Comercialism Impacts
Influence of Setouchi Triennale's Contemporary Art Interventions on the Revitalization of Island Communities in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Meng Qu, Carolin Funck
Aging, depopulation and stagnation are serious problems for the island communities of the Seto Inland Sea. The Setouchi Triennale, also known as Setouchi International Art Festival (SIAF), engages with revitalizing twelve remote islands and their rural communities through art festival and tourism. While the Triennale’s Director has claimed that the art festival has become a model for government policies for community revitalization and tourism, problems still persist in terms of local residents’ response to the development model and tourists' behavior. Additionally, in the art world some critics have emphasized that art festivals use "borrowed art" exhibited on "borrowed land." Among the islands that are involved in the Setouchi Triennale, Teshima island and Inujima island are two very important hosting destination for the Triennale. This research aims at examining the positive influences and negative impacts of art interventions and tourism on Teshima and Inujima’s rural communities. The conceptual framework of the research integrates art festival's cultural revitalization, island community placemaking, and sustainable tourism. Field research was conducted through participant observation as visitor and "Koebi" volunteer within the Setouchi Triennale 2016, as well as through interviews and questionnaires with local multiple stakeholders after the Triennale.
Branding Nature: Apple Label Design and Advertising in the Pacific Northwest
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cristina de Almeida
During the early 20th century, the Pacific Northwest entered the imagination of Americans living in the East and Midwest urban centers through the branding of its natural resources. Among the most pervasive images were those related to the marketing of apples. Colorful labels, identifying growers and/or packers, were pasted on fruit crates that were shipped East through the new transcontinental railroads, and later put on display in the grocery shops. The graphics on these labels provide a window to understanding the role played by graphic design in not only supporting product commodification, but also in negotiating the contradictions brought upon by industrialized agriculture. This paper explores the phenomenon of the branding of northwest apples in the first half of the 20th century, with a focus on design practices. While establishing differentiation between similar products–apples to apples–visual branding contributed to forge a unified identity for a region that was still culturally peripheral to Western society. This relative isolation can provide a microcosm from which to assess the potential and limitations of graphic design as a mediator between systems of production and consumption.
Regarding the Suffering of Others: Souvenirs of Past Conflicts
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ulrike Zitzlsperger
Regarding the Suffering of Others: Souvenirs of Past Conflict This paper takes its cue from Susan Sontag’s essay Regarding the Pain of Others (2003). Even though souvenirs of past conflict are not comparable to the potential impact of photography that Sontag describes, they seek to communicate in retrospect an experience limited to a select group of people. Souvenirs are – in contrast with mementos (Evans) – commercial products (Care, Baum and Joliffe) though some are also works of art (Hume). This contribution addresses those souvenirs that engage with past conflicts and atrocities. It questions how such events translate into material items that are then purchased by visitors who invest an interest in the past.
