Propaganda and Art
*The goal here is to understand art as a means of communication, marketing and propaganda.
What is Propaganda? And why do we care?
Definitions of Propaganda
In media, “propaganda designers have been putting messages into television commercials, news programs, magazine ads, and other things we read... These messages have been carefully designed to influence our opinions, emotions, attitudes and behavior. Their purpose is to persuade us to believe in something or to do something that we would not normally believe or do. These messages have been designed to benefit someone, and that someone may not be you!
It's not as easy as you might think to spot hidden messages. Propaganda designers know you are on your guard. To get around your guard, they don't put one message into a piece of propaganda - they put lots of messages into each piece! The more you know about propaganda techniques and how they work, the less likely it is that someone will sneak something by you!
…You can appreciate a good piece of propaganda, and agree with the messages hidden within it. But, you don't want to be fooled into doing something you do not wish to do, or conned into believing something that is not true, simply because you've been the target of an effective propaganda campaign. That's why it's important to understand what propaganda is and how it works.
Is everything we see and hear propaganda? No, it is not. The word propaganda refers to any technique that attempts to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of a group in order to benefit the sponsor. But the techniques of propaganda are used every day, in the military, in the media, in advertising, in politics, and in all sorts of human relationships.”
To protect yourself against the techniques of propaganda, three good questions to ask yourself are:
1. Who does this benefit?
2. Why did they do that?
3. According to whom?
Now that you know how to pinpoint propaganda try developing your own (see assignment#6 below).
The following propaganda techniques will help you:
Propaganda and Art
Due: 3/31/09
Find a piece of contemporary propaganda and discuss why it is propaganda, what tactics are used and how effective do you feel it is. Post your image and thoughts on your personal blog. Be prepared to share them with the class.
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Wartime propaganda often delivers the same messages over and over again. According to Hitler, propaganda is directed at the masses and must drive home only a few messages; “…all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”
Powers of Persuasion: WWII
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
Assignment #5: Propaganda Poster Design
The poster art of the propaganda was and is used to persuade the thoughts of those who viewed/view it.
World War II, in particular was a political hot bed full of not only verbal but visual propaganda. The following site tours the exhibit Powers of Persuasion. Look at the posters and read the ideas behind them.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
"Roosevelt presented a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world...Eloquently, he appealed to Americans` most profound beliefs about freedom. (From Powers of Persuasion)"
President Roosevelt- "Four Freedoms"
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon
four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the
world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic
understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants
everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide
reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be
in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor anywhere in the
world. " (Roosevelt's speech can be found in its entirety here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm)
Taking into consideration this speech regarding the "Four Freedoms" create a propaganda poster related to contemporary politics and/or social concerns. Combine text and image to create your poster. Choose a slogan from a portion of Roosevelt's speech and use it in your poster design such as:
•"None of us will be satisfied until the job is done"
•"Peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people's freedom"
•"Today's best is not good enough for tomorrow"
•"Our purpose and our pledge"
•"Putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks"
Approaching this assignment:
Begin with rough ideas and thumbnails. Develop a minimum of three ideas and a proposal of execution.
For group discussion on 4/13/10: Be prepared with thumbnails, explanations and plans of attack. From this discussion you will make a choice out of the three.
Begin with hands-on studio work such as: drawings, collage, various textures.
Come prepared with materials.
Computer Lab: Scan materials into the computer. Save each scan. Apply appropriate program (Illustrator or Photoshop) knowledge to your scans for the proper effects. Create layers in Photoshop. When your image is complete place it in Illustrator to add your slogan. Text is much clearer when printed from a vector-based program.
Goals
Assignment #5: Propaganda Poster Design
The poster art of the propaganda was and is used to persuade the thoughts of those who viewed/view it.
World War II, in particular was a political hot bed full of not only verbal but visual propaganda. The following site tours the exhibit Powers of Persuasion. Look at the posters and read the ideas behind them.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
"Roosevelt presented a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world...Eloquently, he appealed to Americans` most profound beliefs about freedom. (From Powers of Persuasion)"
President Roosevelt- "Four Freedoms"
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon
four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the
world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic
understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants
everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide
reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be
in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor anywhere in the
world. " (Roosevelt's speech can be found in its entirety here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm)
Taking into consideration this speech regarding the "Four Freedoms" create a propaganda poster related to contemporary politics and/or social concerns. Combine text and image to create your poster. Choose a slogan from a portion of Roosevelt's speech and use it in your poster design such as:
•"None of us will be satisfied until the job is done"
•"Peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people's freedom"
•"Today's best is not good enough for tomorrow"
•"Our purpose and our pledge"
•"Putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks"
Approaching this assignment:
Begin with rough ideas and thumbnails. Develop a minimum of three ideas and a proposal of execution.
For group discussion on 4/13/10: Be prepared with thumbnails, explanations and plans of attack. From this discussion you will make a choice out of the three.
Begin with hands-on studio work such as: drawings, collage, various textures.
Come prepared with materials.
Computer Lab: Scan materials into the computer. Save each scan. Apply appropriate program (Illustrator or Photoshop) knowledge to your scans for the proper effects. Create layers in Photoshop. When your image is complete place it in Illustrator to add your slogan. Text is much clearer when printed from a vector-based program.
Goals
• To work through the design processes of research, idea-development, visualization and execution through studio and computer practice
• To communicate an idea in a simple and effective manner
• To use the elements and principles of design to create an interesting design
• To understand propaganda tactics and to apply them to your design
• To use knowledge acquired in Photoshop and Illustrator for completing your design
• To incorporate text with imagery using Photoshop and Illustrator
• To present well-crafted work in a clean and professional manner
• To communicate an idea in a simple and effective manner
• To use the elements and principles of design to create an interesting design
• To understand propaganda tactics and to apply them to your design
• To use knowledge acquired in Photoshop and Illustrator for completing your design
• To incorporate text with imagery using Photoshop and Illustrator
• To present well-crafted work in a clean and professional manner
Guidelines
• Decide what idea you are trying to push using propaganda tactics
• Research and gather information and images that may help you
• Sketch your ideas in your notebook and prepare to present them to your peers on 4/13/10
• Choose your strongest idea
• Polish and complete your propaganda poster design in Photoshop
• Place your image into Illustrator and add your slogan or any other text wanted
• Print one full- color poster at 16" x 20" (Use Staples Copy and Print Center- order online and pick up at a nearby location http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/programs/copyandprint/color_and_bw_copies.html
or neighborhood office supply store with copy and print center)
• The 16" x 20" poster will be hung in class for critique on 4/20/10
•Save your work as an Ai file as well as a PDF. E-mail your PDF to ndul@gershmany.org by 12:00 pm 4/20/10. You will be given two copies: one copy will be mounted in class for critique and the other will be placed in your portfolio.
•Save your work! A CD will be handed in at the end of the semester containing all of your coursework.
• Post your poster to your blog. See the "Blog" topic on directions for posting.
•Assignment must be completed for group critique by 4/20/10.
Dada Movement:
John Heartfield - "a German artist whose politically charged photomontages were banned in his home country during the Nazi regime. Heartfield was born in 1891 as Helmut Herzfeld. He changed his name in part as a way to protest World War I; he even feigned madness to avoid returning to the service. During the Weimar period he became a member of the Berlin DADA group. He used his collage work as a political medium, incorporating images from the political journals of the day. He edited "Der DADA" and organized the First International DADA Fair in Berlin in 1920.
Sharply critical of the Weimar Republic, Heartfield’s work was banned during the Third Reich, then rediscovered in the Democratic Republic in the late 1950s. Since then, his art has influenced generations of artists and graphic designers."
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/2.html
"John Heartfield used his art to protest the violent, greedy governmental control of the Nazi party and Hitler's Third Reich. He took a satirical approach, condemning the anti-semite and the wealthy industrialist who supported the German army. He witnessed a country of hungry, desolate people in the midst of chaos during the second World War, and through his art, protested their suffering."
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/art/5.html
Contemporary Propaganda:
http://www.artofdemocracy.org/
Shepard Fairy
• Research and gather information and images that may help you
• Sketch your ideas in your notebook and prepare to present them to your peers on 4/13/10
• Choose your strongest idea
• Polish and complete your propaganda poster design in Photoshop
• Place your image into Illustrator and add your slogan or any other text wanted
• Print one full- color poster at 16" x 20" (Use Staples Copy and Print Center- order online and pick up at a nearby location http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/programs/copyandprint/color_and_bw_copies.html
or neighborhood office supply store with copy and print center)
• The 16" x 20" poster will be hung in class for critique on 4/20/10
•Save your work as an Ai file as well as a PDF. E-mail your PDF to ndul@gershmany.org by 12:00 pm 4/20/10. You will be given two copies: one copy will be mounted in class for critique and the other will be placed in your portfolio.
•Save your work! A CD will be handed in at the end of the semester containing all of your coursework.
• Post your poster to your blog. See the "Blog" topic on directions for posting.
•Assignment must be completed for group critique by 4/20/10.
Dada Movement:
John Heartfield - "a German artist whose politically charged photomontages were banned in his home country during the Nazi regime. Heartfield was born in 1891 as Helmut Herzfeld. He changed his name in part as a way to protest World War I; he even feigned madness to avoid returning to the service. During the Weimar period he became a member of the Berlin DADA group. He used his collage work as a political medium, incorporating images from the political journals of the day. He edited "Der DADA" and organized the First International DADA Fair in Berlin in 1920.
Sharply critical of the Weimar Republic, Heartfield’s work was banned during the Third Reich, then rediscovered in the Democratic Republic in the late 1950s. Since then, his art has influenced generations of artists and graphic designers."
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/2.html
"John Heartfield used his art to protest the violent, greedy governmental control of the Nazi party and Hitler's Third Reich. He took a satirical approach, condemning the anti-semite and the wealthy industrialist who supported the German army. He witnessed a country of hungry, desolate people in the midst of chaos during the second World War, and through his art, protested their suffering."
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/art/5.html
Contemporary Propaganda:
http://www.artofdemocracy.org/
Shepard Fairy
"Fairey’s work takes old advertisements and old propaganda posters and repurposes them to highlight the manipulation being carried out through visual media... On the “gun” images, the original propagandist is trying to arouse your feelings to want to go off to war and fight for “your country (=some leader).” Fairey turns that line of thinking on its ear.
In the Yellowstone piece, you have your government (National Park) telling us Yellowstone is a wonderful, magical place. In Fairey’s piece, he’s shedding light on the fact our government is telling us things in Iraq are better than they really are. See? Repurposing propaganda to illustrate the absurdity within or without." http://justagwailo.com/2008/02/12/8644
Obey Industries: http://obeygiant.com/industries
Mark Vallen's Art-for-a-Change
Obey Plagiarist Shepard Fairey
A critique by artist Mark Vallen
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm
(article questioning appropriation)
A critique by artist Mark Vallen
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm
(article questioning appropriation)
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