Consumerism in Art, Art in Consumerism: A Review of the Film "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

The topic of consumerism in art is ironic. This is due to the fact that art (works) nowadays has increasingly become burdened with commodity value and monetary exchange. The aesthetic quality intrinsic in art has come face to face with the (ir)rational need of humanity to convince himeself that objects' values need to be measured and understood. I know I don't make sense, at least now. Let me explain.

This problem in art has come full circle with a recent film that took audiences to, in a sense, catharsis. It is always interesting to see people respond to art especially to a visual medium like film. There are emotions triggered, worlds explored, fantasies abused. And when I recently saw director PJ Hogan's movie adaptation of the Sophie Kinsella hit book Confessions of a Shopaholic, the two distict worlds of the real and the fantasy have almost dangerously overlapped, though in the most obscure fashion. The film takes consumerism head-on, elaborately synchronizing criticism and perpetuation of the money-need-want-credit-debt-beauty-fashion ensemble.

Isla Fisher hilariously plays Rebecca Bloomwood, a career girl with an addiction to shop. This addiction led her character to an enormous amount of debt which she later resolves after she comes face-to-face with it while guesting on a national television show, ironically, for her expertise in giving financial advise. The resolution also involves a love interest (Hugh Dancy as Luke Brandon) which pushes her further to facing the conflict.

The plot discourages debt and overspending. The film is an elaborate exposition of events that occur as one loses financial control in effect demonizing the very core of US (and in many ways the world) capitalist sytem--credit. In the final analysis, the critique of consumerism by the film provides for the integration of the audience within the aesthetic experience since the issue is central to their understanding of reality.

The film handles the issue of popular style through visual imagery and social function. The focus on brands highlights the importance of value and social status as the character effortlessly parades before the viewer's eyes a variety of high-end clothes, exclusive shoes and the like. The composition of these elements in the film induces, if not reinforces, the positive attitude of the audience to consumerism and that direct link between high fashion and high society.

While the film explores the evil of oversspending and loss of financial control, the critical interest of watching the film lies within the very sense that it perpetuates the very issue that it criticizes. It is also imperative that the conflict be resolve for the perpetuation be successful.

That is the very reason that my feet would like to run to the nearest fashion boutique and purchase something(anything) immediately after seeing a film about a girl who fell into shitloads of debt.

National artist BenCab to open dream museum Feb. 27

Repost from http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149713/National-Artist-BenCab-to-open-dream-museum-Feb-27



Tuba, Benguet – Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera, national artist for visual arts, will finally open his four-story dream museum on Feb. 27 – some eight years after buying the property with money he saved from sales of his paintings.Construction of the building itself started in 2006, with architect Raymond Gutierrez helping the artist in the design."The concept I did myself," Cabrera said. "Kada pinta ko, benta - slowly getting more and more space here," he says.The completed BenCab Museum occupies 1,000 square meters that would take over an hour to tour.The building houses galleries showcasing works of different genres that represent BenCab's output through decades.The BenCab Room houses Cabrera’s selected work, with a separate Erotica Gallery that houses Bencab's 1970’s work "13 Positions," along with sculptures and carvings. The Masters Room features BenCab's personal collection of pieces by other renowned artists.The Cordillera Room displays a massive collection of the regions wood carvings, basketry, earthen jars, and furniture.At the ground floor is the Café Sabel, which offers visitors a view of a farm that includes an aviary, a pond, and coffee and strawberry plantations."This museum will be a center for activity," BenCab said. "I hope this will set the standards somehow."Among the activities he expects are art seminars and exhibits for young artists, as the museum also houses the BenCab Art Foundation aimed at helping young deserving artists.BenCab, born in Malabon in 1942, studied at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. In the late '60s and early '70, he lived in London with his wife, British writer Caroline Kennedy (from which he has been divorced), and their three children.After a successful career in Europe, he returned to the Philippines in time for the EDSA People Power Revolution. He has since resettled in Baguio City. - Maria Elena Catajan, GMANews.TV