OBEY GIANT
Heidegger describes Phenomenology as “the process of letting things manifest themselves.” Phenomenology attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they are muted by abstract observation. The first aim of Phenomenology is to reawaken a sense of wonder about one's environment. The Giant sticker attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the sticker and their relationship with their surroundings. This is exactly what happened to me when I first saw an Obey Giant sticker. Hence, the theory of Phenomenology was just proven with me as the example. The stickers and posters have no meaning and exist only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker. Because the sticker has no meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and the nature of their sensibilities.
When I first encountered my first Obey Giant sticker poster was when I went to San Francisco with my Mom. Immediately upon arriving in the city, where the artist Shepard Fairy is from, It was on almost every block we passed riding in the taxi you could find a sticker, poster, or stencil of the Obey Giant image. The image is merely a black and white stamp of Andre the Giants’ face with the word OBEY in red and white underneath it. When I first saw it I didn’t really think anything of it, it was only when I would see the image almost everywhere we went around the San Francisco area when I began to wonder what it meant. After reading about it on the Internet and learning that these images can be found across the United States and around the world, I was amazed and intrigued. I immediately became almost obsessed with this idea. I just loved everything about it. It is to this day the most interesting thing I have ever encountered. Many people, like myself have demanded the sticker, merely because they have seen it everywhere and possessing a sticker provides a sense of belonging. I collect them mainly because I love the idea, and part of the experiment is spreading them around and making others aware. There are many other imitations, and other artist who are fascinated with the idea and come up with their own visuals used for the same purpose as Shepard Fairey.
“I still collect toys.Toys are a reflection of society. They are the tools that society uses to teach and enculturate children into the adult world. Toys are not innocent.” (Burden). When you think of toys you probably think about dolls or Hot Wheels. What you probably don’t know is the toys can vary into anything. Toys are usually used to entertain yourself, but what if they represent more than just that. It can be a famous cite, make you question society, or just make you think about how we’re treating each other. Anything can be a toy. You just have to be creative to make it more than a toy. Chris Burden, an amazing artist, famously known for creating artwork that reflect on society, in most of his work he used toys to help him. Burden is famously known for two pieces of artwork, Shoot and Urban
In our world today, everyone has a different way of interpretation. Interpretation ranges from person to person and varies with every artifact that we interpret. A red octagon to some may mean to stop while to others it may have no meaning. A poem or song may have one meaning to one person and a completely different meaning to another person. To help uncover the reasoning behind an artifact a rhetorical analysis can be utilized. When one utilizes a rhetorical analysis, it will result in their interpretation of the artifact.
One of the overarching conflicts in Ayn Rand’s, Anthem, is Collectivism versus the belief in Heresy. Rand is a firm believer in heresy, making her one of history's most notable heretics. In the same way Anthem is bias, so is my ‘Big Idea’ collage. I used propaganda and symbolic images to express the importance and just within heresy. The two silhouettes of a human heads serves the significance of the seemingly everlasting conflict that both groups have. All the images that make up the silhouettes is what the different parties stand for. Equality’s rebellious views and experiments, such as ‘the power of the sky’ and the sacred manuscripts, are enclosed within the traced head on the right side. On the other side, I dissected the authority in
Art is something that can be viewed and interpreted by a million different people in a million unique ways. Symbolism, color, texture, and size can all change the way it is viewed by others. However, certain distinct qualities have to be met for it to be actually considered “art.” The piece, American Icons, by Robin Murray, is a piece of art for many reasons, it has symbolism found throughout it, and many intriguing techniques are used with it.
American realist sculptor George Segal initially started out as an abstract expressionist painter but pursued a different path as he felt it did not allow him to express his ‘deep feelings about people’. In a telephone interview for The Christian Science Monitor, he was quoted as saying “I was overwhelmed by the necessity of reality by the real world”. Segal’s signature white plaster sculptures generally depicted non-idealised human figures in scenes relating to the political or social issues of his time. Many of them address psychological states and human relationships- a stark contrast from artists like Hopper who strived to portray human ‘non-relationships’. His 1962 sculpture The Bus Riders has contextual ties to the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56) and the Freedom Riders of 1961 in which an interracial civil activist group travelled by bus down to Southern America, intentionally defying racial segregation laws. Segal’s sculpture depicts four figures, three seated and one standing. The lone figure standing in the back fixes a disapproving frown on the figures seated before him, who we can assume allude to members of the Freedom Riders movement. The woman seated in front sits with her arms and legs crossed defiantly, head raised high and facing forward with a strong gaze. The male seated next to her sits with his hands folded meekly in his lap, eyes downcast and clearly
Through successful conceptualization and execution of his “action” installations, Joseph Beuys was able to present how he and many others felt about such matters related to psychology, the social structure, and politics. The messages in Beuys’s works may not have been clear to many, but he sought to show that all humans are creative and that art is not meant to be easily understood because there wouldn’t be a need for art if is was. I believe Joseph Beuys can be considered one of the greatest time-based performers of his time.
Jane Golden demonstrates the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Mural Art Program that has changed the appearance of the city in a positive way and that gives people a way to embrace how they feel. While Harriet F. Senie in Reframing Public Art and is stating that most public art is being ignored by people and is slipping away into urban-scape. Public art is often ignored art, we don’t know how those pieces of art are actually successful. Public art such as sculptures
Patrons seek recognition from art through various strategies such as signaling, sign-posting, and stretching. Signaling served to elevate a principle's social status
Art has always been used to portray a message, American art is no different. Throughout the years American art has been created for many different reasons, including parody and satire. One such example is the painting The Surrender by Joseph Griffith. Although it contains jumbled imagery and may convey a mixed message, The Surrender's main message is that American culture is idolized by the youth of today and that American as a whole is waging war on cultures and religions it doesn’t understand.
..., but that should not subtract from the overall perception of a piece. This critical delve into thinking about art is a reason why, “experimental intelligence needs reflective intelligence to manage its powers for a fuller perception of art-and more generally for a better thinking about anything" (Perkins 16). Art is not about what is visually there, but the reaction that comes from it. Without a reaction, the piece of art has no purpose and is therefore meaningless. Exit Through the Gift Shop is a true testament to the power that street art holds. The film demonstrates the thought and learning that street art provokes out of its viewers. From Shepard Fairey’s “Andre the Giant” sticker to Banksy’s outlandish piece, Elephant in the Room, there are many forms of street art that provoke deeper thinking just as fine art does.
Across cultures, continents, and worlds, the majority of things within the scope of our very own humanity can be boiled down to two things: those who are dominant, and those who get dominated. Within these statuses lie stories of power struggles, rebellion, the rising and falling of those with influence, and the interconnection between a being with power and the people under his ruling. Through the visual works catered to this subject, we will discuss themes such as the power of immortalization, divinity amongst humans, what it really means to be a ruler, and many other details making up the ever-present, multifaceted relationship between rulers and their subject. With the assistance of the Blanton Museum of Art, I will be able to showcase
The cover of this magazine can be analyzed using different theories, including the semiotics of symbolic theory, Performance as Political Action idea and postmodern theories within cultural studies. The first theory used to analyze this magazine is the semiotic theory, developed by C.S. Peirce. This theory is used to find the meaning in signs and claims it is all in the meaning of the signs used.
Religious symbols are aspects of all different religions that strengthen faith, promote certain beliefs, and represent the fundamentals of that specific religion. According to Furst’s article on the use of physical religious symbols, “As beings that are both body and spirit, humans use symbols in order to perceive and to grasp realities that are not empirical. As social beings, humans use symbols to communicate with others,” (p 2). But, there are many issues that arise when these symbols are involved and existing in the media, the state, our government, and the public. Mainly this is because symbols are truly powerful and represent controversies that come along with different religions. Furst also states that, “symbols play a powerful role in the transmission of the culture of human society,” (p 2). If religious symbols transmit culture into society, then people in our society are going to pay very close attention to what symbols are present...
Fairey, an American Artist from South Carolina, graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1992. During his young adult years, Fairey “realized his desire and interest in the street art culture and graffiti movement” while he was working in a skate shop as a part-time job. As seen and described in his documentary, Obey Giant, Fairey’s first piece of work, the Andre Posse, was the sticker he used as an example to teach his friend about printmaking. This sticker once simplified and made into what today is known as the Obey logo. Fast forward to the presidential election of 2008, Fairey produces the Hope poster. The poster almost immediately turns into a global icon which is still recognized and even derived from today. This is the second art piece, to be discussed in this essay. Shepard Fairey’s Artwork, and Shepard Fairey’s influence on the world, each with their own various sub-topics such as the global iconography and impact within the means of copyright law. These pieces stress that from the smallest pieces within an artist’s portfolio to the largest can have a major impact on the world around us.
Superb pathos are used in this case. In this poster, Uncle Sam is very effective in displaying emotions in this poster. Uncle Sam attracts great emotions due to the fact that he is pointing at someone and saying “I want you”. When he uses the word you, he is able to establish emotions to any person who sees this post. Additionally, the use the flag is very effective since it ensures that it specifies on the audience being addressed. In this case, the audience is anyone in the United States of America. The poster was effective since it affected individuals. In the poster there is a person who is called Uncle Sam looking like an American flag, and ordering you to join the army. This can be seen through his facial expression and the fact that he is pointing. The colors are also effective since in the United States, they mean pride and