VA reading response: week 2.

article. Graphic Agitation: Social and Political Graphics Since the Sixties.

Propaganda and other protest materials over the years has been dictated by those radicals or outspoken individuals of the time. The specific format and aim of these pieces vary from person-to-person, time-to-time, and country-to-country. The most easily recognizable association of propaganda in the United States would be the World War posters. Many of these posters are still what many designers are inspired by or thrive to leave as much impact as many of these posters have. Many of the design styles and formats that are used in current design were pulled from the various formats of the propaganda posters of the world wars.

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article. Visualizing a Revolution: Emory Douglass and the Black Panther Newspaper.

The Black Panthers can be seen as 2 different extremes:

            “charismatic, grandstanding violent thugs, exploiting oppressive conditions to promote their own pathological agendas, and the United States is fortunate that the FBI and police stopped them before they started a bloody civil war.”

            “brilliant revolutionary visionaries who tried to expand the African American civil rights struggle into an opportunity to end Western imperialism, global racism and capitalist exploitation of working people.”

Emory Douglas’ images “illustrated conditions that made revolution seem necessary and constructed a visual mythology of power for people who felt powerless.”

The design materials and style that we choose to use for pieces can appear as two different sets of connotations, based on what the audience sees in the pieces. This article also spoke about how all parts of our life, all of the little experience that we add up can one day create some kind of huge impact on the world if we find our voice and stand.

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article. Design of Dissent: Introduction and Interview with Milton Glaser.

First off, I totally geeked out reading this article and was thoroughly engrossed throughout this whole read. The story in this article that speaks easily for the whole piece is Adam Cohen’s article about the scientists experimenting in Scandinavia with Capuchin monkeys. They found out that the monkeys were cooperative when each monkey received the same food, but when one received something different, there was disorder/chaos. This shows that as long as all are treated fairly + the same, then there will be no need to make waves, but as soon as a difference is shown, an inner need to strive for something better steps in.

  

key moments/statements.

dissent: to withhold assent; to differ in opinion; difference of opinion.

Glaser. “I’m not sure it’s relevant whether people use the word ‘dissent’ or not. They certainly disagreed with the government and an aspect of dissent is disagreement. We like to feel dissent is about a notion of fairness that is being violated by the existing power structure.”

Heller. “Unfairness provokes dissent.”

Heller. “Dissent has long been manifest in a human desire for equality, but it has always been a fight against an overwhelming power that imposes harm on others.”

Glass. “There is always a source of power that is instrumental in producing dissent.”

Heller. “What is good and bad dissent?”

Glaser. “Dissent is very necessary because of the institutional instinct to move toward a totalitarian position.”

Heller. “Is dissent sometimes a lofty word for complaint?”

Glaser. “In part, and of course we all know people who believe nothing is ever right.”

Glaser. “Expressions of violence justify violent responses by the established powers. It’s one of the reasons why people who dissent have to be thoughtful about the mode of dissent in order to accomplish their goals.”

Glaser. “Generally, people respond to powerful imagery and words that contain an appeal to justice.”

Glaser: “We are in the midst of this revolutionary change, most profoundly expressed in the Internet, where the blogs now have become an expression of journalism, and where millions of people are not doing reporting, commentary, and editorials, and are beginning to have an effect that official journalism does not have.”

Glaser. “The problem of the Internet is tremendous information and no judgment. So what I suppose you look for is people or personalities or work that has risen above the noise, and has convinced people of its authenticity. In a democracy, you really need people who rise above the general din and stand for something.”