Smilla, is it art appreciation week? Because I definitely agree with your assessment!
"Their graphic design is just horrible."
Presumably slapped together using elements from other promotions, this "OT Summit 2010" poster is remarkably lame. At the same time, it's fascinating!
Organizations make "freudian slips" just like people do. One of my better mentors taught that these were inescapable in a company's advertising copy, slogans, and graphics. He used to say, "Companies advertise their biggest weakness or problem."
Most people see this when it's obvious, as with Scientology's "fastest growing religion" which is really stating the organization's underlying problem, "We are NOT growing." My mentor believed these dichotomies are inevitable, so it's best to turn them to advantage. A good example is the old Avis rental car campaign, "We're #2. We try harder."
So here we have Scientology's "OT Summit 2010" poster headlined, "The New Civilization Rises" and in a rather limp typeface, weakly reversed out of the background (that is, left white). The problematic subtext is easily seen, "Scientology isn't new and it ain't rising!"
What's truly fascinating is how the graphic reveals the lie. The rococo "
xXII, OT, Freewinds" graphical element is exceedingly HEAVY, dense, cumbersome, onerous. Obviously, even the color choice emphasizes the ponderous weight of gold and silver. Topped with a crown, it's darn easy to see that this is meant to represent the precious jewel that is Church of Scientology.
So what's this precious piggy attempting to do? FLY OVER WATER!
You don't need to read very far in Aristotle to know the elemental relationships between earth, wind, fire, and water! Gold and silver doesn't fly and it doesn't float! Could gold and silver be placed more precariously? Stand on the Golden Gate bridge and toss a platinum disk (engraved with Hubbard's writings) into the air and you'll see the inevitable demonstrated rather conclusively!
That's what the artist is doing thematically (and subconsciously) in this poster. There are other subtexts operating, but the golden pig trying to fly away from a watery doom is what stood out for me Your interpretations are heartily welcomed!
fisherman