1540_007_rgb--imatge-on-subjectivity 1540_006_rgb--imatge-on-subjectivity
1540_007_rgb--imatge-on-subjectivity
Muntadas
On Subjectivity
On Subjectivity
1978
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The phrase "The medium is the message" (1964) by Marshall McLuhan highlights both the interest generated by the mass media and how these condition our perception of reality and the information that reaches us. Using decontextualized mass media images, On Subjectivity (1978) focuses on the nature of information and on its interpretation and ideological construction. In other words, it points to the fact that the meaning attributed to an image is the result of the influences, knowledge and personality of each individual.

The installation consists of the book On Subjectivity (Fifty photographs from The Best of Life) and the video On Subjectivity (About TV). Muntadas selected 50 photographs of The Best of Life - a publication that included hundreds of photos from Life magazine - made 5 copies of each and sent each copy to 5 different people, asking for a comment on the images. The result was the book which, in addition to the photographs, includes the 250 contributions. The video is structured as a collage that alternates images of a television set emitting different programmes with those of people who deliver opinions about them.
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The texts of the MACBA web draw on previous documentation. Please let us know if you find any errors.
original title
On Subjectivity
artist
year of acquisition
2000
type of object
Media installation
dimensions
Dimensions variables
Copyright
© Muntadas, VEGAP, Barcelona
registration number
R.1540
date
1978
fonds
MACBA Collection. MACBA Foundation
media
Installation.-- "About TV": Single-channel video, colour, sound, 50 min; "On Subjectivity: Fifty photographs from The Best of Life": 50 gelatin silver print photographs, slide projection transferred into digital file, vitrines, book, envelopes and other materials
credits
MACBA Collection. MACBA Foundation
original title
On Subjectivity
registration number
R.1540
artist
date
1978
year of acquisition
2000
fonds
MACBA Collection. MACBA Foundation
type of object
Media installation
media
Installation.-- "About TV": Single-channel video, colour, sound, 50 min; "On Subjectivity: Fifty photographs from The Best of Life": 50 gelatin silver print photographs, slide projection transferred into digital file, vitrines, book, envelopes and other materials
dimensions
Dimensions variables
credits
MACBA Collection. MACBA Foundation
Copyright
© Muntadas, VEGAP, Barcelona
Mass media
Subjectivity
Letters (Correspondence)
images
2 images
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