Essay on Art and Design

This essay covers various artworks by different artists. It provides insights on the themes, mediums, and controversies surrounding these artworks. The essay covers three artworks, namely Budweiser (Label Conscious) by Budweiser Ad agency, TV Buddha by Nam June Paik, and The Ninth Hour by Maurizio Cattelan. The artworks are analyzed based on their themes, mediums, and the controversies surrounding them. The essay also discusses the role of mass media in advertising and the impact of visual mediums on religion. The essay is written for the Contextual Studies 1B module of the Visual Studies, Diploma Level 1 programme.

ESSAY ON ART AND DESIGN
VSN1A/B/C…
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Table of Contents
PART 1:.........................................................................................................................3
PART 2:.........................................................................................................................5
PART 3:.........................................................................................................................6
Reference list..................................................................................................................8
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
PART 1:
Artist- Budweiser Ad agency
Title- Budweiser (Label Conscious)
Date- 1987
Medium- Poster
Theme- Mass media
The artwork is about an advertisement that highlights three women lying down on a
mat wearing a swimsuit portraying the name of Budweiser, which is a company that
sells beers. According to my opinion, this artwork is to be analyzed on the basis of the
mass media campaigns of popular beverage and alcohol brands. The women are
shown reading, chilling, and listening to music respectively while adorning the brand
name of Budweiser which means that one can relax and do whatever they like as they
sip the beer from Budweiser (Windels, 2016).
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Figure 1: Budweiser’s 1987 sexist advertising campaign
(Source: Grau and Zotos, 2016)
The tagline of ‘label conscious’ means that the women are conscious of the label they
are wearing and hence they are laying down on a mat in a sophisticated style. In mass
media, advertising plays a very significant role, and Budweiser as a brand has always
tried to portray uniqueness to their advertising campaigns. In the context of this
poster, the image also tries to objectify women saying that they are more conscious of
the label they use even if it is a drink they are consuming or a dress they are wearing
or the mat they are laying down (Windels, 2016). Mass media has been subject to
several controversies where women have been stereotyped or objectified in a certain
manner which is derogatory and affects sentiments in women as a whole. The
advertising is derogatory because of the way the label has been used on scantily clad
women. The beer company might have done this to boost sales but it is definitely
disrespect to women. The process which has been used in this poster is mainly to
attract sales and to establish the fact that Budweiser is such a brand name that women
like to use it everywhere (Grau and Zotos, 2016).
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
PART 2:
Artist: Nam June Paik
Title- TV Buddha
Date- 1984
Medium - Video Installation
Theme used- Religion
With respect to my personal opinion, it could be seen that this video art showcases
Lord Buddha inside a television setup with the video camera pointing towards an idol
of Lord Buddha. This art can have two meanings which I could decipher. One is that
Lord Buddha or in this case religion has been portrayed visually through electronic
mediums like television and videography. Such representation has been done
sometimes without taking into account religious sentiments of people who follow a
particular religion. Religious sentiments have been mostly affected due to unreal and
sometimes over-representation of religion and religious persons through visual
mediums. Buddhism is one of the renowned religions that are followed by a
substantial amount of people worldwide and therefore misrepresentations can always
happen (Lim, 2019).
Figure 2: TV Buddha by Nam June Paik
(Source: Lim, 2019)
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Another meaning which can be deciphered from this artwork is that the teachings of
Buddha can reach far and wide to people who worship and revere him. Therefore
video episodes showing teachings of Buddha if uploaded on video sharing platforms
can let people learn about him without having to wait for a monk to preach about
Buddha’s teachings. Another meaning can also be deciphered that by means of videos
on religion can be misinterpreted by so-called preachers of religion so people have to
be aware of such miscreants.
PART 3:
Artist- Maurizio Cattelan
Title- The Ninth Hour
Date- 1999
Medium used- Wax clothing, polyester resin with metallic powder, volcanic rock,
carpet.
Theme- Religion
The artwork by Maurizio Cattalan a renowned sculptor shows Pope John Paul II
struck by a meteor holding the Papal Cross writhing in pain. This is a satirical
sculptor, which shows that even religion or Church is not above God’s action or
reactions. This sculptor created much controversy as Maurizio had interpreted Pope
John Paul II with a reference to a biblical incident, which has described Jesus dying
on a cross. This sculpture also shows how even Church priest or a papal executive can
face the wrath of God if he has sinned in any manner. This artwork is popularly
known as La Nona Ora and represents that everyone is equal in the eyes of the
Almighty. This sculpture has created much controversy during early 2000s and
received rave reviews (Gennari, 2015).
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Figure 3: La Nona Ora or the ninth hour by Maurizio Cattalan
(Source: )
According to my opinion this sculpture portrays how Almighty are significant in
taking any action upon any wrongdoer. Until now, people consider Church,
specifically Catholic religion-based to be above all. Even the Church is sometimes
seen to be behaving arbitrarily taking decisions of the public or any individual on their
own (Gennari, 2015).To highlight this arbitrariness, Maurizio satirically portrayed that
a natural calamity can befall upon anyone even if it is the Pope himself. The shards of
glass and the unique way in which Pope John Paul II’s sculpture has been laid down
on the floor is an innovative way to sculpt any structure (Schachter, 2016). The
violence and magnanimity of the structure has been shown through the facial
expression of Pope and shards of glass, which are shattered here and there. One can
see how this wax sculpture has been put with the papal cross leaning and the meteor’s
weight making Pope John lean onto one side. One can also decipher that, as Jesus had
died not able to bear the sins of the world similarly Pope is not able to handle the sins
of the Church as portrayed satirically by Maurizio (Schachter, 2016).
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Reference list
Gennari-Santori, F., 2015. Images in the Piazza: The Destruction of a Work by
Maurizio Cattelan (Milan, May 2004). Change Over Time, 5(1), pp.78-94.
Grau, S.L. and Zotos, Y.C., 2016. Gender stereotypes in advertising: a review of
current research. International Journal of Advertising, 35(5), pp.761-770.
Lim, T.S., 2019. Moving Meditation: Paik Nam June’s TV Buddha and Its Zen
Buddhist Aesthetic Meaning. Dao, pp.1-17.
Schachter, B., 2016. Art and Religion in the 21st Century, written by Aaron
Rosen. Religion and the Arts, 20(1-2), pp.247-249.
Windels, K., 2016. Stereotypical or just typical: how do US practitioners view the role
and function of gender stereotypes in advertisements?. International Journal of
Advertising, 35(5), pp.864-887.
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
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Diploma Visual Studies Level 1 (shared)
AY18/19
Contextual Studies 1B
Assessment Feedback Form
Written Assignment – Essay
To be completed by Assessor
Student Name: Student ID Number:
Programme:
Visual Studies, Diploma Level 1
Module:
D-SH125 Contextual Studies 1B
Module Learning Outcome(s) Assessed
Students will be able to:
● Outline a more elaborate understanding of the contextual issues that pertain to imagery in
various media
● Interrelate information in context through research and reflective writing
● Apply citation effectively
Deadline: Week 8 Submission Date:
Weighting of project/assignment in relation to the whole module: 40%
Criteria (based on assignment brief) % Mark
(%)
Remarks
Format and Structure
Word doc 1
Times New Roman 12pt 1
1.5 line spacing, left justified 1
Minimum word count (800) 1
Class, Name, ID, and
Submission date top left corner 1
5
Content Development
i) Ability to organize (including relevant,
captioned images), make links, and form
coherent arguments [ 60 ]
ii) Evidence of research, and inclusion of
citations and bibliography[ 15 ]
75
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CS 1B Written Assignment - Essay
Use of Language
Ability to write using proper sentence
structure, accurate spelling and correct
punctuation
20
TOTAL
All marks are provisional and
subjected to the approval of the
Board of Examiners.
100
Please underline where appropriate: Late Submission
Additional Comments (if any)
Name of Assessor: Date:
This is a computer-generated form and no signature is required.
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