The Modernist Era, Part I (Module 6)

I found the anti-Nazi posters of the example quite powerful.  This reminded me of the attitudes towards the rich in the Occupy Wall Street movement, so I decided to explore some of the visual communication created by the members of this movement, and compare these to the images of John Heartfield.  As I am sure there are several students in the class very invested in the movement, I feel I need to be transparent here.  I have never particularly had an interest in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and while I do make an income that puts me in the bottom 99% of income in the country, I do not identify with the common statement, "We are the 99%"  I actually find that cliche a bit offensive, it is a way of trying to force people into your numbers, whether they identify with your message or not.  Individuals should be allowed to choose whether they agree with a movement or not. However, my lack of identification with the movement makes this a viable blog discussion, as much of the information is new to me.

Although I do not identify with the Occupy Wall Street movement, I found some of the graphics powerful and interesting.  Many of the graphics indicate the clear disgust for the rich and members of Wall Street.  As shown by the works selected by Meggs and Purvis (2012), this disgust is similar to the disgust portrayed toward the Nazis, and those who believed their propaganda.  Two images that were strikingly parallel are displayed below:

"'Whoever reads the bourgeois press turns blind and deaf.'" Heartfield, 1930

Molly Crabapple

 Both of these posters indicate that people are at risk of being blinded to the realities of society.  Heartfield's work was paired with a headline that specifically states that individuals are becoming "blind" and "deaf" by reading the writings of the day, and calls for the removal of the "'stultifying bandages'" (Meggs & Purvis, 2012, p. 268).  Crabapple's work does not rely on an outside headline, but is less direct and infers the message that individuals are blinded by the capitalist message.  However, these images are contrasted by the differing amount of background knowledge to truly understand them.  The headline from Heartfield's work clearly indicates that reference point of the press.  Crabapple's use of the object of "tear gas" may seem out of place or confusing, if the viewer is not aware of the use of tear gas to break up Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Additionally, I noticed that similar images were used to cover very different topics.  Both Heartfield and Occupy Wall Street graphic designers use visuals of animals being killed.  However, they serve very different purposes.  Heartfield's Der Sinn von Genf: Wo das Kapital lebt, kann der Friede nicht leben portrays a bird being skewered on a bayonet. In this image, he is giving a visual to associate with the Geneva crowds who were gunned down for protesting fascism (Meggs & Purvis, 2012).  In contrast, Roger Peet's image of bear destroying a bull is a depiction of the metaphorically destruction of the bull market--strong economy with low unemployment--by the bear market--weak economy with high unemployment (Barrymore). 

Der Sinn von Genf: Wo das Kapital lebt, kann der Friede nicht leben, Heartfield, 1932

Roger Peet

The comparison and contrasting of these images indicate that the poster continues to be an avenue that many graphic artists use as a method of attempting to bring about social change.  While the example of Occupy Wall Street graphics do not use the photomontage technique that was so common with the Dadaist, these posters and the movement indicate some similarities between the ideals of the two movements.  The Dadaist rebelled against unyielding faith in technology (Meggs & Purvis, 2012), while the Occupy Wall Street movement rebelled against the faith in those with moneyed interests (#Occupy Wall Street).  It will be interesting to see if the Occupy Wall Street suffers the same fate as the Dada movement, which dissipated in 1922, partly because they had no leadership (Meggs & Purvis, 2012), which happens to be a point of pride for the Occupy Wall Street (#Occupy Wall Street).

Works Cited

Barrymore, J. (n.d.). How Stock Market Trends Work. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from
http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/stock-market-trends2.htm

CNN Wire Staff. (October 26, 2011).  Tear gas used on Occupy protesters in Oakland, California.  CNN, U.S. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/us/occupy-wall-steet/

Crabapple, M. (n.d.) The poster art of Occupy Wall Street.  Breaking Copy.  Retrieved from http://www.breakingcopy.com/the-poster-art-of-occupy-wall-street 

Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Peet, R. (n.d.) The poster art of Occupy Wall Street.  Breaking Copy.  Retrieved from http://www.breakingcopy.com/the-poster-art-of-occupy-wall-street