Advertising is often criticised for being trivial.
The truth is, it’s only trivial if it’s done correctly.
If it recognises it’s place.
When advertising is done badly it’s pompous, self-important, and overblown.
Get it right, advertising is not fine art.
Advertising is applied art.
It’s the same as the difference between pure-math and applied-math.
Pure math makes discoveries, but it doesn’t know what for.
Applied math works out how to use those discoveries in the real world.
Think of the DADA movement in the 1920s.
Who was the leader and the most famous person?
Most people would say Duchamp.
Now which pieces are the most iconic, most memorable?
Most people would say, the iron with a line of tin tacks down the face.
Or else they’d say, the back of the naked woman painted like a cello.
Or else the beads of glass making tears, under a woman’s eyelashes.
None of these were made by Duchamp.
They were all made by Man Ray.
Duchamp did the thinking, he led the way.
Duchamp was theory, he created ‘readymades’.
The theory behind his thinking was truly inspirational for other artists.
It showed them possibilities they hadn’t seen before.
But it’s just too long for ordinary people.
Man Ray did the applied art that the rest of us can access easily.
He took something very complicated, and made it simple and easy to understand.
That’s our job.
Simplify, clarify, and deliver in a memorable way.
That’s what advertising is.
More Man Ray than Duchamp.
RSS Feed
Twitter
Email
And this is?
Hi Dick.
I was waiting for that.
If you take it out of the art gallery it’s a urinal.
That’s the point of ‘readymades’, the juxtaposition of context.
With Duchamp’s art you have to do a lot of work yourself, the thinking doesn’t come pre-packaged.
With Man Ray’s art it does.
That’s why Man Ray’s stuff works anywhere.
It communicates rather than merely provokes.
The urinal is like an ad that shocks for no reason.
“Cadeu”, or iron-with-tacs-stuck-to-it is one of my favourite art pieces of all time. It took all the learnings from the movement and illustrated it perfectly: the combination of two objects, making both useless; like Duchamp’s stool and bike wheel.
Just thought I’d share.
Not a fair comparison. Duchamp never had Lee Miller.
“That’s what advertising is. More Man Ray than Duchamp.”
Brilliant!
thanks, most heartfelt thanks, for the linear but memorable explanation.
‘The urinal is like an ad that shocks for no reason’…not really. that urinal was the most important piece of 20th century art
TC.
Didn’t say it wasn’t.
I said it’s not what we do.
agreed - but it’s purpose was not to shock for no reason (sorry, looking at this more from art history perspective rather than advertising)