What goes into the making of propagandized art? What makes this:
.jpg)
like this:
and this:
Although the first poster is about enlisting in the U.S. Army, the second is about factory jobs for women, and the third is about voting for the President, these all have the same general aim: to persuade. Propaganda posters are plain-spoken because they have an agenda, and there should be no confusion as to what the artist (or whoever is in charge of the image) wants you to do.
Propaganda art has the same general style of bold images and simple color schemes. Poster #1 employs a blue-black color scheme for the main image with hints of yellow for a forboding tone in its demonization of Germany. The orange letters almost come off the page. Poster #2 makes use of primary colors and the image of a strong woman. The sentence "We Can Do It" is vague and empowering, encouraging women to take (dangerous) factory jobs. The third is obviously more modern, but it sticks to the retro style of earlier propaganda posters. The Americana theme is bold but softened by the use of ecru instead of white, modern but still sticking to the "traditional values" of the U.S. Obama's solemn face over the, again, vaguely encouraging "Change" makes it seem as though the then-candidate is looking toward a better future.
These posters are effective in achieving their goals, but are they really art?
Poster sources: http://www.gwennseemel.com/index.php/blog/comments/propaganda/
http://www.smartshanghai.com/blog/712/Propaganda_Posters_Are_Art_Again_shanghai
