kelseec

[kelseec]

Stop Poaching!

For my final project, my social statement I wanted to convey was the act of poaching animals and how devastating it can be for their little ones and generations after to grow. I am going to analyze this stencil using the various perspectives: personal, historical, ethical, technical, and critical.

Through my personal perspective, I am a HUGE animal lover so I wanted to do something that represented sorrow and strength in one image. On the internet I searched for the top poached animals around the world and chose the animals I thought covered different geographical regions as well as the ones I find really intriguing. Growing up, I thought it would have been so cool to own a baby tiger or go to Africa and visit the elephants homeland or even be able to swim with the sea turtles. I get furious when people poach animals for “fun” or wealth. I do not think humans realize that they are killing off generations and they will eventually become extinct because their will be no one to mate with -- these 3 animals are on the endangered list. I have seen multiple videos where hunters are kidnapping the mothers away from their young for their selfish needs and the young chases after the car or circles her dead corpse. It is devastating to think about from the animals perspective because they are defenseless to humans. I imagine that if it was a human instead of an animal than people would be FURIOUS if someone killed of their young for wealth or fun. I believe animals & plant life should be taken care of more because without them…. humans wouldn’t survive very long.

Looking through the historical perspective, poaching has been around for hundreds of years and it has ALWAYS been ILLEGAL. According to World Wildlife Fund, elephants are hunted for their ivory in their tusks and tigers for their skin in bones used in Chinese medicine. They also mentioned how sea turtles get caught in fishing nets, threatened by overharvesting their eggs, and losing nesting sites. Currently, there are roughly 3,890 tigers left in the world, elephants are weighing in at 415,000 in the wild, and the amount for sea turtles is unknown but are critically endangered. I feel as though poaching hunters look at the wealth of the animals body parts; however, they are so much more than that. Elephants are known to represent strength, wisdom, and a strong family unit through love/compassion. The tiger tends to symbolize power/strength, aggressiveness, and bravery. Lastly, the turtle represents the idea of insightfulness and understanding your emotions on a deeper level. The turtle is suppose to teach determination and strength of overcoming obstacles and slowing down to “stop & smell the roses”. After looking at what these 3 animals symbolize, I have no clue why anyone would want to poach them when humans are extremely similar in characteristics and values.  

The Visual Communication textbook has a couple points that explain my ethical perspective: Golden Rule and Veil of Ignorance. The Golden Rule states, “... teaches people to love your neighbor as yourself” (Lester, pg. 138). This philosophy says that an individual should be as sane as possible and never to harm others by insensitive actions. I see the whole animal ecosystem being our neighbors since humans are not the only species that roam this earth AND animals/plant life’s presence has been here longer than humans, so technically we took over their terrority. Since humans “took over”, we should at least respect not to cause them harm or illness with malicious intent. The Veil of Ignorance mentions how all people are considered equal. The phrase, “walk a mile in my shoes”, is what comes to mind when I think of how the animals feel when watching their loved ones get killed for money or status. Just imagining how bad the animals heart hurts makes mine hurt twice as bad because I know they cannot communicate like we can, which makes animals innocent to abuse like that. Therefore, I think we should respect animal wildlife and domestic animals as if they were our own children, but still have that sense of dominance.

The technical perspective is the main focus within this piece because it shows line of symmetry using Gestalt theory, visual cues and various semiotic codes & signs. The line of symmetry makes you focus on the middle of the stencil and move outward towards the wording. The typography I chose was the typical Helvetica in all caps because I wanted to make a strong statement. The words “We Have Children Too” is suppose to represent how similar animals and humans really are. I use the word ‘children’ as opposed to anything else so that it grasps the viewers eyes and shifts their emotions. Then I incorporated “Stop Poaching!” below the animals to show the viewers what the whole image is trying to convey without going into too much detail because the word ‘poaching’ says it all in my opinion. The way I used color in my stencil is minimal. Grey for the animals, black for the writing, and blue for the tears coming down their faces. The tear symbolizes the heartache of either the parent or child getting poached. With this piece, I wanted to make an eye opener statement and potentially shift people’s views about poaching -- those specifically that are endangered.

One sentence that describes the critical perspective is the idea that all living things were made to reproduce, so animals should not be hunted or killed because they cannot speak or fight off a gun like humans can. Individuals fail to realize how similar we are to these exotic animals. We all have to fight to survive and care for our young; therefore, I think hunters should take into consideration on how old the animal is, the dominance, and how many of that species still reside in that region. Once the alpha male/female is out of the herd, then the rest of family suffers to survive -- this happens with humans as well. Personally, I believe people should be more considerate of our ecosystem and be more involved in helping the elephants, tigers, sea turtles, and every other endangered species so we do not see our favorite animals go extinct forever.

REFERENCES

https://whatismyspiritanimal.com

https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade

[kelseec]

Blog 3 assignment

Typography is seen EVERYWHERE whether it is in advertising, media, or even school settings. The use of typography influences the message the creator is trying to convey. My three images all have a different font and represent either a good font to message ratio or an unbalanced/confusing font choice to represent a brand. I’m going to analyze the personal, historical, technical, ethical, and cultural perspectives.

First, I am going to discuss the 21 campaign image through these various perspectives. Through a personal perspective, this is relatable to all genders in any city who are aged below 21. With drunk driving being a huge epidemic in the US, I believe the creators of this image wanted to send a serious, straight forward message using sans serif Helvetica font. Also sans serif is widely used, so this font choice does not catch the audience off guard. Within the technical perspective, the typeface attribute of color stands out with white lettering and blood red background. In a cultural perspective this font is very bold with the enormous 21; the 1 being in the shape of a beer bottle. It’s very artistic because this image resembles pop art.  It really draws in the younger audience because they will notice a beer bottle which may bring back personal memories from times before turning the big 21. However, I don’t think it is effective at telling its purpose with the important message being small in font and narrowing its audience only towards Texas state. Personally, seeing this I would be like “Oh this image is a huge number 21 with the 1 being in the shape of a beer bottle… cool” and I would fail to realize the bigger picture. Historically, I would say this campaign was made in the 20th century. I get a Bauhaus movement style because of the sans serif and it has upper and lower case font. Lastly, analyzing through an ethical perspective, the 21 campaign to stop underage drinking challenges individuals morals and what they view as good or bad. Since this topic is a serious issue, the image is not going to have crazy font but can still stand out at the same time.

Next image I am going to analyze is the Harley Davidson bike club choice of font. From a personal and technical perspective, this type of font does not suit what it is representing. The curly corners and thin lettering remind me of the typeface style Roman. It makes me laugh because in a cultural stance the font comes off girly (middle school age) but is being matched to “BIG Al’s Harley Davidson Riding Club”. This type of bike club is perceived as tall, well built, rough looking group of men who get into mischievous situations, potentially involving a crime while riding on their thousand dollar Harley -- nothing glamorous about that. Therefore, it is a very strange font choice for this club personna. In a historical perspective, font choices chosen by Harley riders have been rugged, bold, some serif, some cursive font, but never a font where it conveys a girly tone. I believe this font represents the Art Deco movement. The font is stylized, modern, and can be aesthetically pleasing to some viewers. But I still could not imagine having this font be on a logo or inside their fortress. They would probably be made fun of and be called a wus or sissy for the choice of font to symbolize them, especially during the 1920’s. From an ethical standpoint,  it depends on the morals of the individuals and what they deem right from wrong. I believe a font choice like this represents how you are as a person;  very approachable. If someone uses this font to represent Harley Davidson bike riders, they would have to be prepared for some backlash from rival groups.

The last picture I am analyzing is the Nike brand graphic art of their slogan “Just Do It”. From a personal perspective, I had no clue what this image even said until I noticed the Nike symbol. However, this is a kind of typography style that the brand would likely lean towards -- especially for men styles. The font does not come off as a surprise or out of the ordinary from the brand Nike as opposed to the previous image analyzed. Personally, I would not mind wearing this style of font on a shirt or sweatshirt. Now analyzing the technical perspective, I would say the typeface family it belongs to is miscellaneous with a small attribute from square serif. Miscellaneous typeface are known for drawing attention to itself and with square serif giving the font a 3D effect incorporating the tangled shoelace really makes this image stand out. The size, showing basic colors of red/black/grey, and bubble-like font with some curly ends make it that more appealing to look at. Through a historical and/or cultural perspective, this brand is well known worldwide and attractive to most buyers. Historically, I see this font style originating from the Greeks or Romans. There are both upper & lower case letters with vowels mixed in (given by the Greeks) as well as a slanted script (commonly used by Romans). Culturally, I believe this style of font came from the artistic or digital era. To me, it screams hip hop and the de stijl movement which can be made digitally via computer. I also think there is a hint of dada because it comes off kind of messy with the words crammed together and shoelace weaving through the open spaces. Last but not least, the ethical perspective will be different for each viewer. If a person enjoys anything sport or athleisure related, then they would have nothing against Nike and be intrigued by any style the company release including this images font. If someone is not into Nike then there’s nothing wrong that, but if they choose something less appealing than a similar Nike product it is because of the cost. Therefore, it is what the viewer deems attractive and reasonable to represent them on the street.

With typography being everywhere someone looks, it is difficult to stop and think about if whether or not that font choice goes with what the designer is trying to convey. No matter if you look at it through the personal, historical, ethical, cultural, and technical perspective all typography has meaning in their own special way.

[kelseec]

Persuasion vs. Propaganda

           Many individuals would say persuasion and propaganda go hand in hand. Persuasion is the action or fact of persuading someone to do or believe something—the second definition is a belief or set of beliefs, especially religious or political ones. The definition of propaganda is information that is misleading or biased in nature, which is used to publicize a particular political cause or point of view. This is where I find persuasion and propaganda to be similar because the act of persuading someone (especially in politics) can often be misleading to the public eye. In this paper, I will be mainly focusing on how the two terms similar but in different contexts.

           The first image I am using to support my statement is of the couple. First off, I noticed the lines of symmetry in the background—they make a circular motion which draws the viewers eyes towards the woman. When analyzing the color scheme, seeing it’s from the era of the 1940-1960’s, and sensing the presence of wealth by looking at how the two individuals are dressed, I can tell this image is from the Art Deco or Bauhaus movement time period. Through my perspective, I see the man being controlling in a relationship. The way he has his hand up towards her and how his emotions are undefinable is misleading of what he is trying to convey towards her. It is almost as if he is hypnotizing her with his wealth by holding that shining object or he is persuading her in a way that would give him benefits and her the materialistic things.

           The next two images display human consumption—in this case, of a Pepsi ad and a vegetarian campaign. In this image, the line of symmetry starts at the soda bottle and moves up towards the women drinking it. The ad for Diet Pepsi falls under persuasion more than propaganda; however, it is still misleading. Some studies over the internet have shown diet soda to be just as worse or more harmful than regular soda. When people switch to diet soda, they think they did themselves a favor to help lose weight, especially purchasing the new ‘skinny can’! Any ad knows how to persuade their viewers. This specific Diet Pepsi ad persuades the viewer into buying a bottle so that way the individual thinks they are drinking less and eventually look like the model drinking it. Here is where propaganda comes in because who made the ad uses a skinny woman to advertise a product that is directed towards the bigger population. People will study this image and wonder why they do not resemble the model while drinking from the skinny can, so this can be very misleading towards younger generations. To older generations, they see this image as tasteful but never compare to the slender woman while drinking the product.

           The second image regarding human consumption is a revealing, sex-appeal image of Pamela Anderson posing for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This ad campaign promotes vegetarianism and compares how humans and animals are alike because of the same body parts. Vegetarianism is gradually increasing due to a personal perspective, cultural perspective, and ethical perspective. Also, historically too because we as people do not have to hunt for food like our ancestors did. I believe the makers wanted someone famous to be a spoke person as well as to have Pamela Anderson be almost naked, so our eyes are selectively drawn to the image and we are more likely to follow ‘her’ example.  This image is mostly a persuasive piece, but a hint of propaganda shows through by having an attractive female promote stopping the wrongdoing of torturing an animal for experiments or wealth. The slogan, “have a heart, go vegetarian”, also implies those who do consume animals do not have a caring heart like vegetarians.

           The last image I am analyzing is more on the propaganda side than persuasion, but they still go hand in hand. This image screams politics with fancy suits, one resembling the American flag, and the bold message from Homeland Security. First looking at the quality of the image, this dates back into the early-mid 1900’s. The colors remind me of the De Stijl movement incorporating black, yellow, blue, and red, but the art work being from earlier art movements such as Art Deco. This image sends a strong message to those of higher authority who belittle those beneath them. Historically, this has always been part of the United States. This shows the first amendment being violated with the hand covering the man’s mouth. I see the hand being one of the government—if anyone below their status speaks on a certain topic to the public then the government is going to ‘put you in your place’ to which you can never speak a word. Although, we as people are “free”, this image proves how propaganda and persuasion can be deceiving.

           In my perspective, I think everyone begins to persuade someone to say or do something until that persuasion gets him or her nowhere. This is where people will turn to propaganda—they trick their viewers into believing certain information over others, which then they get what they want for their own benefit. These four images depict propaganda and persuasion all in a different manner to catch the viewer’s eye.

[kelseec]

Hand With Reflecting Sphere, M.C Escher, 1935

Once I searched M.C Escher’s pictures through Google I was amazed by his use of symmetry, shapes, and depth. It is like your eyes go on a maze of curiosity. Yet the images are so aesthetic and pleasing to see. One quote I found on M.C. Escher’s website stood out to me; it said, “He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder. - M.C. Escher” (2018). I think this explains his work well because it leaves your mind open. I base his color choices using the subjective method—lots of black and white thus meaning he is an older artist. Escher’s pieces also demonstrate the constructivism theory. The eyes are always moving across his drawings and people become fixated on various objects/shapes within the image.

First, I selected how M.C. Escher uses shapes in his work and with the sphere in the picture I'm analyzing. In the book, Visual Communication, it states “If the subject stares straight into a camera’s lens, the message might be one of bewilderment, defiance, innocence, happiness, or concentration” (2014, chap. 2, pg. 26). This quote reminds me how similar this is to the reflecting sphere in Escher’s piece. Since Escher’s own reflection is staring head on into the sphere, it gives him a sense of innocence and concentration while being in an office-like room with an expressionless face. The room wraps around the sphere showing off Escher’s insane depth perception. The way the decor almost goes in a complete circle reminds me of repetition of every day activities. It is like he is just going through the motion. 

Next, Escher uses depth by having a darker contrast on the bottom of picture and it gradually gets lighter moving up the hand to make the sphere the main focal point. The shading he did to reflect his hand into the ball is so realistic it travels your eyes to him and then towards the back of the room. I think his experience with architecture helped him give illusions by using different placement of objects and shapes. Maurits Cornelis Escher went to the Haarlem School for Architecture and Decorative arts; however, he was not too interested in the architect portion. One of the professors noticed how talented Escher was in graphic arts and encourage him to chase his true interest. I believe this is where a lot of the depth in his pictures come from. They are so mesmerizing and tricky to the eye that it leaves you guessing on what he thought of behind his work. 

Although many individuals have multiple views when examining art, my perspective of what Escher is trying to convey is based off the sphere and himself. Through my eyes, the sphere represents the circle of life. Within the circle of life, M.C. Escher is reflecting and reminiscing back on his life in complete wonderment. It is hard to tell exactly what he is feeling within this image and that is what keeps the viewers sucked into the beauty. What I get most from this artwork is that the world is literally in your hands. Only yourself can judge and criticize your well being and I think Escher shows that in his 1935 piece, Hand With Reflecting Sphere.

 REFERENCES

Lester, P. M. (2014). Visual Communication, 6th ed. Michael Rosenberg.

M.C. Escher. (2018). About Escher: Escher at work. Retrieved             from http://www.mcescher.com/about/escher-at-work/

Hand with Reflecting Sphere - by M.C. Escher, 1935

[kelseec]

Hilarious!!