As I mentioned in an earlier entry, The sweeping fad for use of Helvetica in branding a number of years back, was one which gave companies an identity of simplicity, accessibility and cleanliness.
So if the subliminal power of branding is so effective, is it really any wonder that the brand itself becomes a celebrity?
Having read the 'first things first' manifesto, and further reading on it's effectiveness within the 'obey the giant' campaign, it was clear that we, as a people, crave establishment, identity that can be purchased that says as much about our consumer choices, as it does about our socio-political status.
Whilst the current 'buy-in' may be marketed via simplistic visuals and bespoke, pseudo-handmade finishes, this cult of the brand has become more of an inspiration within the art world. Paying homage to collaborative works between Man Ray and Duchamp.
One of the latest effective motions within this 'branderlust' fixation is Francesco Vezzoli (ref: dazed 70) his collaborative works with seminal movie director Roman Polanski, casting a-listers Natalie Portman & Michelle Williams, features a product, A bottle of perfume entitled 'greed' marketed as a luxurious fragrance.
But the product doesn't exist, there is no perfume, there is no product, the marketing itself has become the art.
With an accompanying media campaign (which I personally feel has been put together with the amount of refinement I wasn't even proud of as a 1st year HND student) and a short film acting as a viral accomplice to the campaign, It could be forgiven for mistaking this product as the next 'must have' item for the prada lapping elite.
Nevertheless, This highlights something very important within contemporary society. If we're disposing of the canon, and opening our minds to the relevance of works such as those of the hirsts and banksys of this world, Do we need a shift from the traditionalist ways of gallery openings and high-culture gatherings?
In a world where even our advertising is shifting from printed press, into viral, interactive and motion-based media (just take a trip into any london/new york tube station and see how all the posterboards are being replaced with lcd flatscreens) has art lost touch with the masses through the accessibility of the internet and downloadable media?
The romance of a gallery will always be there, But now it feels like the spaces, regardless of the content, are museum. Preservatives of that within, rather than something to relish in themselves.
We have been taught to crave instant results, we have come to expect accessibility on-the-spot, and sure, we have bred new dysfunctions in impatience and mental disorders, with our new found acceptances of bi-polar conditions and ADD/ADHD, But this is evolution right?
We're changing, As a result of the world we have built for ourselves, The product has become the idol, The craving has become the motivation, Even the self professed non-materialistic people, try their hardest to purchase the sleekest new look in minimal chic.
