socialistfuture
2nd August 2004, 06:02
Im sure a lot of u will have seen the Obey stickers or images around and like me wondered what they ment.
i saw one of mao - that looked to be ridiculing him, and the main face in the star image looked slightly like che so i thught it might be a anti authoritarian/ anti commie label. anyway been at their site reading a bit. turns out the face was based on the wrestler andre the giant.
here is their website and some images.
here the guy who designed it talks about his aims and art:
I make a very public body of art using stickers, posters, and stencils. I put these works on the street in order to send some static interference out into the worldπs sea of images and messages. The images I use include historical propaganda, black power, parodies of authority, and tweaks of popular culture icons. Whatπs the point? Well aside from satisfying my compulsive need to produce art, these posters are designed to start a dialogue about imagery absorption. Powerful and seductive images have historically been used for a variety of reasons, some noble, some sinister, some both, depending on subjective interpretation. My work uses people, symbols, and people as symbols to deconstruct how powerful visuals and emotionally potent phrases can be used to manipulate and indoctrinate. There is no specific political affiliation behind what I do, only the philosophy "question everything", which is why I can use Jesse Jackson and Joseph Stalin in the same body of work. I also use the word "Obey" in much of my art as a form of reverse psychology. Though most people wish they were independent, many obediently follow the path of least resistance and are uncomfortable with confronting the word "Obey". As disconcerting as the word "Obey" may be, when not attached to any further command, it poses no threat beyond forcing the viewer to face their feelings about obedience.
i saw one of mao - that looked to be ridiculing him, and the main face in the star image looked slightly like che so i thught it might be a anti authoritarian/ anti commie label. anyway been at their site reading a bit. turns out the face was based on the wrestler andre the giant.
here is their website and some images.
here the guy who designed it talks about his aims and art:
I make a very public body of art using stickers, posters, and stencils. I put these works on the street in order to send some static interference out into the worldπs sea of images and messages. The images I use include historical propaganda, black power, parodies of authority, and tweaks of popular culture icons. Whatπs the point? Well aside from satisfying my compulsive need to produce art, these posters are designed to start a dialogue about imagery absorption. Powerful and seductive images have historically been used for a variety of reasons, some noble, some sinister, some both, depending on subjective interpretation. My work uses people, symbols, and people as symbols to deconstruct how powerful visuals and emotionally potent phrases can be used to manipulate and indoctrinate. There is no specific political affiliation behind what I do, only the philosophy "question everything", which is why I can use Jesse Jackson and Joseph Stalin in the same body of work. I also use the word "Obey" in much of my art as a form of reverse psychology. Though most people wish they were independent, many obediently follow the path of least resistance and are uncomfortable with confronting the word "Obey". As disconcerting as the word "Obey" may be, when not attached to any further command, it poses no threat beyond forcing the viewer to face their feelings about obedience.