Analysis of the Rag and Bone Films Commercial in Relation to its Fluxus Historical Influences - Essay Example

Analysis of the Rag and Bone Films commercial in relation to its Fluxus historical influences

In the contemporary world, the prevalence of the mass customer culture makes it hard for counterculture to become popular. At the same time, the chosen for this analysis Youtube video springs from the historical period of the Fluxus art movement and appears as the piece of art. In fact, this paper determines the way Rage and Bone Men’s Fall/Winter 2015 Film feat. Baryshnikov and Lil Buck correlates with the ideas of Fluxus movement. To start with, the paper shows that the analysed contemporary piece of art relates to its historical influence by engaging the spectator into the performance. Furthermore, the paper discusses in detail the roles of Merce Cunningham and John Cage (separately and in the collaboration) in the fate of the commercial video in general and Mikhail Baryshnikov as its main actor in particular. Finally, the analysis distinguishes certain elements on the analysed piece of art that correlate with Fluxus movement by concentrating on the emphasis on the fetishism and the appearance of a chessboard during the performance.

To start with, the emphasis on the individual perception in Rage and Bone commercial correlates to the key Fluxus artistic principles. As Friedman (1998) showed, the very appearance of Fluxus movement defended the idea of a collaboration in performance. In fact, this collaboration takes form both in the number of artists and in the means of artistic act. In this context, Fluxus art “situates people radically within their corporeal, sensory worlds” (p. 87). In this perspective, the experience of watching Rag and Bone commercial challenges the spectators and refers to different senses and levels of perception: through music, dancing moves, static postures, composition. In addition, Fluxus as an artistic movement bases on internal conflict and diversity (Higgins, 2002, p. xiii). In this context, the appearance and mood of the analysed video correspond with this peculiarity. In particular, spectators see the struggle between the artists on the screen that takes different forms: chess game, dance, or facial disgust. Moreover, the special appearances of Baryshnikov and Lil Buck on this video are occasional and special, since his name deserves a special place in the title. This situational collaboration, or “bad memory” in Sell’s (2008) terms, corresponds to the ideological background of the Fluxus movement and represents the importance of the moment of happening. Moreover, this piece of art fits the Fluxus definition as the type of art that combines “phenomenological processes of remembering and forgetting” (Sell, 2008, p. 146). In this context, the fact that the analysed Rag and Bone commercial is only one piece in the series of film shows the importance of this video in the moment of appearance (winter 2015). Nevertheless, the later happenings in this series lead to forgetting the earlier ones. In other words, the importance of the spectator is outstanding for this video as for any type of Fluxus happening. In this context, Higgins (2002) writes about “indivisible object/subject matrix or field” (p. 21) as an important element of Fluxus art throughout the years. Besides, the Fluxus performance allows the spectator to use his individual experience that is enough to comprehend, find the materials and perform (Banes and Baryshnikov, 2003, p. 11). Because of this, Fluxus art established the ideal of concretism that is actually beyond the limits of art (Schmidt-Burkhardt, 2003, p. 46). Thus, the personality of the artist and the reflection of the spectator determine the artistic experience. In short, Rag and Bone commercial stresses on the feelings of the spectator about the happening on the screen as the only source of understanding its artistic purpose.

Secondly, the music plays the important role in the perception of Rag and Bone commercial. In fact, its sound relates to the understanding of the art of both Merce Cunningham and John Cage. On the one hand, choreographer Merce Cunningham revealed his pioneering role in the providing freedom to his spectators. In particular, Copeland (2004) mentions such features of his choreography as an autonomy of sound, the decentralized performance, the unusual surroundings, and the spectator’s choice when to focus (p. 155). For example, Variations V (1996) represents the number of dancers that act in a chaotic manner and do not force the spectator to concentrate on any of them. On another hand, the role of the experimental composer John Cage was outstanding for the historical development of Fluxus movement. In this context, Higgins (2002) emphasise on the new approach he created to the class that promoted the direct perception and the ability to understand the art by every human being (p. 88). Together, both Merce Cunningham and John Cage contributed to the aesthetic of collage that contributed to the contemporary characteristic of Fluxus. In particular, this sort of “couplings and uncouplings” (Copeland, 2004, p. 153) was the essence of their experimental art. Besides, Cage and Cunningham as two separate influential artists collaborated with each other for several years (Fetterman, 2009, p. 124). In this context, the music track that plays in Rag and Bone commercial consists of different melodies collected together. In particular, spectators hear different music instruments, break beat, and dramatic development that serves as the interconnection within this collage. Similar to Variations V (1966) performance, it is spectator’s preference to find the center of the video that takes the form of collage. However, it is easier to identify the two main actors (Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lil Buck) on Rage and Bone commercial, since their names are the part of the title. In the connection between Merce Cunningham as the representative of Fluxus movement and Baryshnikov’s involvement in Rage and Bone commercial, the fact that this contemporary dancer works in the tradition of 1960s art experiments (Houston and Tobey, 2000) strengthens the above-mentioned ideas. Moreover, the dancer wrote a book dedicated to the special influence of Merce Cunningham choreography on his career (Baryshnikov, 2009). Thus, the idea of collaboration found its practical reflection in the connections of both John Cage and Mikhail Baryshnikov to Merce Cunningham’s art.

Finally, the visual details of the Rag and Bone commercial contribute to the idea that it is the part of Fluxus. To start with, the analysed video has the element of fetishism. In art, this concept means that “memories of the events … should be hopelessly tangled in stuff” (Sell, 2008, p. 160). In the case of Rag and Bone video, this feature is evident because the general purpose of creating this piece of art is in promoting the menswear collection. Thus, it is relevant to assume that the process of wearing the imaged clothing in an ordinary life is equal to the movements of all the artists that appear in the film. In this sense, the presented collection is “both seller and sold in one” (Sell, 2008, p. 160) and helps the designer to promote the countercultural modes of production (Sell, 2008, p. 212). In a broader sense, the analysed piece of art refers to the “intermedia dynamic” that is central to Fluxus movement; precisely, it means that all the systems of knowledge (like art, music, and dance) are secondary in contrast to the life media (physical characteristics and relationships) that has an experiential modality (Higgins, 2002, p. 95). In this perspective, the exact artistic methods are not that important than the clothes and commercial character of the Rag and Bone video. Because of this, the analysed art contributes to the establishment of the link between art and contemporary consumption is possible. Furthermore, each scene contains not only the story of movement but also the objects that show the context of happening. In fact, the appearance of the chessboard in one of the Rag and Bone episodes corresponds with Takato Saito’s Smell Chess (1964-1965) in the sense that “the human body moves through space and time in reference to the other pieces on board” (Higgins, 2002, p. 45). In this context, the dancing shows the movement of the human body literally and the mental struggle at the chessboard accompanies it. In fact, the appearance of a chessboard serves as the essential element for understanding the performance. On this aspect, Higgins (2002) describes the appearance of these “readily available materials” as the means of sensory participation and awareness of the overall situation (p. 85). In other words, the Rage and Bone commercial fits the spirit of Fluxus movement because it creates the multi-sensory performance. In this type of art, the process of happening is more important than the artistic background of a spectator.

In order to sum up, the outstanding Rage and Bone Men’s Fall/Winter 2015 Film feat. Baryshnikov and Lil Buck video proved to spring from the Fluxus artistic movement. Firstly, the performance is created as the collaboration between separate artists and different artistic forms. Secondly, the spectator plays the key role in the performance, since the happening is one among the Rage and Bone series and appeals to personal memory and feelings. Then, Merce Cunningham along with John Cage played the primary role in the career of the main actor of this commercial, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Moreover, the overall purpose of this piece of art postulates the importance of fetishism, as the commercial promotes male clothing. Finally, the episode with the chessboard reveals the multi-sensory nature of this performance and resembles the previous pieces of Fluxus art.