Some thoughts on recontextualisation + symbols in art

I watched all of Harmony Korine’s films over one sunny weekend last year (spring break forever bitches) and it’s hit me only now why he is so great. It’s moments like in Julien Donkey-Boy where a guy progressively fills his mouth with lit cigarettes, then “eats” them (I can’t tell if he actually does: sure looks like it! You can watch the act here anyways, but I wouldn’t recommend it): it’s not like in the film this guy is given directions, or lines, or anything really- his performance, put in the context of the film, adds a whole layer of interpretation to its meaning, even although nothing about it has really been created by the director. Not to mention a handful of scenes in the film which are improvised with unknowing people in shops and on the street, which “steal” real commentary and reactions to the actor’s performances and incorporate them into the film. It’s like graffiti or parkour the way that this bare substance is used to create something artistic.

Anyway, in terms of cultural commentary, there’s things like the Britney Spears song scene from Spring Breakers, or the characters in Mister Lonely who act and dress like celebrities.

The raw material of culture is recontexualised to apply new meaning to it. It’s pretty tough to feel that there’s anything poignant about a guy’s cigarette-eating performance (or that Britney Spears song!) without the context that Korine gives these things.

He’s not the only one doing it of course: 2 Everything 2 Terrible 2 Tokyo Drift is a disturbing film created entirely from American TV footage, curated by theme (money, sex, religion). Somehow, while made from pre-recorded clips, the film has a loose plot of sorts with a hero and a villain (a tongue-twister-reciting child who dresses up as Hitler -_-)

Or there’s Tarantino, or any music that uses samples, if you’re into that :D

Then in literature there’s villain in Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore, who takes on the form of recognisable brand mascots, or in a more diffuse form, all the mythical layering performed by the postmodern greats.

A cultural unit: a TV clip, a Britney Spears song, the appearance of a corporate mascot, is made to comment upon itself as the artist sees it. This is a pretty powerful thing!

In Korine’s case, it’s always nice to see artists start young when likely they do these things to represent their times without being conscious of it: his work very much represents the idea that you never know as an artist what’s going to be useful to you and what isn’t- the symbols, props, people and situations that enter his films appear to be based on his daily observations + autobiographical material (these two things, by the way, are the easiest artistic raw material to collect, and generally the most useful!) Without his context, they might be otherwise dismissed. As he says himself, ’ I feel I need to leave some things undefined in my explanation. You don’t want to spell it out, but also it’s the movie and something I can’t express it in words. If I could talk it away, I wouldn’t film it. I don’t want to say something that would somehow contradict or refute what you got from the movie. It’s more exciting for me to put it out there and let you guys figure it out. If someone doesn’t get anything out of it, that’s fine too. I just want to get it out there.’

Considering symbols in art generally, when I watch these films or read these works of literature or see whatever the hell the Chapman Brothers have made, I don’t necessarily know exactly what is being said about these (non-cat) memes. When you’re fifteen, symbolism is more “Neo’s Jesus! Okay everyone pack up their shit.’ But later you can enjoy art which is so symbolic that it evokes curiosity, the joy of revisiting, and a highly personalised experience based on what the art means to you/ your culture. If you were to see or read the same thing later in life, it might mean something totally different, so that you can become conscious of the changes in your thinking and maturity over time. In order give art this ability, it takes courage on the artist’s part because it appears that the truest symbols come from an unknown place, and for the artist to present a work that has these powerful symbols they must be so trusting in the artistic process to guide them that they release art into the world that even they don’t understand, like Salvador Dali said of his paintings, like von Trier said of his symbols in Antichrist, like Korine and the things he can’t put into words, like Murakami and his cat-snatching guy dressed as Johnny Walker. But then, I don’t think any of the best experiences can be forced.