Abstract
Before Remix is defined specifically in the late 1960s and’ 70s, it is necessary to trace its cultural development, which will clarify how Remix is informed by modernism and postmodernism at the beginning of the twenty-first century. For this reason, my aim in this chapter is to contextualize Remix’s theoretical framework. This will be done in two parts. The first consists of the three stages of mechanical reproduction,1 which set the ground for sampling to rise as a meta-activity in the second half of the twentieth century. The three stages are presented with the aim to understand how people engage with mechanical reproduction as media becomes more accessible for manipulation. The three stages can be marked with the first beginning in the 1830s, when the rise of early photography took place; followed by the second in the 1920s, when experimentation of cut up methods were best expressed in collage and photomontage; and ending with the third, when Photoshop was introduced in the late 1980s. I also refer to the last as the stage of new media.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Mechanical reproduction here is understood according to Walter Benjamin’s well-known essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” At the time that Benjamin wrote his essay, it was not possible for him to see completely where new technologies would lead the mass-produced image. Yet, he did set a methodological precedent to deal with possibilities when he explained how mechanical reproduction freed the object from cult value. Once taken out of its original context, the object gains the potential of infinite reproducibility; it enters the realm of exhibit value. See, Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the End of Mechanical Reproduction,” Illuminations (New York, Schocken, 1968), 217–251.
Barbara Rhodes & Heraldry Bindery, “Materials & Methods/The Art of Copying,” Before Photocopying: The Art & History of Mechanical Copying, 1780–1938 (Massachusetts: Oak Knoll Press & Heraldry Bindery, 1999), 21.
Heraldry Bindery, “Materials & Methods/The Art of Copying,” Before Photocopying: The Art & History of Mechanical Copying, 1780–1938 (Massachusetts: Oak Knoll Press & Heraldry Bindery, 1999) Ibid}, 7.
A good account of publishing control directly connected to emerging technologies, especially online can be found in, Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in the Connected World (New York: Vintage Books, 2002), 111–112.
Cited by Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media (Cambridge, Massachusetts: 2001), 21.
Theresa M. Collins, Lisa Gitelman, and Gregory Jankunis, “Invention of the Phonograph, as recalled by Edison’s Assistant, by Charles Batchelor,” Thomas Edison and Modern America: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002), 64.
Lisa Gitelman, and Gregory Jankunis, “Invention of the Phonograph, as recalled by Edison’s Assistant, by Charles Batchelor,” Thomas Edison and Modern America: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002) Ibid}, 23.
Lisa Gitelman, and Gregory Jankunis, “Invention of the Phonograph, as recalled by Edison’s Assistant, by Charles Batchelor,” Thomas Edison and Modern America: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002) Ibid}, 20.
Mary Warner Marien, “The Invention of Photographies,” History of Photography: A Cultural History (New York: Prentice Hall, 2006), 9.
David Evans,“From Idea to Page: The Making of Heartfield’s Photomontages,” John Heartfield: AIZ (New York: Kent Gallery, Inc, 1992), 20–29.
Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine, Fire in the Valley (New York: McGraw Hill, 2000), 329–354.
Theodore Adorno, The Culture Industry (London, New York: Routtledge, 1991), 50–52
Ulf Poschardt, DJ Culture (London: Quartet Books, 1998), 193–194.
Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, Last Night a DJ save my Life (New York: Grover Press, 2000), 244–246.
This is an observation made on postmodern culture by Fredic Jameson. See, Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism or, The Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham: Duke University Press, 1991), 51–54. Also, see my analysis of his work in chapter three, 86–88.
Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida Trans. Richard Howard, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1981), 96.
My concept of the simulacrum is informed by Jean Baudrillard’s theory on simulacra. See, Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra,” Simulacra and Simulation (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007), 1–43.
Manovich, 218–221.
Rob Young, “Pioneers. Roll Tape: Pioneer Spirits in Musique Concrete,” Modulations, ed. Peter Shapiro (New York: Caipirinha Productions and D.A.P., 2000), 8–20.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag/Wien
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Navas, E. (2012). Remix[ing] Sampling. In: Remix Theory. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1263-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1263-2_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-1262-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-1263-2