Designism 2.0 Part 2 - Talk. Liz Resnick.
Posted on
2007-Dec-16
at
01:23
Liz Resnick believes in Mr. Hendra’s mission - as well of that of the ADC - of using design as a vehicle to make sociopolitical statements. And she’s going straight to the source... the kiddies.
The Graphic Imperative - International Posters for Peace, Social Justice, and the Environment is a collection she co-curates as an instructor at the Massachusetts College of Art. It’s a “select retrospective of forty years of international sociopolitical posters. Themes include dissent, liberation, racism, sexism, human rights, civil rights... these 121 posters endeavor to show the social, political, and aesthetic concerns of many cultures in a single exhibition through delineating themes and contrasting political realities.”
While this traveling exhibition, having gone from LA to Istanbul, has had an impact on people far and wide, Resnick’s own students are getting the biggest impact of all.
Resnick’s class teaches design students to think beyond their art - and to consider the power that art has to communicate. “Teachers need to be mindful that their students live in a free democratic society, so that should gear them to make social change and use that power.”
This year, her students were asked to make a poster that made a statement on whatever they wanted. The images that came out of the assignment were varied and powerful. But are they powerful enough to sell things?
“In my role as a design educator, I believe that I must encourage my student to think beyond the promotion of the selling of goods and services.”
Ok. It’s okay to sell an idea, as long as a good or service isn’t attached. But isn't the Red Cross basically a service? Is a canned food drive not a collection of goods?
It appears that the design world likes to make the blurry line between art and commerce a bit more clear, with design staking a claim to the more righteous side.
We'll see what the following presenters have to say about that.
0 comments 
Post A Comment!
...................................................................................................................
