This document summarizes an art project called [RE]CLAIMED ARTSPACE by artists Marit Otto, Corine Aalvanger, and Herbert Alfonso. The project involved creating fictional startup companies (INPHONE, KRACHT.VOER, SWEATSHOP COUTURE) under the parent company IGC Industries to distribute advertising and critiques of society disguised as art. The artists aimed to reclaim advertising space for art and question how visual art is viewed in a consumer society dominated by advertising imagery.

1. THIS IS ACTUALLY ART - A PUBLICATION + MANIFESTO BY MARIT OTTO _ CORINE AALVANGER _ HERBERT ALFONSO. |RE|CLAMED ARTSPACE
ARTISTIC WOLF IN COMMERCIAL SHEEP’S CLOTHING
INPHONE
ALWAYS TUNED ON FOR FREE.
KRACHT.VOER.
THE MEAT EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE
HASSLE.
SWEATSHOP COUTURE
THE CULT HIT IN AMERICA THAT NO ONE
DARES TO TALK ABOUT .
About the corporate parent company I.G.C. and its questionable fashionable startups and the how and why
of art project [RE]CLAIMED ARTSPACE.
I.G.C. Industries is a fictitious international company which invests in future development assets. It is the springboard for young promising entrepreneurs and
companies experimenting with ultra innovation in the fields of personal technology, food-science and body-fluids. In mid-2022 they introduced and launched 3
new high end and high impact products on the Dutch market; the INPHONE, food pill CCP3 by KRACHT.VOER. and the perfume Blood Sweat Tears by SWE-
ATSHOP COUTURE. These next level consumer products move in terms of marketing segment at the cutting edge of future technology and social develop-
ment. ‘We Welcome The Future and We Welcome You’ are slogans that characterize
the company. I.G.C. has been specializing in groundbreaking and cross-border high-
tech products for years. They tap into the trend of consumer convenience, pleasure on
demand, social convenience and design. I.G.C. explores the technologically physical
possibilities of our time and does not allow itself to be held back by social inequality,
sustainability or ethics.
DATA IS THE NEW CURRENCY. ‘Data is the new currency’ is a concept of payment
developed by I.G.C. It leans on a new privacy philosophy diametrically opposed
to data protectionism. I.G.C. says; “We share a common interest. You want the
latest products and we see value in your data”. This means that for I.G.C.
products are not paid for with money but with data.
More on page 02: 3 artists undercover in the world of commerce.
IN GODS CHAIR INDUSTRIES: ‘YES, WE WELCOME THE FUTURE & WE WELCOME YOU!’
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Yes, that is correct KRACHT.VOER. The experien-
ce of real meat without the hassle. A revolutionary
development in the field of nutrition where the
experience of meat can be consumed unlimited
without consequences for humans, animals and
the environment.
By means of the kick start fund of I.G.C. the com-
pany developed, KRACHT.VOER. together with
the Taiwanese company CCP, a new, sustainable
generation of meat substitutes with the experience
of real meat, food pill CCP3.
read more on page 06
A revolution in telecommunications and big data
technology. INPHONE is a startup that was recent-
ly awarded a kickstart fund by I.G.C. Industries.
This fund is awarded to companies that make
exceptional innovative contributions to society.
The INPHONE is the digital revolution of the
future. It is free and accessible to everyone. It is a
compact and subtle mica facial jewelry that gives
you unlimited access to the world wide web.
Read more on page 07
THE NEW SCENT - BLOOD SWEAT TEARS. This
limited edition of the now successful (underground
hit) Sweatshop Couture line is a harmonious
blend of blood, sweat and tears. This is the natural
source of success in a bottle...finally for everyone
to experience!
Sweatshop Couture has enabled the blood, sweat
and tears of unknown donor artists/creatives to be
contained in a bottle. Blood Sweat Tears is a spicy
perfume spray that consists of a blend of 33.3%
blood, 33.3% sweat and 33.3% tears.
read more on page 03
Concept: Marit Otto.
Questions: limits to privacy and ethics in the world
of data and telecommunications.
Concept: Herbert Alfonso.
Questions: limits to fashion and critical consu-
merism.
Concept: Corine Aalvanger.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Questions: limits of fast food culture and food
supply

2. 3 ARTISTS UNDERCOVER IN THE WORLD OF COMMERCE
continued page 01
The project [RE])CLAIMED ARTSPACE is really quite literally about recapturing art in public space. We
want to recapture space that ubiquitous advertising occupies, in our opinion (too) much (physical and
mental) space. We did this with all the means at our disposal. We slipped into the skin of 4 fictional
companies and concealed our socially critical message in advertising, like an artistic wolf in commercial
sheep’s clothing. Art masqueraded as advertising. The parent company I.G.C.industries and its three
start-ups with their signature products have sprung from the minds of artists Marit Otto, Corine Aalvan-
ger and Herbert Alfonso.
I.G.C. INDUSTRIES: The corporate parent entity, the investor, the platform on which the 3 companies
profile their product is a company that balances on the edge of decency and quite violates ethics with
some regularity. The board members and CEOs; Marcha Suikerberg, Sandra Jobse Sander Pichai and
Tim Kok, bear names that refer to top Silicon Valley executives.
INPHONE: This dubious company pushes the boundaries of privacy, age restriction and dystopian futu-
re thinking. It primarily serves itself, then the consumer but most certainly not ethics and morality.
KRACHT.VOER.: Delicately playing into the fast-paced market of meal - flash delivery, a festival feel is
never far away. A magical idea for when food, in it self, just gets too much for you....
SWEATSHOP COUTURE: is quite bloody, quite un-ethical and distasteful but definitely the path to suc-
cess if this company is to be believed.
With this socially engaged project, we aim to make an artistic and philosophical contribution to this rapid-
ly transforming society. In this project, the balance between commercial and autonomous visual langua-
ge is at odds. We seek to investigate how these extremes, that have much in common, relate to each
other and thereby also question the viewing behavior of the public with regard to visual art. Does art lose
out among all this visual violence or does it remain (gladly) seen?
|RE|CLAIMED ARTSPACE IN ZWOLLE.
We, 3 Dutch artist, manifested ourselves online using the website: https://igcindustries.nl/ and under the
name IGC.industies- official on Instagram, and as Marcha Suikerberg (CEO) Twitter and Linkedin. In this
way, on-line, we are part of a global village. As Zwolle-based and/or working artists, we also wanted to
engage in a visual dialogue with the Zwolle public. We did this by distributing our product posters and
publication at various Zwolle locations and by bending our online communication more and more to-
wards Zwolle.
PUBLICATION, MANIFEST EN AUCTION.
This publication was issued in the month of December 2022 which was also distributed exclusively in
Zwolle (2000 pieces). This publication includes our reflection and a manifesto in which we include our
thesis. This publication is followed by a live presentation in the Stadkamer Zwolle, in which there was
room for discussion and dialogue. The project was also auctioned at auction site Catawiki.
VOCABULARY OF ADVERTISING IMAGERY.
By mid-2022, our society can be characterized as a consumer society, in which satisfying needs by
buying products or services has become paramount. Due to the abundance of products and services,
the way in which they are offered is essential. Advertising agencies are specialized in making this as
successful as possible and are always looking for new ways to be both distinctive and effective. To be
distinctive, they have strongly developed the visual language over the years, partly as a result of using
examples from the visual arts, theater and photography. As a result, the lines between advertising and
art have become very thin, such that it is not always immediately clear for what purpose you will be
drawn to an image. To be effective, the advertising message must be unambiguous and quick to read,
as consumers are quickly distracted by a constant stream of images and an overabundance of stimuli.
As artists, we monitor this development with interest but also with suspicion. We wonder to what extent
consumers can still find the time and attention to look at the work of modern artists, expressing themsel-
ves in their own, autonomous language. Can the general public still read that language if they become
accustomed to the “limited vocabulary” of advertising imagery? In essence, these questions boil down to
whether art can stand up in a consumer society and will remain sufficiently appreciated.
WHERE IS THE PEACE OF MIND IN A PERPETUALLY CHANGING SOCIETY?
This is the subtitle of our project. This title relates to the framework of the project’s content. It refers to
our society that has also been described as “fluid. Church, family and state, no longer represent fixed
values as in earlier decades. The need to belong to a community has remained but is shifting to online
communities and brands, for one thing.
The rise of TV, the rise of the Internet, increased digitization and the ubiquitous presence of social media
allow us to follow what is happening both in our own environment and globally. In addition, we have
gained tremendous freedom in how we want to organize our lives. We are the architect of our own exis-
tence and, as some would have us believe- thereby responsible for our own happiness.
Producers conveniently capitalize on this with their marketing campaigns. Through countless adverti-
sing messages, we are fed the assumption that what matters most in life is our own happiness, physical
beauty and success. It is just a matter of choosing the right product to achieve that status. Since adverti-
sing time is valuable, messages are designed in effective imagery. Autonomous art is all about individu-
ality, independence, vulnerability, authenticity. From this emerge images that can confuse, abrade, excite
or comfort and require time and patience to be understood or truly seen. We wonder if, with the rapid
visual snack of advertising, consumers are losing their ability to understand and appreciate the layered
imagery of a work of art.
In addition, with this project we want to give art
(‘wrapped in advertising’) the same ubiquity and
exposure as advertising for once in order to slight-
ly straighten the lopsided relationship between
attention to advertising and art. Hence the title:
[RE]CLAIMED ARTSPAC
ARTISTIC VISION
Each of us, in the course of our artistic practice,
has developed our own visual language, which
we can call our handwriting. By doing so, we have
built an artistic identity that distinguishes us from
others and demonstrates who we are. Within this
project, we have moved into the unfamiliar territory
of advertising. We crawled into the metaphorical
capillaries of advertisers so that we could make
this visual language our own. We intervened that
imagery with art, creating a new visual language
that sits at the intersection of commercial and
autonomous imagery, larded with irony and se-
riousness. This process required an open and
inquisitive attitude with plenty of room for probing,
experimenting, discarding and starting over. In this
process, we wanted to partially reinvent ourselves
as artists in the conviction that this contributes to
the quality and development of our artistry. The
scale of and the manner in which we conducted
this research offered us numerous new experien-
ces, allowing us to push our artistic boundaries
and who knows, to break new ground.
ReFLEcTION
Contemplations by Corine Aalvanger, Herbert Alfonso and Marit Otto.
ART is the conscious creation of something beautiful or
meaningful using skill and imagination, but may we also
inverse that? Can art also be the shaping of the questi-
on marks we face daily? (H. Alfonso)
Philosopher Marshall McLuhan argued in “The medium
is the message” that the medium of communication de-
cisively shapes the meaning of the message. He called
advertising the greatest art form of the 20th century.
Advertising is the effective visual language of capitalism:
it uses images to create desires and beliefs, just as
religious art did in the Middle Ages.
Mass media changed the essence of culture. Technical
developments made it possible to reproduce art en-
dlessly. Consequently, the value of the unique and/or
instantaneous work of art became more relatable and
incorporated into the broad stream of cultural production
aimed at the masses (>).
Continue reading on page 8
This project was partly made possible by Commissie Cultuur & Kwaliteit of the municipa-
lity of Zwolle, for which many thanks!

3. SWEATSHOP COUTURE THE CULT HIT IN AMERICA THAT NO ONE DA-
RES TO TALK ABOUT. By Herbert Alfonso 2022. continued page 01
The new scent – BLOOD SWEAT TEARS.
This limited edition of the now successful (underground hit) Sweatshop Couture line is a harmonious blend of blood, sweat and tears. This is the natural
source of success in a bottle... at last for everyone to enjoy!
Sweatshop Couture made it possible to infuse the blood, sweat and tears of unknown donor artists/creatives into a bottle. Blood Sweat Tears is a spicy per-
fume spray that consists of a blend of 33.3% blood, 33.3% sweat and 33.3% tears.This is the underground hit that never before talked about, the best-kept
secret that the jet-set community itself has respectfully maintained. The first line of Blood Sweat Tears was “We don’t talk about other people’s blood sweat
and tears”. And now the time to go public has finally come;
BLOOD.
After a rigorous selection process, we can say that we do not settle for just any blood. We are committed to travel far for quality. Blood stimulated by the physi-
cal and mental pain experienced in daily life is our basic ingredient. Our donors are on a pay infusion for the first period, which causes an addictive feeling,
something they again find difficult to distance themselves from. In the beginning, this is caused mainly from a fear of a “lack of. This causes the pain to be later
perceived as worse if we abruptly stop this phase of treatment. The dependence on leader consciousness is thus initially reinforced, but is broken down later
in our rigorous counseling. The lack of pay can thus be naturally transformed into a lack of service.
Service thinks in abundance and we process that into a high-end product.
SWEAT
We realize dreams that most people can only fantasize about. To add an intimidating effect to this product, we were able to generate pure fear-sweat: by
making donors feel awkward for a long period of time by firing unnecessarily (in)honest comments at them until the core of insecurity is reached. Ultimately,
the result is the donor accumulates more and more negative experiences and feeling powerless. This process of several years has paid off. Excessive anxiety
alters functioning making it difficult to be oneself, insecurity stimulates perspiration. This is exactly the extract for our perfect blend. It compliments the blend
of the other two ingredients to achieve the perfect scent of success. The evidence is also reflected in our product; it waxes inspiration rather than perspiration.
This is the fragrant proof of our success!!!
TEARS
Salty tears produced by sour situations. Situations that appear to contrast with the luxurious feeling of pain. But with the complimenting skin moisture extract, it
has just the essential finishing touch. Instead of focusing on tears of release and tears that relieve tension, we have conducted experiments on our donors that
cause the very endorphins not to be released. As a result, not the tears that ease pain in the head form but hard, acidic tears. So no release. On the contrary
We are aiming for quality and these tears are well aware of the body in which they are produced. This is basically the element of service that makes one grant
another his success despite one’s own ambition.
HERBERT ON SWEATSHOP COUTURE
For me, the project is about selling an idea, a thought or a question. So an important question is: How do I make art out of an idea? How do I use media to
plant a seed in the public’s mind that might develop into an insight from which they can reap the benefits and I myself can too? For me, modern slavery is not
a myth and it is not a secret. It is a walking, talking and communicating fact. Something that can be felt in our blood and compulsively shines in everyday life.
Something that can also always be found as a wandering soul in how society keeps everyone in a devious stranglehold. Something that without the use of the
knowledge we should all have gained from world history, we see as an embrace because we have shifted trust to the outside world instead of our own intuiti-
on. It would be really crazy that we (all humans) have not been influenced by this. The worst part is that it doesn’t really matter, as long as we look good and
make money ..right?

6. KRACHT.VOER (POWER. FOOD) THE MEAT EXPERIENCE YET
WITHOUT THE HASSLE. By Corine Aalvanger 2022. continued page 01
Yes, that is what you read correctly. POWER. FOOD. That experience of real meat. Without fuss. A revolutionary development in the field of nutrition where
the meat experience can be consumed unlimited without consequences for humans, animals and the environment. Through the kick start fund of I.G.C. de-
veloped, KRACHT.VOER. together with the Taiwanese company CCP, a new, sustainable generation of meat substitutes with the experience of real meat.
Together they spent quite some time researching the possibilities of creating a meat experience without consequences for humans, animals and the environ-
ment.
CLEAR SHELL technology - food pill without E numbers. With a new technology, Clear Shell, Taiwanese researchers succeeded in developing a meat
experience in the form of a pill, without adding E numbers. ‘Convincing people to eat vegetarian or vegan is difficult, because adjusting behavior is hard,’ says
co-creator Harm-Jan den Boer, food process science at KRACHT.VOER. and founder of the new generation of meat pills. ‘A lot of meat consumption still evo-
kes the necessary ulterior taste, not the taste people are looking for. Our product does not impose moral limits on the consumer, quite the contrary. By marke-
ting this pill, the craving for fast food in this way remains unaffected’.
DIFFERENT VARIATIONS. With meat substitutes, it’s not just about taste and texture. Consumers want the same experience. That is why the researchers
also tried to approximate the experience when barbecuing or sizzling in the pan, for example, says KRACHT.VOER. Through large amounts of research in a
diverse test team, taste and smell were used to research the right ingredients in the form of E-free and hypoallergenic additives. In particular, the craving for
more and the insatiable feeling played an important role in the creation of the different types of pills.
KRACHT.VOER. operates on three animal sources for the meat pill: the chicken, the pig and the cow. Because these are consumed and savored in different
ways, large-scale research has been conducted into the possible variants for the meat pill. The concept is still in development and KRACHT.VOER. can pr-
oudly announce that currently 5 different meat experiences have been developed per pill. These can range from a hamburger on the bbq to the frikadel at the
snack bar or sausage on the sandwich.
THE TASTiest MEAT EXPERIENCE. Whether you go for the spicy sausage pill or a greasy hamburger, with our 15 different meat pills there’s always a flavor
that suits you perfectly. Best of all, you can vary and make endless combinations so that you won’t go a moment without and can enjoy meat at any time of the
day.
CORINE ABOUT KRACHT.VOER. Meat without animals, cheese without milk ... what will the future of our food look like?On average, the Dutch
eat about 76 kilos of meat a year. We eat most pork, chicken is a close second and at number three is beef. The recommended amount of meat comes down
to about 70 grams per day, which amounts to just under 26 kilos per year. Three-quarters of Dutch people want to eat fewer animals and more vegetable pro-
tein. Yet thinking remains something different from doing. In the store and in a restaurant, buying meat is still a habit for many consumers and the association
with a slaughtered animal or the environment is not always present.We are in a food transition in which the current raw materials, production methods and ha-
bits must be questioned and re-examined. Sustainable, fair and healthy are keywords for a better world. Are we looking for forms of fast food in which we can
eat without restriction and without adverse effects on our health, or are we looking for structural changes in behavior in which we produce and consume less?
Anno 2022, when it comes to food, we no longer know shortages.Behind the brands, Oxfam’s campaign, investigates the ten companies that control most
of the food industry. They have vast financial resources that capitalize on our evolutionary desire for fat and sugar. Nestle, the world’s largest food company,
dominates the processed and packaged food industry and is the most corrupt and unethical company in the world. In the process, advertising is capitalism’s
effective visual language: it uses images to create desires and beliefs, just as religious art did in the Middle Ages. KRACHT.VOER. responds to the need for
more, for the insatiable, the question of to what extent a personal choice depends on the choices of others and the ability to undergo change for the sake of
the greater good.

7. INPHONE ALWAYS TUNED IN FOR FREE. By Marit Otto 2022. continued page 01
FREE AND UNLIMITED ACCESS FOR UNLIMITED ACCESS TO YOU.
A revolution in telecommunications and big data technology. INPHONE is a startup that was recently awarded a kickstart fund by I.G.C. Industries. This fund is
awarded to companies that make exceptional innovative contributions to society. The INPHONE is the digital revolution of the future. It is free and accessible
to everyone. It is a compact and subtle mica face jewel that gives you unlimited access to the world wide web.
HOE HET WERKT. De androïde huid-eigen siliconen body met organic accu die verbonden is aan het externe oor device, wordt onzichtbaar bij het oor onder
de huid geïmplanteerd en staat in directe verbinding met de acryllens. De siliconen body is niet groter dan 1mm dik met een diameter van 9 mm. De acryllens
is hyperallergeen en past op bijna elk oog. Loens-ogen kunnen derhalve operationeel geschikt worden gemaakt. De acryllens is een high res. beeldscherm
met extra augmented reality toepassingen als multimediaal 180° camera en heeft ultiem draagcomfort. De lens kan ook over een contactlens gedragen wor-
den of zelfs als kosteloos als contactlens geschikt gemaakt worden. Meer hierover weten? Informeer naar de optometrist specialist van INPHONE.
HOW IT WORKS. The android skin-specific silicone body with organic battery connected to the external ear device is implanted invisibly at the ear under the
skin and is in direct connection with the acrylic lens. The silicone body is no larger than 1mm thick with a diameter of 9mm. The acrylic lens is hyperallergenic
and fits almost any eye. Therefore, lens eyes can be made operationally fit. The acrylic lens is a high res. display with additional augmented reality applicati-
ons as a multimedia 180° camera and has ultimate wearing comfort. The lens can also be worn over a contact lens or even made fit as a contact lens at no
cost. Want to know more about this? Inquire with the optometrist specialist at INPHONE.
ALWAYS TUNED IN. The amazing aspect of this phone is that you will never again be deprived of the Internet, your favorite platforms, chat rooms and your
friends. In fact, you are always on 24/7. If you don’t want to receive calls or a digi-detox, sign up 24 hours in advance at the main office of INPHONE and we
will lock you out for an agreed period of never more than a week. The on mode will turn itself back on after 7 days without notice. A reassuring thought.
FOR FREE & NO COST. The most startling thing about this device is that it won’t cost you anything. It’s free, which is truly revolutionary!!! Data, next to crypto,
is the currency of the future. So your data is worth money. By getting unlimited access to your data, the INPHONE company can invest in even newer tech-
nology and keep developing for your convenience. You will always be up to date! Your convenience, your convenience is key to us. You get unlimited internet
and can make free calls all over the world. Using the ROM brain-link, by thinking of a person, you can also connect instantly. Even ordering food can be done
with the Rom Brain-link. How this works is explained in one of our special guidelines. These are supplied for free along with the implant and can be consulted
at any time.
HAPPILY IN YOUR PRIVATE BUBBLE. If you don’t want to get depressed by unpleasant news or if you don’t buy mainstream media, mark your favorite
sites, platforms, influencers and topics, state where you stand and what you believe and we’ll filter out all the unpleasant news for you. Your world will always
feel pleasant and nice. Not another day of depression with the My-Bubble app. My-Bubble-app ++ Get educated with the My-Bubble- app ++. This is the Plus
mode where you can still take in learning easily and without deep focus. For lower IQs, there is a custom development app. Learning and growing has never
been easier. Please also consult the special guidelines.
MARIT OVER INPHONE ‘She still owns a Nokia but somehow she manage to survive’. The concept for [RE]CLAMED ARTSPACE had been
waiting on my digital desktop for several years until the time was right to act on it. My fictitious company INPHONE was simultaneously maturing along with it.
The Idea was already born, I just needed to visualize it. During the rise of the smartphone, I had a Nokia, despite the fact that I thought it was a fine choice my-
self, it was constantly being discussed. Did I not fear lagging behind, missing out on something? Since then, my Nokia has been a statement in itself, a piece
de resistance! In essence we talk about useful tools but in reality it has become an extension of our identity. We are metaphorically en masse on a social-com-
mercial intravenous drip that has only one interest; to keep us on that drip. In that respect, we are becoming less and less independent. Important human va-
lues and qualities such as privacy, focus, concentration, peace of mind, attention, originality and individuality are gradually being placed under pressure. This
is not even primarily due to the Internet, the smartphone or the associated apps and platforms, it is mainly due to the submission with which we have surren-
dered ourselves to it. I sometimes wonder, is this really progress or do we wish to believe it. I experience this, besides all its positive features, as a totalitarian
commercial system. I just want to visualize that.

8. THE NUMBERS AND STATISTICS. Visitors
numbers on the website measured from July
25 to Oct. 24, 2022: 528
reach Instagram, poll date Nov 01, 2022 210 followers, 66
posts, 883 acounts reached46 acounts engaged.8.8% engage-
ment: Zwolle, 22.7%engagement NL, 28.5% popularity age 25
> 34 and 57% women vs. 42.6%men. 817 achieved engage-
ment from non-followers. Total views: 3412/ profile visits:
300ticks on website: 19.bereik
Twitter, poll date 01 november 2022. 6 followers/ 68 follo-
wing. 70 photos shared. Engagement mostly in comments
posted by Marcha herself under posts by others. Also received
some more intimate friendship, contact requests on a personal
level by American men with right profile.Well there have been
shares of various product posts.
reach Linkedin, poll date November 01, 202228 connections,
31 followers. 44 profile visitors1750 impressions, 5 interactions,
40% crafts, 20% architecture and 20% management consul-
tant. 19 search entries in week October 18 > 25
REFLECTION continued page 02
‘Art for me is a constant conversation, inner dialogue or monologue...that challenges something within us to imagine something or nothing, to feel or not to feel, to create, to
access or not to access in a certain way...it is sitting quietly while on the move...it is calling the dead back to life and challenging silence to at least whisper’ Herbert Alfonso’
‘I wonder to what extent one can expect, that a thing that is entirely socially accepted, that penetrates so deeply into our daily being, appeals so intensely to deeply human
needs and has almost become a second self, can still question and reject itself’ .Marit Otto
‘By the creation of greater product selections (from two pairs of jeans to twenty-five pairs of jeans) and the drive for growth and constant innovation, a single-use culture was
created. Advertising played a crucial role in this. It stimulated by means of communication strategies the incessant flow of new things’. Corine Aalvanger
Spectacle Society; the visionary view of Guy Debord. We live in a society of the spectacle. Guy deBord wrote his famous “Society of the spectale” in the late 1960s (well
before social media) in which he states that we have become a representation of ourselves: Debord argues that the history of social life can be understood as “the decline
from being to having and having to mere appearing. In a consumer society, social life is not about living, but about having; the spectacle uses the image to convey what people
need and must have. Debord believes that the emerging consumer and media society is having a devastating effect on society. Life is increasingly ruled by appearances and
spectacle. The citizen has turned into an aimless consumer busy surviving rather than living. He saw that visual culture increasingly determines how people think, act and feel.
“Everything that was once experienced directly has now become representation. He was one of the first to point out the threats of a global monoculture devoid of individuality
and difference: ‘The spectacle is the sun that never sets over the empire of modern passivity,’ ‘Man has become a passive spectator of a succession of spectacular commercial
images. Reality and image are interchangeable in this society of appearances.’
Well, what social impact is the new visual culture having now? Western culture changed rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. In particular, post-World War II
reconstruction created jobs, wages rose and social security increased. With the rise of communication tools and mass media, conversations extended well beyond our living
rooms and became a gateway to the world. The idea of the world as a global village was additionally reinforced by telephony, the Internet, social media and continuous travel.
The global village seen through scrutinizing eyes: The now ubiquitous presence of social media has made the global vilage ever smaller and busier. The social network is
virtually borderless and is perceived as freedom, progress, inescapable and necessary. Social media is like a commercially driven force of nature that we all get sucked into
and instinctively have to go along with in order to survive socially. As an artists’ collective, we are looking for an artistic answer/response to this, but at the same time we also
want to organize a serious social dissent. A collective conformism has developed toward commercial imagery and semi-commercial imagery, and we want to question it and
question it critically while we still can. For, is there anything at all left to reverse or change in terms of skewed power and knowledge relations, misuse of data, unbridled energy
consumption, the unsolicited implementation and stirring up of desires and consumerism, the addiction to connect, the use or allowance of modern slave labor, and more.
Philosopher Marshall McLuhan argued in “The medium is the message” that the means of communication decisively shapes the meaning of the
message. He called advertising the greatest art form of the 20th century.
By now, many brands and companies have infiltrated deep into our being and are trying to capitalize on our data and logarithm-targeted potential every way they can. And
we, we allow it to happen, We are increasingly becoming a consumer rather than a producer, A consumer of images and goods rather than a producer of authentic ideas, and
thoughts. We want more stuff to fuel the gnawing emptiness we feel inside. But what if the emptiness we experience is in fact lack of spirituality and imagination. In all freedom
and choice, we are constantly being calculated, manipulated and directed by something we can barely comprehend. We argue that this is an unnatural and unhealthy and
unsustainable state of being. In addition to exhausting the world, our stimulated desire to buy ultimately exhausts us. After all, in addition to being social beings, we are also au-
tonomous individuals afflicted with divergent thoughts, opinions, and tastes, so cannot be captured in a #. We also have the right to be detached, disconnected from everything
else, and free to go without (social) consequences. With this essay, we call for unleashing ourselves from the compulsiveness of this mass communication. And to take back or
reclaim our mental self-determination, autonomy. Humans are creative beings, we fear the day when creativity has abandoned us.
‘Are we still able to distinguish art from all else visually and to experience it that way as well? Are we still moved by it?’ Corine Aalvanger’
‘I hate that idea of beautiful...It obscures beauty....Beauty is the sun and beautiful is a pair of sunglasses’ Herbert Alffonso’
Are we content consumers or content producers, that’s the question’. Marit Otto
SPECIAL THANKS:
Circle Of Trust: Ellie Verduijn, Frank Timmerman,
Betty Zieltjens, Marie Hoogendam, Riemer Den Ouden, Iwan
Blokzijl, Nellie Otto, Judith Elders Kay van Scheijndel, Joy
Schulte, Mirthe Langelaan, Ali Reza Tahoeni, Benoosh Abdo-
lahi
Model: INPHONE’s campaign face, Benoosh Abdolahi.
Help fundraising:
Ellie Verduijn
Made possible by:
Culture & Quality Committee of the Municipality of Zwolle.
Live presentatiion: space + facsilities Stadkamer
Auction project: Catawiki - Anita Helmi and Eva van
de Oever
Colofon:
Print posters : Flyerman
Print: publicatie / krant: Flyerman
Design: Marit Otto
Content: Marit Otto, Corine Aalvanger and Herbert Alfonso
Reach: number of posters distributed in Zwolle: 75 x at
locations: ‘t Refter, Cafe de Roemer, Restaurant Taiwan,
Woodys, Cafe Blij, Hair Today, Misoji Zwolle, Ingeburgerd, Uno
Restaurant, Pigale, Cafe de Gezelligheid, Bosporus, Boulderhal
Roest, Grandcafe Zuijdt and Hogeschool Windesheim.Number
of newspapers/publications distributed in Zwolle: 2000
SUMMARY:
We have only been manifesting online since May-June 2022.
We generated engagement with the help of an “Inner Circle”
who consciously responded and gave likes. Despite the strange
images and unethical and sometimes alarming captions, there
were no outraged reactions, but there were also no enthusi-
astic reactions from people who wanted a free sample. One
conclusion could be: people don’t feel involved in our message,
or they don’t look, or read carefully what is passing by. We
also received feedback that our mother company supporting
as few as 3 companies was a bit confusing. One thing we can
learn from this is that we could have increased engagement if
the three companies could have built their separate profiles.
Also, we could have reached more people with the use of more
resources like buy likes, buy followers, more exposure but this
requires a bigger budget. We made the most of what we had at
our disposal. Meanwhile, our fictitious companies are already
being overtaken by reality: Twitter is launching a smart device
for in your mouth, Elon Musk is releasing a Perfume - Burned
Hair and at the Dutch design week, foodpils have been spotted
S2050 (students of TU Eindhoven & Chloé Rutzerveld) waar-
van akte. 11-2022 of which note. 11-2022