Artist Statement
My work in "Watched" depicts the pervasive surveillance present during wartime, exploring the theme of government control and manipulation of citizens' freedoms. I use puppet-related imagery to convey the artificiality and omnipotence of government surveillance. Influenced by artists such as Abram Games and Derek Anderson, I frame the composition to evoke an Orwellian sense of total control. The presence of hands holding strings without physically controlling anything underscores the theme of pervasive surveillance and manipulation. Through "Watched" and similar explorations, I prompt viewers to confront the erosion of civil liberties during times of conflict, highlighting the need for vigilance in the face of oppressive control systems.
Influences
Dash Dixon
Abram Games
Annie Atkins
Derek Anderson, Joel Anderson
Anti-Semitic Propaganda (unknown artist)
Adobe Stock (unknown artist)
Abram Games
Drafts
First Draft
Second Draft
Final Draft
Design and Ethical Considerations
For this poster, I wanted to portray total surveillance under war conditions. Times of conflict give the governments involved lots of prerogatives to disregard their current laws. It allows them to place their country's priorities in conflict at the top of their figurative to-do list, sometimes at the cost of their pre-existing laws and the citizens who follow them. I wanted to portray the government's omnipotence over the citizens involved through puppet-related imagery. In the article titled "Education and Propaganda," the authors explain, "The symbolic and emblematic nature of puppetry facilitates the communication of the political or social message, and its artificial character makes it a 'transgressive' being which can escape human standards" (Grazioli & Bell, 2010). In this poster, I wanted to frame the artificial character as the hands holding the puppet instead of the puppet itself. I wanted to incorporate this motif in the same Orwellian light that artists like Abram Games, Derek Anderson, and Joel Anderson did in their works (specific examples in Influences). Although the hands don't physically control anything in the poster, I wanted their presence alone to give the impression of being all-controlling. This is usually the same depiction of total control that many dystopian authors used to illustrate unstoppable figures.
AI Use: I used Adobe Firefly to create the image of the woman hugging her knees to her chest. I wanted to find an easily editable image of someone presenting a helpless facade in this poster to express how they're being treated like a threat, even when at the mercy of someone who has the potential to change their lives for the worse.
Final Print
References
Grazioli, C., & Bell, J. (2010). Education and Propaganda. World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts. https://wepa.unima.org/en/education-and-propaganda/