Truth be sold: how truth became a productoutside human and earthly reality. To put it differently:...
Transcript of Truth be sold: how truth became a productoutside human and earthly reality. To put it differently:...
Essay 4daysago•Readingtime16-21minutes•Remindmelater In premodern times, truth offered hope of redemption in the afterlife. As modern society emerged, truth brought us hope of a better world for our descendants. In the postmodern era, truth freed us from false authorities and pretentious ideologies. But what does our own truth still aspire to achieve, other than the infinite satisfaction of our needs?
Truth be sold: how truth became a product Foundingeditor
RobWIJNBERG
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen.Youcanreadmoreaboutthesephotos,whichwereshotoverthepast20yearsinmetropolisesallovertheworld,attheendofthearticle.
Mentiontheconceptof"eras"toahistorian,andthere’sadecentchanceyou’llbegreetedwithafrownandasigh.Theficklevagariesofhumanhistorydonotlendthemselvestoeasycategorisation.
Readthisstoryinoneminute.Ourowncontemporaryperiodisevenmoredifficulttopindown.Titlesdescribingthezeitgeistabound,butnoneofthemdefinitivelydefinethe"era"inwhichwelive.
Isthistheeraofglobalisation,vanishingbordersanddissolvingnationstates?Orswellingnationalism,immigrationrestrictionsandputtingthehomelandfirst?Isthisatimeofmultinationals,plutocracyandthe1%?Orstartups,crowdfundingandthe99%?Isthisatimeofrevolution,uprisingandprotest?Ortechnocracy,indifferenceandapathy?Isthisatimeofthesustainable,artisanalandlocal?Orfossilfuel,massproductionandoutsourcing?
Theanswermaywellbe:itisthetimeofallthesethingsatonce.Evenso,thequestionofthemostdefiningcharacteristicsofourtimehasgrippedmesinceIfirstembarkedonmystudyofphilosophy,15yearsagonow.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
Truth has been the centre of attention for years. But what kind of truth?
Mythoughtsonthemattermostlyrevolvearoundwhatcouldbecalledthemostfundamentalandmostheatedlydiscussedconceptofthepastdecade–andlikelythedecadetocome:truth.Somearguethatwithfact-freepoliticsandfakenewsrunningamok,we’veenteredasocietythatisposttruth,butIwouldn’twanttogothatfarjustyet.Tome,thebetterquestionwouldbe:assumingtruthisstillwithusinsomeway,whattypeoftruthischaracteristicofthetimeswelivein?Nowthat,inturn,mightsoundlikearidiculouslygeneralquestion:truthaboutwhat,forwhom,andinwhatsense?
Therolethattruthplaysinpoliticsdiffersquitedramaticallyfromitsrolein,say,science.AndthetypeoftruththatisdominantinNorthKoreaorSaudiArabiaisverydifferentfromthetypeoftruththatcharacterisesacountryliketheUnitedStatesortheNetherlands.
Still,certaintypesoftruthcanbedistinguishedthatweredominantinourcollectivethinkingforlongperiodsofhistory.WhenIsay"ourcollectivethinking",I’mspecificallyreferringtowesternthinking.AndwhenIsay"thinking",Idon’tjustmeanthewayinwhichprominentphilosophersviewedtheworld,butalso–andmaybeevenaboveall–howsocietyasawholeperceivedtheworldaroundit.
Ifyoulookathistoryfromthatperspective,whicherasoftruthliebehindus?Iwouldliketospecifythree:thepremodernera,themodernera,andthepostmodernera.Fromthatstartingpoint,Iwanttoaskthequestion:ifitisthecasethattheseerasarebehindus,thenwhattypeoftruthischaracteristicofthetimeswelivein?
The premodern era: truth as faith ThehistoryofwesternthinkinghasbeensummarisedbyBritishphilosopherAlfredWhiteheadas"aseriesoffootnotestoPlato".NotbecausePlatosupposedlysaidalltherewastosayabouttheworldinaphilosophicalsensebutbecausehewasthefirsttointroducethedistinctionthatwoulddominatewesternthinkingaboutwhatis"true"and"real"fornearly20centuries:thedistinctionbetweenappearanceandreality.Thisdistinctionwasbasedontheconceptthattheearthlyrealityarounduswasmerelyanillusion,derivedfroma"pure"realityelsewhere.Truth,thePlatonicmodelessentiallyargues,issomething"supernatural"and"superhuman",inthesenseofmetaphysicalortranscendent.Itisbeyondthegraspofhumanunderstanding.Thisdistinctionhasbeenthefoundationofnearlyeveryreligiouspracticethatwouldgrowtobecomeaworldreligionoverthepast2,000years.Inthatrespect,ChristianityandIslaminparticulararereallyjustmythicalvariationsonPlatonicthinkingbasedontheideathatTruthistobefound"outthere"–outsidehumanandearthlyreality.
Toputitdifferently:Truthisnotfoundinthesensoryrealityaroundus,butgiventousbya"higher"realityaboveandoutsideus.AttainingTruthrequiredaleapoffaith–asurrendertothetranscendent.Beholdthebirthofthefirstera:TruthasFaith.Life on earth was so hopeless and desperate for most people that there was no reason to think it would ever get any better. The idea that reality on earth was merely an ‘illusion’ offered some comfort ThistypeoftruthwascharacteristicofthewestfromroughlythreecenturiesbeforeChristto16centuriesafterChrist.
TheAmericanphilosopherRichardRortyarguedthatthedominanceofthisconceptcouldbeattributedlargelytothemiserablelivingconditionsduringthatperiod.Lifeonearthwassohopelessanddesperateformostpeoplethattherewasnoreasontothinkitwouldevergetanybetter.TheideathatrealityonEarthwasmerelyan"illusion"offeredsomecomfort,andthe"transcendent"offeredhopeofanescape,accordingtoRorty.
Thedominantframeofmind,orzeitgeist,ofthiserawashopeforredemption.Althoughlifeonearthlackedanyprospects,thosewhohadfaithcouldexpectsalvation.Consequently,theeraoftruthasfaithwasanextraordinarilystaticperiodinhistory.Theconceptof"progress"wascompletelyunknown,aswereconceptslikethe"mouldability"or"controllability"oflifeorthenaturalworld.Infact,mostpeoplebelievedthattheworldhadalwaysbeenthewayitwasatthatverymoment–andthatitwouldremainthatwayforever.Youcanseethisviewexpressedinconceptslike"creation"–foundationaltomostreligions.
Thisperspectivewasalsoreflectedincomparableviewsaboutsocialhierarchy:thosewhowerebornintopovertywoulddieaspoorastheirparents.Therewasnosocialladdertoclimbordescend;thehighestattainablegoalinlifewas,inRorty’swords,"reconciliationwiththenaturalorder"–anaturalorderthathadbeenassignedtotheworldandhumankind.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
The modern era: truth as knowledge Thistypeofthinkingwaslargelyabandonedaroundthelate16thandearly17thcentury.IfIhadtodescribethismajorshiftinmindsetinspatialterms,Iwouldsaythattruth"camedown",sotospeak–itdescendedfrom"above"to"below"andwentfrom"outofreach"to"withinreach"ofhumanbeings.
Inwhatwenowcallthe"modernera",truthwasnolongerviewedasapurelymetaphysicalconceptelevatedbeyondourgrasp,butsomethingtangible–andindeed,physical–intheearthlyhereandnow.
Truth changed from something that was given to something that could be found ApivotalfigureinthisshiftwasFrenchphilosopherRenéDescartes,theforefatherofrationalism,wholaidthefoundationfortheideathattheTruthcouldinfactbeknown.LogicandreasoncouldbeusedtocomprehendrealityanddiscovertheTruth.Truthchangedfromsomethingthatwasgiventosomethingthatcouldbefound.Thisperiodbroughtusobjectivityasanideal,aswellastheconceptofprogressandamouldableworld.Beholdthebirthofthesecondera:TruthasKnowledge.Thisnewtypeoftruthwasalsoaccompaniedbyanewzeitgeist.Hopeforredemptiongavewaytohopeforprogress.Themiserythathadseemedsoinescapableforcenturieswassuddenlynolongeranestablishedfact.Andtheideathatsocietywasdefinedbyanimmutablesocialhierarchyimposedfromabovegavewaytoegalitarianideologiesthatwouldbringthestatusquotumblingdown,withJohnStuartMill’sclassicalliberalismandAdamSmith’sfirstforaysintofree-marketthinkingleadingtheway.
Reconciliationwiththenaturalorderofthingswasnolongerthehighestattainablegoal;no,comprehendingandcontrollingthenaturalorderwasthenewobjective.
The postmodern era: truth as a construct Truthasknowledgewouldremainthedominantworldviewinthewesternworldforatleastthreecenturies,untilitsdeconstructioninthelate19thandearly20thcentury.
PivotalfiguresinthegradualdismantlingoftheideathatthetruthcouldbefoundincludedsuchFrenchthinkersasJean-PaulSartre,JacquesDerridaandMichelFoucault,aswellastheGermanthinkersMartinHeidegger,LudwigWittgensteinandFriedrichNietzsche.
Nietzscheactuallyreferredtohisworkas"philosophisingwithahammer",andwithgoodreason:whatthesethinkershaveincommonisthattheyall,intheirownway,smashedthebeliefinaknowableorfindabletruthtosmithereens.Truth,asfarasthesepostmodernistswereconcerned,isneithergivennorfound:truth(nowinlowercaseforthefirsttime)iscreatedbyhumans.In the postmodern era, truth was neither given nor found: truth – now in lower case for the first time – was created by humans
Theirrespectiveapproachesdifferedradically:toHeideggerandSartre,truthwasprimarilyaproductofourconsciousness,whileWittgensteinandDerridaprimarilysawtruthasaproductofourlanguage,andNietzscheandFoucaultarguedthattruthwasprimarilyaproductofpowerrelations.
Ifweweretocapturethecollectiveessenceoftheirthinking,thentheirkindredspiritRortyoffersthemostusefulsummary:"Youcannotriseaboveinterpretationsandgettofacts"(thepremodernideal:risingabovetheearthlyrealityandarrivingattheTruth),"andyoucannotdigdownbelowinterpretationsandgettofacts"(themodernideal:diggingintotheearthlyrealityandarrivingattheTruth).Beholdthebirthofthethirdera:truthasaconstruct.InthesamewaythattheIndustrialRevolutionandtheemergenceofmodernsciencehelpedtobringaboutfaithinTruthasKnowledge,thefirstworldwar(andlaterthesecond)causedtheideaoftruthasaconstructtogainmomentumandtakehold.
ThefirstandsecondworldwarsfosteredanenormousdistrustofTruthwithacapitalT.ThedeconstructionofTruthinitiatedbypostmodernthinkersaimedtoundermineitsmobilisingpower:humankindhadtobe"liberated"fromallthosefalseauthoritiesthathadlaidclaimtotruthoverthecenturies.
Wherepremodernitywascharacterisedbyhopeforredemptionandmodernitybyhopeforprogress,postmodernitywascharacterisedbyscepticismaboutboth.Realitywasparenthesisedandthe"endofhistory"proclaimed.Atthesametime,therewasahugesurgeinfaithinthepowerofindividualstomaketheirownreality.Iftruthwasaconstruct,thenyoucouldalsoshapeyourowntruth–andthusyourownlife–accordingtoyourownpreferences.
Theidealsoffreedomofchoice,self-creationandself-fulfilmenttooktheplaceofredemptionbyandknowledgeoftheTruth.Notonlydidtruthbecomeaconstructbut,forthefirsttimeever,lifealsobecameastyle.Reconciliationwith"thenaturalorder"(premodern)orcontrolof"thenaturalorder"(modern)becameobsolete,because,infact,therewasnosuchthingasanaturalorder.Creatingone’sownpersonalorder(postmodern)wastheultimateobjectivefromthatpointon.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
Are we in a fourth era? Obviously,scientificresearchalsotookplaceinthepremodernera;faithintranscendencenevervanishedentirelyinthemodernera,andthepostmoderneradidnotactuallyheraldtheendofhistory.Therearenofirmboundariesbetweentheeras;atmost,itcouldbestatedthatacertainwayofthinkingisslightlymorecharacteristicofoneerathananother.
Thatsaid,woulditnowbepossibletostatethatweareinanewera?Haveweendedupinwhatcouldbereferredtoaspost-postmodernism?
Thereareplentyofargumentsthatrefutesuchanassertion.Politicsaren’texactlyenlivenedbygreatnarrativesthesedays,anddistrustofallsortsofauthoritiesisbynomeansathingofthepast;self-fulfilmentisstillseenasthesupremeidealinlargepartsofthewesternworld,andironyasadefaultattitudeiswidespread.
Still,Iwoulddaretoarguethatwehaveindeedenteredaneraofanewtypeoftruth.Theeraoftruthasaproduct.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
Post-postmodernity: truth as a product Thistypeoftruthcantraceitsrootsbacktopostmodernism.Thisworldviewwasthephilosophicalsoilinwhichtheidealofthefreemarket–notthevariantproposedbyAdamSmith,butthefreemarketofMiltonFriedmanandAynRand–flourishedandbecamepopular.
For,iftruthisnotfoundbutcreated,andonlythesubjectiveindividualcanleadthatprocess,then–thereasoninggoes–thefreemarketistheonlywaytoan"ideal"societywithoutaguidingauthorityleadingit.Theideaofa"commoninterest"thatwasstillprevalentinthemodernerawasexchangedforthe"sum"ofindividualinterests.Inthisworldview,thefreemarketwouldleadtoaperfectequilibrium,withouthavingtobeguidedbyaconstructedideologyoriginatingfromafalseauthority.
Neoliberalfreemarketthinkingstartedoutasadeconstructionofideologyandauthority,but,despiteitsorigins,grewintoanideologicaldogmainitsownright,leadingtoafar-reachingeconomisationofourworldview.
Moralandontologicaldogmaswerereplacedbyeconomiccriteria.NoonebelievedinTruth,KnowledgeandMoralitywithacapitalletteranymore;theyweresupplantedbytheso-called"neutral"conceptsofproductivity,efficiencyandreturnoninvestment.
Inpolitics,healthcare,education,science,mediaandthearts:economiccriteriabecamethemeasureofallthingsineveryaspectofsociety.
Now,citizensareconsumers,patients"shop"fortheirhealthcare,students"invest"intheiracademic"career",immigrantsare"fortuneseekers"or"cheaplabour",theelderlyaredubbed"growingexpenses",artistshavetobe"creativeentrepreneurs",andthegrossnationalproductisthegodlymeasureofourcollectivewell-being.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
The commercialisation of our information Thiseconomisationofourworldviewresultedinthecommercialisationofsociety.Acrucialaspectofthisprocesswasthecommercialisationofourinformationsupply.Evenourmostimportantsourcesofinformation,fromnewsmediatoeducationandresearchagenciesto,morerecently,searchenginesandsocialnetworks:allofthembecameincreasinglybasedon
commerciallogic.Coverage,marketshareandprofitabilitybecamethegaugesusedtomeasuresuccess.
Just as Big Oil, Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Banks would dominate the oil, food, medicine and financial industry, Big Media would take hold in the ‘information market’ Fromthe1980sonwards,thiscommercialisationofourinformationsupplywasaccompaniedbyawaveofmergersandacquisitions.JustasBigOil,BigFood,BigPharmaandBigBankswoulddominatetheoil,food,medicineandfinancialindustry,BigMediawouldslowlybutsurelytakeholdinthe"informationmarket".
Exactfiguresonmarketsharesaredifficulttopinpoint,butatthispointintime,itiscertainthatthemajorityofallnewsmedia,TVandradiobroadcasters,filmstudios,publishinghousesandwebsitesthatproducethenews,TVandradioshows,books,magazinesandfilmsthatfeedandfabricateourworldviewcanbetracedbacktonomorethan30majormultinationalsthatareunprecedentedlyvastinsize–collectively,therepresentover$300bninannualrevenues.
Acrucialparalleltrendwastheprofessionalisationofcommunication.Thephenomenonofpublicrelationsbecameaninstitutionalfeature.Overthecourseofafewdecades,itwouldgrowtobecomeoneofthebiggestandmostinfluentialindustriesintheworld;theadvertisingsegmentaloneaccountsformorethan$500bnayear.
Communicationstrategists,PRexperts,spindoctors,marketeersandadvertisersbecametheall-powerfularchitectsofourinformationsupply.Nearlyallmajorflowsofinformation–fromnewstopolitics,fromsciencetoart–weresubjectedtothelawsofpublicrelations:alignedwithtargetaudiencesandassessedonthebasisofreachandrevenues.
Theeconomisationofourworldview,themarket-basedreframingofsociety,thecommercialisationofinformationandtheprofessionalisationofcommunicationarethefourpillarsonwhichthenewerarests:theeraoftruthasaproduct.Truthisnolongergiven(premodern),found(modern)orcreated(postmodern),truthissold.Or,torephraseit:wewentfromtherevelation,tothediscovery,totheconstruction,totheproductionoftruth.
Truth as a way to satisfy a need Asthingsstand,itisdifficulttomakeafirmdistinctionbetweentruthasaconstruct–whichcharacterisedthepostmodernera–andtruthasaproduct,whichIseeasthedefiningcharacteristicofthetimeswelivein.
Bothwaysoflookingattheworldcantracetheirphilosophicaloriginsbacktotheideathattruthprimarilyisamatterofhowyouexplaintheworld–amatterofperspective,asNietzschewouldsay.Inthatsense,PRandmarketingaredistinctlypostmodernphenomena:theyarefoundedontherealisationthatwhatpeopleassumetobe"true"isnotderivedfromsometranscendentsourceorfactualbasis,butisinsteadamatterofhowtheworldis"perceived".
However,thereisadifferencebetweenthekindofmouldabletruththatwehavecometocallpostmodern,andthemalleabletruththatsurroundsusnow.TruthasaconstructoriginallywasconceivedasawaytoliberatemankindfromfalseauthoritiesandtheuniversalpretensionsofTruthwithacapitalT–inordertoallowtheindividualfreereinforself-creation.
Truthasaproduct,however,servesaverydifferentpurpose:itseeksnottoliberateusbuttosatisfyourneeds.Inotherwords,everythingwedoorcreatethesedaysisbasedonthelogicofaproduct.Whetherweareparticipatinginpolitics,providinginformation,teaching,doingresearchorcreatingart:everythingisassessedonthebasisofwhichneeditsatisfies.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
Consuming your own opinion Politics,forexample,isnotabout"convincingasmanycitizensaspossibletoembracecertainidealstoserveacommoninterest";it’saboutdetermining,formulatingandimplementingwhatacertainsegmentoftheelectorate(the"targetgroup"or"electoraldemographic")thinksandwants.
Or,astherenownedDutchsociologistWillemSchinkelonceputitsosuccinctly:thegoalis"tohavevotersconsumetheirownopinion".It’snocoincidencethatwedecidehowtovoteinawaythatbearsastrongresemblancetohowwechooseawashingmachine:byfillingoutavotingcompassandpickingthecandidatethatcomesout.
Mostlikely:theonethatwewouldliketo"haveabeerwith".
Ourinformationsupplyfollowsthesamelogic.Google,forexample,wasfoundedasasearchenginebasedonthemodernidealofunlockingandprovidingaccesstoalltheinformationintheworld,butbynowthecompanyhasevolvedintoitspost-postmoderncounterpart:ainformationbrokertailoringitsresultscompletelytotheneedsofthe"informationconsumer"asdeterminedbyalgorithmsandconsumersearchbehaviour.
Theresult:someonewhohasbeenprofiledas"politicallyengaged"willseeresultsfeaturingrevolutionsandprotestswhentheyGoogleawordlike“Egypt”,whilesomeonedeemeda"hedonisticconsumer"willseesummerholidaysandseasideresorts.
Thesamegeneralprinciplesapplytohownewsisgeneratedintoday’smedia.Newsisnot"featuringspecificeventsandtrendsbasedonanunderlyingconceptofsocialrelevance",buttrackingandreflectingon"whatpeoplearetalkingabout"inordertoalignthenewsreportswiththeinterestsandneedsofthe"targetaudience".
Forthesamereasons,educationislessaboutonconveyingknowledgethathasinherentvalue,andmoreaboutaligningknowledgewiththeneedsofthejobmarketforwhichthestudentisbeingtrained.Scienceisincreasinglymovingawayfromresearchtodiscoverfundamentalinsightsandtowardsresearchtobenefiteconomicreturns.Andartislessinclinedtoundermineestablishedconceptsandincreasinglylikelytoseekalignmentwiththeexistinginterestsoftheintendedtargetdemographic.
Inotherwords,wheretruthasaconstructwasstillessentiallyemancipatoryandliberating,truthasaproductispredominantlyawaytoagreewithourselves.
Alsoknownas:bubbles.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
Truth without a reason why Theabsenceofaliberating,emancipatorycoreis,inmyview,themostimportantcharacteristicthatdistinguishesthetypeoftruthendemicinourtimefromthetypesoftruththatprecededit.Allthosepriortruthsdidseektobeemancipatoryorliberating.
TruthasFaithaimedtofreepeoplefromanunchangingworldplaguedbydiseaseandpovertybyenvisioningatranscendentworldthatofferedtheprospectofredemption.TruthasKnowledgeaimedtoliberatepeoplefromthesubmissivenessandpassivitythataccompaniedthisfaithintranscendencebyenvisioningaknowable,makeableworldwhereprogresswaspossible.AndtruthasaconstructaimedtoliberatepeoplefromthedestructiveforcesofuniversalismandutopianismthathadaccompaniedfaithinTruthwithacapitalTbyenvisioningadeconstructedworldinwhichtheindividualwouldbeincontrol.
Butwhatdoesourtruthaimtoachieve?Our truth seeks neither redemption nor progress nor change, only satiation Whatdoestruthasaproductwantbeyondsatisfyingourneeds–adinfinitum?Youcouldsay:ourtruthhastakenonanewform,butwithoutanewgoal.Theaimisneitherredemptionnorprogressnorchange,onlysatisfaction.
IcouldtrytoexplainexactlywhatImeanbythat,butasketchbythebrilliantUScomedianBillHicks(sadlynolongerwithus)doesitfarbetter.
Inthesketch,Hicksencouragesalltheadvertisersandmarketersintheaudiencetoconsidersuicide.Andhemeansit,too;hekeepssaying:"Really,thereisnojokecoming,killyourself."Thecomedianingeniouslyshowswhatmarketingisbyapplyingittohisownmessage:"DoyouknowwhatBill’sdoing?He’sgoingforthatanti-marketingdollar,that’sagoodmarket!"
"No,"Hicksrepliesangrily,"I’mnotdoingthat,youscumbags!"Towhichthemarketerresponds:"Ah,he’sgoingforthatrighteousindignationdollar!That’sagoodmarket.He’sverysmart."Andsoon.
Thissketchincisivelyshowsthat"truthasaproduct"reallyhasnophilosophicalcore:truthiswhateversells.Itturnspoliticsintoa"pitch",informationintoa"format",artintoa"concept",educationintoa"formula".Nottoconvince,toinform,topromptpeopletothinkorlearn,buttosatisfy.
Herein,Ithink,liestheessenceofourera.Itexplainswhytherearealmostnofundamentalideologicaldifferencesbetweenpoliticalparties,exceptforhowtheycalculatewhatahouseholdwillbeabletospendnextyear.Itexplainswhyschoolsanduniversitieshavebecomediplomafactoriesinsearchofthehighestscoreintherankings.Itexplainswhysolidarityiscrumblingandshort-termprofitreignssupreme.
Anditexplainswhy80%ofpeople(inthewest)aresosatisfiedwiththeirownlives,whileanequallylargepercentagearesoconcernedaboutwheresocietyasawholeisgoing.Ourpersonalneedsaremorethansatisfied,butwehardlyhaveanyideatowhatend.
ThispiecefirstappearedonDeCorrespondent.ItwastranslatedfromtheDutchbyJoyPhillips.
FromtheseriesDisneyficationbyTheoDerksen
About the imagesThephotosinTheoDerksen’sseriesDisneyfication,whichwasover20yearsinthemaking,areratherconfusingatfirstglance.Strangedifferencesinsizesandscalemakeyoublinkonceortwice,onlytodiscoverstrangecollisionsbetweenrealityandthestrangelyoversized,grotesquecommercialimages.Disneyficationconfusesusonwheretherealbeginsandthefakeends.Thislong-termstudyofmetropolises,whichincludesBucharest,Berlin,Egypt,Tokyo,Dubai,Chongqing,Shanghai,Beijing,SingaporeandLasVegas,showcasestheintrusive,overpoweringeffectofthesecommercialimages.(LiseStraatsma,imageeditor)See more work by Theo Derksen