Here are some "COOL SCHOOL" final pages. Please finish up these assignments so you can start the next assignment.
In class exercise:
The Obey logo is from the artist Shepard Fairey; Fairey is the artist who made a major contribution to the Obama campaign by designing the Hope posters.
Shepard Fairey has a keen understanding of advertising and propaganda. He is strongly influenced by the artwork of Andy Warhol who also worked with the idea of repetition. He understands that to change social structures or society through design, you must create a very simple message and repeat it over and over again. Andy Warhol says "The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away and the better and emptier you feel."
Fairey took Warhol's philosophy and applied it to Politics. Before the 2008 campaign, the concept of an African American president was literally a joke made by Dave Chappelle.
People actually laughed at the idea that the president could be anyone other than a white male of anglo-saxon background. This is because people had been looking at white male anglo saxon presidents since the birth of the country. It had no meaning. It was a given.
During the 2008 election, Barack Obama began looking very intelligent, well spoken and likable. But this wasn't going to be enough to get him elected. The mere concept of an African American president had to become "normalized". This is where Fairey jumps in.
At the time, Shepard Fairey was a midlevel successful graffiti artist. He had shown in galleries and on the streets, had a clothing line and had made a career through making art. But he wanted more than just financial freedom. He wanted to change the world. He grew to like Obama's speeches and applied his artistic concepts to the politcs of the time; thus, the HOPE posters.
Replacing Andre the Giant's face for Barack Obama, and replacing the word "Obey" with "Hope", he helped Obama become the first African American president. But, more importantly, through design he changed the minds of millions of Americans.
Today in class, we are going to continue with our theme of "cool school". We are going to attempt to change our own personal attitudes ... about ourselves.
Before you can change the world around you, before you can develop any type of positive attitude, before you can respect or love anyone else, you have to have a respect and love yourself. While this might sound cheesy at first, I wish to point out that the messages you see around you every day are fighting to make you feel lacking.
The whole point of most advertising is to make you feel like a have not. If you buy the products shown in advertising, all of a sudden all of your problems will be solved, the heavens will open and you will live in a state of walmart bliss. Advertising does this by tapping into your insecurities.
Observe the below image of David Beckham drinking pepsi. Beckham sponsoring Pepsi is a subconscious way of pepsi saying "If you drink Pepsi, you'll be able to play like David Beckham." This is beyond ridiculous. Do you really think David Beckham chugs a 20 ounce bottle of Pepsi before playing for the LA Galaxy? Of course not. He'd probably dehydrate before half time from all the sugar in him. But because Pepsi is everywhere, you don't bat an eye at this advertisement.
"Nevermind what's been selling, it's what you're buying." - Ian MacKaye
Today, we are going to make advertisements for ourselves. Instead of living in a world where you constantly feel like a have not due to the silly images around you, start feeling cool by creating your own campaign. Remember: If Andy Warhol is correct "The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away and the better and emptier you feel." What if you lived in a city where your face was everywhere and the association was you were "cool"?
Today, draw an iconic self portrait or what you think is cool within the cool logo. When you are finished, your job will be to campaign the logo. To campaign the logo is not a requirement. It is an opportunity and a personal experiment. Surround yourself with this simple, positive message. See if it has an impact of your psyche.
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