Spell Chanel (1 results)
Published by [Violet Ray], np, 1966
- Softcover
Seller: Boo-Hooray, New York, NY, U.S.A.Boo-Hooray
Contact seller1-star sellerPoster by artist-activist Violet Ray, collaging a LIFE magazine advertisement for Chanel bath products with Ky?ichi Sawada's award-winning photograph Flight to Safety. Sawada's harrowing photo of a Vietnamese mother and her children wading across a river to escape US bombardments earned him the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Photograph…y. The juxtaposition of this photograph with an image of fashion model Ali Macgraw, posing in water to advertise luxury perfumes and bath oils, articulates a powerful message about the comparative security and freedom of Americans, amidst the horrors in Vietnam. Throughout his work, Violet Ray radically repurposed the visual language of advertising to explore the role of mass media and consumer culture in influencing our values and lifestyles. Through hijacking ads for ubiquitous Western products, his critical détournement exploited the psychological power of advertising in order to bring the brutality of the Vietnam War into Americans' daily lives. Turning marketing on its head, Ray's works were designed as "advertisements" against the Vietnam War. Posters featuring his images were distributed at anti-war marches, transforming tools of capitalism into tools of dissent. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Offset. 17 x 21 1/4 in. Very good; short closed tear (approx. 1/4 in) at head.
