A sample from Mass Individualism: An Exploration of Mass Market Luxury
In her book Imagine No Possessions, Christina Kaier writes that “Unlike the commodities [Aleksander Rodchenko] encounters on his visit to capitalist Paris, which elicit a possessive relation that makes objects into ‘slaves’, things made in the socialist East will actively promote egalitarian socialist culture.” She continues that the material object will become “an active, almost animate participant in social life”. From this the inspiration for Mass Individualism sprung. A product is not simply a possession but instead an active participant in social life. Products are no longer advertised merely for their benefits, but instead are pitched as extensions of the consumer, an expression of their taste and personality. The crux of the contradiction of the mass-produced individual lies here: how can a product, owned in nearly identical form by millions of people, possibly be an expression of the self?
