RESEARCH How is propaganda art used to influence people s thoughts?
PROPOSAL: For my final work, I want to produce a series consisting of five to seven photographs. My topic is Propaganda art and how it influences people s way of thinking. Below I listed the artists who influenced my ideas in terms of how to present my work, what media I chose, what style I want them to be in, and what features I would want to include in my own piece. In my research, I explore different artists art works, their relation and influence to the time period they were made in and the viewer s response on them. Most of them talk about wars, living in piece, cruelty, general norms of life etcetera. A series that I want to produce will also present propaganda art. However, it will be about problems that exist nowadays: body image and how we see ourselves in the modern society. The main theme is the formed ideas of real beauty in our modern world, how people, in particularly woman, are struggling in trying to achieve and fit in, how they do their best trying to change their appearance in order to match these existing standards. In my work, I intend to use photography, digital editors and text. I want my work to be a propaganda protest against these stereotypes about the perfect anorexic body image. The message that I want to bring across is that we should stop this crazy trend about being modelthin. We should be ourselves and love ourselves the way we are.
POST-SOVIET POSTERS Propoganda posters illustrate were among the most popular tools in the Soviet Union. Their purpose was to influence people s views and minds. Each poster was accompanied by text that had a clear and explicit message for the audience. The text carried political message about war, labour and how people are expexted to behave. The specific techniques used were photo manipulation, deformity, and amplification. They would indirectly transmit a message in favor of or against an opinion, a person or a political choice. The Soviet Union posters present Russian avant-garde modern art movement. Artists of this period seemed to reject the past and seek innovative forms of expression in various types of art. These posters are prime examples of art movements like Constructivism, Suprematism and, later, Socialist Realism, which present a
meeting place between art and ideology. What I really like about this works is how powerful they are. The use of bright eye-catching colors and imagery, their style leaves a really powerful impression on the viewer. What I would want to incorporate in my works is the style and formate of this posters
Lorna Simpson Gesture/Reenactments Lorna Simpson s work uses a variety of media, including photography, silk screening, moving image and text, to explore ideas of memory and identity. All of her work demands thought and questioning and narratives are intentionally unclear, allowing room for imagination and subjective thinking. On their own we might get an impression of fashion-shoot images. But the words on accompanying plaques toughen them up. The fact that the man is seen from behind makes him vulnerable. Texts underneath refer to problems with finding a job, fraught relationships with women, racial violence, and family. I really like the format of this particular work. For my final piece, I want to produce a series of the propaganda photographs. Lorna Simpson inspires me by the style of her black and white photographs. I would stylize my works in the same way as she did.
PABLO PICASSO GUERNICA It is one of the most widely known and recognized paintings from the 20th century. Guernica is a mysterious work that always leaves the viewer with more than they brought to it. Guernica is work of propaganda. Even Picasso himself said the painting is propaganda. The painting is in direct response to the bombing of the Basque town that had the same name during the civil war. Considered one of the most famous anti-war works of art, Pablo Picasso's Guernica symbolically shows the emotional nightmare of battle. Guernica depicts the brutal bombing and destruction of the Basque town Guernica during the Spanish revolution. Picasso himself described Guernica as a work of deliberate propaganda, but he did not state precisely what the portrait meant. One of the most analyzed and discussed paintings of the 20th Century, Guernica obviously is an allegorical work. The bull has been assumed to represent Franco or fascism, and the horse to symbolize the Republic or the people. Like most modern propaganda, the intended meaning of Guernica is dependent on the title and context in history. A large proportion of propaganda posters would lack clear meaning without their written slogans. Propaganda images are rarely created to stand independently. What I find the most interesting about this work is the fact that it almost looks like a collage, although it is a painting. I really like the idea of distorted figures and shapes since I believe that it immediately points out on unhealthy and unnatural things such as war, violence, death, sufferings etcetera. In my final work I would also want to use the idea of distorted image or parts of an image/photograph.
BRUNO METRA In his photography Bruno Metra questions what the term beauty is. The works of French photographer Bruno Metra present the concept of beauty, identity and fashion. The idea came from challenging brainwashing idea of beauty as it is expressed in culture and especially in the illusion of beauty as represented in fashion magazines. Beauty which involve Photoshop creations, and the impact that this beauty has on people. in this series they have covered eyes and lips of models from fashion magazines on real humans and the result is a mixture between reality and glamour.