The society of the spectacle, configured after The World War II, places individuals into the capitalist system in which the relationship with goods mediated by images produced by the market is based on the fetish and promise of satisfaction through accumulation of objects. Named this way in 1967 by the writer, cultural critic and filmmaker Guy Debord in 1967, it directly influences the relationship between the subject and the contemporary art since the excess of images keeps him away from the works of art creating a gap between the subject and the reality expressed by the artist. This paper defines the society of the spectacle on the basis of Guy Debord’s work and in this context discusses contemporary art with the purpose of showing the need for contemporary man to develop critical awareness. The art works of the Brazilian artist Romero Britto and the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei are analyzed in order to achieve this goal.

Keywords: The society of spectacle, Guy Debord, contemporary art, Romero Britto, Ai Weiwei.