Christmas Advert Task

Christmas Advert Task

During this lecture we were given the task of watching several video clips of Christmas advertisements and answer various questions to do with clips. As we watched the videos we would note down bullet points of what we observed from each clip.

The Questions:

1. What messages are being communicated in each example?

2.  What techniques are used to communicate these messages/how do we read them as having a specific meaning?
3.  What is the relationship between the communicated meaning and the product that the advert is trying to sell?
4. Which advert do you think are the most effective and why?

Clip one: Tesco:

-       Orientated around the idea of 'togetherness'.

-       The sharing idea of Christmas.

-       Focuses on family.

 

Clip two: Asda

-       Focus on 'Mums'.

-       Emphasizing the cheapness of the cost.

-       “Christmas doesn’t just happen by magic, behind Christmas there’s mums, behind mums there’s Asda”.

-       Focuses on family and the stress of Christmas, and how Asda is there to aid us in this pressured but joyful time.

Clip 3: Mark's and Spencer's

-       Element of magic.

-       New clothes and new fashion lines being promoted.

-       Aimed at the middle class audience.

-       Very materialistic.

Clip 4: Lidl

-       Family orientated.

-       'Togetherness' acting as a main theme.

-       Using positive connotations of other stores to promote their own food.

Clip 5: Sainsbury's

-       World War One themed.

-       One of the most famous stories of WWI used to promote their store.

-       'Togetherness', again, plays a big part here.

-       ‘Christmas is for sharing’

-       It's motive is to focus in on the emotions of people.

Which do you believe is the most effective advert?

Each one of the adverts we have looked at typically show evidence of making the viewer's Christmas easier and more practical, most focusing on the family aspect of this. They each are trying to cover the viewers eyes with a veil reflecting how the store has its best interests in the British families. Personally, I think the advert Sainsbury's concocted was the most effective. They used a story of which everyone in Britain is very familiar with, the Christmas Day football game during WWI. It reflects the idea of Christmas bringing everyone together and is conveniently supported by the Poppy campaign, helping the audience to tap into their emotions just a little bit more with the approval sticker of the campaign. I think this advertisement was by far the most memorable advertisement we looked at, thus the most effective in what it was trying to achieve.

Bauhaus Film Task

Ausstellung Weimar

 

Bauhaus Film Task 

 In our lecture we were presented with a short film covering Bauhaus and its endeavors. We were then given various questions to answer based on the film.

 Which key ideas constituted the Bauhaus philosophy?

The Bauhaus' place in history is owed to its successful efforts of preventing art from losing its stature in society. The method of doing this, in a rounded up description, was through reuniting creativity with the manufacturing world. They gained major inspiration from Modernism and the fluctuating society; enabling them to stay steadily along the path of the social trends of the time. The artistic giants used the concept of universal visual language in order to allow it to be accessible to nearly everyone (in this time period many people were illiterate), teaching the principles of Modernism to be able to be applied to all forms of art and design to collaborate and create. Bauhaus' relentless ideology of experimentation drove them to constantly be getting a name for creating interesting and innovative work. Often using geometric shapes and primary colours in their work on mixed media they attempted to show the link between their world and the new more structured technological world. 

Collaborating with Wim Crouwel they were able to teach students about the theories of the grid structure, building the ideology of work having a foundation of structure and a minimalistic style, rather than the traditional free and flowing artwork of the time. Bauahus developed on top of Modernism  with other influences from such movements as cubism, constructivism, etc. They often declared how their works was based more so on the principles of engineering than of art.

 In what ways were these ideas innovative or new?

Rather than sticking to the traditional forms of art and design, Bauhaus decided to experiment with new materials and mixed media, taking heavy inspiration from Modernism, which was strongly linked with the new industrial focused society. Modernistic artists such as Kandinsky were creating inspiring original pieces of work of which screamed tones of the old ideologies being rejected and the new ideologies of what the artist felt directly coming in. The overseers at the Bauhaus would encourage would strongly encourage the use of experimentation and ever fluctuating methods. For example, in the instance of photography, the subject would then not be looked at just as a mere photograph but as a means of visual communication, later developing into the process of 'photomontage'. The 'Metallic Festival' was created and its intentions were of a modern aesthetic, of which is successfully accomplished; influencing many artists into creating work strongly connected to the industrial focused society.

How was art education revolutionized under Bauhaus principles?

In the midst of 1919, Bauhaus remained the only school of art in the entirety of Germany. For the whole of the first six months of the course it offered, students would be taught abstract theories and a multiple of techniques and styles. For example, students would be allocated the task of collecting metal debris and discovering what elements and materials were used to create them, then experiment with these new materials. It was only when Bauhaus was created when the new 'Modernist' student was created, before this the conformist art student typically would be traditional, focusing on landscapes, portraits, actual physical things. 

Do any of the principles resonate with you and your studio practice? If so, which ones and why?

In my humble opinion, I believe elements of the Bauhaus theology and ideology is present in the structure of our work to this very day. For example, in a lot of areas of our studio practise we are advised to use grid structures in the layout of our work which allows the work to be more clear, sophisticated, and professional. The software 'InDesign' allows this structured layout method to be used, reflecting Bauhaus' principles.

Dada

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The Revolt of Art: Marc Dachy

Dada

In the mist of 1916, the movement Dada revealed itself. It was provoked by the first world war, a counter-reaction against everything it stood for, and everything it caused: unimaginable fatalities, narcissistic chaos, propagandizing advertisement, etc. One of its many influences was held by the pre-war Avant-garde movement; displaying strong elements of experimentation and subjectively innovative nature, throwing in to the mix degrees of political culture. Pushing the boundaries of cultural conformity, many viewed and labelled the movement as 'Detached from Reality'. An extraordinary value that Dada holds is how the viewer is never expected to interpret a piece in the same reception as the next viewer, which is common in many art movements but is especially prominent in the Dada revolution.

[...] First Epoch of the Weimar Beer-Belly Culture, 1919, Hannah Hoch

One of the techniques present in Dada, 'photomontage', was used to convey the breakdown and destruction of societies. The artist Hannah Hoch used this technique frequently in her works, tending  to create surreal and abstract collages; often mirroring an image to the viewer of which is harrowing and true to the context. Personally, I find it amazing how this artist was able to create such prolific and ambitious collages with the lack of technology and mediums around at the time, and I think it Hoch's work is collectively without any dubious subjective opinions an outstanding period for Dada. 

Propaganda Advertising

Propaganda Advertising

"Nostalgia sells more than sex [...]"

In the associated group lecture, me and the corresponding students were given the task to browse through various articles consisting of a very wide range of topics. Following this, we were allocated to answer various questions concerning the single article we picked out of the choices. I wanted to be in a position were I was very much out of my comfort zone and knowledge area in order to answer the questions with fresh eyes and opinions, thus, I chose the article 'Dazed and Confused', a women's fashion review of the Spring 2015 edition.

 

Question number one; 'How does the example play on the viewers emotions to achieve its effect?'

Dazed and Confused, 2015

The article's motive is to target the parental members of the magazines viewership. Its intentions are to shock the intended viewers and to cause negative emotions to arise; in sorrow and distress. The shock factor is channeled through the clothing presented, subconsciously and even consciously making the viewer connect what is presented to their children. The model poses in vulnerable positions; sporting a white laced dress shouting innocence out of the page. The mix of emotions we as the viewer are intended to feel; sympathy, maternal, horror, are all executed brilliantly. The article successfully informed the audience through limited resources, offering merely images with little text. The article promotes the idea of clothing being a screen enabling someone to portray their personality and culture through.  Thinking about this idea, what could the clothing presented here be saying about our culture? Many possibilities, the strongest of them all, however, is we have a very confused relationship with the idea of child and maturity, and it is getting mixed together far too often, not in a tasteful way.

Question number two; 'How does the example depict women/men? How is the gender used in this example to sell a product?'

The example depicts women in a very vulnerable situation accompanied by the poses the model has been instructed to adopt. The essence of innocence is the selling factor here and so the model has been used to connect with the audience's self of which subconsciously longs to be 'pure' again.

I Am For The Design…

I Am For The Design…

I am for the Design of the artist; tortured with the gift of perception

I am for the Design of the mundane observer, living inside the mind

I am for the Design of the seeker; chasing the roots

I am for the Design of Nationality, holding us as a collective

I am for the Design of controversy, making the chaos our alternative

I am for the Design of everything; abnormal and necessary

I am for the Design of meaning, both micro and macrocosmic

I am for the Design of interchanging minds; creating the unthinkable

I am for the Design of time; hastening us to a finish

I am for the Design of the philosopher who is content 

I am for the Design of the reactions that cross our internal waves

I am for the Design of the succession; perspiring positive emotion

I am for the Design of change, movements to motives

I am for the Design of the proclaimer, unburdening their mind

I am for the Design of the calm subtlety; noticeably professional

I am for the Design of the opportunity; surrendering conformity

I am for the Design of the trace of our meaning

I am for the Design of the healing

I am for the Design of the distractions, resulting in inspiration

I am for the Design of the keen spectator, noticing the unnoticed

I am for the Design of the medium, complex and fluctuating

I am for the Design of the counsellor, the shepherd, and the warden of our minds

I am for the Design of determination, allowing one to succeed beyond expectations

I am for the Design of the documented, revealing our history in imagery

I am for the Design of the arbitrary, leaving themselves open

I am for the Design of the damned; digging themselves out

I am for the Design of me, and the Design of you

I am for the Design of loving; the centre of our actions

This piece of work, titled 'I Am For The Design', was inspired by Clause Oldenburg's 'Manifesto', titled 'I Am For An Art'. Observing this work I focused in on certain aspects, category's of which Oldenburg wanted to emphasize upon. I decided to follow the philosophical roots to his work and build upon them, showing in nearly every paragraph of my work. The manifesto was great help to me and allowed me to focus in on material of which apply to Design rather than Art; allowing me to have more insight to Design itself.