Fraser Gray

For the second group triad, I focused on discussing my interest in ‘sign systems’ and hyperreallity, with mixed results. Talking for the duration doesn’t appear to be the issue, as I over-ran for the second time, but the content could certainly be more structured. It was great to be introduced to Sam and Zoe’s work, and I think Sam’s use of powerpoint for his triad communicated his ideas well, maybe something I could try for future crits. 

“Interacting in a hyperreal place like a casino gives the subject the impression that one is walking through a fantasy world where everyone is playing along. The decor isn’t authentic, everything is a copy, and the whole thing feels like a dream. A specific analogy that Baudrillard uses is a fable derived from On Exactitude in Science by Jorge Luis Borges. In it, a great Empire created a map that was so detailed it was as large as the Empire itself. The actual map grew and evolved as the Empire itself conquered or lost territory. When the Empire crumbled, all that was left was the map. In Baudrillard’s rendition, it is the map that people live in, the simulation of reality, and it is reality that is crumbling away from disuse.”