Journal 6: Magen Mack

Bare repetition is all about using exact material without any real changes. An example of this is using my mother’s recipe for baking cookies and distributing them as my own. This is the bare repetition of her recipe without adding or taking away from it. An ethical assemblage would be something that adds on to the original idea(s) in a respectfully referential way. Art students that go into museums and sketch sculptures are participating in a sort of ethical assemblage. There is a reference to the work, but it is in a new material with new individual perception added to it. This changes how the piece is perceived and usually gives credit to the original artist in its replication/inference. 

Assemblages that could be harmful should be closely analyzed. If the assemblage exists in a public or commercial atmosphere it should be judged for its value and if it is harmful to many there is always the possibility of removal. I am not a fan of removing free speech, but if the assemblage was meant to serve a certain purpose but instead just causes harm I think it should be removed. Fair Use allows for referential work, but not the idea of bare repetition. It gives some leeway, which is productive for building on the work of others, but it protects the entity of the individual.  Circulation can definitely impact an assemblage’s ethical standing. Certain audiences might react differently to an assemblage than others. Certain audiences might also have differing ethical standards that might impact their individual interpretations.  The reaction is all about the audience viewing the circulated assemblage. 

The circulation/distribution also impacts how the author is perceived. If someone plays a song in a neighborhood that denounces Donald Trump that includes clips from Trump’s speeches/rallies and the people that live there are Trump supporters, their opinion of the artist that made the song (and of the person playing the song) will be severely impacted. This might change their ethical understanding of the artist based on using the clips out of context and to fit a certain message. The meaning of texts/assemblages are all in the context.