James Victore is an American art director, designer, and author. I found him and his work interesting is because of something he said in the video. In the video, he mentioned that Graphic Design is use at its best talking about issues such as social issues, cultural issues and political issues. I agree with what he say because I felt like graphic design is like a platform for us to express ourselves. Therefore, we should use it to the fullest to educate or raise awareness on an issue that we believed is a problem in the society.
Philosophy and Belief
- Graphic design’s has a potential to make a difference
- A memorable poster must not only stand out above the crowd, it must leave the viewer with a mental ‘cookie’
- Raise awareness on my belief and social issues
Values and Manifesto
- He stand up for what is right/belief
- Anti-racism
- Activist/ Protest for the right things
After further researching on his artwork, I learned that many of his works are self-funded. (Heller, n.d.) It shows that he is genuinely concern about what's happening around him and trying to make a difference so I really respect him for that. Besides, I took a liking on his work because I felt like all of the message in his work is convey easily for the public to understand (simple/ clear/ expressive).
His works:
Racism and the Death Penalty, 1993
This piece of work borrow the concept of the children’s game Hangman. It addresses the issue of racism and the problem with the state-sanctioned execution in the US. It's simple illustration is able to tell the message clearly across. I felt like in today society this poster would still able to give out a very loud message especially with the BLM (black lives matter) movement happening currently.
2. The Baby Bottle (a.k.a. Teach Your Children Well), 1992
This poster talks about the problem that racist values are fed to children from an early age. Therefore it depicts a baby bottle as a direct representation of "being fed". Therefore, it is easy for the public to understand what he is referring to.
3. The Death Penalty Mocks Justice, 1995
This poster addresses issue of how racism influences social policy. The design is straight-forward and easy to understand since he said "I wanted to speak in really simple forms, and get an idea across in a gestalt manner".
4. Use A Condom, 1998
This poster is talking about birth control. He represent it using fornicating animals such as Bunnies and Flies, which he consider as the Bugs and Bunnies series. He proposed this idea to Condomania, a New York boutique specializing in condoms. The bunnies represent procreation, the flies represent not spread disease.
Cite
Heller, S. Eye Magazine | Feature | Writing on the wall: The posters of James Victore. Retrieved 11 June 2020, from http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/writing-on-the-wall
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