style

Stance: Ideas about Emotion, Style, and Meaning for the Study of Expressive Culture

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

My critical theory class from university seemed far away when I started reading Harris M. Berger’s study, Stance. In that course, Reception Theory was probably the most difficult one to grasp, with the most theoretically abstract readings, readings for the most part founded in philosophy. Realistically, the world does not know enough about the brain or perception, and cultural context varies considerably from person to person. Joe can like or dislike something but Jane’s tastes are different; subjectivity is the key to this experience, and thus Berger is attempting to explain a very complex phenomenon. To look at subjectivity through reason, what Berger is attempting to do, seems a daunting task.

Harris M. Berger approaches these questions with gusto, however, and for that I must give him credit. His grasp of key intellectuals and their theories are evident in the text. The purpose of his analysis is to explore the larger issues associated with a person‘s “lived experience,” of diverse phenomenon, and especially music. Music is central to Berger’s work as a professor of music and performance studies in Texas.

Luckily for readers, the author is not just diligent about defining the terms he uses but also writes with acuity and finesse. For example, for him “stance is the manner in which the person grapples with a text, performance, practice, or item of expressive culture to bring it into experience.” Stance is a much more elegant word than posture, position or interpretation but all three refer to the work that is done in the reception of an occurrence. Berger is also generous with examples in an attempt to contextualize some of the more complicated passages. The narration of some of his own experiences is quite fascinating, and the first-person perspective, although it contrasts with the very formal philosophical discussion, alleviates our experience of the book.

A word of warning: I believe that Berger’s study would be almost impenetrable to someone who is not an academic (or very well versed in philosophy) because of its philosophical nature and Berger’s phenomenological approach. For neophytes, phenomenology is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience.” For this reason, Berger’s book needs to be read with leisure and much concentration. However, if one is willing to make the effort, Berger’s study contains many insights into the multifaceted nature of what Berger calls the “lived experience.”

Written by: Sophie M. Lavoie, June 4th 2010

Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:23:00 +0000

By Keanan Duffty, Paul Gorman

Rizzoli

I have always been interested in the fashion of subcultures. I've been stenciling my clothes, painting stuff on them, adding studs and strategic rips, sewing random things together and pillaging thrift stores since I was a freshman in high school—which is why designer Keanan Duffty's book Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style originally caught my eye. A style guide with a chick wearing chucks and fishnets on the cover seemed awesome!

Duffty himself has also been embellishing clothes since he was a child and, like most subculture fashionistas, was inspired by the music, particularly The Sex Pistols and David Bowie. His book reads like part autobiography, part look-book catalog, part intro to modern fashion history, and part helpful style guide.

I'd never heard of Duffty before, so his life was a somewhat interesting read, but I did not find myself impressed with the photos of his work included in the book. I'm not sure if it's just that the collection included is mostly from his later years, but to me his style was less "Rebel Rebel" and more mall punk, easily found at your nearest Kohl's. Duffty does include inspiration and scant ways for the reader to embellish and make their own clothing creations, though, so one could simply use his ideas as a springboard and go from there.

I also wasn't too impressed with the fashion history aspect of the book. While a lot of facts were interesting, such as the entire history of the jean pants, some facts were blatantly untrue: No, the Beats were not called the Beats as short for 'deadbeat,' and no, the hippie scene did not spring from the Carnaby Street Mod scene (it had been going on slightly earlier—and in America). There were just so many errors that even I, a somewhat average reader, picked up on that it made me question some of Duffty's more plausible bits of trivia.

Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style could be a good coffee table book, as it's rather large and, again, some of the illustrations are really nice, but I wouldn't pull it out to impress the FIT grads—or sit down and read it again.

Written by: Jen Klee, September 30th 2009

Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self With Grace and Style

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:28:00 +0000

By Anne Kreamer

Little, Brown & Company

With predominant silver streaks cropping up in the underside of my dark hair, I have to admit that I was excited to see what this book was all about. I wasn’t disappointed. Kreamer put a lot of effort and research into the work.

Bravely, she takes the plunge into letting her natural hair color grow out from the dyed. It takes courage, determination, and much soul reflection along the way.

As she grays, she investigates many avenues that relate to the cosmetic industry, including hair coloring, plastic surgery, and advertising. No stone is left unturned, not even advertising geared towards men.

It is very interesting that the media presents dyes, makeup, and surgery as gimmicks that make men and women look more "natural," instead of what they really appear to be without any "enhancement."

Kramer works with professionals to come up with surveys that poll the general public, and even goes so far as to create fake online dating identities to gain feedback on preferences. Turns out, gray hair is hot—if the person wearing it has confidence.

Attitude is more important than artificially trying to look younger. Besides, after studying examples, people can generally tell how old you are, even if you’ve dyed all the gray/silver out of your hair and have faithfully Botoxed the wrinkles out of your face.

She makes a very good point about tackling self-perception; it’s about lifestyle, not just throwing dye on the hair. Wear the clothes that suit your personality, exercise, examine how you feel about yourself and why.

The only drawback to the book was that she didn’t really pay attention to people who don’t have the money or interest to attend gyms or go to salons in the first place. Her study focuses on people who spend money at the gym and the salon, not on people who exercise at home or out in nature and aren’t materialistic. Otherwise, the book was very inspirational on many levels.

Written by: Nicolette Westfall, April 2nd 2009