Advertising art work in action - on the Art Career Track - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, March, 2002 by Karen Skophammer

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* describe and analyze their own and classmates' posters in terms of the message.

* design and create posters/ads that make a point about a social condition or cause.

* discuss the visual elements used on the poster to attract attention.

* explain whether each person thinks his or her poster is successful. Why or why not?

AN ADDITIONAL CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY

* Make a trifold brochure with the aid of the computer that goes along with your poster, but gives more facts and researched data on the subject.

* Run these brochures off and distribute these to hospitals/businesses. This activity hones writing, research and computer skills.

Do you have a cause that you feel strongly about? Many artists use their art to address and speak out about the problems of the times. From Civil War paintings to AIDS awareness art, social messages can be seen in artists' works.

My classes looked at several famous works of art dealing with social themes. We began by exploring Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937). He gives his view of the Spanish Civil War through the bombing of Guernica. While each person who views Picasso's painting can have a somewhat different interpretation, everyone knows that the main message is the horror in war. He has successfully communicated his message to the observer.

I asked my students to think about a social problem or cause in today's world. Students came up with everything from conservation/pollution and AIDS to buying bonds to support the country. No one had a hard time coming up with an issue to support. Each had something he or she felt passionate about. I then made the assignment: "How would you create or design a poster to speak out on your cause? How would you grab a viewer's attention?"

We explored some of the history of posters and advertising. Some of the earliest forms of posters were in Ancient Rome. Commercial signs were painted on the walls of buildings. When Pompeii was excavated, over 1,500 election posters were found painted on the stone!

The first known printed illustration poster was printed in 1491. We also know that famous artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's posters were well-known. He was a French artist who brought the level of a poster up to a real art form in the late 1800s. We looked at several examples of Toulouse-Lautrec's poster-art.

The class named examples of ads and posters used in present times. Billboards, flyers, full-page ads in newspapers, and mural-sized posters at professional ball games were some of the many forms that the students identified as popular today. Students found it interesting that not all posters have words. Many times the message is conveyed through the use of illustration only.

I then stated our goal: Consider yourself a graphic artist ... a person who combines pictures and words to communicate an idea, or instruct/teach people about a cause. Then, using the cause you'd most like to express a view about, and convince people to act responsibly about, design a poster that effectively does this.

Students were instructed to do the following: (1) Think about the problem/cause you want to illustrate; (2) Make a statement about that cause; (3) Create a thumbnail sketch of the idea with words if you chose to use them; and (4) Lay out your poster, taking the design elements into consideration.

Students actively thought about color choices and why they would use them for certain effects. Students were able to pick which medium they wanted to use: paint, markers, cut paper, crayon, colored pencils or any combination and variation thereof.

Many fascinating and informative posters and ads resulted. We donated these to banks and businesses that were willing to display them so that the students could see their "work in action."

Karen Skophammer teaches art for the Manson Northwest Webster Schools in Barnum and Manson, Iowa.