Phenomenology - Graffiti Art
Graffiti art posters and stickers have always intrigued me. We've all seen them in urban areas on light posts and on the sides of abandoned buildings. Shepard Fairey is the designer of probably the most famous piece of graffiti Art: the 'obey' stickers.
The OBEY sticker campaign can be explained as an experiment in Phenomenology. Phenomenology is the process of letting things manifest themselves. Phenomenology attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they are muted by abstract observation.
The first aim of phenomenology is to reawaken a sense of wonder about one's environment. The OBEY sticker attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the sticker and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the product or motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with the sticker provoke thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewer's perception and attention to detail. The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker. Because OBEY has no actual meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and the nature of their sensibilities.
The first aim of phenomenology is to reawaken a sense of wonder about one's environment. The OBEY sticker attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the sticker and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the product or motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with the sticker provoke thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewer's perception and attention to detail. The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker. Because OBEY has no actual meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and the nature of their sensibilities.
posted by Michael Nelson at 12:41 PM
1 Comments:
Having been aware Shepard Fairey's work from the original "Andre the Giant has a Posse" sticker campaign, I believe the OBEY campaign has several meanings via the power of perception.
I agree with alot of what you have said here except that "OBEY has no actual meaning" While the root of the art may be considered silly or meaningless, as the campaign has spread it's meaning has grown...or perceived meaning.
From Fairey's 1990 Manifesto:
"Many people who are familiar with the sticker find the image itself amusing, recognizing it as nonsensical, and are able to derive straightforward visual pleasure without burdening themselves with an explanation. The PARANOID OR CONSERVATIVE VIEWER however may be confused by the sticker's persistent presence and condemn it as an underground cult with subversive intentions. Many stickers have been peeled down by people who were annoyed by them, considering them an eye sore and an act of petty vandalism, which is ironic considering the number of commercial graphic images everyone in American society is assaulted with daily."
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