I love it. Subtlety is pleasant when you get it, but for most people who are on the go, ya gotta hit 'em over the head.

chéesh

Except Che was neither a hippy nor a party-hopper.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4567474.stm

And what he fought and died for was not the right to party,
but something a little bit more important, in fact increasing
in importance every day.

hhp

It isn't about what Che really was, it was about the perception 60s youth had of him as a rebel. The youth of the 60s also misunderstood Eastern religions and philosophies as well but knew how to chant Om as they toked up. As a member of 60s youth, I was as guilty as the rest in my misconceptions at the time.

ChrisL

And what he fought and died for was not the right to party,
but something a little bit more important, in fact increasing
in importance every day.

I loved Mortorcycle Diaries, I'm sure its the glamorized version of the story, but still very enlightening.

but regarding this design, i think Che Viva Banana says it better. >^p

So, this is like the umpteenth 'clever' interpretation of the iconic Che Guevara picture. How utter, utter, utter unoriginal.

ƒ

I recently saw a host of a show about gaming on G4, named Adam Sessler, wearing a shirt that had the Che image with a red circle slash* over it. Which made me, as a child of the '80s, think of the Ghostbusters' logo.

The only reason I don't roll my eyes completely at the CA cover is the similarity of the Che image's common appearance and the Apple iPod ad campaign. But it's hardly a sophisticated editorial image. Even they are cashing in on Che.

*Is there a name for that thing?

or else simply "Cliche sera"

ChrisL

And what he fought and died for...

And killed for. Don't forget killed for. Including over a thousand unarmed prisoners executed by firing squad under his orders.

Power, as Mao rightly observed, comes out of the barrel of a gun, not out of a poster no matter how charismatic the model.

"Power, [...], comes out of the barrel of a gun [...]"

No, just intimidation, coercion, terror, insurgence and revenge.

Power lies in the resonant messages that typographies convey.

great thread. i think a lot of what feel about it has already been said, particularly around the redundancy. you could slice the cover in a number of ways, depending on how optimistic you want to be about the intellectual depth of it. i liked it, i think, because it wasn't about che at all but rather a juxtaposition of mostly meaningless symbols -- though symbols that people continually adopt as an expression of their values.

that said, the symbols used were the 'obvious' ones. maybe they're trying to attract attention from the adbusters crowd.

the cool thing is that it inspired a discussion like this, which would indicate that it was a success on some level.

Without having read the article, the image suggests shifting trends in the use of graphic design, exposing an ideological clash between Cuba's political past and their impending future in the global marketplace. It's not about a Cuban relationship to Apple, or Nike per se, but the effects of consumerism as a whole on the present design culture. Using multiple corporate elements helps convey this meaning (if you accept that Apple and Nike represent consumerism as a whole). I dont think I would've made that connection as swiftly had it been just an image of Che without the other symbols.

I think your point about the treatment needing to be subdued or blown to the extreme is a good one. This piece falls somewhere in the middle, which is why it feels passé.

Well, I just finished the article.

Here is the title;

Cuba Si!
By Robert L. Peters, FGDC
Graphic design in post-revolution cuba.

In 13 pages of the feature, about a half a page near the end adressed post-revolution graphic design in Cuba. The rest was history of Cuba and US bashing. I was really hoping to learn something about Cuban graphic design.

Anthony, I wish the article would have addressed ANYTHING of design substance. But alas, it did not.

That might be a clicheed comment on misuse of icons but not nearly as patronising as Adobe's latest promotion. Guerilla marketing Pah.
http://www.adobe-live.com/

Tim

I think showing the Nike swoosh AND the earbuds hints at consumer excess as well as the perceived "need" to be trendy.

Wow Tim, that was weird....I really don't know which one is worse.
I saw a stencil graffiti of Che close to my sister's house ages ago then recently I noticed that someone had added two Mickey Mouse ears to it.

Extremely Banksy-esque...but it's not. In fact I don't think Banksy was even born when this stencil appeared. I went out yesterday to take a picture for you guys but the building wasn't there anymore! Typical.
Speaking of which....did you spot a Banksy on Woody Allen's Match Point?

>but the building wasn’t there anymore! Typical.
I had a similar experience with a station that I left a broken-down motorbike at :)

>Speaking of which….did you spot a Banksy on Woody Allen’s Match Point?
I don't really get Woody Allen.

>Marylin Monroe, Che, Elvis, or Mona Lisa
P22 will produce these faces eventually :)
Tim

Or this?

"I don’t really get Woody Allen."

Perhaps you aren't screwed up enough. How someone could make me not care about watching Scarlet J. is quite an achievement, but he managed it.

PS, I wish the moderator could fix it when someone screws up the /cite.

I'd think the word injection would deter any right-thinking person
(Heroin addicts always baffled me).

Did someone call for a moderator? Whassup?

Can't the moderators fix it when someone screws up an /em or /cite?
Everything is in italic now.

Can’t the moderators fix it when someone screws up an /em or /cite?
Everything is in italic now.

Yes, but we don't see everything, so you may have to alert us. I don't use IE, so you may see more problems than I do, depending on what browser you're using.

Ah, thanks for fixing it.