OUGD501 - Rebellion Research

After looking at Dotmaster, Adbusters and Banksy throughout my essay I found it interesting that they are all similar artists but all work very differently and have their own rebellion within them. Each of the artists create quite aggressive art work that could be considered a rebellion.

Banksy is the most well known graffiti artist in the world, even though he has never revealed his true identity. Quirky and political, his work has satirised oppression in Palestine, hypocrisy in politics and capitalist greed in London.

The Dotmaster is a UK artist that started painting on the streets of Brighton in the early ’90s. He takes a sideways look at a populist media with a typically English sense of humour. His work is extremely detailed. His half-tone work, stark black and white street pieces and unique, photo-real colour stencils all create street-based illusions that fool the eye.

Adbusters on the other hand, is a not-for-profit magazine fighting back against the hostile takeover of psychological, physical and cultural environments by commercial forces.

OUGD501 - Practical - Going green research

A lot of companies are going green. "Going green" means going more environmentally friendly and making ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles, which can help protect the environment and sustain its natural resources for future generations. 

In my essay I speak about how this could be seen as a form of rebellion. This is a different rebellion which doesn't involve protests and riots but instead changing a way of living. A lot of companies are aware that more and more people are 'going green'. This is another target market that reaches a lot of people and encourages them to be more environmentally friendly. Consumers are starting to avoid companies that might harm the environment. Companies that have gone green have seen an increase in their sales. This questions me as it seems that more companies are going green not to help the environment but to gain sales. However, a big company that has gone green is McDonald's. McDonald's has even changed their logo to a green background which shows that they are currently supporting a change to a more environmentally friendly company. 

This British grocery chain has enlisted its customer base in the fight to go green by offering savings to shoppers who bring reusable shopping bags to their stores. The company has also turned each of its stores into wind-powered, high-recycling, biodiesel truck delivered epicenters of environmental sustainability.Tesco is also aiming to estimate the “carbon costs” of each item it sells.

OUGD501 - Practical - Movement research

Throughout my essay I have decided to focused on movements and how they could be perceived as rebellious. The first movement that I focus on is Pop art. Pop art is a movement that emerged in the 1950's.  It was a movement going against the abstract expressionists. It was a popular culture which reminded me of old magazines and comics. Pop art relies on extracting material from its context and associating it with other subjects for reflection. 

Why do I see pop art as a form of rebellion? It's vibrant, unique and expressive. It is an era that is very different to any other movement. It was a movement to express in a vibrant more friendly way. 

Another movement that I focused on was dadaism. This is one that especially grabbed my attention because it was the mark of the end of war. It was a movement that went against the war. This was an era that rebelled against the horrors of the world war. Dadaism was an anti war art movement that also fought against sexism and racism but mainly focusing on the war and its effects. 

"Dada was the first conceptual art movement where the focus of the artists was not on crafting aesthetically pleasing objects but on making works that often upended bourgeois sensibilities and that generated difficult questions about society, the role of the artist, and the purpose of art."

Dadaism is seen as a rebellion because it was an era that went against the war. It was using already made objects and combining them to create art. Dada or Dadaism was a form of artistic anarchy of disgust for the social, political and cultural values of the time.

OUGD501 - Practical - May 1968 Rebellion research

My essay focuses on May 1968 as this is an important time in history where students rebelled against universities. This was an era in France where there were general strikes as well as the occupation of universities. After a conflict between students and the Paris University at Nanterre the students decided enough was enough. Students met up together to protest against the closure and expulsion of students at Nanterre. Students decided to create posters to create a message of their expressions and how they felt. They would then put up barricades which the police attacked and the students rebelled. The students would throw rocks and any objects that they could find to throw at the police. 

May 14^th. Started to make revolutionary images around France for the people in university. The student were standing up for what they believed in. Students  Visually communicated a revolution. Catalysed by student action at the Sorbonne, which were occupied and declared as an autonomous people’s university “open day and night, at all times, to all workers”. This revolution led to the french saying 'Egalite! Liberte! Sexualite'. The students rebelled for education for everyone as well as student wages. 

OUGD501 - Initial Ideas

For my initial ideas, I did struggle to come up with various concepts however, I was pretty set on an idea that I had for my essay from the start. After becoming really interested in the May 1968 rebellion I wanted to create something similar so that it can relate back to my essay. Something that I believe in is that technology is advancing too quickly and people are forgetting how to communicate with one another. Therefore, for my practical I want to go against technology in a May 1968 student rebellion poster style. As I am going to learn about different rebellions throughout my essay I would like to take all the positives from these rebellions and use it within my practical.  I started by drawing a mind map to help me generate a few ideas that I could possibly have, however, after discussing this with my teachers and peers I was advised to stick to my original idea.

I then started by designing a few ideas on paper which was led from my research (first image on the right). The ideas were quickly drawn together to start piecing together an idea of what the posters might look like. 

 After looking at Dotmaster and Banksy I decided to create something that was more interactive for the viewer and made you more alert. By seeing a poster like this you instantly become aware that it is someone hanging and hopefully that would make you stop and think. I wanted the man to be hanging away from the piece of paper to signify the importance of the message.