GRADUATE THESIS PROJECT: THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE AS VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
The intent of my creative project is to explore the relationship between the message and the medium in the public space and how they can be synthesized and employed to inspire longstanding attitudinal change and promote civic action. This creative project considers the potential of a non-linear narrative format to assign meaning to complex information. Formal considerations are explored through the synthesis of text and image in conjunction with selected vehicles for communication appropriate to the public arena.

The applied components of this study consist of two-parts:

the Christian Children’s Fund Exhibition at the Shops at Willow Lawn, Richmond, Virginia
and
NIKE AND WONDERBRA INSTALLATION
The Nike and Wonderbra Installation examined the relationship between the image of ourselves created by the mass media and its role in shaping personal identity, creating desires and altering society’s perception of reality. Content centered on the Wonderbra, made by the Sara Lee Foundation, and Nike products. Using these products as a point of departure, I promoted a complex experience intended to prompt the viewer to question what shapes their personal identity and values, and how their purchases and actions affect others – a connection which is often obscured.
THE PROJECT

This study is an exploration of the medium in the public space as a means of communicating a social or politically-based message. I will explore how, as visual communicators, we can work within a continuously changing context to empower individuals to affect change, both behavioral and attitudinal. It is my aim to investigate how we can overcome the barriers raised by the current context of visual inundation and create a long-lasting interest in an issue. In our society, media promoting social and political issues and demanding change are abundant. However, their impact is often undermined because they have become too common and expected.

In this exploration, I ask “how can visual communication be utilized to empower people to respond to issues which affect them?” In responding to this question, I focus on the medium as the vehicle and the message as content. I will analyze the components individually and their synthesized role as an aid in fomenting activism. It is my premise that, if manifested, attitudinal change will naturally lead to behavioral change. I will attempt to inspire both by drawing on various contemporary issues to increase public awareness. Ultimately, my intention is to cause people to question their beliefs and motivate them to actively respond to issues which affect them.
my thesis documentation is available to download in 2 parts, approximately 70 pages total. copyright 1995.

part 1 + part 2

my work was a direct rxn to the ads seen here.
“Women’s bodies are often dismembered and presented as separate parts, perpetuating the concept that a woman’s body is not connected to her mind and emotions.
The message is: if a woman has great legs who cares who she is?”
This message is evident in the Wonderbra advertisements, where women’s bodies are conceptually dismembered. One needs to merely substitute great legs for great breasts. According to these advertisements, large breasts are desirable on a woman, sending the message that the value of the woman is the sum total of her breasts. Evident in the “Hello Boys” advertisement, the message is “men will like you if you have large, round breasts.” These are objects to be displayed, not hidden. But what are the consequences when the value of the individual is reduced to outward appearances?
VISITOR COMMENTS

It’s wonderful – you are really expressing something important. It is not evident in anything else in the show. Good luck! Sylvia

I think you raise a lot of serious questions about our consumer-based society – I ponder these issues on a daily basis and hope that I don’t fall prey to advertiser’s claims – but I’m sure I do at least some of the time. What is the answer? The images that depict the wages paid to footwear workers are powerful – my only critique is that money is relative to a large degree – I’d like to see some information on how far $.10 goes in China versus the USA. But again, very powerful messages, especially the more graphic black and white pieces. Andy F.

If only men agreed about the falsifications! Susan P.

Hey – this stuff is great! It, above all else in the show, made me think. You may not value the opinion of a high school senior who just wandered through on a field trip, but I was amazed. It made me wonder about my Levi’s I have on, and if some poor family was paid $2.00 to make this shirt. Thanks, Jonathan Coleman

Thank you. I’m not sure how else to put my feelings into words. You brought many emotions to life for me – and made me think. Your art is about awareness and it is wonderfully successful. I’ll never buy Nike again. I’m ashamed to say that I own a Wonderbra. Thanks so very much for making me think and look at me. Sincerest gratitude, Heather McCafferty

Time based, time based, time based – I like it. Henry B. Lee

Thank you. You have put my feelings into a visual image. It can be recognized now for what it is. Perhaps others who have never realized they themselves are beautiful without the “image boosters” can finally bring themselves to realize they don’t need to be what society want them to be. Then again, maybe not. Leslie

Fantastic! Great subject matter + very well presented. Marie O’Kleasky

BRIEF CONCLUSIONS

In moving from small to large scale, I scanned the small collages [3-1/2” x 5”] and output them at 1000%. This change in scale created new relationships between parts, through hierarchy and improved visual organization. While the small collages were visually complex, the intrinsic visual hierarchy was not apparent until they were enlarged. Created from original advertising materials and photocopies, the contrast between elements that was so apparent in the large collages was diminished in the small scale because of scale and color differences. The value of the small collages was in that they directly and unequivocally referenced their origins in mass media and were grounded in our culture.

In the large collages, attention was paid specifically to the impact of color, which were hand painted to place emphasis on areas requiring more visual definition. Used minimally in each panel, the color palette was comprised of five colors – white, aqua blue, olive green, red and flesh. Red was used as an accent color – to define lips and bring out text, white to mute parts, and flesh to bring out the form of the figure. Background images and texture were minimized to reduce formal confusion. The text panels were designed to communicate information in small and manageable quantities, appealing to the viewer to read the information and not turn away.

The collage and text panels were effective in communicating the content, particularly the large collages which instantly communicated to the audience. As a whole, the large and small scale panels reinforced the overall message and played off of each other in content and form. The large scale panels worked on many levels – to define space in the installation, illuminate obscure yet relevant elements such as package parts, and in creating a relationship of scale with the viewer. The large panels corresponded to how these issues impact our lives and are dominant in our culture yet remain, for the most part, in the background. The small scale panels reinforced these messages on a more intimate and personal level.