The Temptations of Human Nature

In the bible it is said that God created man from the soil in his garden, whom he named Adam. Although Adam had everything, God realized he was lonely, being the only human. One night, God took a rib from Adam, creating Eve whom would be his companion for life, telling them to “be fruitful and multiply.” While being allowed to live freely in Gods perfect garden referred to as the “Garden of Eden,” they were told they could eat and go anywhere they pleased, except they were not allowed to eat from one particular tree, the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” As easy as it may have sounded, only having to avoid one tree turned out to be more difficult than expected, and temptations set in. While going about the day, Eve was approached by a serpent, said to be the symbol of the devil, which came to her side, convincing her to eat from the tree of knowledge. Once she realized what she had done she went to Adam, persuading him to do the same. After God discovered what they had done, he banished them from the “Garden of Eden.”


The story of Adam and Eve has largely influenced our world today and DKNY wants us to believe that they have the new “Adam and Eve,” by managing to work these ideals into modern advertising schemes. While being a well known story, it’s meaning and pictorial image has changed and altered to resemble that of a modern Adam and Eve. As in DKNY’s “Be Delicious” perfume, advertisements use symbolism and iconography to illustrate the temptations of mankind throughout the design.


Because religion is valued largely in society, manufactures capitalize on consumers by gearing advertisements towards important symbols and sacredness. By framing only two humans in an environmental setting within the advertisement, DKNY is representing and suggesting the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. While being the only human at first, Adam felt lonely and incomplete, until one morning when he awoke to Eve laying next to him, fulfilling the emptiness he had felt inside. In DKNY’s advertisement we see a man grinning happily resting his head against a woman, who he has strong affection for. Though pictures cannot speak, we see that his eyes are closed and we get the feeling that he is absorbing the aroma of the perfume the woman is wearing, never wanting to let her go. By connecting our visual perception of the advertisement to the desire of wanting the “Be Delicious” fragrance, DKNY is grasping the audience through appeal so they will want to obtain their product.


Because happiness and affection is associated with love and worship, we as consumers believe that the empty spot in our lives will be filled if we wear, “Be Delicious.” Since the story of Adam and Eve is widely known, DKNY is sending the message people who wear this fragrance will find a soul mate that will stand by our side. Although the man and woman in the image are not naked, contradicting what the bible says, we still distinguish through symbolism that these two are representing that incident and scene in the bible. When Adam and Eve were banished from the “Garden of Eden” they only had each other. By presenting them in the advertisement side by side as, Adam holds onto Eve, we connect the two individuals to how Eve was created. By utilizing the symbolism of the rib and how God took a rib from Adam to fabricate Eve, we associate by the two people standing side by side that woman and men are equal. Along with portraying Adam and Eve, other certain elements are presented in the ad, such as eating the “forbidden fruit,” suggesting the desires of mankind.
Through temptation we let our guard down, allowing ourselves to act outside our moral notions and follow our human nature of wanting what we cannot have. As the woman clutches the green plump apple holding it close to her mouth, we create a stronger connection to Eve and the temptation from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” DKNY is similar to the serpent, both cunningly and deceptively convincing us through the appeal of lust and desires to use the “Be Delicious” sent.


Along with the iconography of the apple, DKNY uses type in the image as play on words. While having an actual bite taken from the green apple in the woman’s hand, the words “Take a bite out of life” also appear on the advertisement right below the apple. By doing this DKNY once again is tempting us to fill in that empty spot in our lives with the perfume, taking control of our destiny. Because the woman in the advertisement is our main focal point, blissfully smiling and gazing toward us as the man leans up against her, we see that she is the temptress, displaying the ideal control every woman ultimately wants. Although both Adam and Eve indulged in the “forbidden fruit,” Eve was the one who sinned at first, later persuading Adam with her charm and companionship encouraging him to do so as well. By essentially revealing and depicting the woman as a temptress, we as consumers are envious of her, wanting to purchase the fragrance of the “forbidden fruit” so that we may obtain our own Adam.


Even though it was a sin when Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit, she took control of her destiny, opening both her eyes as well as the viewer’s eyes to the influences of, envy and desire. By applying the design of the apple to the perfume bottle we connect the symbolism of its form to the “tree of knowledge of good and evil,” thus convincing women that “Be Delicious” perfume allows them to be the “apple” in his eye. Although Adam and Eve were banished from the “Garden of Eden,” DKNY illustrates through the large bite in the apple, which the woman has taken, holding it close to her mouth symbolizes the “forbidden fruit.” Demonstrating humanities natural instinct to want what we cannot have. However by taking a bite out of the apple, Adam and Eve sinned, connecting us once again to the bible. In the bible it is said that because we are the children of Adam and Eve sin is passed hereditarily, meaning it is in our nature to desire and obtain what we are not meant to have. Due to the iconography relating to the bible and the symbolism of the apple, desire is represented throughout the design of the advertisement, establishing a want for the fragrance. By abandoning our good behavior and indulging in a sense of lost innocence, DKNY like the bible creates an awareness of good and evil, bringing us back to the theme of Adam and Eve.


While images and text send specific messages to the viewer, other elements contribute to the iconography and symbolism within the advertisement. By incorporating the color green in the juicy apple and the background between the man and woman, DKNY brings us back to nature and the “Garden of Eden.” Along with being banished from Eden, Adam and Eve were cursed with painful child birth, hard work, and death but they were not alone. By generating the apple as green its representation is tended for eternity, harmony, and posterity, as if the man and woman were living in a Utopia. While being human we search for completeness, a place of perfection, and our ideal way of life. Since DKNY is aware of this they tempt us to envy the woman wanting what she has, symbolizing through the color that we will find true love, being “Delicious” for the rest of our lives. Because of the visual imagery within the DKNY advertisements the temptation to wear their perfume captures our instinct to crave what others have and wanting what we cannot have unless we purchase their fragrance.


Through cunning strategies, DKNY combines elements of religious icons, index, and color accents, creating a complete package of temptation and desire through the use of iconography and symbolism. Because God told Adam and Eve to be “fruitful and multiply” we as consumers become memorized and tempted into wanting the apple, insuring we will have completeness in our lives and doing as religion tells us. Because the perfume bottle is in the form of an apple it better generates a connection of being fruitful. Along with the form of the bottle having a repetition of the apple on the advertisement, generates a connection to being “fruitful and multiply.” By doing this it is allowing us to recognize and distinguish DKNY’s advertisement as a resemblance to Adam and Eve and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Due to the use of these design strategies the “Be Delicious” advertisements capture the eye of every woman, tempting us to fill the emptiness in our life by consuming and wearing DKNY’s fragrance. Although we as consumers see advertisements as routine, these certain aspects within them gear us towards purchasing produces and “taking a bite out of life.”

Figure Ground Reversal

By repeating one form within a grid formatted pattern, we are able to create a two-dimensional composition of both equal positive and negative space. While looking at the picture to the right it is apparent that the black forms generate the positive space and the white forms generate negative area, creating the effect that the composition is of equal proportions. By alternating the form within each square and positioning it in different way as well as reversing the positive and negative reveal a process of the study of Rubin's vase.

Although Rubin’s vase creates two distinct images (two men’s faces or a vase like cup) the image here is a way to generate such artwork utilizing the inspiration of forms and understanding how positive and negative space work together. Because our minds fill in the blanks, we use our natural senses to distinguish certain shapes within images. By perceiving different forms within a composition creates an allusion making it difficult to pin point the original design within the image.

(Rubin's Vase positive/negative case study)

Mimiking a Design and the Prosses

Today Halloween is about mimicking someone or something that your not, just for day. As we decide upon an idea of what to be for Halloween it seems easy to just flock to the stores and grab a costume right off the rack. By selecting a costume from some rack that has multiplied and not an original seems pointless. Isn’t the preparation of the costume one of the greatest parts about Halloween? Although it is time consuming and tedious at moments, just to wear it for one evening it’s the effort that counts. To be able to redesign yourself into anything is the best part about dressing-up.

Well this Halloween Ashley and I had two things in Mind, Thing One and Thing Two. Do you remember Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat? As we grow up we sometimes seem to lose our selves in everyday life, forgetting about our childhood memories. Although we can Google costumes for Thing One and Thing Two, it’s not the same feeling to dress up and portray these story book characters. In Dr. Seuss’s story books we stumble upon many strange and peculiar characters however Thing One and Thing Two are quite the eye-catcher. As we can see they are drawn wearing plain red jumpsuits with only a circular shape on the chest presenting their names Thing One and Thing Two. Another symbol that represents these to is there vivid blue hair, creating a contrast in colors by using blue and red within the same composition.

While thinking about how we were going to portray these unique characters it became apparent to Ashley (Thing Two) and I (Thing One) that the original Thing One and Thing Two were a little boyish. So we decided to design a more girlish look incorporating all the visual elements of these things. Because jumpsuits seemed too frumpy we used little plain red dresses that zipped up the front. Along with the dresses we choose red and white striped socks playing off of the iconography of the Cat in the Hat. But the costume still seemed too plain and incomplete; a plain red dress did not emphasis Thing One and Thing Two, we could have been anything. Now that we had our items of clothing it was time to mimic the famous icon that represented the main focal point of the characters. We placed a large white circle with the letters T-H-I-N-G and either the number 1 or 2 on the chest area of the dresses. Almost done we were missing one aspect to our reinvented Thing One and Thing Two design, BLUE hair. Even though the original characters in Dr. Seuss have wild bed head hair we were looking for a more modern look such as, bright brilliant blue bob wigs (Say that five times fast), thus bringing Thing One and Thing Two into the 21^st century.

After all of the thinking, designing, planning, and preparation of Thing One and Thing Two we were finally the complete package. By redesigning Dr. Seuss’s story book characters it seemed as if we were the real Thing One and Thing Two asking everyone, “Would you like to shake hands with Thing One and Thing Two?” (Dr. Seuss).

Quilting

It is said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. In comparison this also can be said about the quilts that are displayed in the Nelson Art Gallery at UC Davis. These hand made quilts all express uniquely different feelings and emotions when viewed. Their illuminating arrangement and organization of colors and patterns is by far breath taking. As one looks at the quilts it becomes apparent that they more than just a combination of fabric, they are crafted carefully expressing different passions throughout each one. Because these quilts are crafted from scrap materials and textiles they are not perfect or exactly precise in measurements. But isn’t that what makes them unique and exuberant? While closely examining the quilts it is easy to pick up on certain pattern schemes such as repetition of block patterns and the placement of certain elements. However the use of contrasting colors is what really gives these quilts a sense of rhythm. By using wide arranges of value colors combined with contrasting and complimentary colors the quilts display movement and structure throughout the composition. Although the quilts are symmetrical creating an over baring repetition, the color schemes and difference in pattern structure is what brings them to life. Thus, keeping us captured within the design of them. Even though manufacturing perfect produces is the way our society functions and hand made quilt are a dyeing pastime, does not mean that we should look at their flaws. Instead we can learn from the craft of using only scraps to create a masterpiece. With this in mind by producing original patterns and fluidity of expression, in the end will be more personal and a creative design in general.

Sweet Tooth?

Inspiration can be found in many different places from nature to everyday items including food, sweet sugary foods to be precise. While our society idolizes over movie stars and singers, one face reocurse throughout art, more than anyother. Marilyn Monroe was sculpted and then finalized with an exoskeleton of jelly beens. This famous sex icon is made out of 254,093 jelly beans ranging in a variety of flavors, from tuti fruti to buttered popcorn just to name a few. Marilyn Monroe's statue produced out of jelly beans can be located at IT’SUGAR store in Universal CityWalk. This unique method of using jelly beans to portray her every aspect through one element is by far a fascinating design technique. By sculpting her to be curvilinear the fluidity of her design becomes more realistic grasping the viewers interest. Also by tying in Monroe's signature posse it is hard for anyone not to recognize her right off the bat. Famous hollywood icons play a large part in our society from how we act, how we dress, and even how we represent art. This fascinating technique of using candy as the main element has many flocking to IT'SUGAR just to see the 10 foot sculpture. By displaying Monroe's sculpture made-out of jellybeans creates a new mouth watering sensation for the customers that come to the store, inspiring all whom consume these delouse treats.

Popular Icons

While words or objects can mean different things in different context a description of cultural studies does just that. To some it is simply learning and understanding diverse ethnical communities and their behaviors. Although this is logical cultural studies is interpreted as academic research on society as a whole, examining the influences that media has on consumers. While being bamboozled by hundreds to thousands of advertisements a day we give up our individual identities, generating a specific standard of social collaboration. As the main factor in attracting an audience, manipulation and understanding the consumers desires within a design must be integrated as a complete package. Although publicity of Hollywood stars, brand names, and new trends have a large impact on society the design aspect of how to advertise is essential to marketing products. To have a greater impact on the viewer, creativity and innovation are essential to advertising encompassing a majority of consumers rather than targeting a small cliental. Because fame and perfection is admired in our society the generalizations that one must imitate a celebrity’s ideal life style creates an open door for product design through celebrities. For instance, Jessica Simpson is scene in all pro-active advertisements increasing sales. Because her image is everywhere and many can identify with her by also having acne, we fall into the manipulation and deception of the product. Since Simpson is the representative for pro-active uses her image within marketing to trap consumers into buying the product before trying or finding out details about it.
By using multiple design strategies through media to target groups rather than individuals, manufactures have discovered was to produce images that numerous individuals can measure up to. While using popular culture icons such as Hannah Montana and The Jonahs Brothers, close to all children can create a secret identity and admiring these stars. By generating popular icons into design the manufactures and producers target the society into consuming lunch boxes, clothing, and many other material objects. When the media presents trends in fashion, glamour, and popularity we view it as if we could be on top of the world if we fallow all the trends. But in reality of consumer products it’s about manipulating the viewer and creating stimulating designs of famous icons to capture the attention of our culture.

Pop Art

While media took over traditional art and its beauty artist embraced the change creating a new style of design. Around 1955 during the post war in England artist started a new movement, known as Pop Art. Artist such as Richard Hamilton created collages consisting of only mass-produced imagery. Media such as popular icons, specific brands, and house held appliances were mounted together creating an over all combined efficient. Because art tends to echo the period contained by its style the modern mass culture of advertising is portrayed within Pop Art.

By using widely known imagery the viewer becomes personally connected with the collage. Techniques of using what society is socially aware of set the emotional tone for how Pop Art is portrayed. By using images such as a tootsie pop, canned ham, and popular shows Hamilton draws in the viewer by means of understanding modern comforts. Although each individual element is of a different media image, the placement of how they are laid out generates a successful design. Because Pop Art was directly connected to society media elements, Hamilton was able to produce real world imagery through his collages.


Image and other information provided by :

Eighteenth to Twenty- First Century Art. 3rd ed. Vol. 6. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2009. Print. Pg 1151