One of the main reasons I studied Graphic Design was when I heard in college that it its like conveying a message through design. I was in love with everything mixed media and the thought of this really inspired me. Throughout my research this year I discovered an artist, Mel Chin. He is described as a conceptual artist and was a member of the Gala Committee which became well known for their ’hidden project’ of sneaking art into a well-known TV show at the time called ‘Melrose Place’. Over the years they managed to place this conceptual leftist art onto the set without anyone high up knowing anything. Mel Chin wanted to create a gallery of his art but not in an actual art gallery but on TV. He wanted to use the TV to put art messages subliminally just like you would with product placement to see what the outcome would be like when it is placed in people’s minds.
Several examples are a quilt that appeared when abortion was a very taboo topic and talked about on TV a lot. It appeared on an episode where someone had a miscarriage and the blanket over them had the chemical symbol for the abortion pill embroidered onto it. Another example is a quilt that appeared on scene with a pattern on used condoms which was done in a very subtle but noticeable way, this was used due to the Federal Communications Commission had banned imagery of unrolled condoms. This was a fight back at the people in charge in authority. The project nearly ended when they produced a controversial poster in a scene behind an actor which was named ‘Total Proof’ it was an image of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 with the damaged caused being in the shape of an Absolute Vodka bottle. Eventually, the props made by the Gala Committee made their way to a physical exhibition named ‘Uncommon Sense’ at MOCA in 1997. Below I have attached a few examples of these art props.
I have attached a YouTube video about this project with Mel Chin explaining the project he had done with the Gala Committee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnJF97sEOxI&t=15s
Political art and art with a reason are something I have always loved looking at and researching. Last year I got a chance to attend a talk by someone who worked with Jamie Reid. The show was displayed at the university of his work which was called ‘Taking Liberties!’ The political work of Jamie Reid from 1970 to 2020. I found the talk very insightful and it explained a lot about his early work such as his collage techniques and posters. Also explaining about the project with the Sex Pistols and his political art. I also visited the exhibition, which was lovely to see first-hand. There was so much I never realised he had created and how powerful the messages in some are. My favourite parts are the collage images mixed with black and white photos and his amazing use of bright colours mixed with monochrome. Below are some examples from the exhibition I attended.
