TOW 21: Visual Ad

           As a coalition between the two countries during the early 1990s, this advertisement was published in numerous magazines in both Japan and the United States with the short phrase "even our art begins to look less beautiful. End water pollution." With this, the objective of the image is fairly clear -- to convince its viewers to end water pollution before its too late. It's method of presenting this argument, however, is quite interesting indeed. It is obviously  reference to the famous Japanese painting, "The Wave" and so its reference to the damage done to artwork across the world is prevalent. The actual makeup of the image itself, is also what makes it such a powerful piece. Much like the original painting (woodblock) itself, the power is held in the artistic techniques of the author.
         The power of the image comes from first from the use on contrasting colors to break up the image. The deep blue of the background and of the wave itself, contrast deeply with the images of the boats and especially of Mount Fuji in the back. This allows the image to really tell a whole story, describing the setting and the events that take place in the scene. Of course, this would all be amiss if no to mention the obviously misplaced imagery of trash filling the ocean. This causes an emotional appeal to the viewers of this image, causing a powerful call for change regarding the situation. Another similarly important aspect to the image is it perspective. The wave itself seems to be in the foreground do to its forced perspective compared to the mountain, however, it is not merely the wave that appears to be the focal point, but rather, the trash that is within it. Unlike the original picture, the focal point seems to be focused on what is in the water rather than what is beyond it, namely, Mt. Fuji.