opportunity were fueling the imagination, many people “imagined themselves ona social exalt to greater wealth and pee ee at sr Se earn mc mice met Conny. mls Ces nt asec et ESP a pric asa Seat ete Ge tc nn en Seed igs" AE the heart of this mobile dream, argues Erie Foner, ay the publinn “middle las goal of econsmie independence... the oppor tunity to quit the wage earning cles" For the mest par, Halttunen maintains, this middle class “lived suspended between the facts of thelr present soeal poston and the Dromise, which Boy took for granted, ofthe economic future, In aly” she continues, “the middle-class escalator wae at lata ikoly to go down as up. Whether rising or fling, however, middle-last ‘Americans were defined at men in scl motion, men of no fed st ths." This condition of Bus, she ad, "was balleved to include a vast {jority of Americans who ware neither very wealthy nor very poor: "This middleclass commitment to the ideal of il mobility ws fed by the expanding market in appearances that characterized nine- teenth-century industrial fe. Mase produced faehions, furature, and ‘thor symbolic accoutrements of « privileged station were anxiously fssombled by those who stove to aveld what ene mid-nintoonth. ‘century advice waiter called the “shame of ing thought poor An {dustry of advice literature began to emerge, ler would-be arrngs the proper behavioral techniques and eiquette by which thy might complete thee projet of pretension. “The obsesion with appearances ran deep witha this new middle clas fe and affected the most minute details of existence. Proper tention to current faslons was complemented by inset instruc tions on how to postion one's hands or head and how to move about {n'a proper “gentea!” manner. Middle-class homes were marked by ‘ont rooms, paslrs, adored with overstfedfumstare, pianos, nd ‘other recognized symbols of prosperity. Back rooms, where people ‘retreated from the primacy of display, Were more plainly faralhed, ‘Tho pronty of facade was becoming a chureteritic feature of ‘American middleclass Mf. Gady’s Lady’+ Bool, magazine which itself served asa midle-clas guldepost inthe mid nineteenth century, ‘bemoaned the extent to which pretense hed become vardnal element of middle-class behavior: ‘The eter of ifs bat « mused im which we rest ore ia ‘he es fichions of scey use a ngunge sted othe characte we _ssume;—ith sng ek aching art addes accent nd ‘es oo enemies and fen thot of oe too end Th ast noe au must be ated out aera what mena of ah end foaing| Tewas witha sense of irony that Harriet Beecher Stowe described the | ‘contortions that midele las women nthe proces of tying tetas‘When we have company thor thera to gett al ur bs things nd putthom bask—toconlthe ea and wash he dies inglnosly—and to mike al =ppear a we dt do and had savant Uk other pee! ‘Whon a ring mide class of merchants began to appropriate the _marks of syle from the late Middle Ages on, # was a tangible expesion| ‘oftheir increasing power, both locally and globally. When they took on the vestments, tte, and properties previously monopolized by the laristoorny, Jt was bocsuse they had asumed a eoatral, increasingly Aleisive poston in the work. While pole tactare tok Hine selmnowledge thee franchise, these merchant capitalists were becoming men of power. Industria, corporate and Gnance capitals ofthe nineteenth cen tury ato assumed style ts palpable evidence oftheir power. The ar- ‘face with which these people surroanded temsalves wore, for the ‘ost part, handmade, iatecutly crated, contructod of rare and ex ‘ensve materials, often one of «kind. While socal rites and jelous Sefenders of ristocrati taste decried the garish displays ofthe robber ‘barons, thes capitalists had sn a very real sense, aherted the prerog tives of powefallen elites. "The nineteenth century mass-produced syle, which gave shape toa ernceratized, "middle cas” existence, was diferent. Te was composed primary of kitsch: cheap, masypreduced imitations of eito style. The formate brica-brae described by Egon Friedel, or the readyto-wear shins that became Ineremingly avilable from the Bye: onward, ‘were pala imitations of ete styles and were notable for thor shod more important thn ts formal obeience to the values of lites, ths"midle clas” pretension was more asoetl mask, laming a power that was not there than twas an echlevemont of el social power. The | __syish ephemera of the new “middle cnn” exitence was more oF & "Simbel Ringe benoit, «cultural wage, which permite its recipients lent withthe Interests ofthe upper clases, while oceopying & ig peoplo who otherwise might identify with one anchor. oton of thi midla clas, committed at once to deo- ‘S925 OUR ENGRAVED INITIAL GLASS ASSORTMENT > ae dn Tas Sent Tao lvoe “hi page rom tho no Sears Roebck stale teed with “presiod ct fev tent ft of te eboney sine aly succinctly by the mid-nineteenthcentury socal reformer Orestes Brownson. "The middle elas." he wrote," always rm champion of ‘quality when t concerns humbling clas above, but tists inveter- ste foe when it concerns elevating clas below i."Waiting in 879, Irn Stewasd—a weaver and lade the Masch setts movement for an eighthonr Workday—olferod a prescient ‘eription and analyse ofthis emerging "midaleclass” at onscous ‘nes his word em even more trenchant today. In powerful contra With notion of elas rood inthe social zlations of pow, Steward ‘lepicted a growing “las” of people whose fase deny was wedded to the consumplion of goods, and whose troubled consciousness was enforced by a thin veil of appearances Tihs essay “Poverty inled a the 2875 report of the Maseach- setts Boren of Labor, Stoward made a striking and unexpected detour froma deasion of pauperized wage laborers, and focused on theives, Conitons, end peyehology of what be ealled the “middle las.” The sotion deserves quotation a lengts ‘other not the mi csi povert—a poverty that soul exc the ost ety, ad he most sarin nas “They are larg jority fhe people ae thes poverty& generally ‘erly conse Allo have arly enough to Keep up sppetrances ‘erjut toner cover up th ft that they have nothing more. They Mera mong the middle Cases and thet power to coverup thei overt. made fo argue that they ae nt pe. "Thole ces have he strongest motives fr never making hy pede opi colt foe poverty To adverte oe’ aif eat Tete tobwtiot cei, hat er so many isaety—to thet tang ‘aaiey-vover the slow paces whore rey resoures fi To be Shoat ced sad witoa enor, o be dopondent upon cay ‘Ghonover employment fl, or sknes prevents employment and © “nyo upon chary san verter ope easton nd poverty ‘hat he pul very aw to forget "To beta conf the seretof ona dette, ao reared ia some otese sg of expay fr ste werd woes the poor an fea unoccenfl man “to dapel any evidence of their indigenco, Steward observed, these “idl elas” poor participate i continuous effort to erect the sem blatantly; to construct stylish mago inorder to maintain ‘ela to sol position; to secure those promotions which are avilable {owhte calla” employees to qualify for eet. Al of this seurrying eer recom nt pets mers ggchtterstictementnei ts seemrttn for postion, Steward noted, made aces to credit al the more impera ‘The poverty that publishes or argues one'sneapaciy closes many a doo" ‘more proftbl or advantageous situation ov promotions. The mare ‘xpeive and uprising adopted ye mde clases st ‘ereforo be condered nthe lit fan nose, made fom the ‘Saud cosideaton of expedieney—onsring thee ran thet ‘lancesnd fam motive even of lf preservation eter thas Om the mere deste fo sel indulgence or tne the udlecle ae not or. Very few of them are ating mony, Many athe rein bt and they can sr for ours, many case, morgage 0 pay aac bdo that increases the nd he future, wth he Bde web he preene eannot Bsr a the masquerade of elegance that shaped the ver of these “gen tee” poor, Steward found patho. In the haunted eyes ofthese people, the core of insecurity overwhelmed the surface of prosper "the faces of thousands of welldresed,inteligen, and well eppearing peo ple," Seward perceived the "unmistakable sigue oftheir inossantana- ‘ty and struggles to get on inf, and to obtain in addition toa mere subsistence, standing i scity."™ ts lifcult to gauge the accuracy of Steward'seurvey ofthe “mide tas” sul, ut such symptoms oF ansety wore alto the concarn of tho ‘American medica establishment which, by the midale of the nine- teenth century, bogan to observe and ten the advancing rymptoms of ennui, phobia, and nervous exhaustion among Usir midds pa tients De. George M. Beard, a physician who specialized i to treat mont of “neurasthona,” attempted to make sense ofthe “nuses of ‘Amerian nervousness" In terms thet evoke Steward’ insight about “middleclass” restvenes, Heard concded that th socal priony of constructing fronts was giving ro to a sate, of “constant inten, ‘straining normal fesing, Keeping back, covering, holding in check "he atomic frees ofthe nnd a body.” Beard aw tht suppression of ‘emotion asa consequence of asoeloty in which mare and more people ‘were continually jockeying fr stat, "to rse ot ofthe potion in ‘which they were bora =. and apzo to the highest possiblities of fortune and glory. Ina dase," he continved, “here 2 constant {etion and rest painful striving to see who shall be highest." ‘Such concerns had been expressed by various commentators from the u8gos onward In hie narrative aosoant of is fe axa Stronger fn “Amero, Franis cher made note fan “appalling frequency of lon. ation of mind” among Americans; the result, he eantended, of a*dncmed ant to be equal tothe woaltet, the erasing for wealth td comequent appointment which ss Hae ites of tay. During the Pani of when dlls hopes were rocked by the ‘olay ofeconomle faces the Cincinatti confront lnrsens of widerpesd sma mea concluded that “we have oon Ting too nares, ave been eager yng toon sich ther i dre, frre ae he." Damrey nt vege ave nerd to be opposing forces, were becoming engaged ange and Sul ny. The "srs and omy and xctoment™ of what Erving Goffman woud te dseibe “ans of mpenion management" were rife wiin Angl-Amer “Those dscussons ofthe “mile clas” and its anicties ave a remark bly comment rng to them. They pola tothe emergence of consumer society, led with maseproduced status symbols in which udament Sout person le not based on what one does within society, but rather ‘upon what one hes Such an tnderstanding of class his moved away Fem the coneeption rooted in the soll rlations of power, and toward {notion bsed for the mo part on income and ere. “Middle class” Status was becoming something founded purely on one's bility to pur ths, constrctand preset viable social sle While this modern iden tf elas tnvesod mors and more people with the iconography of status, It abo tended tomas the eatons of power that prevailed within tosity nthe Inte nineteenth century, when la Stoward was writing, the bie to asoble a "mile clase” dentsty was sl ited toa whit, primarily Anglo-American population. Working-las poopo,largoly ‘white imoaigrants and black, ad tle access othe goods or necesary {income tomake this social presentation of elf possible Inthe twentieth Contry, with the grow of vast consumer industries and, for many, insproved income, times of prasperty have boon marked by ineveasng ‘mubers of people entering the obi of "male clan” existence. With there development, Stewards present characterization ofa “aide ‘lag exten shaped by the acquisition and display of sylch goods, Ie provided the predominant definition of elas and asplation in ‘Amerzan society. The tr middle clas, ke the term consumer, bas ‘became, fo the most part an appellation of etizenship. “This development reached its height inthe twenty years after the end of World War I, when a peiod of economic boom drew unprece ‘dented nambers ito the ranks ofthe middle elas. the pres, and ‘with the asistance of anticomsmunie sdeology, tho alternative dein ‘ton of clase began to ebb in the public veracalar. Although many stil Aigo sdvertzement forthe ‘Waskngtn Shit Company incase lived in severe poverty, the moat vile representation of soa fe epicted the “increased bunching of Americans around the midde- ‘come levels the increased blurring of occupational diinetons, and the inoreased sdoption of middle-class living styles by fares ofc verse occupational background.” By thelate gos Fortune magazine sserted, nearly ll Americanshad the eption of choosing a whole syle soci opt gu whoosty ‘sill mechanic who sin 87.00 afer aes my eho to cotinue ling in "woking claw” al, oul sving Haale ss for is children ecllgeeduatono he may chart vei ire "vein iso eno abun hou or ay chor ove ine) sparuoen house oles orcepled by bust and prefesnal en. When the Amrian "mass" Inve option of the Breadth, Te searaly an exaggeration to ager that we hve ave a lana {eal he hitory of hana redone >* ‘The forco behind this hitrie turning point, the editors of Fortune explained, can bo found in the work of the “statussymbol school of Sociologist” who held the flowing convetionssbovt contemporary human bobavior (people contantly expres thelr poset not onc a word ‘nays manners ros oroaments eer) 3) people ‘re increatngly concerned sbout what other people think of ther andeee ee Ihonee aout thir oil eae. Ths the tte of many Ameren i ‘rpresed in sya of various sol psons ppl tea to bay things tat yobaize tae spo -Feoding and responding to this neresing concern withthe symbol ‘of satus, conrumer industries and the advertning establishment sur Tounded mare and more gods with the loa of prestige, Throughout {he 19g, nearly all sector of consumer goods mawufacare moved 0 Invest their product with superal but rcogaizable mare of sat, siving rio to what author Thomas Hine has ealled « ‘populone” eal tures" In agg, advertising man David Opty tranaated ths gal tenvdeney into coneio merchandising axon: “It paysto give «product 1 higclate image instead of a bargsimbasement tinage, Avo” he added, “you can get more for it" ‘What was coming t fruition, for unprecedented nambers of people, was society in which mass-produced, stylized goods were fanetoning san intricate system of prsooal certian, an “identity Kit" AsJous Kron has argued in Home Poych, her bool the psychology of terior desig, the utity of sac “mid clas” certifeaton was earch linked to the growing anonyety of modern le Amore and more people lave he protection of erly it commane ties and move ito nolghboehods of ranger the house tones 4 ode sell shaven, Justa we need the intitle hat aise in shelter we aod the repect and exten provided by « ome we rete nour on image Ad we mst free cles fr ‘caring abet the pinion ofthe: na ying file them We swe materi things to stand for wT the atern* Within the so-caled yuppie (young urban profesional) culture of the 1980s, we Bnd theultimate expeeason of such “middle clay del, a Wella its inherent anxieties. Amid a declining standard of ving for ‘any, these young profesionaly-many of whom are employed Uy tho ‘new “information industres"—scramble to surround themselves with the everchanging “latest” in designer clothing, consumer electrons, snd ther commodied symbols of the good life. As they freneteally ursue this semiotic word of objets, they perform a role writen for Sem, by Ir Steward, more than one hundred years before, Life tightening are of credit and debt al connection ta society, oto socal ‘esponsibility frsworn in favor of individu arquiston snd dplay, ‘rea and stresinduced conditions are ender; onelines and empl. ‘ets sce common in their accounts of everyday life. In tele ongoln ‘resentation of self it i east that one’s inner sel, one's inner {eelings, remain masked This posi well expresnd by 81984 television [iereil for Dry dea deodorant. "Never anrwer the phone en the ‘st ig.” begins the firsts a seis of instructions Never say, “1 be ight over” Don't ever lt a soe yo seat. 1 down mater ow anon ou over em know youre ‘Tt what Dry ee ial boat, Such instructions ae a common legacy of twentieth century Amer seo. In9q3-ollowing w decade in which consumer ndsror had fourshed, and in which maseprodiced goods had erended thelr a+ fluence over the Lives of many. American —soilogit Robert Lynd sommented dryly upon ther ofthe commodity wf. Dscssing the ‘To prose of growing up and af eetive al ving comnts in adit {2g oe nd tensions by Weighting them with aus ety onerous withthe acepted values fae and at thee ine wth the urgent personal eed f totaal nahin pee sone ‘eclaly tolerable rembone of a itt fon the hasnt of {ing Within och of we this extn dea elapse ‘aking ond leping hour an the end ofthe plone FIRST IMPRESSIONS ‘hie development of consumer capitalism in the United States was fueled by a series of masive migrations from within sd without "which supplied cheap, continually replaceable workforce, Over ane, ‘hose migrations al eeated s population whee hopes fora beter Wis ‘beeame the building blocks out of which «response, mas turhet of constmers would be constructed. With a inmigraion of milions be, tween the late nineteenth century and igo, the meting and power of style underwent prodisios changes. Immigrants from foreign lands camo, during these years, primary fom Easter Europe and the southera iro ly In adton to thers uropeans, there were aso lions of migrants—black and white.a who came from rural poverty to burgoonlns indi tis, scking ca und proved eonatians ore os Nw ook City, arelrly—the comoarphy of seylbwnatgoched and molded by anew multiplicity of nduences Ifthe se rye prevowsyexsanated from the consumption pat Te eTisepeen elites, new, more democratic inluenoe now Bogan WTectethemschen With Snfon of diferent nainaioe aad ‘Sitar and aa center of global comamerce, the metropolis became ‘Thatlcpound; «vibrant cacophony of contending and eo fering Gnltral meanings, This heterogeneity and swarming energy, long With the relive tolerance of metropolitan life turned the ety ito an theayemoving repository of images, « perpetually expending and ‘hanging, tnventory of “looks” and expressions. The Jagged ad vital ‘qui of rn fe has piven hae othe dalinon of tye ever ince. ons aything tat bubbles othe surface of thei ean Bind say {nto the syle market. ‘Yetthe city was more than tlic resource Twas alban environ sent that mae sje into an esentia tol for everyday fe, For people ering frm agrarian or salou arfsanal ot the move to roan Indi pored «shock of wold historic proportion, Uprooted from friar paltoras of work, Kishp, nd community, end leo fom catomary was of comprehending the worl, they now entered ater ‘ain that included countless strangers. Sci life tel was beng trans formed from something known, et snd transmitted by custom, into something increasingly anonymous; ustom was inadequate to provide ‘measures and leone for survival Inthe shadow of this dlceaton, pope's customary conception of nif was challenged. Fin, fe besrne an experience of repeated and ‘euler encounters with the unmown. As one nage thi vast new ‘wold ofstangors, one auc loaraod Wat to the eyes of Soules ‘thers one becomes astanget”oncrelf Anonymity Was not only the characteris of others wes alo becoming componeat of ect ity, prt of the way ono came to understand onesell. Part of surviving thissrange new world was the ably to make quik odgmeats bse largely, on immodato vial evidence. The sity was a place whee srfoes tok on new power ofexreion. The wry test of voryday ‘experience required ts part of the rules of revival and exchange, senso of self ar alien as an object of sertay and judgment, From is ‘antage point, immigrants learned that mates of dres and percal sppenrance were eset for acc in the pablo ola Weng in 1908, Jane Addams described the imperative of dese among ban ‘working ‘Te working it whose fry ves tenement or moves rom one -sallaparnentto another who ha ite soil tang ond bao le er ow las, ows fl al ow mich ait ad le of dea a 0 {owiehe poston. ter nse grin hr elathicg ow Fal propor Hon othe amount which se ends upon ster things Ba, 9 scvancerent sera the mos seething he cand. She aed aresy by her dete. Har bot uring, with pile coats, ber any supply of bak, are ever seen by the people whos ei opin se at vals, Her loos re he buckeroand, ‘nd fom them se agely judge Inanesonmont herein bled "reef one open gerne nd mockery ming teak an“ wen ic of ria Leonard Covell, wo nmi as oy on ily, deed hs segaton of ancpable Asean ae blr svting he. "My long Buepan users ad bn placed by the ‘eee ofthe tna nd woe lc ed ota ‘turin sees. To all outward ppereness rn he Coiled ene, "encegt at dots word of Engh ‘he vin vera of tle then anno toy. ‘Wit th ln of arn Ameranng cand ns, young mole bos olan at when one apo or merce ft ‘ah rit copes ns es epee oa Snot, Tireay vrata add “Funy ogtons sd tdlna cote bhavr were fe erent reba ati the ame hs ong pope wer se yh Anon Sac environmen Stevens ie clan te tens th lng for nts ad th sag rth ll dese now Ameren experienced slr laneanes i rate tre by toctoto stage betwen nares orem, ane Yt atocel weer wring Serer aga ino March gaps oa sieon yeseld nn ony cones nigra io Pon inn sa daly contac ora fet utrr thelr Joh care nolaedby tc ana ate over Ameria clue rymolind Oy the schoo Indy ad he lrg comma Winton he bmn toes ‘yelp. tl ein to oogonia emis tro capce to foo lynn” Almgi hs toes ‘eh pag pal the ow word be nie Inthe lager communty fe tnd to become “Areva Citecn ‘The ng lnguage andthe wsaatonet schol open upthima pew word frei estes, ces ty, ad scl aes, Thine‘oltre fester, moreover, tit of ndependenc, personal ruc 8 indy, and exter ses or psa dietion “Thi example repeated uel agin and gun The old word of the Se Sat et men ong Closely ed people over gnertonsFuniarcukeal eae ee Shawn upon avg i onl he poe re ee ‘everday fe The new word onthe cer hand donee sel that mas mall, seustive othe power af eee ean surfs, Addrening the historical eansormatonoftedoins idee, htorag Waren Suman deeb its cai hee ta ey “charac” tna sf tthe importance o pone teat tbl exsin cl In this anion, the problentne teas, ne wa, Wo one could Become ns the slice The ieee ‘hin, the emerging cour culture woul ay Pattr of courtship were ain ected by ths teen, The custornty cures of the nigrnts and mie ne tmostpur—saped by pater of tao! tcl ake Court, sarge, and seaty were fen mere pe sareemens ta exchanges boven antes fn ee enn lee, Now, telaton of lv, sey nd matnacy me ae from th new wd of senses Young popes eter ane the fai, bad unprecedented opportunites te doraon ees ‘is beyond the gaze of parents al matches: ‘Thsroblty lets pifl dent inthe sara ol eae, One Jewish matchmaker, interviewed by the New Yor. bon oes,

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen

• The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  

  Von Everand

  The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  Sarah M. Broom

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (98)
• Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  

  Von Everand

  Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  Margot Lee Shetterly

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (895)
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  

  Von Everand

  The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  Mark Manson

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (5794)
• • Zeitschriften
  • Podcasts
  • Noten
• The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  

  Von Everand

  The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  Meik Wiking

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (399)
• Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  

  Von Everand

  Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  Gilbert King

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (266)
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  

  Von Everand

  Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  Phil Knight

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (537)
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  

  Von Everand

  Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  Ashlee Vance

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (474)
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  

  Von Everand

  Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  Chris Voss

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (838)
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  

  Von Everand

  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  Angela Duckworth

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (588)
• A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  

  Von Everand

  A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  Dave Eggers

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (231)
• Principles: Life and Work

  

  Von Everand

  Principles: Life and Work

  Ray Dalio

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (599)
• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  

  Von Everand

  The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  Siddhartha Mukherjee

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (271)
• Yes Please

  

  Von Everand

  Yes Please

  Amy Poehler

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (1891)
• The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  

  Von Everand

  The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  Thomas L. Friedman

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (2259)
• On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  

  Von Everand

  On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  Naomi Klein

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (73)
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  

  Von Everand

  The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  Ben Horowitz

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (344)
• Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  

  Von Everand

  Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  Jay Sekulow

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (137)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  

  Von Everand

  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  Doris Kearns Goodwin

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (234)
• Fear: Trump in the White House

  

  Von Everand

  Fear: Trump in the White House

  Bob Woodward

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (738)
• John Adams

  

  Von Everand

  John Adams

  David McCullough

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (2409)
• The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  

  Von Everand

  The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  George Packer

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (45)
• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  

  Von Everand

  The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  Brené Brown

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (1090)
• Steve Jobs

  

  Von Everand

  Steve Jobs

  Walter Isaacson

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (806)
• Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  

  Von Everand

  Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  Frank McCourt

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (440)
• Bad Feminist: Essays

  

  Von Everand

  Bad Feminist: Essays

  Roxane Gay

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (1015)
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  

  Von Everand

  The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  Jeannette Walls

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (1712)
• The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  M.L. Stedman

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (789)
• The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  

  Von Everand

  The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  Viet Thanh Nguyen

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (121)
• The Outsider: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  The Outsider: A Novel

  Stephen King

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (1839)
• Brooklyn: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  Brooklyn: A Novel

  Colm Tóibín

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (1937)
• A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  Fredrik Backman

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (4609)
• The Woman in Cabin 10

  

  Von Everand

  The Woman in Cabin 10

  Ruth Ware

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (2322)
• Wolf Hall: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  Wolf Hall: A Novel

  Hilary Mantel

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (3811)
• Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  Jennifer Egan

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (792)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  

  Von Everand

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  Stephen Chbosky

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (2102)
• Little Women

  

  Von Everand

  Little Women

  Louisa May Alcott

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (104)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  Garth Stein

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (4200)
• Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  Jesmyn Ward

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (1103)
• Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  

  Von Everand

  Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  Carmen Maria Machado

  Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen

  4/5 (821)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  

  Von Everand

  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  Betty Smith

  Bewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen

  4.5/5 (1929)
• The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  

  Von Everand

  The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  John le Carré

  Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 Sternen

  3.5/5 (104)