Image Analysis-part 1

The first image by Schumacher and Ettlinger is as advert for the "Uncle Sam Range" stove and oven and is comparable with modern day adverts although the main emphasis  seems to advertising America itself rather than a specific product. The image is crammed full of imagery that showcases the financial, political and trade power of the U.S. the image portrays 'Ucle Sam' at the head of the table with characters representing the south, east and England taking a back seat.

The clock on the mantle piece shows the time line between American independence and what was then present day, this could be to show how much an independant America has achieved in this time. The globe at the table is holding an almost unending lsit of produce from around the world which may signify Americas trade links all over the world. Even though these products have been taken from foreign lands and brought to America the 'Uncle Sam' character seems to be showing off the productr of the "Uncle Sam Range" as if to show the world what they have achieved. Everything in the image is bold and bright and covered in imagery celebtrating America from the carpet and wallpaper to the rifles on the wall. One very dark aspect of the advert is the inclusion of a slave who is operating the range. As everything in the image seems to be a celebration of power i can only assume the inclusion of the slave is no exception, meaning that at this point in time slavery was not something to be ashamed of or hidden in any way rather it was held up as a status symbol.

These images are depicted using Art-Deco prints with simple bold uniform lettering as apposed to the bombardment of information and complex heavily embellished lettering of the first image. The term graphic design was coined by William Addison Dwiggins in 1922 and could be part of the reason these images differ so much even though they aim to achieve similar goals. Designers may well have been starting to understand more about visual communication, realising that simpler bold text stripped down to statements rather than more complex sentence structure have more of an impact on the audience. At this point in time colonialism was being met with criticism regarding the economic and moral implications and this campaign was designed to show the positive effects. Slavery had been made illegal by this point so the poster attempts to show how much colonialism has improved life in the colonies while assuring the public at home of the benevolent control of the white man.

Both the white man and 'Uncle Sam' seem to be trying to show how they are generous and having a positive effect on other nations while exploiting their natural resources. The first image uses traditional illustration and a large amount of fairly crude symbolism whereas the second set of images uses makes use of popular art movements of the time. This may be due to the target audience of wealthy would be investors back home in England.