"Consumerism creates an abstract world of signs and symbols separate from the economic context and production."
How?
Mass-production goods are emptied of the meaning of their production (the context in which they were produced and the labour that created them) and then filled with new meaning in ways that both mystify the product and turn it into a fetish object.
http://concertstickets.net/country-concert-ticket/
Exchange value and use value, describes a product that serves the same purpose but is seen or placed at a higher/lower value because of it's price. "We value the price over the experience." (in reference to a concert ticket)
Commodities in our life, serve to project a sense of personality, a false individuality. There is a current trend away from bad manufactories (overseas - bad working conditions) it is making people more aware about the issue.
Australia is linked to other countries - America is the leading humanitarian country in the world while China is leading financially, it is thought that China will take over America and become the leading country, i.e. the most powerful country.
https://ronnie05.wordpress.com/tag/itablet/
"iPledge" article
Found in the daily newspaper that was about Apple and their staff. It was apparent that the staff were made to sign a document pledging that they wouldn't commit suicide or harm themselves in anyway because of the bad working conditions, hours, etc. Some say these types of articles are made up by other companies to discredit the profitable company, could it have been Microsoft, or is it true? It's hard to determine the answer but it does bring to light what we as consumers don't know about, that is the manufacturing process and the 'little people' within a company that work really hard in possibly horrible situations to produce what we buy as commodities. There has been other stories like this for companies like Nike and Cadbury, about child labour and the like, the true is hard to distinguish but it does open ones eyes to the unknown 'behind the scenes'.
There is a reason for cheap manufacturing (that means low wages, little support to worker, etc.) it produces items that we can afford. Moving away from that is 'Oxfam' that helps people in poverty and suffering from injustice, they look for good conditioned manufacturers in other countries to produce their items. They monitor the 'little people' of the company and make sure that they are being supported.
http://www.oxfam.org.au/
http://www.jongeriuslab.com/
Helen Jongerius, a designer who studied at Eindhoven Design Academy she is known for
"...the special way she fuses industry and craft, high and low tech, traditional and the contemporary."
"IKEA PS Pelle, Mikkel and Gullspira"
The gazelle piece was commissioned by IKEA and was a solution to an ethical problem in India. The project allowed women to earn a living and meet other women while their children were at school.
"Nymphenburg sketches - Animal Bowls"
This contains a beautiful series of bowls that contain a sculpted animal from the Nymphenburg, combined with decorative patterns that partially cover the animals.
"Deft Blue B-Set"
Commissioned by the designer to '...represent the translation of traditional decorations into contemporary expressions.' The set includes; plates patterned by computer pixels, another embroidered, a bronze handle added to a vase, a picture carried within a bowl; all designed specifically for an exhibition, 'Delft in Detail'.
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