Journal #6

After learning about assemblage, it is safe to say it is all around us whether we recognize it or not. Bare repetition can be defined as having the main elements present in a process but changes with time. An example of this would be todays fashion trends. From mom jeans, denim jackets, to doc martins and flannel shirts, todays trends are a perfect example of bare repetition. In particular I want to focus on the comeback of chokers and its meaning through the years. The choker necklace has a long and storied history. You’ll find examples of it centuries ago in Chinese, Native American, Indian, and Egyptian cultures. During the French Revolution, women took to wearing red ribbons around their necks to pay homage to those who met their death at the guillotine. The ribbon could be worn around the neck or another fashion came in the form of an X around the shoulders and back. Manet’s famous painting, “Olympia,” (1863) depicted a prostitute wearing a black ribbon around her neck. During this era, a ribbon around the neck was for the identification of a prostitute, but at the time ballerinas and fashionable ladies wore them too. The term dog collars or colliers de chien catches on, and these designs, incorporating luxe diamonds, pearls, lace, and velvet, can be seen as objects of the elite because the best kinds were custom-made to fit one’s neck perfectly. Fast forward to the 90’s where we see our favorite celebrities rocking chockers to now where we see it being worn on models during fashion week with intricate designs and our fellow FSU students. An example of ethical assemblage would be the books we use in my fiction technique class. In particular, we use a book comprised of short stories from different authors (at least 33 stories by 33 different authors). All in all, the author is combining different work of texts to teach students in an academic setting of the proper way to write fiction. In the first example we are borrowing and making it fit out times while in the second example, we are simply paying homage and using it as a learning tool. In terms of hurtful assemblages, we have copyright laws to protect our work from assemblages that hinders its intended message. Fair use rules ensures that an ethical assemblage is protected because copyright laws are followed as well. In terms of circulation, we must be careful because it does have the effect to disrupt copyright laws.