For his 2007 piece, Junk Food Deterrent Poster, Stephen Smith makes a strong, simple statement concerning the dangers of our junk food culture.
Americans are fat and they know it. From advertisements for Diet Coke to diet pills to liposuction, we are surrounded by constant (and often conflicting) information about how we should treat our bodies. Such messages have become so pervasive as to be ignored by the average consumer. Smith offers a unique approach to appealing to disenchanted Americans already inundated with similar messages.
Here Smith offers us a new take on a universally recognized symbol. It is a design that speaks more clearly without words. His juxtaposition of the bright, cheerful colors and the stark warning offered by the skull and crossbones creates an unsettling composition.
Although Smith’s piece is somewhat playful and amusing, he offers far more than a sugarcoated warning, he posits a straightforward cause-and-effect relationship: eat these foods and die.
Rather than employing vague or obscure language, Smith appeals through direct visual representations of the “poisons” in questions. It is a message the viewer finds far more difficult to dismiss.
Out of context and partially consumed, Smith’s images lose the seductive sheen so often afforded by advertising’s careful staging. Recast here in their new role, they take on a grotesque element.
Smith’s design is assymetrical and appears somewhat haggard and worn, these characteristics furthering the sense of unease and disgust. This is a message far different than we are accustomed to.
The piece is immediately appealing. At first glance it appears a simple, lighthearted image, perhaps invoking pleasant memories of childhood. Only upon closer inspection does the viewer glean the true meaning of the piece. This tactic draws the audience in. By not explicitly stating its aims, the viewer is forced to reach their own conclusions and interpretations.
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