alright,
here is a historical/contemporary parallel for you. -- or maybe it falls under the category of propaganda alert. . . . or perhaps it is a rhetorical trope. . . . i have my opinions, but i more interested in yours.
from an article i read on the american thinker, there is a brief column about the posters used in the obama campaign. not to give you all too much information, as i would like you to read it yourselves, some key things were addressed in the aesthetic of the obama posters and their relationship to past politically tied posters.
one of the most interesting points being that the obama images appropriate the graphic styles of totalitarian soviet propaganda.
now, the reason i mention the above stated, is because if anyone really pays attention to politics--- and when i say really pays attention, that does not mean just believing in something because everyone other artist around does, but really takes an understanding to past political movements (in both our country and others) -- then perhaps there is a meaning behind this visual approach.
... still an advocate?
4 comments:
You have to take into consideration the work of Shepard Fairey. I just read an article calling him a sellout for using the Russian Constructivist style in order to sell products for a well known department store. I think that his may fall more on the artist who created the work than on the Obama campaign message.
regardless of if this is the work of shepard fairey or not,
if it were really brought to the attention of the american public of the similarities and meanings of the obama posters and the soviet posters, would it change anyone's viewpoints? would they look at things any differently?
i mean, look at it this way--- if everyone who owns and/or displays one of these 'oh so famous' obama posters saw that (whether it true or not), was very similar to the ideas of soviet government practice, would they have any second thoughts?
would they research the implications of such a governmental control or let it fall by the wayside?
would they research fairey's political viewpoints, or just think that this artist makes pretty pictures?
is there meaning behind these posters?
what are obama's ideals for the next four years of this country?
i think that the reason that the obama and stalin and lenin used posters within their campaigns and terms of office is because they knew how powerful art and graphic design is. They knew that the medium of the poster was powerful and it was this medium that they used to relay their message. But I truly believe that Obama and Lenin are not the same people and their value system and intentions are vastly different. Perhaps their message is the same, people coming together, working together for a cause and a country that they believed in. But they are not the same people, and the principles that they operate from and the circumstances within the USSR and the United States are very different. This author did not make me question what i already believed because i think that he presented the information to me in a very poor way. it is clear that the author is coming from a position that sways far from the middle, presenting me with his biases, rather than facts.
I think jessica nailed it, its just using a powerful image to get attention. Shepard Fairey's stuff for macy's did the same thing and he got a lot of flack for that. does it say to me that obama and stalin are the same? no. but it does get my attention.
I remember the talk that Hal Wert gave us last semester about posters from world war two. they all used the styles that worked for them and got the attention of the audience. a lot of them were very similar, look at the uncle sam posters there are british posters that are basically the same thing, Flagg just dressed a guy up in an american flag and called him uncle sam.
good article though.
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