- Young designers take inspiration from books, music and films that have been banned
- Specially created, limited-edition posters to be shown in Graphical House studios in King Street this weekend.
14 final year Graphic Design students from The Glasgow School of Art will show specially designed posters this weekend inspired by books, music and film that have been banned. The exhibition will be staged the weekend in King Street in the studios of leading Glasgow Graphic Design company, Graphical House. Made in the GSA’s celebrated case room, the limited edition posters will all be for sale to help support the group create their physical Degree Show which will take place in June.
The works chosen by the students date from as far back as 411 BC (Aristophanes Lysistrata) to the recently published Red Gold (by French journalist Jean-Baptiste Malet) and include some literary classics (Alice in Wonderland, Dante’s Inferno) political tracts such as the Communist Manifesto and surprising pieces such as the film ET.
“We are delighted to host this exhibition of work by such a talented group of young designers,” says Daniel Ibbotson, Founder and Creative Director of Graphical House. “They have taken an incredibly important subject and created fascinating responses to it.”
Nicole Junkin chose Atomic by Blondie which was banned by the BBC during the gulf war for having connotations of war/bombing. “The song has very few lyrics and in fact is about sensuality, but the word “atomic” was enough for it to be censored,” she says
For Sophie Ammann it is the classical play, Lysistrata, by Aristophanes that forms the inspiration of her design. “Lysistrata has been banned multiple times throughout history in several different countries mainly for its ‚anti-war‘ message, but also for its sexual content,” she explains “I chose this play because of the ironic nature of the narrative supposedly being about women’s liberation when in fact it has sexist undertones.”
Chloe Keppie and Katie Simm have both chosen Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. “Alice was banned in the province of Hunan, China, beginning in 1931, for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings,” says Chloe. “The censor, General Ho Chien, believed that attributing human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that the book would teach children to regard humans and animals on the same level, which would be “disastrous”.
“We both chose this because of how absurd it is that a children’s book with anthropomorphized animals was banned,” adds Katie
Louise Rennison’s Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging has been banned in different schools across America for its sexual content and the attitude to parents. “I chose it as it’s so embedded in a lot of our childhoods and is relatively lighthearted/innocent so it seems ridiculous it is banned,” says Greer Lockyear.
Donna Summer’s disco anthem “Love to Love You Baby” was chosen by Abigail Allen. “This sexually charged disco anthem from 1975 was Donna Summer’s first hit. It became popular worldwide, but broadcasters including BBC banned it due to its blatant sexual content,” she says “These included sounds of orgasms and crude lyrics. Summer said that she did in fact understand the bans and regrets that this was her first popular single, which subsequently shaped her image as an artist.”
Mark Anthony Burgoyne has chosen one of the great literary classics, Dante’s Inferno. “Whilst some wanted it banned as it is the origin for certain groups apparently being damned to go to hell, but Italian culture wouldn’t allow it to be banned as they see it as one of their most important works of literature,” says Mark. “So I thought, that belong the case, maybe Dante himself should just go to hell – and so to represent that and his work being limited I will place the text over the gates of hell in the same colour so as to obscure them from being read.”
Niamh has selected probably the most surprising work to have been banned, the film ET. “The movie was banned in Scandinavian countries (mainly Sweden) for portraying adults as enemies and instigating children to be disobedient to their elders,” says Niamh. “It was one of my favourite movies as a child, very moving and with a great film score that brings a lot of nostalgia, so I found it very funny to hear it was banned for children to watch in those countries.”
“Apparently there was a big uproar and children were protesting, so I feel it’s apt to create a poster almost in solidarity with those children!”
Julia Villard has chosen a very recent work by the French journalist Jean-Baptiste Malet “Released a few months ago in Italy, Malet’s book The Empire of Red Gold tells a story of capitalism and globalization through the tomato industry and its derivatives,” says Julia Villard. “The Italian publisher Piemme, owned by Mondadori, first released the Italian version of the book, then removed the title from its catalogue, after facing pressure from Giaguaro, a powerful company in the Italian tomato industry.”
Nathan Sheridan has selected The Communist Manifesto the seminal work by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels.“The Communist Manifesto has been banned in multiple countries at certain periods and for differing reasons,” says Nathan. “I chose it because I have been researching modernism and the industrial revolution and its effect on graphic design.”
Emma Ralph has taken inspiration from the underground newspaper The International Times, which was founded in the late 1960s. In 1972 it was temporarily shut down for publishing gay personal ads and charged with “conspiracy to corrupt public morals” in 1972, UK
Leonie Hiller has selected work Sigmund Freud, in particular his theories about psychoanalysis and psychology. “As a Jewish Austrian, his books were burned by the Nazis in the Novemberprogrome in 1938 and despite his efforts to be able to stay in Vienna when the Nazis rose to power in Germany, he and his family eventually had to flee to London, where he died a year later in 1939,” says Leonie “Freud’s experience shows how academics and influential people were persecuted like any other person seen as an enemy within the regime.”
“It is shocking how this was possible at the time when you consider how important and decisive his theories and works were in the development of psychology and therapy and how influential they are to this day,” she adds.
Banned will be on show in Graphical House studios, 53 King Street, Glasgow G1 5RA
on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 March. Open from 10am – 5pm. Entry free.
Students in the School of Design will show their work in a physical Degree Show on the GSA Campus from 31 May – 11June 2022.
Ends
For further information
Lesley Booth
07799414474
press@gsa.ac.uk