Disneyfication
photographs
Theo Derksen
Is the act of creating a facade which when looked at from the outside appears happy, serene, and safe, but still, its purpose is to draw us close, take as much of our money as they can, and give us and our children a false sense of security, joy and happiness. Taming the world to make it all safe, clean, and completely simlar to a theme park. To remove the sharp edges and darkness that is life.
www.theoderksen.com
Disneyfication
Jean Baudrillard. A French philosopher wrote: “The terms are generally used in a negative way, and they imply homogenization of consumption, merchandising, and emotional labor. They can be used more broadly to describe the processes of stripping a real place or event of its original character and repackaging it in a sanitized format. References to anything negative are removed, and the facts are watered down with the intent of making the subject more pleasant and easily grasped. In the case of places, this typically means replacing what has grown organically over time with an idealized and tourist-friendly veneer reminiscent of the “Main Street, U.S.A.” attractions at Disney theme parks.”
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Theo Derksen started this photoproject in 2001. After meeting with and talking to Jean Baudrillard at the Holland Festival photo exhibition “ATTACK”, I started this project on Disneyfication in 2001, some 13 years ago. I was one of the photographers taking part in the Holland Festival “Attack” exhibition besides: Nobuyoshi Araki, Steve Hart, Amy Arbus, Duane Michals, Jean Baudrillard and others.
© by Theo Derksen.
ATTACK was curated by prof.dr. Johan Swinnen.
Theo Derksen retains sole copyright of the photographs published in this book. Nothing may be published in anyway without authorisation byTheo Derksen. This project took me some times more than once to: Hong-
For Leny Derksen Vaessen.
Kong, Tokyo, Beying, Chong Qing, Las Vegas, New York,
Contact:
Mexico-city,Singapore, New Delhi, Moscow, Bangkok, Shang-
theo@theoderksen.com
hai, Dubai, Prague, Bucarest and many others cities where I
www.theoderksen.com
though I could work on the theme.
2014.
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