Using absurdity as a method to subvert archetypal images in print advertising in Singapore.

• Main Author: Ngin, Adrian Wen Zhong.
• Other Authors: School of Art, Design and Media
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Design
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44686
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The concept of the absurd has been used many times before in the field of art and literature to subvert convention and established new possibilities to the disciplines. In art, the Dadaists had undermined the stale definition of art during the 1920s with their absurd stances. In literature, The Theatre of Absurd defined a specific genre of nonsensical plays during the 1950s. The Theatre of the Absurd may seem random and nonsensical but the plays reflect the thought of Absurdism, portraying the inherent pursue of senseless rationality in the world. Without any expected conclusion in the play, this genre had implemented a new form of play in the history of literature. This FYP report summarizes the research on the concept of the absurd and how it had been applied and achieved in the past. It also suggests how this concept can be used onto the archetypal images in advertisements today as an attempt to mock and increase the awareness of clichés used in graphic design. Visual examples of subverted archetypal images will be provided in this report to illustrate how ridiculous the archetypal images can be.