Robert Polidori, Looking
East, 42nd Street, New York, 2002, Fujicolor Crystal Archive
print on aluminum
In Ways of Seeing, Berger talks about how publicity and capitalism are central to our culture. In Looking East, Polidori captures our expressions of capitalism. Large, eye-catching advertisements are seen in each layer of this photograph. It says that this is what is desirable; this is what people should want. On the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center webpage, it states “In Looking East, Polidori captures the contagious energy of New York.” Via this image, the energy of New York seems to be about being rich, having washboard abs and being able to attend the newest and most upscale club or see the most recent Broadway show. It’s all about consumerism. The ads are catchy and draw the eye. They seem to say “your life will be better if you see this/buy that/go here.”
One argument Berger makes about publicity is that “[p]ublicity, situated in a future continually deferred…” (153). This is seen very obviously in this photograph. One of the advertisements in the upper left corner appears to be for the lottery. It seems to say “New York Lotto, will you be ready when it happens to you?” This advertisement dramatically appeals to a deferred future. Perhaps someday the viewer will win the lottery. Maybe they won’t, but there is a chance for a different future if you buy something. Underlying this is that it is desirable to have more money. There are no ads on this street (that the viewer of the photo can see) for making this world a better place or spending more time with kids or volunteering at the local shelter. It’s all about disconnecting from real things that happen and living in a dream world for a while, escaping. If we instead look at this as a vacation spot, the commercialism may make more sense, however it is still about escaping.
Another argument made by Berger is that publicity “turns consumption into a substitute for democracy” (149). Looking down the street in this image and pretending to be in that place, I imagine thinking that there is so much to do that I can let all of the things I believe are truly important take the back burner for now. It’s time to just have fun and let go and not care. Advertisements are everywhere and they have taken over. I see this daily in my own life. My husband and I do not typically watch television and I try to stay away from ads in the mail, but whenever I do look at a store ad I think “oh, well, it wouldn’t hurt to just go look!” It’s ingrained in our culture to get the newest thing or attend the coolest party or show. Instead of taking a stand and fixing the very real issues we have in our society, people are glued to their phones and Facebook, sucked in by every new tech gadget or the latest meme. When we occasionally go out to eat, I see families sitting together at a table but they are frequently looking at their phones!
Works Cited:
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1972. Print.
Polidori, Robert. Looking East, 42nd Street, New York. 2002. Photograph. Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO.
"Robert Polidori Photographs." Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 July 2013. http://www.csfineartscenter.org/Collection-Spotlight/polidori.asp
Your point regarding publicity as marketing a "future deferred" is well-made. If people were happy with their present, advertising agencies would be out of a job! And what better place to market than NYC? Some people actually consider having to move out of NYC as defeat - as if "they couldn't make it there, so they can't make it anywhere" (as the song goes).
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