spectacle
spectacle |ˈspektək(ə)l| noun
- Media manipulation of the public which creates an autocratic reign over the market economy.
- A visually striking performance or display: the acrobatic feats make a good spectacle: the show is pure spectacle.
- An event or scene regarded in terms of its visual impact: the spectacle of a city’s mass grief.
ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from Latin spectaculum ‘public show,’from spectare, frequentative of specere ‘to look.’
In Literature
- Guy Debord’s (1931–1994) best-known work, La société du spectacle (The Society of the Spectacle) (1967)
- Debord defines the spectacle as the “autocratic reign of the market economy.” Though the term “mass media” is often used to describe the spectacle’s form, Debord derides its neutrality.
Primarily interested in society and the commons, Karin’s art and writing take inspiration from Mikhail Bakhtin’s Rabelais and His World and Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle. She enjoys poking fun at society, celebrity, politics and entitlement using pastiche, satire and parody as her tools.
Karin began her professional career as an interpretive Illustrator in 1997, specializing in publishing and advertising. In 2000 she began working as a graphic designer for print media, focusing on business branding and educational book publishing. Shortly after, she added web design, copywriting and social media to her portfolio.
Karin is currently exploring interactive art after completing a B.A. in Multimedia at McMaster University.
