OUIL401: Task 2 - Welcome to the Age of Denial (further reading)

Welcome to the Age of Denial

A. Frank, 2013 (New York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/welcome-to-the-age-of-denial.html

Reading up on satire for my essay I found a common theme whilst researching articles about the 'death' of satire. Toby Young's quote states that satirists' have more power than modern politicians but the articles seem to suggest satire is struggling to keep up with the 'post-truth politics' environment.

Post-truth politics is when political figures focus more on promoting their own personal, emotional views rather than bothering with facts

Brexit and Trump's US Election campaign are perfect examples of stirring up hate with lies and statements that have no connection with reality purely for political gains 

A. Frank is a scientist who became dismayed at the rise in denial of scientific research in the US since he became a physics graduate twenty five years ago.

In relation to my quote, I find satire is actually weakened by the uprising of anti-science and anti-facts in general. Mainly because if someone is caught out for a blatant lie or racist remark they simply deny it and in most cases seem to gain more support the more bloody minded they become when faced with accusations of lying or inciting hate.

Satire can't compete when if it tries to ridicule someone for having extreme views or being clueless and the majority of people come out supporting the person being targeted.

There is now a culture where if you confront someone with a fact they can simply claim to know better without having any evidence and that they are fighting the intellectual elite. By being overly passionate or charismatic when delivering their rambling, made up nonsense this usually trumps a coherent, considered non manic statement of fact.

A. Frank

'Today, however, it is politically effective, and socially acceptable, to deny scientific fact. Narrowly defined, “creationism” was a minor current in American thinking for much of the 20th century. But in the years since I was a student, a well-funded effort has skillfully rebranded that ideology as “creation science” and pushed it into classrooms across the country. Though transparently unscientific, denying evolution has become a litmus test for some conservative politicians, even at the highest levels.'

'What do I tell my students? From one end of their educational trajectory to the other, our society told these kids science was important. How confusing is it for them now, when scientists receive death threats for simply doing honest research on our planet’s climate history?'

A. Frank states it's more important than ever to promote science in a time when facts and evidence is constantly disregarded. Politicians are turning their backs of science, even though they reap it's constant benefits to medicine and technology that drives the western world and pander to the powerful religious elite who simply do not need any facts for their beliefs.  

It's a warning that using facts and truth for a solid argument can no longer be taken for granted. So satire no longer can simply highlight what seems to be ridiculous to a rational human being as the post-truth beliefs of the new right wing movement now have enough media and political power to shrug off any ridicule because they no longer need to answer to the truth.

OUIL401: COP Lecture - Print Culture Part 2

The Inside Out Project

Although the digital print process is favoured over traditional print methods for obvious reasons it actually has the capacity to achieve things on a global scale that couldn't be achieved before the post print age.

Inside Out Project is an example of how digital printing can have a positive, global impact.

The process is a democratic way of allowing people around the world tell there stories through print with no commercial or capitalist restraints or influence.

Groups of otherwise oppressed or ignored people in society can quickly and personally dictate the message they want to display to the world using the Inside Out Project as a digital tool.

The Inside Out Project is simply an outlet for their story.

Statement from the Inside Out Website...

'Organized by Morgan State University’s Visual Arts Department, Black Lives Matter is a visual response to the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. Created in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin, the movement “[broadens] the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state.” Our group action aims to shed light on the presence of invisible boundaries and limitations placed on Black people throughout different facets of our lives.'

The detailed, photographic portraits are a powerful way of connecting with the audience that sees them. There is even a communal process of installing the portraits that involves the local community. 

The artist JR who started Inside Out has no say as an artist on what each project is trying to say but his initial idea of creating a democratic outlet using modern digital technology is clever way of creating art on a vast scale with his focus on helping people have their voices heard. 

Save the Arctic - 4000 portraits

Save the Artic shows the printing process being used in the most ambitious and challenging way, displaying the image in extremely hostile environment. It's a defiant statement of intent, challenging the environmental damage being done which is not fully exposed because of the Arctic's remoteness geographically and in the global political discussion.

Be the Change, Juarez

Inside Out allows forgotten or ignored stories of mass suffering such as the Mexican/US border and people's desperation for better lives. The huge displays become part of the landscape and are impossible to ignore. The large scale would never have been possible before the digital age. 

We Still Exist

The portraits and the faces they show asked the audience to think about the often talked about but then forgotten injustices/oppression of tribes/sections of society in a more humane way.

Seeing faces of the real people who are the oppressed forces the audience to question their thoughts and taps into a more global empathy that doesn't come through in other more conceptual art forms. 

401: 20 Images

Finding the 20 images made me question the role of modern satire.

What is satire's role today?
How much social/cultural power does it have in different countries?
How do different political leaders use/react to satirical art about them?
Is a cartoon mocking ISIS really worthy of the extreme nature of their atrocities?
How do British people feel about satire? Is it simply a light relief from the unpredictable political climate? And are people too apathetic or angry to see satire as a useful tool against the establishment.



Sun Mu fled North Korea because of famine and now creates satirical works based on his experiences working as an artist under the regime. He reflects the dictatorships idealised artistic style back on to itself with mocking paintings of the leaders but also an optimism about the future using children as a symbol of hope. It's a powerful and heart felt expression of attacking the regime using the North Korean style of painting.

 Laura Benanti on the Late Show impersonates Melania Trump's speech.

Political impersonations are used a lot on US talk shows. They're often funny but do they have the opposite effect of political satire by softening the sometimes dangerous or dark political views of the person being mocked and recreating them as a comic character instead of a person with serious political power?



Is it now that no matter how ridiculous and extreme satirical you try to be, reality will always become the more comical outcome?
Matt Groening used Trump (back in 2000) as the 'most absurd placeholder name we could think of', 'It's beyond satire.' Reality became absurd and Trump may be President. 

  .......????

OUIL401 Investigating quotes

Politics

‘Where is the content? Where is the comment? It’s all about the materials, rather than the message. It’s all about the quantity rather than the quality. It’s all about design doing rather than design thinking. It’s all style over content, function following form. Illustration has withdrawn from the big debates of our society to focus on the chit-chat and tittle-tattle of inner-sanctum nothingness.’
Zeegan, Lawrence

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/where-is-the-content-where-is-the-comment/

The quote is expressing frustration and exasperation of how illustration as a whole has absolved itself of expressing any political comment or having anything of substance about current affairs.

Zeegan explains how illustration as a collective has collapsed into a group of individuals who shun the traditional, tougher aspects of illustration such as competing for commissions and thinking big with their work.

    The problem with this solitary attitude is that illustrator’s unwillingness to compete means their craft becomes stale and lacks punch. A small, inward focused group that congratulates itself with self given briefs is not in touch with more hard line issues in the global society.

The image below, left is an example of how illustration has slipped into a childish, mediocre style that has been allowed to dominate illustration. Zeegan talks about 'style over content' meaning the handmade crafting aesthetic is now the main focus of modern illustration rather than what the materials are being used to actually say.  

Below Top, Molg H. Bottom, Josan Gonzales. These are aesthetically beautiful but also imaginative pieces of illustration. Molg H creates darkly comic work that isn't afraid of dividing it's audience and Josan Gonzales' work is incredibly complex and technically brilliant.

These two pieces of illustration are examples of when an illustrator can push their craft an achieve a successful communication of their humour, personality and individual interpretation of the world. Zeegan seems to be saying that most illustrators are too afraid to push their craft in favour of more naïve, cosy art that appeals to more commercially safe illustration that takes no risks in terms of causing offense or challenging the mainstream blandness of illustration and media in general.

I think the 'Fight the nothingness' fails as a piece of illustration because it is not a bold or strong image which is needed for the message.

Zeegan describes David Shrigley's 'Fight the nothingness' design as an exact example of the bland, apathetic mentality he is trying to protest against.

OUIL401: Studio Brief 1

Studio Brief 1

Quote: 'The history we read [..] though based on facts, is, strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of accepted judgements.'

The famous quote 'History is written by the victors' was the first thing that came to mind when we discussed our quote.

We looked at how modern civilisations such as North Korea can create a totally false reality to brainwash it's people into believing a certain ideology.

Knowledge is power in modern society. In the age of the internet, controlling media output is the most powerful tool people can use to manipulate society into the accepted judgements that dictate how society uses it's moral compass.

News channels such as FOX and newspapers such as The Guardian and The Daily Mail have their own political agenda that aims to influence society's political beliefs.

Brexit was a good example of how right wing media can create far fetched or simply false information to stir up xenophobia and racism for political gain.

Perhaps the majority of people have liberal views yet right wing institutions have the financial power to promote right wing views as the mainstream, moral norm.

                              

Left: Phan Thi Kim Phuc in the Vietnam war photo which was briefly censored by Facebook.

Rigth: The pictures of inmates being tortured in a North Korean prison camp.