In the internet era, the loudest, angriest, and most extreme messages are the ones that stand out against the fray. The higher visibility of the radical viewpoints creates a solid divide in public opinion, giving the illusion of little room for compromise. By placing modern issues into the artistic context of a wartime poster, I seek to create the visual correlation of the propagandist nature of these arguments and place it in the social context of the found footage that make up the current internet dialogue.
Unlike many propaganda pieces, this work starts from the point of separation and works backwards to expose the similarity of each side through the limited change in text and graphics. The social media inspired titles– #burden, #creativity, and #protect – boil down each issue into a core focus that is shared by both sides.
This project, featured in the Bannister Gallery from April 30 - May 2, 2012, is projected in tandem on each side of a lenticular wall, forcing the viewer to approach them from an extreme angle, further exposing the limited and extreme nature of each position, while the merging of one message into the other as the viewer walks around the piece is a meditation on the alternatives that lie in the muddled middle ground.
Issues explored: Piracy, Taxes, Vaccination
Unlike many propaganda pieces, this work starts from the point of separation and works backwards to expose the similarity of each side through the limited change in text and graphics. The social media inspired titles– #burden, #creativity, and #protect – boil down each issue into a core focus that is shared by both sides.
This project, featured in the Bannister Gallery from April 30 - May 2, 2012, is projected in tandem on each side of a lenticular wall, forcing the viewer to approach them from an extreme angle, further exposing the limited and extreme nature of each position, while the merging of one message into the other as the viewer walks around the piece is a meditation on the alternatives that lie in the muddled middle ground.
Issues explored: Piracy, Taxes, Vaccination
#burden
The middle and upper-middle classes are carrying the burden of disproportionately inflated government spending.
The middle and lower classes are carrying the burden of disproportionate distribution of wealth and taxes.
#creativity
Creative freedom is being threatened by stringently drafted copyright law.
Creative freedom is being threatened by artists having their work taken without payment.
#protect
Our children are in danger from the ingredients in vaccines.
Our children are in danger due to not being vaccinated for preventable disease.
The Gallery
The lenticular wall on which the piece is projected. The wall consists of four individual right triangles built with foam core, wood, and glue wrapped in art paper and mounted side-by-side.
A shortened version of the content projected concurrently on each side of the lenticular wall. In the gallery version, each video/soundbyte is separated by 15-20 seconds of poster footage. Audio alternates from speakers that correlated to each side of the issue.
