Shepard Fairey's Obey Campaign Analysis

Graffiti has been used many times in history to preserve and show political and religious ideas of the past. Street artists are preserving the history that is deemed “illegal” at this time. Graffiti itself is history, and it tells stories as well as preserving cities and adding a creative aspect to everyday life. The “...first forms of scripture and storytelling … were through drawings on walls. Stories passed through generations… were preserved on rocks or walls.” (Lloyd, Alexis). Now street artists are simply doing the same, whether it’s murals, tags, or people just messing around; They are preserving the unique cultures that we have today, or trying to make a name for themselves through art, or portray a political message. 85% of graffiti is just tags. (Akbar, Airfa). People's names or words made to look interesting. People trying to preserve their name through art. And this is considered a crime. Splashing your political views on a building through a mural to some people is offensive and the fact that this is illegal is a violation of the 1st amendment. Making graffiti or street art illegal is limiting an expression of people's ideas and religion.

Graffiti has been around for more than half a decade and practiced worldwide. However there is debate between whether it is a form of art or vandalism. Graffiti artists’ debate that many do not understand the reason most graffiti artist take the risk of incarceration, fines, injuries, and in some cases death to paint a wall. A graffiti artist can have the simple desire to become recognized, or to create a piece that speaks to their audience as a form of self expression. Because graffiti is associated with gangs and acts of destruction to some many cannot see the history and importance graffiti can have on a worldwide scale. Due to the fact that graffiti is usually produced illegally, meaning it is

The value of any message or work of art, whether it is hanging on the wall of a gallery or a subway, lies on the intensity of the artist’s or vandal’s beliefs. Graffiti is an uncertain issue in respect to its virtue. While the voice of the individual must never be lost in a society of shouts growing larger and louder every second; graffiti is such a public medium that its integrity must be of great concern. Graffiti is a vast wasteland of indefinite opinions. Foremost graffiti is illegal and a form of vandalism, it invades peoples privacy and destroys their property. However, graffiti can be a means by which one may permanently express one’s self. It has the potential to convey a powerful, relevant

If you walk through almost any city, the buildings, bridges, and any other available spaces are seemingly filled with colors, picture, and words that are not part of the original architecture. This graffiti, which is a mix of tags, stencils, pieces, and freestyle, seems to have almost taken over cities across the world. Some of this graffiti, such as tags, are eyesores, but some pieces, such as the High Line “Love Is the Answer” and “Kiss” murals in New York City, are sites that have become iconic pieces of artwork. Unfortunately, pieces like these are also starting to be covered to a seemingly astronomical rate, which is causing outrage among those who visited to them.

For instance, the anti-draft poster containing the text “Fuck the Draft” was designed in 1968 by Kiyoshi Kuromiya, a devoted activist whose causes included civil rights, gay rights, HIV and AIDS awareness, and Vietnam War protests (**). As a college studen, Kuromiya belonged to the same demographic group as his target audience, and he held the same manner of anti-war sentiment as they did. The “Fuck the Draft” graphic protest appeared on a mail-order flyer that advertised it as “a little something for Mother’s Day,” with the option to send an additional copy to the wives of prominent political figures (**). In Kuromiya’s poster, black and white only color choice lends the poster very significant contrast, while it also creates a discordant, uncompromising appearance that matches the poster’s almost tenacious, and definitely combative tone. Its minimalist nature allows it to rely purely on the provocative style of its content to convey its crucial

In “Graffiti as Career and Ideology”, Lachmann states that organizations “tried to win their members recognition as serious artists by encouraging writers to produce graffiti-style works on canvas and various other media with a view toward their sale to art collectors” (246). Rather than stopping graffiti writers, they are being encouraged to keep producing graffiti-style works to sell. While they aren’t vandalizing anymore and they are producing art on canvas, it is unexpected to further support these “criminals” like the organizations are doing. Some graffiti is even so respected and praised that it is protected. The perfect example of this is that “The stencil work and street art of British artist Banksy, possibly the most well-known contemporary graffiti writer/street artist, has gained such value as a commodity that the work on some of his walls is now protected under the aegis of urban heritage” (McAuliffe and Iveson 139). How can graffiti and its writers be so frowned upon but so many people still praise

Propaganda is defined by Merriam-Webster as “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause” and throughout the 20th and 21st Century in the United States, artwork on posters, has been used to promote or protest a political or social idea. This exploration will focus on posters created by American artists, analyzing the design of the artwork to establish the historical context and messages surrounding the piece. World War One. April 6th, 1917, President Wilson (Trotter & Fegley) declared the United States would join in the war against Germany by announcing the beginning of the U.S involvement in the First World War with the target set on Germany. April 13th, 1917, President Wilson formed

what does the history of mural making in public spaces tell us?where can we trace

characteristic and chose to profit from it. Many artists feel that negative publicity is still

From the early humans who painted on cave walls to the angst-ridden teenager getting their kicks from spray painting profanities on the side of a small business, human beings seem to have an intrinsic desire to paint images on the walls that surround them. This has led to many individuals painting on walls without permission. Although the walls cannot speak, city officials and the owners of businesses can and when they do, “Graffiti” is usually one of the words used to describe the images produced. However, although often overlooked, a line does exist between graffiti and street art. Christine Graff writes “Graffiti is defined as ‘writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public

Art is used in mass media to influence people, especially people in the generation and culture we live in today. The majority of art young people receive in our culture is through television and in particularly popular culture networks, like MTV. The television show on MTV called The Hills is an example of a show that promotes dominant ideology to young children/ teenagers. Slightly opposite of that would be another show on MTV called Jersey Shore, which is an example of a show that partly reinforces and partly challenges dominant ideology to the same type of audience. The two shows are looking at people who are in their 20s and there life as they live it in their current situation, they both claim to be reality television with no scripts.

This negative shadow on the art form of graffiti has caused the decline of the graffiti movement. As many have predicted, “graffiti may eventually disappear” (“The Writing's on the Wall; Graffiti”). Graffiti has already begun to dwindle from what was once a flourishing art movement, to an almost disesteemed hobby. However, a soiled reputation is not the only culprit in the murder of authentic graffiti. The occupation of the current generation with technology and social media has caused many artists to focus solely on selling their work and gaining attention through social networking platforms. Another, perhaps more common, reason for the decline is the improvement of police work and punishments for those indulging in the illegal form of graffiti (“The Writing's on the Wall; Graffiti”). Because of this decline in authentic and prohibited graffiti, artists have channeled their work into new forms and established their own artistic community.

I plan to answer the following essential question: how can art be used to depict political views? I also hope to address these other questions that follow the essential one: Do “political art” and “propaganda art” mean the same thing? How can I make meaningful art from political perspectives that are not my own? Why do certain political symbols and images spread (the pink “pussy hats”,

Graffiti has put a major impact on the way people look at their everyday life. It was not used so much here in the United States but was used overseas. Overseas, graffiti, or street art, was used or played as a sport, just like baseball is Americas sport. There are different laws that are put over there than what there are here. They can get away with some of the things that they paint or make over there. If we tried some of that type of work over here, we would get in trouble and possibly serve time for vandalizing someone else’s property. There are many biased outlooks on graffiti, but it should be considered art in all places because of all the time, effort, and design the artist put into their work.

While America may be known as the land of the free and the home of the brave the country also has a history of mistreating individuals. There is little discrepancy that the United States has overcome great struggles, however, some conflicts still remain today. Primarily, one issue that continues in this era is treating someone differently due to a difference in race, religion, ethnicity, or other traits that makes people unique. In response to these current issues developing in the United States Shepard Fairey created the ‘We the People’ series in order to show that no matter an individual’s gender, heritage, or upbringing everyone is an American. Fairey demonstrates this message in two ways. The first is by his use of color, in the ‘We the People’ series Fairey only uses the colors of the American flag which are red, white, and blue. The use of this color arrangement supports a sense of harmony and demonstrates that the United State is made up of various cultures. The second way the artwork exhibits this idea of unity is by using illustrations of not just all women, but also a Muslim, African American, and Latina. These features are important because these heritages are often looked at as minority’s that need to leave this country or people who are often dehumanized. In essence, the different artist choices put together create a coherent theme that it doesn’t matter where people come from, those who live in the United States should automatically be considered a full