Assignment Two: Final Work
Unofficial Short Statement I’ve decided to create three billboard advertisements. The common theme is glitter, I wanted to explore if simple products can be glorified and have a premium feel and look to it. The first picture is a mock-up representation if my ads were to be displayed in a busy city space. Popcorn: Painted popcorn silver and gold. Also created an old-school typical popcorn ad, using red and white as the main colours people usually associate popcorn with in the cinemas. Toothpaste: Gold, the new white. I brushed my teeth with gold glitter paint, that’s actually my mouth modeled in the ad. Finger Paint: Idea was to add style to finger paints. Couldn’t think of a company name, so I just re-lettered Crayon to Kray-on to avoid copyright lol.
Official Statement Simplicity to Premium Appeal
What is desire? And what does it mean to me and my pieces? Throughout my material investigations and getting inspired by different artists, I looked into the world of simplicity vs premium. One part of me wanted to procrastinate and hopefully an idea pops into my head without experimenting, which usually happens. Therefor I have a stubborn attitude towards what I want to create vs how to create the idea. Artist Meschac Gaba showed me the idea of how a simple product of refined sugar can be skilfully and beautifully sculpt a city. “With Sweetness, Gaba has created a proverbial ‘global village’ out of refined sugar–a simple substance we largely take for granted.” (Gaba, 2009). Society constantly and unconsciously use man made refined products for granted, not knowing that these products are usually a want in life not a need. Man has taken these simple items to further progress in life, to create wealth, harmony and to make life that little bit easier. In the 21st century, people design and create desires from these little materials and present them to society in a way that people give in to persuasion based on numerous life factors (e.g. Upbringing, friends, family, interests, sex, sexuality and many more). Understanding semiotics, humans have attached meaning towards lifeless items and to label the world of what we know today. Why is gold precious? When gold was found, it was not seen as an expensive item to trade but a new material to examine. It’s only when gold was getting familiarised that man decided to apply meaning and worth to it. After successfully locating more simple art pieces made and / coated from exotic materials, unfortunately I could not locate the artist but only to drown in re-blogs without poster crediting the original artist. This further inspired me to experiment with simple materials and somehow create something exotic. To show different levels of desire, how corporate scums puts an emphasis on what is a need in everyday life. This links to my first assignment, to display an alert through a poster to raise what companies are pushing on us. To brainwash through technology and popular brands. The debate of ‘Is print advertising an art’? What is the purpose? Interpretation? Meaning? And expressions? In my defence, print advertising can be an art piece. Given the tools of creating colour, shapes, give life to a blank canvas and to present multiple meanings on how the viewer sees it. Forget about if the visual is trying to sell something, to look beyond the persuasive marketing techniques and to admire the creation of the colours and shapes fits together as a whole piece. My three works consists of one simple man made product: glitter. My idea was to make simple products / actions become luxurious, expensive and desirable. The three are: Popcorn, toothpaste and criminal activities. The colour of the glitter is gold, this ties down to what society perceives as precious and valuable. To desire what is not the desired norm. As the three pieces all present and exhibit different meanings to different viewers, the unity of premium and quality speaks out. Popcorn: To make a basic food item…. a premium product? How can something so basic become luxury? Answer: To paint the popcorn in precious metal colours. Relating back to semiotics, gold and silver is seen as expensive, stylish and premium. To further more make it premium, add an above average price tag and advertise it. Worked for Apple. Tooth Paste: Another basic necessity, using gold glitter paste as the applicator the toothpaste item has now become an exceptional, high class item to purchase. Using my own mouth as the model, I have emphasised only my mouth, to express the significance of the effects the toothpaste. Happy smile, happy mouth. Finger Paints: To mix criminal activity with style. Sends out a simple message to parents, children usually get caught painting on other surfaces than their own piece of paper, if they get caught at least they’re getting caught in style. This in relation to glitter, to highlight premium other than normal paint. Works Cited Bryan, L 2015, Would Buy These Crazily Priced Regular Items?, accessed 10 September 2015, <http://www.viralands.com/expensive-everyday-items/1?utm_source=SkyLikes&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=sky&SkyLikes=4066&c_s=AU> Creative Bloq, 2014, Pop Art: 8 artists every designer should know, accessed 9 September 2015, <http://www.creativebloq.com/art/pop-art-8133921> Gaines, K 2012, Selling Art: Creative and Artistic Advertisements, accessed 10 September 2015, <http://www.noupe.com/design/selling-art-creative-and-artistic-advertisements.html> UCCA, 2009, Meschac Gaba: Sweetness, accessed 9 September 2015, <http://ucca.org.cn/en/exhibition/meschac-gaba-sweetness/>














