At the top of the post copy and paste the following: Paul Rand “Good Design Is Good Will” 1987 from  Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field page 64-69 and Steven Heller “Underground Mainstream” in Design Observer 2008.

Here are the questions to which you should respond in your reading response:

  • Is the concept of mainstream vs. underground relevant in advertising of 1950’s / 1960’s and is it relevant today?
  • What is “culture jamming”?
  • Provide a visual example and description of early avant-garde culture jamming.
  • Provide a visual example and description of culture jamming today.

The concept of mainstream vs. underground was relevant in the advertising of the 1950s and 1960s because movements such as  Psychedelic art were very popular around that time. This type of art was known for its boldness and shock factor in expressing things like sex, drugs, and wild behavior, something that wasn’t really deemed acceptable in the mainstream world of design. It is still relevant though not as popular today because there is still very much a clash between mainstream and underground and what is acceptable.

Culture jamming involves the exposure of issues in the mass or mainstream media in our society. This is typically done by anti-consumerist to disrupt the peace in a way and draw attention to an issue in a society filled with consumerism.

The image above is a painting made by Olga Rozanova, a female Russian avant-garde artist. This is an example of culture jamming because it is a wild and crowded painting. There are shapes everywhere and everything seems to be jumbled up together. This went against the organized and clear formula in design that many designers of the past followed.

The image above is just one of the hundreds of examples of cultural jamming today. Many designers bring about a lot of issues through the use of cultural jamming. These can be issues like homelessness ( as shown in the images), world hunger, politics, climate change, and many more societal issues as well.

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