2D Art

Vintage Propaganda / Meme Poster

"We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth." - John F. Kennedy

"Human beings are born solitary, but everywhere they are in chains - daisy chains - of interactivity. Social actions are makeshift forms, often courageous, sometimes ridiculous, always strange. And in a way, every social action is a negotiation; a compromise between 'his,' 'her' or 'their' wish and yours." - Andy Warhol

Theory

Andy Warhol made artworks about Campbell's soup cans, Brillo boxes and Marilyn Monroe. Roy Liechtenstein made paintings that resemble the panels of a comic book. Such imagery originates in popular culture and is a defining feature of "Pop Art".

Some contemporary artists still rely on subjects derived from popular culture, but the artworks that they create are often imbued with an extra layer of associations (meaning) that was mostly absent in Pop Art of the 1960's. Artists like Andy and Roy would rarely concern themselves with "issues" because the watch words of Pop Art were "fame", "glamour" and "materialism": inherently superficial concerns by any definition.

In our Post Modern world of pastiche and appropriation, many artists look to the distant past to find meaning-filled images from popular culture. So-called "retro" images can be used to give authority and gravitas to even the most banal of subjects. For instance, vintage propaganda posters are loaded with explicit messages - join the army, protect capitalism, fight capitalism, long live the proletariat - that originate within the historic contexts of WWI, WWII, Maoism and Marxism.

Recent Examples 1

Many of the images from those eras contain plenty of ideological weight because of history and world events. When an artist grafts a current issue on to vintage imagery, a hybrid idea arises which can bestow any mundane subject, red M&M's for example, with a new and surprising significance. I would argue that the most successful recontextualized propaganda images are those that are difficult to recognize as recent creations (so convincing are the graphics, that one might easily mistake them for authentic posters from WWI and WWII).

Recent Examples 2

Today, the Interment has given most of us instant access to millions of images that are so current that we now use the term "trending" to describe them. Some of these images become memes which go on to express a common sentiment in society. Several years ago, a police officer pepper sprayed a group of passive protesters at U.C. Davis (click here for the story).

Memes

Subsequently, thousands of individuals expressed their disapproval by appropriating and manipulating the iconic image of "casually pepper-spray everything cop" and then uploaded their reworked images to blogs and web sites around the world (e.g., http://www.knowyourmeme.com). The results were very powerful and personal statements, filled with layers of nuance, pathos and humour.

Project Description

PROCEDURE: You have two options for this assignment. Please choose one.

1. Create a poster using a meme that's no older than six months; one that seems to have broad appeal (i.e., if your parents don't understand it, then it's probably too obscure to use for this project). Your work must incorporate a famous work of art, as was done by combining "casually pepper-spray everything cop" with DaVinci's "Last Supper", Serault's "La Grande Jette", Michaelangelo's "Birth of Adam", Picasso's "Guernica" (and others).

or...

2. Use the "Links to Vintage Propaganda Posters" below (or a web site that you've located on your own) to find a historic image for your project. Choose something that appeals to you on several levels: visually, intellectually, emotionally. Download the largest version of that image that is available. Use Photoshop or Illustrator to alter the image. Change some part of the image and text to make it current and topical.

Print your poster in the computer lab on large sized, high quality photo paper (Anthony Reimer will help you with this part). I'll book the Computer Lab for you to use and will provide tutorials to get you started. If you need additional assistance - help with the software, printing or any other aspect of this assignment - let me know as soon as possible so that I can organize additional tutorials for the group (your needs are probably the same as those of your classmates).

Examples of Student Work

Links to Vintage Propaganda Posters

Links to Some More Appropriated Posters

TECHNICAL: Your poster must be clean (free of artifacts), sharp and convincing. In other words, make it look professional.