Summary Vaporwave grabs the attention of internet voyager with harsh collages glued together in a technically primitive manner. It’s a cultural phenomenon which both originated and is active solely on the internet. In the context of general internet culture Vaporwave is exclusive in its aesthetics due to the domination of violet and pink colors, technically primitive quality of texts, fetishization of 8th and 9th decade mainstream commodities and acute nostalgic undertones. Vaporwave has been mostly explored as a music genre or sociological phenomenon, while its visual aspect has mostly remained unattended. This article seeks to analyze the conceptual aspects embodied within Vaporwave visuals, to briefly compare them with music, and to unpack the mechanism of nostalgia as an affective entry point to the movement. The interpretation is mainly lead by Jean Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality, and interpretational principles of hermeneutics. Five Tumblr blogs were analyzed. Hermeneutic inquiry into the texts yielded seven distinct symbol categories differentiated by the affect they generate: nostalgic commodities, idyllic classics, melancholic landscapes, harsh distortions, gentle geometry, depressive texts, and ecstatic brands. Each of these categories here are elaborated in detail finally summarizing the multilayered symbolism of the movement. It can be described as nostalgically challenging visual conventions through harsh technical quality and opposing codes of behavior through open expressions of depression and melancholy, thus exposing the doubts of individual imprisoned in postmodern society. ’80s and ’90s here become hyperreal fantasy lands of the past where a nostalgic individual can find refuge. In comparison to music, the visual aspect of Vaporwave highlights the technology as central artefacts of nostalgia, introduces new ways to analyze late capitalist consumer culture, and brings an intimate dialogue with hyperreality to the front. The article suggests that Vaporwave is a post-ironic art movement which both celebrates and criticizes capitalism, finally remaining vague whether there are ways to escape the system, and whether these ways should even be looked for.
The spatiality of the Internet is a complex phenomenon presupposing a wide range of ideas: that there are different environments which can be characterized, that there are subjects moving within them, that these spaces are being employed for certain ends by their users, and much more. However, various spatial descriptions of the Internet most of the time observe it as a part of a larger spatial architecture, not as a spatial architecture itself. This paper employs radical concept creation machinery conceptualized by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in What Is Philosophy? (first published in 1991), principles of paralogistic thinking proposed by Jean-François Lyotard and divergent thinking methods, finally arriving at a new conceptualization of the Internet space as the meteorological pressure system. This is an invitation to see the Internet and movements occurring within it from a new perspective: where temperatures rise and drop, winds blow and dissipate, fogs come and go; where limits of spatial characteristics are forming different climates; where each part affects the whole, and can potentially bring out various chain reactions. Such a conceptual system opens up the possibility to see the Internet as a coherent spatial structure, filled with becomings and intricate relationships.
aNtikaPitaListiNĖ kRitika skaitMeNiNĖJe BeNdRUoMeNĖJe: teoRiNĖ iNteRNetiNĖs kULtŪRos ReiŠkiNio "VaPoRwaVe" saMPRata anticapitalistic Critique within the digital Community: theoretical Conception of internet Culture Phenomenon "Vaporwave" sUMMaRy in the context of digital culture, "Vaporwave" stands out as the first large cultural phenomenon to originate and exist exclusively on the internet. its novelty, virtual state and complex semantics impede it from being placed under clear conceptual frameworks. this article aims to come up with a theoretical conception of "Vaporwave" by elaborating and summarizing existing research. Ultimately the article concludes that "Vaporwave" is an aesthetical cognitive map proliferating because of a multitude of internet enthusiasts who practice creation and consumption within digital spaces. the crowd involved in content generation is articulating individual insights through "Vaporwave" aesthetics. Finally, this renders "Vaporware" as a collection of texts coding the realities of the postmodern consumer where commodified memory and distrust towards promises of capitalism are its central topics. saNtRaUka skaitmeninės kultūros kontekste "Vaporwave" išsiskiria kaip pirmasis tokio masto kultūros reiškinys, kilęs ir egzistuojantis tik internete. Reiškinio naujumas, virtualus būvis ir kompleksiška semantika neleidžia jo įsprausti į aiškius koncepcinius rėmus. Šiame straipsnyje siekiama prieiti teorinę "Vaporwave" sampratą praplečiant bei aprėpiant jau atliktus tyrimus. Galiausiai prieinama išvados, jog "Vaporwave" yra dėl daugybės kūrybą ir vartojimą skaitmeninėse erdvėse praktikuojančių internautų entuziazmo plintantis, antikapitalistinę kritiką artikuliuojantis estetinis kognityvinis žemėlapis. Į jo turinio generavimą įsitraukusi minia artikuliuoja individualias įžvalgas per "Vaporwave" estetiką. Galiausiai reiškinys tampa postmodernaus vartotojo realijas koduojančiu tekstų rinkiniu, kurio pagrindinės temos yra suprekinta atmintis ir nepasitikėjimas kapitalizmo pažadais. Gytis doVydaitis Vytauto didžiojo universitetas, Lietuva
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