Artist denouncing the realities of our world through illustrations Vol. MORE ARTS ON PAGE 4

Truly amazing artwork.

1 Million reps to go around for everyone who chooses to break down what any of them mean to them.

I love to hear peoples interpretations of art, especially art with this much substance.
 
jjs136 said:
when we sit comfortably at home getting christmas gifts there are people on the other side of the world working their *** off to make them for us


some kids get to play with toy trains, some kids are forced to work on real trains (hard labor)

Government lies

as we destroy the earth/environment we are killing ourselves

new slaves (not kanye song)


people are scared to go out and see the world, they hide inside and let facebook do it for them

when at peace people fantasize about war, when at war people fantasize about peace

tyranny is cyclical

a lot of lives have been sacrificed for our economy to be what it is today

the knowledge you can gain from reading is limitless

there is a whole world of knowledge out there but people choose to stay ignorant

dangers of alcohol

suicide bombers are motivated by the carrot on the stick but they never get to eat the carrot

people are sheep

celebrities get fattened up to get slaughtered (lohan, kanye, tyson, ect..)

people care more about taking pictures than actually enjoying the view

backbreaking labor and the rice gets wasted

everyone is going to die eventually 

hard labor allows the rich to relax

some things in life are only obtainable for the wealthy

kids are forced to study

politics are poison

government/companies work hard to cover up the true costs of economic growth

wars are fought on people's homes

the economics of war (people's lives)

you will never get the carrot at the end of the stick, but you can die trying

war sucks money out of the common man's pockets
 
Click to expand...
 
jjs136 said:
I would like to discuss this one :

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What you guys think about it? What does it represent?


















































would you smash?

NT thick? :nerd:
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I interpret that as something the do with porn. Similar to how people continue to look ,be intrigued and satisfaction and answer by finally finding the Lochness monster one day (in the background of the pic) , people continue to look for porn and something to satisfy them but will forever be looking.
 
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You see it's broke ***** racism
That's that "Don't touch anything in the store"
And it's rich ***** racism
That's that "Come in, please buy more"
"What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain?
All you blacks want all the same things"
Used to only be ******, now everybody playing
Spending everything on Alexander Wang
New Slaves
 
Damn Seaman... real talk...

GREAT interpretation of all of them. :smokin
Loving this thread.

I hope this leads to more of this type of artwork and similar discussions of reality.
 
ORSRT8 said:
 
jjs136 said:
I would like to discuss this one :



What you guys think about it? What does it represent?
 
Click to expand...
I interpret that as something the do with porn. Similar to how people continue to look ,be intrigued and satisfaction and answer by finally finding the Lochness monster one day (in the background of the pic) , people continue to look for porn and something to satisfy them but will forever be looking.
Click to expand...
Interesting take. I think it could have to do with plastic surgery and how some women have it done to the point where they look as outlandish as the Loch Ness Monster seems. Similarly, it could mean that women have so much plastic surgery/alteration to their bodies done that they no longer even look human anymore and almost look like monsters.
 
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Kal-El-8 said:
i like these, can someone explain all of them somehow, :lol:
i don't understand a few.
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Ok, here goes...


jjs136 said:
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[COLOR=#red]Alludes to Chinese Sweat Shop labor, and American dependence on said labor. Also suggested, is the notion that our happiness (borne out of materialistic consumption--here, represented by the presents) is tied in to this exploitation. Don't tell your kids Santa Clause is responsible for that present. Tell them the truth, that some underpaid Chinese laborer made it happen.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Poverty is a ticking social time-bomb.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Alludes to global inequality.

In other words, for young Tim to enjoy his childhood in American suburbia, young Bak Singh must lose/sacrifice his childhood in the slums of India, or Indonesia, or China, etc.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Washington/Capitol Hill is full of lying puppets. See Pinocchio[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Global warming is a death sentence for those animals native/living in cold/arctic climates. Furthermore, it is implied, that we humans are the executioners, because we are largely if not directly responsible for global warming.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This can be interpreted two ways:

1) He is painting his shackles gold

2) He is painting his shackles to look more like "white skin."

The former interpretation suggests then, that, he is making desirable the object(s) of his stratification. This can be either good or bad (perfect example is the so called idea of "taking ownership of the N__ word" that certain people of color prescribe to).

The latter interpretation suggests an attempt to escape the confines of his social condition, borne out of his biological difference from the ruling class. But even if he paint the chains the color of white skin, we all know he is still a black man, and he knows this as well, thus the whole affair is a hopeless endeavor.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]I am not too sure about this one. Perhaps it's something to do with wasted resources.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is pretty self-explanatory![/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is suggesting that governments, or the heads of governments, are naive and as such don't quite understand the value of human life. Furthermore, to these folks, war and peace are merely tools/playthings to reach and accomplish some silly end goal.[/COLOR]


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Self-explanatory


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[COLOR=#red]Another one I am not entirely too sure about.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is about the cycling of regimes. Basically, if you topple one dictator and/or regime, another one will just take its place. See the U.S government replacing Saddam. Look into why Iran is as crazy as it is now, and the role the U.S played in that. Also see everything that has happened in Egypt since the ouster of Mubarak[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]War is a tool for profit. A more specific interpretation could be that the U.S is a nation that profits from waging wars in foreign lands/the U.S dollar has long been backed by wars waged in other nations.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]One of the more "positive" toned illustrations. This is one is suggesting that you, or anyone for that matter, should dive into a book.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Commenting on the Grecian financial crisis.

Also suggesting that all attempts to rectify the situation have been, merely, superficial. Rather than making real and tough decisions, the powers that be on both sides of the crisis (EU and Greece) have merely done the equivalent of sweeping the issue under the rug--or temple in this case.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]We stood by and let the planet go to waste, now our desperate and pathetic efforts to save ourselves and the little that is left is ultimately meaningless.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Not entirely too sure about this one.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]"One man's trash, is another man's treasure."

The illustration here implies something more sinister, however. Essentially, here, the trash was knowingly disguised as treasure before being dumped on the unsuspecting and under-privileged. The intent is what makes this bad[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Someone already gave a pretty good explanation of this.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This is another one that can be interpreted in two ways:

1) The guy crouching by the fire isn't making use of his opportunities (ladder of opportunity), and is actively destroying said opportunities by using parts of the wooden ladder as fodder for his fire, which WILL eventually die out. Also, alluded to here, is Plato's allegory of the cave.

2) Someone else used the ladder to climb to the top, and in the process, destroyed the ladder to prevent others from being able to make use of the same opportunity. The guy crouching by the fire is then, by this interpretation, a victim of another's selfishness.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Weapons of destruction disguised as gifts.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This illustration is describing, for a change, one of the positives/benefits of social media; that is, social media as a tool that aids in the fight against injustice. See the Arab Spring, in particular.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is perplexing. I don't know if the author is suggesting that sports--soccer in particular--can be used as a deterrent against crime, or if he is implying something else, such as the corruption in a sport like soccer.

Sometimes, illustrations are region specific, so if this illustration were made with a certain region in mind, say Italy or Eastern Europe, then I'd go with the former interpretation.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Simply stated, this illustration is describing the process of getting hooked to the bottle (alcoholism).[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]The destruction of native and natural lands for profit (in this case, oil based profits). Also suggested is the idea that these Western Oil conglomerates are reaching their goals by harassing and driving out the local inhabitants/natives of lands they hope to exploit.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Making a fool out of an a-$-$.

This is another one of those illustrations whose interpretation might be region specific. If it was made with the U.S in mind, then you could say that the illustration is suggesting that the donkey (democrats--political group in power) is being fooled/tricked into starting wars.

The terrorist just needs to drop a carrot in front of the donkey (see presence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, C.A.R, Nigeria, etc), and donkey will rush to it--with missile strapped unto its back--ready to wage war. This has the effect of doing pretty terrible things for our PR around the world.[/COLOR]


View media item 682412

[COLOR=#red]Straightforward. Sheep/herd mentality during elections.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is about censorship as it relates to the internet. See China and North Korea, for examples.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Also straightforward. Fat pigs are symbol for the rich in society.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]The destruction of landlines and the proliferation of cell phones. Possibly suggested, also, is the effect (positive or negative) of EM on living creatures, which is a hotly debated issue in certain circles.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]I have absolutely NO idea what this one is about...:lol:[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This illustration is saying that photographs are not a substitute for live experience. Furthermore, the documentation of certain things/sites via photography is slowly making mundane what was interesting and unique.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This is yet another illustration that juxtaposes the plights of the severely under-privileged to luxuries of being over-privilege.

What we carelessly waste and throw about (food/rice), in America, as a matter of tradition, has its origins in the rice farms of third world farmers who barely make enough food and money to maintain their livelihoods.[/COLOR]



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[COLOR=#red]Working yourself into an early grave.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]See "The New Jim Crow." Basically, this is about the privatization of our prison systems, and the profits being generated from locking up folks of color, perhaps.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Another illustration comparing the haves to the have-nots. In this case, it's about the access to opportunity that money engenders.[/COLOR]


View media item 682424

[COLOR=#red]This one concerns the standardization of our educational system via rote testing, which is doing more harm than good.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This comments on the fact that in certain parts of the world, freedom of speech and expression are crimes punishable by death (see quite a few theocratic nations).[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Simply stated, a lot of what politicians say to the public can be regarded as crap/****.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Again, see privileged vs. under privileged. This is pretty much identical to the one about the trains.[/COLOR]


View media item 682428

[COLOR=#red]Pretty straightforward.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Comments on wastefulness, and how the products of, say, poor countries ultimately end up being used for the purposes of war.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Also about wastefulness, as it relates to China.

This is country where millions live in poverty, with some subsisting on incomes derived from menial and grueling jobs as rice farmers. Rather than address this, China invests bountifully in its international sports academies, whose sole purpose is to shine a positive light on the country. Therein lies the irony.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]This one is about the hunting of the foxes, which is an archaic tradition in the Great Britain. Essentially, this illustration draws attention to the utterly reprehensible tradition that is the hunt, especially in an age where food is easily attained by simply going to the grocery store (hence the shopping carts).[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]The battle between science and religion; specifically, creationism vs. evolution.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Profiting from war with no regard for human life/causalities.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]No clue![/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Again, rich vs. poor. Here, the rich feeding off the poor.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Something about cleaning up our oceans/natural water systems?[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]No clue![/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Our money being forcefully taken from us (taxes) to fund wars.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Acts of war disguised as acts of diplomacy.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Medical science making the impossible (pigs flying) possible.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Pretty straightforward.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]One is washing away his sins, the other is hiding them.[/COLOR]


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[COLOR=#red]Commenting on how artificial foods have become (natural vs. unnatural).[/COLOR]
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Hope that helps!





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banksy has turned into a hipster craze

can someone explain the one with the evolution of man and the last 2 holding up the tomb?! 
 
You can imagine how it hurts/damages the pig when we eat from the hole and satisfy our hunger, much like how when we satisfy our needs in real life we are hurting damaging the pig that we are eating from (the planet earth)
 
OzarkShark said:
 
banksy has turned into a hipster craze

can someone explain the one with the evolution of man and the last 2 holding up the tomb?! 
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as man evolved and got smarter, man created the 10 commandments (or religion as a whole)
 
My interpretation is that the frontiers and rural areas are increasingly being settled and urbanized. A natural setting like the beach now has storm drains on it which shows how human influence is impacting natural settings so that they're no longer truly natural.
 
I think that the Pig with the butterfly wings comments on plastic surgery. The surgeon is holding a mirror. It means that those wings won't make the pig beautiful, because it's still a pig.
 
This has the potential to be my favorite new thread.

I hope it keeps going with more similar art work and similar interpretation.

Loving it.
 
Big shout to the OP for making this thread.

Personally, I am delighted that y'all are diggin' the works. This to me, is further proof of the importance of art to and for our society.

Too many times have I read through "college education" threads only to see the usual ignorant suspects bashing an art education, and every time it has left me saddened.

Art, when done right, can incite and inspire glorious conversations on a range of social issues. The examples OP posted highlight this fact. So, i guess my point is, let's not relegate and/or view an art education as a meaningless endeavor because it "doesn't pay well" like engineering or pharmacy, etc. Instead try to understand the social importance of art, and how an artist can be as vital to society as an MD, mathematician, and/or financier.




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SuperAntigen said:
Big shout to the OP for making this thread.

Personally, I am delighted that y'all are diggin' the works. This to me, is further proof of the importance of art to and for our society.

Too many times have I read through "college education" threads only to see the usual ignorant suspects bashing an art education, and every time it has left me saddened.

Art, when done right, can incite and inspire glorious conversations on a range of social issues. The examples OP posted highlight this fact. So, i guess my point is, let's not relegate and/or view an art education as a meaningless endeavor because it "doesn't pay well" like engineering or pharmacy, etc. Instead try to understand the social importance of art, and how an artist can be as vital to society as an MD, mathematician, and/or financier.




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Some works by some of my favorite political cartoonists/general illustrators...

[COLOR=#red]John Cuneo:[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=#red]Peter de Seve:[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=#red]Mike Luckovich:[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=#red]Kevin Kallaugher:[/COLOR]

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etc.


I could seriously go on for days...:lol:





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