Introduction

Throughout history, propaganda has been used as a powerful tool to influence the minds of the masses. Propaganda is a highly effective manipulative tactic to persuade an entire society and culture to think a certain away. Politicians and governments typically use propaganda to generate a supportive response to their own goals, policies and/or agendas. It is simply a form of advertisement, and it utilizes powerful visual elements and artistic values to grab the attention of its viewer. The most prominent uses of propaganda can be found in political campaigns and during times of war. Art is the sole reason why propaganda is effective. Without aesthetic appeal, propaganda would be too subtle to attract attention. We will be focusing on governmental and political propaganda and analyze the use artistic values and why it is effective.



Bibliography

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Propaganda in Political Campaigns

Although propaganda seemed the most prevalent in the past, it is still widely used today. The most iconic example is the recent presidential election. Barack Obama coined a message of hope and change, which he asserted as his primary goal. Obama was a very controversial candidate because of his political beliefs and his proclaimed agenda. Change is a powerful word. Some embrace change and others resent it. This was the primary topic of controversy and spawned numerous campaigns for and against his candidacy.


This is Obama's most iconic image. It is a computer illustration of Obama, who is posed nobly and intellectually and emblazoned with red, white and blue. In bold letters is the word HOPE, his primary promise that he would bring America. The image symbolizes Obama as a symbol of hope, it almost portrays him as a prophet and a saint bringing hope to a dark time. It instills a sense of optimism into the viewer, as well as pride. It symbolizes are promising future. In my opinion, however, the most powerful message behind it is its connotation. The poster was created by Shepard Fairey, the founder and designer of Obey, which is a street wear company that is popular among the young generation. The fact that he illustrated this is very influential because Fairey serves as a voice and a leader of the youth. I think this piece of art was pivotal toward encouraging the youth into the election.
People opposed against Obama compared his political agenda and tactics to Hitler. In this image, Obama's iconic poster is reversed in the context. Obama is replaced by Hitler and the pro-Obama phrase YES WE CAN is displayed. It uses the same visual elements as the original Obama poster, which makes it artistically and aesthetically appealing. While his original poster attempts to instill positivity toward Obama, this poster aims to instill the opposite. This poster is more than just an attempt to stab at Obama, it actually asserts a powerful message. Hitler rose to power primarily for promising to revive national pride to the German people and to bring them out of the dark times that Germany was facing. In a historical context, America is in similar times. There is a general mistrust toward the government, an economic crisis and an uncertainty toward the future. The anti-Obama advocates assert that Obama is the same type of political figure as Hitler.

Cold War Propaganda

The Cold War was an era of widespread tension and unrest. The United States of America and the USSR were on the balls of their feet and vulnerable. It was an era of mistrust and paranoia. Propaganda was a primary contributor to the societal consensus of the USSR and their perception of the country. Propaganda is much more than a poster or a visual created by the government, it exists in all mediums of communications, many of which are forms of art. Literature, movies and comic books were used to display aesthetically appealing anti-USSR images and propaganda.


In 1984 amidst the thick of the Cold War, Red Dawn was released. Red Dawn is a movie about regular teenagers and an invasion of Soviet-Communist forces into America. The teenagers take it upon themselves to defend their country from the evil invaders. The film is a powerful form of propaganda as it uses a suspenseful plot line with well known actors and actresses. The movie emotionally draws the viewer toward American pride and anti-Communist ideals. The film instills a sense of immediate danger to the American people. Films have always been considered a form of art. It utilizes creative energy to create an outcome that visually captivates the viewer.



This is a comic book cover from 1960 that portrays the United States as vulnerable toward the evil ways of Communism. It shows the United States as a happy and peaceful society, using Uncle Sam comfortably perched on a boat. The comic book cover Shows the USSR, China and North Korea as gravestones on a red iceberg. There is much symbolism in this piece of propaganda art. First, the portrait of Uncle Sam instills a sense into the viewers that America is innocent and peaceful. Next the red iceberg symbolizes evil and the Communist countries on the gravestone represent doom and death that Communism brings.

This is a book cover from 1960. Here, Communists are clearly portrayed as an vulgar and evil being, attempting to rape an innocent beautiful American woman and an all-American man rescuing her. Much like the propaganda behind Red Dawn, it instills a sense of personal responsibility to resent and destroy Communism and its evils. There are many artistic values represented in this book cover. First and foremost, it is an illustration that uses analogous colors and framing techniques to centralize the focus. For example, the blond woman is in the center frame of the illustration. This emphasizes the epicenter of the action in the illustration. On the right and the left are two contrasting individuals fighting for the woman.

Propaganda in WWII

Art in propaganda has been fundamental to political movements, motivations for war, and even national unity (even though often it was for a unity of hatred). In every way it should be considered art. It expresses emotion, takes skill to make, represents culture, and in this case has a strict agenda. Propaganda art is used to shape public perception of a situation, to control the mindset of the people. There are numerous examples of this throughout time, but in particular WWII was wrought with propaganda art, particular American, Soviet, and Nazi propaganda against each other and against Jews.

Each government tried to shape the mindset of their people and motivate them against a common enemy.This takes very precise planning and extremely good execution to achieve, characteristics that show propaganda art is easily defined as art. Also the widespread influence that these images attained also elevates their stature as art. A few examples:

This is obviously an American WWII propaganda poster stating an American agenda. It seems the US government wanted its citizens to save on energy costs so it motivated them to save gasoline and other resources (gasoline saving would fall into the general WWII rationing programs). So the message is clear, but there are subtle aspects to the image that are also meant to persuade the viewer, perhaps subconsciously. Take for example the fact that there is a handsome, well-dressed, stylish man driving a nice convertible automobile. Wouldn't every American man want to be like this? These are the subconscious messages that are supposed to drive the viewer to acquiesce to the message, and also the reason that these paintings exhibit so much skill and forethought and should be definitely categorized as art.

If this picture isn't masterful propaganda work designed to hide evil motivations than I don't know what is. This picture is obviously designed to make Hitler seem like a godly leader and refers back to the old European ideal of “the divine right of kings.” It proclaims “Germany (Deutschland) Lives!” The picture incorporates the Nazi eagle descending from the heavens blessing Germany and its people and showing its citizens that there war is godly, moral, and just. Even the well-executed design work on the periphery (gold leaf) gives an air of righteousness. Once again propaganda art exhibits itself as a clear and powerful art form.