This graphic advertisement by Blair Bradshaw, an already famous, though reasonably new, artist at the time of this work, absolutely shows us the eclectic nature of his work. This graphic was part of the Absolut Vodka campaign and is one of the most collectable in that campaign(Anonymous). The various elements of this graphic are absolutely riven with innuendo and yet, they hint that maybe this is the artist’s dreamscape of a perfect city street.
The picture seems to be Times Square New York City combined with downtown San Francisco very early in the morning as the blue goes from light to dark from bottom to top. It probably represents Market Street looking at the Ferry Building, but the building seems to be combined with the New York Flatiron Building. The artist has taken some interesting liberties with perspective and light in this surreal image. The background sky is light blue as in early morning or evening, but the surface streets are dark, Another distortion of light is the pictures that make up the walls of the buildings. They glow brightly while the street below is dark. The various works of art seem to also hang like on curtains or be on suspended surfaces at different levels just floating in space.
With the brighter pictures of famous works of art lining both sides of this downtown street and the Ferry/ Times Square Building, the artist is making a very subtle joke, since this is the financial district in San Francisco and the heart of entertainment in New York. Billions of dollars flow through these buildings and the artist has adorned them with billions of dollars worth of fine art. Bradshaw has brought the two city elements together in this picture and covered them with the best of the best fine art.
The exaggerated perspective leads the eye to the Mona Lisa on the front of the Ferry Building. In fact, the way the painting and building parts are arranged appears that the Mona Lisa is standing at the end of the street looking at us. A large pole in the center stretches wired arms out to either side to supply power to the streetcar tracks in the road. The colors in this scene cover the entire range with a predominance of white, yellow, red and orange, yet nothing clashes. It is as if the artists had all agreed that their paintings would all look good together. They appear to be muted at first glance, but in looking at the paintings individually we can see that each one appears to represent its true color.
The two sides of the street appear to split at the end building into two streets curving away from the center, and the city seems to go on forever. Various artists from the Dutch masters to modern pop artists are included. The largest painting is a Degas of a single dancer tying her toe shoe. It dominates the right. Two of Andy Warhol’s fill much of the left side. In looking at Bradshaw’s imagined display of some of the world’s most marvelous artworks it is a compelling dream to live in this city, Galleries generally separate works of art into categories of genre, time and school. It is, perhaps, from an underlying fear that the works might clash, Bradshaw has shown us that this is just not so, Being able to see all these wonderful paintings all in the same place and be able to actually see them all at once right next to each other would be an uplifting experience. This graphic by Bradshaw is very desirable, and it is the first I remember ever seeing that treated the premier works of art of the world in such a manner. It is a statement which almost cannot be expressed in words. It certainly says more than we can say about it.
Bradshaw created this work for Absolut Vodka, and it is possibly the best thing he has done to date. It speaks directly to the target audience beneath the surface at a highly emotional subliminal level. The art works which characterized this innovative advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka,(Anonymous) and changed it from a weak startup to a leader in the field, were visually captivating and simple direct compelling invitations to become one of the elite drinkers of Absolut Vodka. It communicated a whole life style in each single image, using what the industry termed visual puns(Forceville 1998).
So what is the pun here? Perhaps it is that in an Absolut world, one controlled by the target audience, big business would be replaced by art. It might even point to the replacement of functionality in the reality of buildings to aesthetic in the masterpieces displayed. Could this metaphor which Bradshaw created be taken even further? Could he mean the replacement of everything mundane by artistic creation? There is certainly room for all of those interpretations. It is really up to the audience to decide. In the case of visual arts, what Rosenblatt (1978) said about text is even more true, that every viewing of the work involves a different object, and engenders a different interpretation, because the viewer is different. Even the same viewer at a different time is different , if only by virtue of having viewed the work. Everyone brings their own baggage, their own background and understanding. These images touch each person on a personal level, and though there are a few universal responses, each person responds differently. At is simplest, this graphic is fascinating to look at. At the highest level it is communicating a philosophy of life and showing the viewer what it could mean. Just imagine if every container or package the purchaser took home was a work of art and a wonder to behold. Is this Blair Bradshaw’s Absolut world?
The visual effect of this graphic is to draw the viewers into this world and allow them to gaze upon this dream. The shading in the graphic creates an almost three dimensional look with the right side curving and the left side straight. Each painting appears to be on its own level on a surface created just for it. Though there are larger paintings which dominate this landscape, the smaller ones are given equal place on their own platforms. This amazing variety of creative art shows us a lot about the nature of man. Everyone of these was painted by a single person, some of them after the artist actually made his own paint.
The artist is known for creating depictions of large groups of objects. It is something akin to Warhol’s fascination with pop art. He studies the patterns of every day life. In this picture he shows us what he imagines it should be, and even hints that the art walls continue on down the streets as we see light rectangles which we suppose are canvases.
The time and place of this work are notable. It is approaching morning and the night lights are still visible, but will soon vanish in the daylight. We can guess that these works will not be so noticeable in daylight as at night. There is little traffic, only a few taxis and a few cars. Movement of some of the cars and taxis is indicated by the blurring of their taillights or headlights. Few figures of people are visible. Two very interesting human figures are crossing the street. They are bright white. Are they real humans illuminated? Are they phantoms? If they are phantoms could they be dead artists, perhaps two of those represented on the buildings?
In the foreground, of course, we see the distinctive bottle of Absolut Vodka. This is the signature element. This is the brand that will make all this come true. This is the brand for people who like this idea and want this world. This is their world, and Absolut is their drink. This graphic works on so many levels it is no wonder that this company has gained such a following, and that their ads are highly collectable. The company has been running this campaign for more than twenty years and it has been so successful it has virtually changed the advertising world.
Other companies are following the lead of graphics like this and all the top producers of Vodka are creating collectable ads. The ads for this product have become virtual galleries in magazines, on billboards and anywhere else they can be featured (Anonymous). This particular ad was one of the best ever created for this campaign and possibly the best thing the artist has done to date. It has started a virtual war among vodka producers about who can woo the most customers with wonderful artistic ads and their underlying witty text. It has changed all the rules. It is certainly memorable and a really great example of what can be done with art. It is interesting to note that this is an instance of intertexuality in visual art. Such has been done in literature for a very long time and in movies of the last fifty or so years. advertisings often have capitalized upon some interesting or catchy phrase to add meaning to their advertisements without using more words which cost space. So the connections carry that extra content and add to the message. The end result is an easily obtainable gallery of really great art for the common man, or maybe the slightly uncommon man who values them. One example is the phrase “I’ll be back,” or all of its various synonyms. This was originally in the speech Macarthur gave to the Philippines, It has been echoed in movies like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator movies and in many other places, including advertisements. In fact, this phrase was so overused in ads around the world that the phrase can no longer be used without including an image of the Terminator and the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bradshaw has done this with this advertising graphic. He is in no danger of copyright infringement as all these artists are dead, (Maybe that’s why those two ghosts are there.) However, he has created a new kind of possibility with advertising and visual arts.
If nothing else this graphic is exciting and wonderful to look at. It is an example of visual communication at its most powerful and creative energy at its best. The artist has somehow managed to arrange all these painting in such a way as to entice the viewer to spend considerable time perusing it. All the while that viewer is looking at these wonderfully displayed elements the message from Absolut is getting through on a totally subconscious level. Even writing about this has convinced this writer to check out some of their beverages. Ads like this are really exciting. It is art and advertising, and a gift to all of us.
References
Absolut vodka wars – ABC news. Web.
The story. Web.
Forceville, Ch. Pictorial metaphor in advertising / charles forceville London ; New York : Routledge, 1998.
Rosenblatt, Louise M. The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978.