The reading seems to be about knowing what is trending or not and understanding what aspects of design are mainstream or are no longer mainstream. Corporations usually steal other people’s ideas instead of being original with their own. They don’t credit the original user and instead benefit off from something someone else started or created. This is very similar to Tik Tok trends. These trends get redone or recreated by multiple users but at the end of the day does anyone know or remember who was the originator? An example I saw explained in a YouTube Blog is high waisted jeans are now trending and are “mainstream”. Younger generations are acting like this is something new and never done before but it was actually something that was trending in the early 2000s but is now experiencing a revival for the newer generation. 

    An example of this discussed in the reading is Psychedelic design. Psychedelic design’s purpose was to incentivize sexual practices and drug usage. This design underground was trendy, hip, and edgy for things such as album covers. However, in mainstream advertisements, the Psychedelic design would be seen more as taboo. Another example discussed is pornography. Pornography is used in advertisements in a  more subliminal manner. It is like the saying “sex sells”. With the mainstream taking underground designs and using them to their own advantage, it puts the underground in a predicament of either keeping themselves unrecognized or come forward and join the mainstream but face judgment for their work.

    Based on the artist and work I choose I feel that it can be seen that Kate Moross is an underground artist that Netflix brought to the light with their Netflix Transgender Awareness Week Project. The 2020 Transgender Awareness Week Netflix commissioned them to create 10 portraits of transgender talent to be featured on the platform. The design of these pieces the vibrant colors give me Psychedelic design vibes. The subject being transgender seems to also support the statement in the reading where it is said that advertisements lean more onto one’s sexuality as an attention grabber. With the subjects all being transgender actors and actresses this seems to resonate almost the same idea to me. So it seems even today whether it on social media or advertisements mainstream and underground works seem to connect to each other to either try to benefit each other or hurt the other.

Citations:

Ballinger, C. (2021, April 02). BUYING every NOSTALGIC 2000’s toy AND TREND! Retrieved May 02, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VgcJ8ix-uU

Neely, M., & Says:, L. (2021, March 10). The miscellany news. Retrieved May 02, 2021, from https://miscellanynews.org/2021/03/10/arts/popular-tiktok-trends-boost-underground-artists-and-their-growing-music-careers/

Netflix transgender Awareness Week. (n.d.). Retrieved May 02, 2021, from https://www.katemoross.com/Netflix-Transgender-Awareness-Week