art beat / By Katherine Almy

Art of Propaganda

Exhibitors at HSU’s First Street Gallery want to get inside your mind

(Oct. 16, 2008)  What do you think of when you hear the word “propaganda”? Lies? Deceit? Politics? Dictionary.com defines it as, “information, ideas or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.” Wikipedia states that propaganda “often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented.”

I had to go to my trusted but ungainly Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (“compact” meaning that the five-pound tome is printed in such small type you have to read it with a magnifying glass) to get this unbiased definition: “any association, systematic scheme or concerted movement for the propagation of a particular doctrine or practice.” “Propagation” is defined as the dissemination of an idea. In other words, propaganda is merely the spreading of an idea.

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Propaganda probably has a negative connotation because of the way it has been abused by despots and tyrants, the Nazi regime being an excellent example. But one must be careful not confuse the message with the medium.

Is it a bad thing to have opinions? Is it a bad thing to state one’s opinion clearly and forcefully? These questions and the nature of propaganda are explored in the current show at the First Street Gallery. The show was put together by Wayne Knight, a graphic design professor at HSU, and features custom-printed posters by over 30 alumni and advanced graphic design students.

All of Knight’s students are given this challenge in their intermediate class: to design a poster that convinces the viewer of something. It could be anything, and the issues in this show range from the political to the philosophical to the absurd. Knight tells his students, “It’s easy to knock something, but that typically speaks to the audience that already agrees with you. How do you actually sway someone to the side that you want them to be on?”

Propaganda can use some powerful elements — strong visuals, clear and concise text, humor — to convey a message. It can be extremely successful in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. But the messages conveyed are merely the opinions of an individual or group and are no better or worse then those speaking it. Propaganda has been used as successfully by the government to make teenagers aware of the effects of drug use as it has by the tobacco industry to get them hooked on cigarettes (and yes, advertising most certainly falls under the definition of propaganda).

The important thing for you, the consumer (and here I’m not referring to you as a consumer of products, but a consumer of culture) is to be aware of how you are being communicated to, and even how you can communicate back.

When you’re looking at the show, step back from the thing that the artist is trying to convince you of, and think about how they are doing the convincing. What is happening to you as the viewer? The visuals, of course, speak louder than words, and they draw you in and play on your emotions.

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