Branding

      Throughout history, propaganda has significantly influenced the spread of ideas and ideologies of all sorts. The concept first appeared in the sixteen hundreds when Pope Gregory XV established the "Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith". Derived from propagating, Propaganda, was and is until this day the art of convincing multitudes on the veracity of a given set of ideals. 


  The following synopsis will attempt to communicate few important aspects about the exhibition and the way the it was presented. In my visit to the “The Metropole / Colony Africa and Italy” exhibit at The frost Art Museum I was reeducated in the powers of branding and propaganda, with emphasis on graphic techniques, visual expression, sculptures and carefully crafted messages. In the space where the exhibition was held, I felt in a constant pinball game, bouncing from extravagant graphic illustrations of doctrines and ideologies to master crafted sculptures of inferior masses. Both in constant dialog, in an infinite tension between technological progress of the time and the rural but yet unimaginably detailed sculptures of the time in Africa, as if one is a downright complement of the other. 
  Unwillingly, in the blink of an eye I felt completely immersed in an unexplored time, a time of the past, a time when propaganda was used to present and illustrate the technological developments of a nation. They not only carried but defined the nation's presence over the super powers of the world. A vibrant example of this is the poster designed by: Marcello Dudovick, titled “Crociera aerea del decennial” [Decennial Air Crossing], 1933. Commemorating the flight of 24 sea planes from Rome to Chicago world’s fair, evidently announcing to the world fascism's technological powers/advances and military precision, key aspects of Fascists rhetoric. 


  Although the concept of propaganda is centuries old, no other time saw the use of it in a more visually appealing and effective way than that depicted in “The Metropole / Colony Africa and Italy” exhibit at The frost Art Museum. Incredibly powerful and imposing imagery was created by the countries and ideologies jostling for position as the superpowers of the time. It displays the unquestionable ability of the image to represent and carry messages effectively to the masses, and how persuasive a tool it can be.