Event Title

Coca-Cola in Art History: Advertising and Appropriation

Presenter Information

Lily Steig, Colby CollegeFollow

Location

Diamond 146

Start Date

30-4-2015 2:40 PM

End Date

30-4-2015 3:25 PM

Project Type

Presentation

Description

Since its invention in the late 19th century, Coca-Cola has become the most recognizable brand in the world. Its status as an international phenomenon is echoed in its mission statement: the Coca-Cola Company has committed itself to the global goal of "teaching the world to sing in perfect harmony." The Coca-Cola Company has been so successful because it has always had one of the most aggressive, innovative marketing teams in the world developing an aesthetic that is at once classic and cutting-edge in packaging, print advertising, even museum and factory architecture. The symbolism Coca-Cola embodies has shifted over the decades, and we can observe how this shift has affected the visual advertising tradition of the company. Since the middle of the twentieth century, Coca-Cola imagery also been co-opted by artists like Andy Warhol. Whether for mere appreciation of Coca-Cola's aesthetic or to embrace or condemn what Coca-Cola represents, artists all over the world have appropriated the company's signature flowing script and arabesque into a plethora of artistic media. In my talk, I will survey Coca-Cola's advertising and artworks that feature the company's iconic imagery and analyze them, framing them in a range of perspectives: ideological, political, economical, and so on.

Faculty Sponsor

Veronique Plesch

Sponsoring Department

Colby College. Art Dept.

CLAS Field of Study

Humanities

Event Website

http://www.colby.edu/clas

ID

1566

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Apr 30th, 2:40 PM Apr 30th, 3:25 PM

Coca-Cola in Art History: Advertising and Appropriation

Diamond 146

Since its invention in the late 19th century, Coca-Cola has become the most recognizable brand in the world. Its status as an international phenomenon is echoed in its mission statement: the Coca-Cola Company has committed itself to the global goal of "teaching the world to sing in perfect harmony." The Coca-Cola Company has been so successful because it has always had one of the most aggressive, innovative marketing teams in the world developing an aesthetic that is at once classic and cutting-edge in packaging, print advertising, even museum and factory architecture. The symbolism Coca-Cola embodies has shifted over the decades, and we can observe how this shift has affected the visual advertising tradition of the company. Since the middle of the twentieth century, Coca-Cola imagery also been co-opted by artists like Andy Warhol. Whether for mere appreciation of Coca-Cola's aesthetic or to embrace or condemn what Coca-Cola represents, artists all over the world have appropriated the company's signature flowing script and arabesque into a plethora of artistic media. In my talk, I will survey Coca-Cola's advertising and artworks that feature the company's iconic imagery and analyze them, framing them in a range of perspectives: ideological, political, economical, and so on.

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/229