it was a long term stealth operation
its was an andre the giant shitty xerox sticker
some how everyone knew someone with one
then was one street lamps and walls
took a decent long time to turn into the stylized graphic
and the graphic works by ambiguity - oh fuck im being told to obey
oh fuck yeah look at those signs telling people to obey fuck that
oh fuck am i obeying that sign
and it copied from that alien movie with the wrestlers and sunglasses
so it built a base of cultural refences, established criedibility, then got slick and went wide into the masses
legit organic id say
>it copied from that alien movie with the wrestlers and sunglasses
This is actually an important part of the story. The movie is "They Live" (1988) and comes at a time when a few things were happening:
* The general environment in the US and UK was moving from socially conservative (Regan/Thatcher years) to something less authoritarian
* The Soviet Union was collapsing (1989)
* Many viewed the end of the USSR as a win for capitalism over communism
* Late 20th Century global capitalism was becoming unwieldy and gave birth to dystopian fiction such as the movie "They Live" and the cyberpunk genre
* With the US as the only superpower there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the future
The OBEY brand made use of propaganda style art that is generally associated with the Soviet Union. This absurd "echo" of the recently dissolved USSR captured a lot of attention because people were trying to deal with ambivalence about the end of the cold war, the early 90s recession, and general insecurity about the future. OBEY probably offered a bizarre distraction and possibly some comfort from the face of a beloved celebrity, the bold lines and type might have offered some clarity and definition in an increasingly fuzzy world. OBEY also seems to juxtapose authoritarian imagery with capitalism itself. This is a BRAND you must CONSUME (again, see "They Live"). How much of this is intentional I have no idea, I haven't spent much time reading about the creator Shepard Fairey.
>Andre the Giant Has a Posse is a street art campaign based on a design by Shepard Fairey created in 1989 while Shepard attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.
Basically it has three things that really work for it.
A. it has very strong negative/positive space, so it doesn't get lost in a mixed backdrop (like a brick wall)
B. it's a human face, always recognizable
C. the intent is ambiguous but the message is not.
If the text just read "Andre" (from Andre the giant, the subject) people would see it and forget it- it has no relevance to them.
If the message was not ambiguous "Obey Andre the giant" it wouldn't have so much impact.
It's a visual meme, striking but confusing.
I'm sure there's a SNEED version already.
providence RI fag here - the answer here is israelite money. Shepard had the $ to go around the US and wheat paste his image everywhere, additionally he also paid people to slap up his stickers everywhere
short, interpretable, and accessible - just like its time in the sun
its literally just a meme, but appeared at a timecwhen most people werent aware of the concept.
it was "successful" becuase it had no point or purpose so there was no way to use or display it incorrectly or in the wrong context.
Speaking of that "artist" and "successful", so was this-
https://nyulocal.com/shepard-fairey-pleads-guilty-in-copyright-case-72ea5005481b
I'm the joint was that you looked at it and what?
Huh obey?
Obey what?
What am I meant to obey and why?
Which is a question NPCs don't ask themselves very much.
it was a long term stealth operation
its was an andre the giant shitty xerox sticker
some how everyone knew someone with one
then was one street lamps and walls
took a decent long time to turn into the stylized graphic
and the graphic works by ambiguity - oh fuck im being told to obey
oh fuck yeah look at those signs telling people to obey fuck that
oh fuck am i obeying that sign
and it copied from that alien movie with the wrestlers and sunglasses
so it built a base of cultural refences, established criedibility, then got slick and went wide into the masses
legit organic id say
>it copied from that alien movie with the wrestlers and sunglasses
This is actually an important part of the story. The movie is "They Live" (1988) and comes at a time when a few things were happening:
* The general environment in the US and UK was moving from socially conservative (Regan/Thatcher years) to something less authoritarian
* The Soviet Union was collapsing (1989)
* Many viewed the end of the USSR as a win for capitalism over communism
* Late 20th Century global capitalism was becoming unwieldy and gave birth to dystopian fiction such as the movie "They Live" and the cyberpunk genre
* With the US as the only superpower there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the future
The OBEY brand made use of propaganda style art that is generally associated with the Soviet Union. This absurd "echo" of the recently dissolved USSR captured a lot of attention because people were trying to deal with ambivalence about the end of the cold war, the early 90s recession, and general insecurity about the future. OBEY probably offered a bizarre distraction and possibly some comfort from the face of a beloved celebrity, the bold lines and type might have offered some clarity and definition in an increasingly fuzzy world. OBEY also seems to juxtapose authoritarian imagery with capitalism itself. This is a BRAND you must CONSUME (again, see "They Live"). How much of this is intentional I have no idea, I haven't spent much time reading about the creator Shepard Fairey.
Whatever the hell the point was I guess it was achieved.
forced meme
>Andre the Giant Has a Posse is a street art campaign based on a design by Shepard Fairey created in 1989 while Shepard attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.
i miss seeing those things plastered fucking everywhere. they were everywhere, there has to be a few still around downtown
That was supposed to be a giant all this time? How were we to know?
>How were we to know?
its literally his goddamn fucking name
It's Andre The Giant.
He was a famous wrestler.
I didn't know that drawing was supposed to be Andre, or anyone in particular for that matter.
yes
we know
I do a lot of print work.
Basically it has three things that really work for it.
A. it has very strong negative/positive space, so it doesn't get lost in a mixed backdrop (like a brick wall)
B. it's a human face, always recognizable
C. the intent is ambiguous but the message is not.
If the text just read "Andre" (from Andre the giant, the subject) people would see it and forget it- it has no relevance to them.
If the message was not ambiguous "Obey Andre the giant" it wouldn't have so much impact.
It's a visual meme, striking but confusing.
I'm sure there's a SNEED version already.
i always thought it was a reference to they live
... that's andre the giant???
its both, pal
vandalism + guerrilla tactics
Worhol type shit
providence RI fag here - the answer here is israelite money. Shepard had the $ to go around the US and wheat paste his image everywhere, additionally he also paid people to slap up his stickers everywhere