An Artistic Eye: Food Advertisements and Obesity Seen through an Art Historical Critique of Representation

Abstract

This paper seeks to demonstrate the powerful influence of food advertisements in the childhood obesity epidemic and thus call into question legal action that eschews placing responsibility on food manufacturers in favor of placing responsibility on the individual. The discussion begins by quickly looking at the Pelman litigation and argues that that it at its core it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the way in which representation works. This paper will then look at two art historical periods that explore how representation operates and in particular its persuasive capabilities and then use this understanding of representation to analyze current food marketing strategies. It will use Italian Renaissance paintings to demonstrate how artists (or ad-men) can use symbolism and artistic techniques to create works that will speak to the viewer and powerfully communicate a particular message. Next, it will explore Pop Art and contemporary photography’s critique of representation, to reveal and deconstruct the ways in which advertisements not only may inform one’s point of view, but also may in fact co-opt how one perceives of his/her world.