The Contemplation of Art in Advertising

Modern art started by reasoning against the traditional and known art image in the ways of exposing brush strokes, evading the one point perspective and the vanishing point and also ignoring depth perception rules in a three dimensional space. This movement was about stirring out of the traditional forms of art and presenting new argumentive topics to embrace art as it is. Based on that, a shift was formed to evaluate art from the concealment of it to the complete reveling of it. That was evident in the insistence on exulting brush strokes as in Paul Cezanne paintings in the 1860’s, more indications of the perseverance to break the emphasis on the one point perspective and the effort on evading the vanishing point from painting as in Edouard Manet’s work in “the music of the tuileries garden” in 1862 that marked the desecration of depth perception as said by John David Albert in his book “art after metaphysics” 2013. This transference proposed the notion of “art for art’s sake,” which means to create for the sake of creating, To explain further Clement Greenburg, a known art critique, relates, in his essay from the collective essay and criticism 1993, the start of modern art to the philosopher “Kant” as he points out the ideology of establishing logic for the limit of logic. This changed the face of art in our day. As artists take this matter to the extreme meaning and combine what was once considered art with what is now thought of as the reason behind art. This alteration gave artists the opportunity to discover new mediums and ways of expression. They projected different and fresh agents that traditionally would not have been used as art. In conclusion modern art rebelled against the norms of art not only by exposing brush strokes and breaking the essential rules of creating three dimensional space in a two dimensional surface. Yet that exact ideology proposed somewhat of popular art forms or which were later called “the kitsch.”

Barbara Kruger

The stimulation of new forms of avant-garde in the contemporary times required a rapid level of variation that affected the definition of kitsch. The roaring of the avant-garde pushed the modernism movement further into the philosophy of formulating new art statements. Duchamp, a modern artist, generates in his art piece under the title of “fountain” a higher perspective of what avant-garde is capable of being. The principle of avant-garde is to stand out in the sense of creating new perspectives of new levels of perceptions to what art could be about. However it is not a limitation but more of infinite grounds. It is simply the complete evocation of overcoming the norms, which basically works against the idea of the “kitsch”; an example of that evocation would be the work of Andrea Fraser in “little frank and his carps.” When she valiantly imposed a rather sexual and eccentric exposer of what art could be. She later on continues to interpret this concept and execute it to its extremes. With that being accomplished, the piece eventually turns from avant-garde into kitsch, in conjunction to the public’s later approval to what this art piece persuades. In the sense that the avant-garde can measured by the publics contrast to the artwork or even the movement it’s self with that kitsch would be the public’s approval to it. Indeed this implies that avant-garde can and does elaborate to the maximum point of “kitsch”. When does the avant-garde become the kitsch? It is only when the public agrees on the proposed idea. The problematic approach of the avant-garde is about critiquing the current, opposite to that of kitsch creating what is current. The approval of the public made the avant-garde turn to kitsch, but how did the public approve of what is working against the awareness of the masses? The influence of modern advertising made the shocking approach of the avant-garde a bit less shocking and a little more accepting.

Barbara Kruger

Modern advertising started in the established stages of modern art with the philosophy of the avant-garde. Advertising is the result of modern art’s absolute alteration. In the 1920’s, Publicity was the only system to make something popular. It was the only form of familiarizing the latest ideas at that time. This comprehension of publicity’s keen effect on the public made albert Lasker, an American businessman who worked in publicity, created the term “advertising” as the origin of the word advertise means to make the public aware of something. Thus, one could witness the conception of modern advertising with conjunction to “evoking novelty”. However, Lasker conducted multiple researches to create a set of guidelines for arts in advertising only after he grasped the mutual importance of both art in business and business in art, as mentioned in his book “selling the president” 1920. The ideology of the avant-garde was evident in his work as he discovered the power of copywriting and employed that when he created multiple everlasting advertising masterpieces for a lot of products that still exist in the market today. “To keep the slender figure no one can deny” is the title of one of the press ads of modern advertising for “Luck Strike”, a well-known baked cigarette brand that was deliberated as none conventional at that time of 1920’s. Nevertheless what really evoked the principle of the avant-garde in advertising was Lasker’s preposition to specify and impose a cigarette brand for women exclusively which was pondered to be against the norms of that era.  Yet Lasker didn’t stop there as he pushed the limits of innovation by creating new products that shaped modernism in its practice of practicality in the complex world of novelty. Another example of how modern advertising anticipated new social foundations would be Lasker’s invention of the “KOTEX”, a product that later gave women some sort of liberty and freedom. This particular product among others leads modern women into a new belief system of embracing sexuality and accepting it as it is. His influence in advertising had changed the shape of consumerism. His studies involved understanding what the modern art movement is and employing that into a product. The combination of both business and art in one medium required the establishment of consumer’s art. If modern art called against the norms of the social premises, modern advertising induced that to actual implementation. Hypothetically, if modern art is about asking “why?” therefore modern advertising is about asking “why not?”

David Ogilvy “despite what everyone thinks,

Advertising has been indeed a means to an end. Modern advertising uses the language of copywriting and visual aids to summon new ways of sales; the whole point of it is to sell before even informing. David Ogilvy tittles one of his famous press ads “despite what everyone thinks, advertising can’t make you buy something you don’t need,” and places an image of a women using man shaving cream on her skin. This is enough proof of how modern advertising was of strong grounds, only because it came from the core of modern art’s essential creed. Barbara Kruger, a contemporary artist with a graphic design background, shows this exact statement in her untitled work “I shop therefore I am” (1987). Understanding the power of publicity made advertising even more powerful than expected. This power was known before Lasker decided to expose it in the form of simple press ads. As many have, abused it to for their own service, using the power of publicity to ensure and mimic alternative realities, which are based on prejudiced views. This influence is the direct implementation of the power of propaganda. Furthermore, the superior ways to practice propaganda would be using the concept of the so-called avant-garde for the deception of the people. The Italian artist, Piero Manzoni, exhibits that awareness in the famous art pieces “Artist’s Shit”, where he tints his own shit in a can and labels it as a product in the market. The motive of propaganda obligated it to have different forms and shapes, while the masses are changing and revolting. Therefore propaganda had to walk by that progress and adapt itself to it. This obsessive need to adapt propaganda has created ‘commercialized art’ in an indirect way. The Use of historical trademarks in modern art history as commercial products was the best way to turn what was once the avant-garde of the ages, to what is now the kitsch of our times.

Modern art movement rebelled against the traditional face of art to propose new ideas and expand new premises, that proposal was raised to the tremendous intellect. Only then there was the roaring of the “avant-garde” to push further into the modernism movement to the reach of the contemporary art of today. Gradually, the uprising of art moved back into the system of control under the profile of “consumers art” that is directly related to advertising and visual propaganda. Nevertheless those reverses traced art back to the core philosophy of the renaissance period of which is, using art as a tool for the service of the people in power. Will the public ever seize to understand the hidden notion of control being bodied all over our lives?

Works cited

Ebert, John D. "Understanding Contemporary Art Class 1: Intro to Modernism Part 1 by John David Ebert." YouTube. YouTube, 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

Lasker, Albert D. "Selling the President, 1920." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.

Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism vol. 4, ed. John O'Brian, University of Chicago Press,1993

From The Critique of Institutions to an Institution of Critique, Andrea Fraser, September, 2005

"Andrea Fraser - Little Frank And His Carp (2001)." YouTube. Ed. Flip Floppy. YouTube, 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 May 2015.