Garaža Kamba

In his essay Psychological Research of Television, German semiotician Martin Krampen discusses the preparation of content on TV screens. He asks, for example, which television program or which views people like the most, in order to produce more of such shows that people enjoy. The same logic guides those who create content for the most boring actor on both large and small screens – advertisement creators. When talking with friends about how we need new shoes for the summer or how we’d love to eat a kebab and drink a Coca-Cola, it just so happens that an ad appears offering a discount at a shoe store or promoting the best kebab place in town, offering an amazing 2-for-1 deal with a free refreshing soda! We see ads all around us, and they evoke the feeling that we are being seen. The very origin of the word “advertisement” refers to drawing attention to something, but it can also mean (and does mean!): from Latin reclamare – to exclaim, to shout (Don’t miss this unrepeatable offer!) and from French réclamer – to demand, to request (If you call now, you’ll also receive…!!). However, advertisements should not be taken lightly; they don’t just sell products, but also local culture and values. A mix of loud shouting, bright colors, and a flood of information are the main oppressors of modern humans in the age of the videosphere. For the young artist Vito Trbuljak, they
served as inspiration for his new media work, presented at the Garaža Kamba. The artist employs post-subversive methods, placing everyday objects of the digital-age human – icons of commercialization – in the space of a garage. In addition, the artist presents a video piece, a montage of various television ads whose content he has deconstructed. With this, he aims to prompt us, the confused viewers, to question what we are watching, but more importantly – why we are watching, something we often fail to reflect upon in the mass production and communication of information with which mass media bombards us daily.

Gallery