Visual Research for Protest Posters

I began by looking at images that would inspire some inspiration for my project.

The Obey Eye by Shepard Fairey:

'Shepard Fairey started out on his graffiti artist career with the Obey Giant sticker campaign in 1989. His unique style is heavily influenced by advertising and propaganda, which his work tends to criticize.'

'Fairey was one of the first viral street artists, a powerful dissenter and, eventually one of the most outwardly political artists of our time.'

'Fairey intended the Obey Giant to inspire curiosity and cause people to question their relationship with their surroundings. According to the Obey Giant website, "The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker". The website also says, by contrast, that those who are familiar with the sticker find humor and enjoyment from it and that those who try to analyze its meaning only burden themselves and may condemn the art as an act of vandalism from an evil, underground cult.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey

http://omgposters.com/2009/04/16/obey-eye-art-print-by-shepard-fairey-onsale-info/

Use your loaf- no-one is starving from lack of weapons by Peter Kennard:

"Use your loaf - no-one is starving from lack of weapons". Photomontage by Peter Kennard. UK, 1983. He is best known for the images he created for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the 1970s–80s.

'At the time CND were still using images from the Ministry of Defense in their campaigns, which Kennard believed lessened the effectiveness of their message. He felt that CND were unaware of the power of using art in their campaigns and began creating images for them. He also wanted to challenge some of the images, produced during the Cold War, that had become acceptable in popular culture. He felt photomontages were a particularly effective way of tackling Cold War issues because the messages contained within them were harder to manipulate. Although Kennard created a great deal of work for CND, he was never officially a member.'

'Kennard has been heavily influenced by the Cold War, especially relating to anti-war protests and nuclear disarmament. He has never been paid for any of the artwork he created for protest groups. Instead, he wants to encourage people to think about what is happening around them, believing that artists with strong political views should express them in their work.'

http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/6-powerful-protest-posters-by-peter-kennard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kennard

Untitled (The future belongs to those who can see it)

'Informed by feminism, Kruger's work critiques consumerism and desire, and has appeared on billboards, bus cards, posters and in public parks, train station platforms, and other public spaces.'  

'Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist, often grouped with feminist postmodern artists. She uses the techniques of mass communication and advertising to explore gender and identity. Kruger is considered to be part of the Pictures Generation.'

'She layers found photographs from existing sources as magazines and using her bold phrases to frame them in a new context. She said "I’m trying to deal with ideas about histories, fame, hearsay, and how public identities are constructed."'

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/barbara-kruger-untitled-the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-see-it

http://worldofthewoman.com/future-belongs-can-see-barbara-kruger/