This decorative plaque takes a quote, "Give us this day, our daily bread," that is commonly associated with Catholic religious significance and changes the context into something comedic. This comedy is achieved by infusing the religious element with technical, health-based qualifications that reflect an aspect of American culture - that being the desire to emphasize healthy eating choices in order to combat obesity. Therefore, the quote is no longer a call to God to give "us" - the audience - food, but a call to give "us" healthy food and, by extension, help "us" fix the culture's health issues.
Other technical aspects contribute to the overall function of the design. The cross at the bottom qualifies the specific religious affiliations this plaque is targeting, making its message as clear as possible. The name of the creators, Grateful Old Souls, provoke an image of a middle-aged to elderly demographic who embrace a spiritual outlook. Even the creators' logo, a simple graphic of a fish, is a call-back to one of the earliest symbols representative of Catholicism - that being a fish. With these numerous attributes in mind, the intended audience is quite clear: persons of catholic and/or related faiths who live in America, share in the cultural concern for healthy eating, and appreciate and accept a humorous tint to their religious beliefs.
Being a wall decoration for the home with an emphasis on food humor, this plaque fits most appropriately in or near a kitchen space, or a location associated with food like a dining table. It is also small in size, enough to fit neatly onto this small barrier space, so it can be placed in many different locations alongside other decorative elements. Choosing glazed clay as this plaque's medium makes it durable and gives it a polished gleam against light sources, but the warm color choice and crude outlines evoke a home-made tone. These materials refer to "down-to-earth" motifs that present this piece as something humble and personal, attributes that are considered desirable to the religious group this design is targeting.
The plaque's installation in the home lies in an area that divides a living space - as seen with the lamps, the front door, and the strung lights to the left - and a kitchen space - observable with the spoons and vitamin bottles in the lower right. This plaque is made observable in both key directions of the living space, allowing its message to remain visible at all times. This highlights the significance this piece may have with its owner; as a design, it remains a fixture of the home's interior layout and is not surrounded by an overabundance of clutter. It is clearly the centerpiece of this section of the home, and is made larger for it than the dimensions of the piece alone could allow.
The idea of this plaque's design was to combine the motifs of a specific religious group with comedy based on the culture of its inception in order to serve as a desirable home decoration for its intended demographic. The problem to overcome in this design can be shared with many other concepts that are trying to spin religious motifs: executing a memorable spin without going too far and offending the target group, accidentally or not.
Inevitably there are some members of this religious group who may question the idea of making humor out of a common religious quote. This one, in particular, was originally a call for Food, a vital resource that can be scarce and difficult to attain for some, especially in hard times. By associating the quote with healthy eating to combat overeating, this rewrite may be seen as contradicting the spirit of the original.
That said, there is no ill intent to offend audiences behind this rewrite. Numerous design choices were made specifically to indicate that the creators are acting with good intentions and respect for the original quote, from the name of the creators to the religious symbols of the fish and the cross. Their presence is a testament to the knowledge and appreciation for the religion that the creators have, in that they associate themselves with these symbols as part of what makes up their design philosophy. The overall success of the design lies with its simplicity. It does not go out of its way to install overt design or glamour on the plaque, rather it allows its religion-based comedy to be the center of a light piece of decor.
No comments:
Post a Comment