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.
Gallery 19 of the Museum of Modern Art features Pop Art trailblazers of the early 1960s, ranging from Roy Lichtenstein’s “Girl with Ball” to Andy Warhol’s “Gold Marilyn Monroe.” Alongside these emblematic works of art, there hangs a more simplistic piece: a six foot square canvas with three yellow letters, entitled “OOF.” The work of art, created by Ed Ruscha in 1962, is a painting that leaves little room for subjective interpretation as does the majority of his work. Ruscha represented the culture in the 1960s through his contributions to the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, efforts to redefine what it meant for a painting to be fine art, and interpretation of the Space Race.
In eighteenth century Paris the images on signboards served the purpose of stimulating, amusing and informing through an iconography that was complex enough to engage the great masters of the time.
“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
Posters were used during World War II by the U.S. government to get a significant message across to their citizens. To analyze a poster it is important to think about the choice of color, placement of words and images, shapes, and emotional appeal ( Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 91). All of these factor into the message the author is trying to explain to its viewers visually. In the poster “When You Ride Alone,” the message the author was trying to get across to Americans was the importance of carpooling. This poster successfully conveys the message through the words,color scheme and representation of objects.
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
The creation of gigantic posters is one of the most psychological manipulating tactics used in Oceania and Russia with the enhancement and help of technology. In Oceania, one could find “A colored poster…with the face of a man… [Whose] eyes fallowed you about when you moved”. The caption in the poster says that “Big Brother Is Watching You” (Orwell, 5). In placing poster like these all over Oceania, people are constrained and restricted to their actions....
An icon is an image that refers to something outside of its individual elements, something or someone that has great symbolic meaning for society. Icons are often perceived to represent universal concepts, emotions, and meanings. Iconic images are recognizable yet, known not for their origin, time of production or for the people who created them, but for their great symbolic and historical meaning. Iconic images have an important role in American history that has shaped our identity through controversy, cultural awareness and historical events. A single image can trigger memories of a moment in history that the universe will cherish for a lifetime like the “Time Square Kiss” photograph. The Times Square Kiss, was taken with little known information to begin, so today it is even more of a mystery. For this reason, there is a significant amount controversy today over what is really going on in the photograph. Much can be said about The Times Square Kiss that captured a moment in time. The photograph shows a couple, an sailor and a nurse passionately kissing in New York's Times Square. The photograph became an iconic image frozen in American history because it represents the end of war and a new beginning. Every shade and line of the photograph will be analyzed, the time period when the photograph was taken and how society views itself through images will be discussed.
His habit soon became a driving point in his life. During a trip to visit his family that lives in France, he was introduced to the world of street art. That trip that he took in 1999 helped set the stones to the life that Theirry had yet to discover what it would create. In Banksy’s movie, it explains how the simple idea of putting your joy, or something that you love, up on a wall for everyone to see was an amazing thing. His cousin, the man who initially inspired him was making characters from the game Space Invaders out of tiles which he then proceeded to glue onto walls and various other places to draw the eye of the surrounding population. His cousin, known to the public as Space Invader, was a big name in the street art community, not only to help start the spread of street art but to also assist in in...
If one drives south on I-69 enough, they may begin to remember that “Bob loves Brenda” or that some bodies, only referred to as we, “hate people.” These things are written on the bridges, billboards, and road signs of the interstate to advertise the artist’s message to the general public, while drivers are left to think why should they care who loves who and who hates what. Graffiti is a part of the world that people see everyday and whether it is truly artful or a visual impediment is up to the individual.
..., 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.
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.
What animal is black and white and loved all over the world? If you guessed the giant panda, you're right! The giant panda is also known as the panda bear, bamboo bear, or in Chinese as Daxiongmao, the "large bear cat." Actually, its scientific name means "black and white cat-footed animal." Giant pandas are found only in the mountains of central China. They live in dense bamboo and coniferous forests at altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. The mountains are covered in heavy clouds with torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year. Giant pandas are bear-like in shape with striking black and white markings.
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...
Graffiti has a high contribution to sight beautification. Most of the time, we see paintings on the wall, in public bathrooms, we don’t give attention, because it’s annoying to us. Some paintings that are seen in public property are not always stupid. For e...
...f the subject. The symbolism he uses to illustrate his messages, offers a sense of peace and acceptance to those who see death as a painful and mysterious journey.