Borondo’s mural in Jacksonville represents Debord’s idea of false reality, Florida 2016

Art (Re) Public Jacksonville, founded and curated by Jessica Santiago in conjunction with Iryna Kanishcheva, has invited international renowned street artists; Case Maclaim, James Reka, INO, Waone of Interesni Kazki, Kenor, CYRCLE, René Romero Schuler, Astrograff, Nico Holderbaum, Phlegm, Borondo  and more. The expo from 11-13 November 2016 brings thirteen walls for the 2016 mural collection with artists concentrating on Jacksonville’s well-preserved architecture.

Spanish artist Borondo painted a mural called  “Show” and is based on the French philosopher Guy Debord’s “The Society of Spectacle (1973)”. The new mural features the image of a theatre interpreting Debord’s idea about the changing relation between direct experience and mediated representation in modern times.

“All that once was directly lived has become mere representation.” Guy Debord

When Debord says that “All that was once directly lived has become mere representation,” he is referring to the central importance of the image in contemporary society. Images, Debord says, have supplanted genuine human interaction, everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation. There is no longer a separation between material “real life” and the false represented one, the spectacle.
Debord looks to the cultural phenomenon of “the celebrity”, which he understands as “the spectacular representation of a living human being”. The celebrity is a form of production, a shallow spectacle of a role and life style. This is even more current in today’s society with Social media becoming more popular and users wanting to represent themselves in a way they wish, whether it is real life or not… sometimes it is just an image. Reality becomes appearance, which again becomes our shaped reality “ a falsification of social life”. Images can be used as propaganda, a tool to often persuade reality.

Borondo ‘Show’ is a great representation of Guy’s thesis. Borondo’s attention to details also sees the painted people in the theatre setting facing the other way.

Photo Credit: Iryna Kanishcheva

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