Propaganda

The Richard Goodall art gallery in Manchester's Northern Quarter is currently exhibiting various examples of Maoist propaganda from China's communist. This got me to thinking about Propaganda and how it is used- can it be considered art? Yes, it certainly can! The 20th century saw politics realise the power of propaganda and how it could tip the scales of victory- particularly during WW1 and WW2. After witnessing how simple posters boosted the morale of a nation, leaders and activists the world over began using it to convince the people of their ideology.
 

Stalin's famous 'Stakhanov'

IRA Campaign

Vietcong activism

Get 'em whilst they're young

Typical Cold War propaganda

A really large Mao

Mussolini being one of the lads

There is a definite correlation between political turmoil and propaganda- where do you see propaganda nowadays? It is only very recently, with present political unrest that propaganda-style art has come back, with the likes of Shephard Fairey promoting freedom fighting and change. However, recent propaganda has tended to be more by the people than by those in charge- who just can't seem to manage it these days. It requires imagination... which is just not evident in the BNP's last election campaign literature! It's not only the amateurs, though- all the major parties do is focus on how rubbish their competition is, rather than how good they are or what they can bring to the country.

The most successful propaganda seems to be done by the fans these days- like the Sun's famous 'Our Only Hope' campaign about David Cameron (not understanding that the majority of the Sun's readers will be the hardest hit by Conservative changes). Shephard Fairey's Obama 'Hope' poster made worldwide ripples, testing the walls of art and propaganda I'm not sure if the use of propaganda in democratic elections is such a good thing, but it would certainly make election campaigns more interesting...
 

Well no he didn't

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honestly, what is this?

So Marty McFly