Study Task 1

Image Analysis 

The first image, titled ‘The Uncle Sam Range’ was produced in 1876 and is an advertisement by Schumacher & Ettlinger. The image features several men sitting around a table, the most obvious being Uncle Sam himself. It is also apparent that the world, who has been drawn as a person is sitting at the table amongst them, and Uncle Sam’s position suggests he is serving him food or in other words, feeding the world. Looking into the detail of the image you can see a clock on the wall with the dates 1776 and 1876 written on it. This represents the idea that America has been feeding the world for 100 years as the United States emerged as an independent country in 1776. This idea is also apparent in the use of the American flag, which is plastered everywhere- showing a very patriotic attitude.

The second set of images, titled ‘East African Transport Old Style’ and ‘East African Transport New Style’ are from an Empire Marketing Board, produced by Adrian Allison in 1930. The image is aimed at buyers who could afford to invest in products. The images are trying to represent how technology has greatly improved the transport in Africa. In the first image you can see men, women and children in their traditional clothing carrying supplies whereas in the second image, the main focus is on the white man at the front, standing tall and proud. It is evident that he is also standing with his back to the men working, who are all black. These men are wearing minimal clothing, unlike the white man, and there is no clear shot of their faces, suggesting that they are not important within the image. This represents the idea of a hierarchy and the fact that racism was acceptable at the time. There are also no women present showing how attitudes to women have changed. These ideas are similarly evident in The Uncle Sam Range poster. In the bottom left-hand corner you can see a black child working. This conveys the idea that slave labour was present. The child is doing most of the work, however, Uncle Sam appears to be taking the credit. This brings me on to talk about another main feature in the image. The large, cast iron, hi-tech cooker- advertising ‘The Uncle Sam Range’. The world appears to be looking at a large list that features various other countries and traditional foods that they eat. This could suggest that the Uncle Sam range can cook just about everything, and would appeal to the whole world so everyone should invest in one. It appears as though the world is buying into it so the purpose of this poster may be to celebrate this idea.

In terms of the font and the style of illustration, in the first image, a very flamboyant typeface has been used, alongside a few other typefaces. This makes it appear quite busy, and dated. This could be due to the way the poster was produced, or when. At the time, they probably didn’t have much knowledge about composition and layout.  In the second image the font is quite different. It is very bold and obvious on the posters, ensuring that you understand exactly what the posters are trying to show, straight away. It draws your attention.

The main themes in both images are very similar in the fact that they are based on the idea of a social hierarchy. They are trying to show the improvements that America have made to the rest of the world and how proud they are of this.