Objects of Desire: Photography and the Language of Advertising

From Pop art and the Pictures Generation to Instagram and branding: how the dialogue between art and advertising has evolved over the decades

The world of advertising has changed drastically over the last century. Marketers have shifted from selling physical objects to promoting lifestyles, brands and aspirations. Likewise, contemporary photographers have transformed the way they respond to advertising and the way they manipulate its visual language. This collection of important works by an international cadre of innovative artists traces the dialogue between art and advertising from the 1970s to the present. It offers arresting images from leading conceptual artists such as Chris Burden, Victor Burgin, Sherrie Levine and Richard Prince. We see how DIS, Roe Ethridge, Victoria Fu and Kim Schoen take on contemporary consumer culture, branding and lifestyle creation. Finally, this book looks at how, as artists delve deeper into commercial strategies, advertisers have begun to call upon them to apply their signature styles to media campaigns–and further blur the lines between fine art and consumerism.