Part 1: Propaganda
What’s the difference between eloquence and propaganda? Both are under the umbrella of the art of convincing, with the first one being based on facts and honesty, and the second one on lies and fear. In the age of social media, propaganda is no longer a hateful speech screamed by a dictator in the town square, it is the subtleties of false advertisement, the questionable pyramid companies exploiting the insecurities of both the general public and vulnerable groups. As much as it hurts to admit, but propaganda is an artform, but surely, one of the more disgusting ones.
To headline the visual discussion on the topic of propaganda, we asked Richard Rothstein to share some of his work with us. “Queer, Jewish, New Yorker and on the edge of ancient, Richard Rothstein’s landscape, homoerotic and street photography has been widely published, appeared in galleries and museums and hung on corporate walls, but what really matters is that his art makes him feel human, normal and joyfully queer.”
Part 2: Heritage.
We all have a past. Sometimes it comes haunting us at nights, sometimes it serves as a getaway to a warm safe space when things aren’t going exactly how we want them to. The idea of heritage sometimes implies one leaving a vault of treasures in a physical or spiritual sense that is supposed to lead to global acclaim and praise. In reality though, heritage is something more nuanced, it’s memories, conversations and ideas that don’t have to have a massive impact on society as a whole to be meaningful. We invited Larry Cook, assistant professor at @howard_photo to lead a conversation on this particular interpretation of heritage.
“As I worked as the “camera-man” on the D.C. scene, I maintained strong relationships with my two uncles, both of whom were incarcerated. Our exchanges were comprised of letters and photographs. During this time, I began to understand the value of the archive and began collecting club and and prison polaroids and backdrops”
Part 3: Symbol.
From the myriad of objects that fly before our eyes on the daily, each one can be isolated, dissected and analyzed, revealing its factual and symbolic value, with the second one taking various meanings depending on the beholder. Symbolism has always been a way for human minds to process natural phenomena, trauma and past experiences (Greek mythology as a whole is pure symbolism), but what’s an easier way to define the very concept of Symbol than visual art?
Here, we resorted to the help of Hungarian fashion photographer, @petragyerman . “My images give the viewer a liberty of free interpretation, however they contain concealed visual clues that are meant to guide the exploration. My aim is not to mediate knowledge, it is rather to raise questions regarding our everyday struggles and the search for one’s identity”