COP 03 / Brief

COP 03 / Practical / Benefits of Holy Water

Ultimately, the product will need to have a selling point. A google search lead me to a website which contained benefits that religious figures have claimed Holy Water have.


St Padre Pio
"Each time a priest blesses water to make it holy; he acts on behalf of the Church.' 'Jesus listens to the prayers of the Church and blesses whomever the Church prays for.' 'Hence, whoever takes Holy Water and sprinkles it upon himself or upon objects that are present or absent, he can be assured that every time, the prayer of the Church will reach Heaven.' 'Without fail, it brings down graces on his soul and body, as well as all the objects that are touched by the Holy Water. It also puts the evil spirits to flight." 

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila tells us the following: “I have often found by experience that there is nothing from which the devils fly more quickly and return not again than from Holy Water. They also fly from a Cross-, but they return again immediately. Certainly, the power of Holy Water must be great; for my part, my soul feels particular comfort in taking it, and very generally a refreshment and interior delight. St. Theresa also reminded us of the power of prayer by these words, “How often I failed in my duty to God, because I was not leaning on the strong pillar of prayer. Always accompany a spritz with a short mental prayer.  

St. Raynerius D’Aqua
Born in Pisa, Italy in 1117. He is known for healing the sick with Holy Water. The word of his works spread throughout Christianity, so that people would come from all parts of the world to have him bless their water.

(source)

From finding what actual holy figures have to say about the benefits of Holy Water, it has given me an insight in what I can advertise it as, such as a miracle spray with healing powers, refreshment, and a liquid to ward off evils. It does not have to be entirely logical, and even could be quite abstract. This ties in with my writing, as writers such as Vance Packard demonstrate that if the hidden needs (security, roots, love objects etc) are provided through a product, the consumer is likely to buy it. I need to apply these within the advertising campaign to ensure that there is sound synthesis between the two projects. 

COP 03 / Practical / Alternate Concept

Through experimentation, I began to try developing a logo which communicated Holy Water as a first aid product. This was executed through using the same typeface but changing the cross to be shorter and connote the first aid plus, also adding red which is a universal colour for first aid.

From feedback, it was said that this idea looks too much like an organisation such as the Red Cross, and doesn't really work as a concept as successfully as selling holy water as a more 'cosmetic' product. There is not as much room for applying key theories such as Packard to this concept, and it does not reflect the consumer relationship with brands as discussed in my written piece.

COP 03 / The Body of Christ / Zine

During the tutorial, it was suggested that I produce a small zine showing the face of Jesus on everyday products. A simple Google search enabled me to find a collection of these for me to use. This is just a simple exploration to give a humorous slant on how Jesus actually appears in a tangible object, as opposed to being a holy, unseen being.

COP 03 / Tutorial 03

During the tutorial today, the practial element was discussed. Things to consider:




- the product - what are they buying it for?

- diagram of issues linked to the issues featured in the essay

- how different types of christians attitudes would change towards the product


brand different objects -
- perfume
- drink
- air freshner
- cleaner

the same physical product, branded in a way to serve different functions


other ideas
- things that look like jesus (jesus appearing in toast, a crisp etc)
- could be made into a small zine as a quick project


references to look into:
- artists shit
- paris air duchamp
- yves Klein

As for the essay, Ben emailed me some notes to improve chapter 01:

You need to provide counter arguments to Packard's ideas - are they really essential?

• I don’t understand Klein’s position yet from your chapter - what are her key ideas?
• You need to begin to link each of these paragraphs to your essay question - link to concepts from religion (transubstantiation, etc.) or examples.
• Conclusion - What are the key features of our subjectivity that branding aims to exploit? Summarise and explain how you will explore in the next chapter on religion and why?

Things that should be addressed in chapter 01:

• “Me” vs. “I” – differentiated in branding theories
• Where is the “We” in branding theory? What kind community does it consider?
• Does brand theory work at the level of the individual and/or the collective?

In the tutorial today, it was said that for chapter 02 and 01, some religious references need to be made to start to synthesise throughout and ensure there is a consistent theme, not just a type up of brand theories.


I should also begin to create a glossary of religious terms and begin to relate them to branding terms.

COP 03 / Religion in Brands / Marilyn Manson

Over the years I have noticed a number of artists utilize themes of religion in their image, to convey a message or simply for aesthetic purposes. It is interesting in relation to this project to note how religion has become a theme to generate a certain depiction, not acting as the brand itself, but allowing a brand to progress visually.

Marilyn Manson

About 

"Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, actor, painter, author and former music journalist. He is known for his controversial stage personality and image as the lead singer of the band Marilyn Manson, which he co-founded with Daisy Berkowitz and of which he remains the only constant member. His stage name was formed by juxtaposing the names of two opposing American pop cultural icons; actress Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson." (source)

Image and Content
Many of Manson's songs include religious lyrics and imagery in their respective videos. A still taken from Disposable Teens is a great example. Here Brian is dressed as the pope whilst standing in front of a large crucifix. The lyrics also feature themes of religion and God, usually in a rather negative way;

"and I'm a black rainbow

and I'm an ape of god
I got a face that's made for doing violence upon
I'm a teen distortion
survived abortion
a rebel from the waist down"


"Dear god the sky is as blue
As a gunshot wound
Dear god if you were alive
You know we'd kill you"

There is also songs with religious titles such as Lamb of God, Godeatgod and Cruci-fiction in Space. It is clear that religion is a driving topic with in the band's material and their image. This is a factor that has differentiated the band with others, and is a USP. But, instead of using religion as a positive element, it is the condemning of christianity which grabs attention.

Public Response

Manson uses the element of shock value to promote the band; this draws the audience in through controversy. Marilyn Manson's image and music is and was unique, and at the time of their successes, a lot of those in America had not seen anything like this in pop culture before. In a time period (80s/90s) where religion was still prominent in society, many people were bound to reject Manson. However, Marilyn Manson also gained a lot of popularity in metal fans all over the world, and became extremely successful around the time of album releases Antichrist Superstar and Holy Wood. 

From watching interviews with Brian Warner / Marilyn Manson, and also seeing other people's comments, it is a common consensus that they are misunderstood with those outside of the metal scene. This is obviously due to their image, which represents religion in a negative sense (a force people usually find comfort in), and some have also described the band as 'satanic'. Themes like this may scare and intimidate. In an interview by Phil Donohue that features Marilyn Manson, they talk about the dangers of 'moshing'. Throughout the video, Donohue and the audience are very intolerant of the alternative individuals who feature on the panel. This was filmed in the 90's, and represents opinions of that time. (source)

Furthermore, an interview with Brian from MM by Bill O'Reilly also shows the intolerance the band faced from their image. Although Warner was well articulate, the interviewer was still rather rude and seemed to reject and critique, possibly due to his own opinions.

"A lot of people don't want to make their own decisions. They're too scared. It's much easier to be told what to do." - Marilyn Manson

"Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" ~ "religion... is the opiate of the masses.” - Karl Marx 

COP 03 / Practical / Concept Development

What is Holy Water?

"In Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and some other churches, holy water is water that has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil."

Therefore, physically, it is just water. The difference is the semantics; the ritual and the belief. This water has a different purpose than 'normal' water does. I found it interesting that something as fundamental as water can suddenly have a completely different meaning to a group of people when it has been blessed by a person.

It posed the question, what if holy water was marketed/branded?

It could be sold as a drink, a way to bless people on the go, a skincare product or a perfume. I found relating holy water to a perfume as the most interesting route. Perfume is marketed in a very particular way, usually adopting some of Packard's 8 Hidden needs. I began to write out mind maps to draw both holy water and perfume together, establishing similarities and differences:

Holy Water mindmap

Perfume mind map

Here, I identified key aspects such as the 'icon' - those who promote or are the key face to the brand. Here I related someone such as the Jesus or the pope to popular celebrities which promote perfumes, e.g Cara Delavigne or Johnny Depp.

Will the perfume be promoted by someone holy, or would it be aimed more at pop culture and use someone who is well known in that sphere?


Secondly is the Logo. For holy water, the obvious answer is the cross, alongside archaic inspired type to fit the holy aesthetic. For perfume logos, it really does depend on the product. Usually, the logo will include a brand name's logo e.g Dior, or even a celebrity name and name of the product if it is created by a celebrity, or something iconic in relation to them. E.g ARI by Ariana Grande, or Purr by Katy Perry. Their persona is captured within the product.

Consumers are those who buy/consume the product. Although both items have consumers, the meaning and setting is much different, however both fulfil a purpose. Holy Water is used within a baptism:

"the Christian religious rite of sprinkling water on to a person's forehead or of immersing them in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on young children and is accompanied by name-giving."

As for location, the only setting Holy Water usually resides is within churches, cathedrals or chapels. Its function is only really relevant here. In pop culture and fictional writing and movies, holy water is also used as a repellant for vampires. This theme has been used in films such as Van Halsing.

Perfume is found within many department stores such as boots, and malls. It can also be found in designer retailers and specialist perfume shops. The audience for perfume is much wider as it is a commodity. I must now begin to think of ways I can advertise Holy Water as a commodity in the form of a perfume or other relevant product. It will be interesting to include methods that Vance Packard has wrote about which feature in my essay.

COP 03 / Research / Existing Holy Water

Most purchasable holy water bottles are around £1. During my visit to York I bought a bottle which cost me around that price. It is interesting that although it is just water, holy water still a commodity, because there is an exchange of currency.

However, for the project I will be undertaking, the product would be sold for a higher price such as £10/20, to highlight how consumers are exploited for products such as this, just water.

Aesthetically, the bottles that holy water comes in tends to be frosted plastic with gold foiling. To interpret this, the frosting hides the contents of the bottle and also correlates with other religious imagery such as stained glass and marble, it is always translucent rather than transparent. It would be interesting then to create a bottle that is either clear or opaque, to differ.

The foiling communicates a sense of opulence that is famous for Catholic churches. The grand decoration is usually a sight to behold even in the smallest of churches, featuring gold, marbles and stone materials and sculptures. Especially in Rome.

I wonder if I can take these details and flip them, creating something that communicates a more raw and organic aesthetic rather than an artificial luxury.

COP 03 / Is religious art still relevant?

Although in previous eras religious art was rife, can it still be said that religious art is being created? & Is religious art being produced with new adaptations and meanings?

"In a BBC article published last August 2014, only 2% of the American population has openly declared themselves as atheist. Meanwhile, a 2012 Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans identify themselves as a follower of a Christian faith. With these many followers, a religious art piece (especially of the Christian variety) does not only have the potential to reach a large audience. These works can also strike a chord in the majority of Americans." (source)

It seems that because art is always changing, contemporary religious art could be interpreted as controversial. Not all religious art has to be pro-religion.

"That said, controversial religious pieces can be seen as the artist’s way of grappling with his/her faith. As S. Brent Plate, Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College explains in a Huffington Post article: “The simplistic view would say these are all anti-religious pieces, except for the fact that every one of the artists spoke up about their own faith, and how art became a way of struggle with their spiritual lives.” (source)

“An artwork conceived as a “vehicle” for religious meaning will find itself interpretively derailed and destabilized before the vehicle even gets going–or, more commonly, it will be simply be ignored as unworthy of serious engagement. And, interestingly, this dynamic doesn’t only preclude religious subject matter: Elkins rightly devotes a chapter to articulating why art has that anti-religious message to deliver is disqualified by the same principle. Religious and anti-religious art alike—and really any work with a “message” to deliver—simply misunderstands and is ill-suited for contemporary art discourse.”

As thoughts change and people in this era begin to adopt an open mind towards art, it seems religious art is welcomed with open arms regardless of the way it will be interpreted. Art is now more openly religious and unapologetic for example pieces such as Golgotha and Bill Viola's 'Martyrs'. When you compare these two pieces to one from another time period such as Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper, the difference is highly apparent. However, through analysis and gaining an understanding of contemporary existing pieces, it seems that religious art is not suffering to secularisation and is perhaps just adapting and changing, not decreasing.

Buenconsejo, C. (2016) Contemporary religious art | Mozaico Blog. Available at: http://blog.mozaico.com/contemporary-religious-art/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016).

COP 03 / Golgotha

Installation of David Mach's 'Golgotha' Sculpture. from David Mach on Vimeo.
Golgotha is a sculpture by the artist David Mach. Golgotha refers to the site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls in which Jesus was crucified according to the gospels. The sculpture features three figures which appear to be depicted as being crucified, laden with nails. It is interesting to note how the artist has interpreted how individuals were nailed to the cross, by having them over the entire body, seemingly to represent the weight and pain of crucifixion, and how metaphorically, all those who watch 'hammer a nail' into those who are punished this way. 
The sculpture's contemporary structure, having crossing metal beams on slants instead of the traditional upright cross structure, creates a dynamic aesthetic, and the use of grey conveys modernity by communicating an industrial theme. The 'nails' are created through Mach's iconic use of wire coat hangers, again using a contemporary object as an art tool. 

Each of the bodies is shown in a different position, perhaps communicating different positions of turmoil. Mach is able to show a sense of movement and vibration through the materials he uses. Although disturbing and slightly uncomfortable to view, this piece of art demonstrates how religious art is still being created. Mach's Golgotha is probably not semantically similar to other more traditional art pieces, however, it does still hold a religious theme and an authentic interpretation of the crucifixion. It takes a more abstract approach. 
“Golgotha is my largest coat hanger piece to date,” Mach says. “I wanted this sculpture to be dramatic. It is an epic, violent scene. So the sculpture needed to have as much pathos as possible. I extruded the coat hanger hooks outward to reflect that and to me they seem to capture the agony of the moment.” 
Golgotha has been located in religious locations such as the Chester Cathedral. 
“The Bible has it all- war, famine, sex, death, pestilence, jealousy, revenge. Struggle, pain, love death- it’s all in there, as an artist, I think I would struggle to find a richer source of inspiration. No single text has had such a profound effect on our language, culture, and thoughts as this book.” - David Mach. (source)

David Mach’s ‘Golgotha’ sculpture casts the crucifixion in coat hangers (2016) Available at: http://hifructose.com/2016/03/29/david-machs-golgotha-sculpture-casts-the-crucifixion-in-coat-hangers/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016).

COP 03 / Practical / Branding Holy Water / Initial Considerations

I began developing this idea by asking myself questions and considerations - 

• What will the product do?
• Who is it for?
• Will it be purchased or free?
• Where does it belong?
• Aesthetic choices - contemporary or traditional?
• Tone of voice - informal or formal?
• Will it be marketed using the 8 hidden needs?
• Will it be in a bottle or other packaging?

From here I began to think about the concept of the project, and writing down these thoughts helped clarify the questions I will have to consider throughout the development. 

Audience, tone of voice, location & aesthetic are all very important and relevant to establishing a consistent and well thought out branding project. It will be a good idea to ensure a demographic is decided upon before the design process.

Since advertising and brand theory has been an important aspect of my context of practice, this must be somehow featured within the practical, using ideas from Olins, Packard and Klein, alongside the research into religion as a whole.

COP 03 / Practical / Ideas

Moving forward from my research and progress on the writing element, I began to look at possible directions to develop the practical project.

In order to have a strong link to my dissertation, the practical element should be a branding project which is relevant to my research into branding and religion.

• Branding a non-comforming / uncomfortable religion in the same way Christianity is
• Branding immortality - one of vance packards hidden needs and a promise from religion that the soul will live on in another realm/life 
• Branding Holy Water as a product

All of the above ideas have potential at this stage and should now be tested and explored until the strongest response is identified.

COP 03 / Practical / Sketches

The concept had been firmly decided, and so in order to explore before heading onto digital designing, sketches were made to get ideas onto paper before refinement.

Firstly, I took a 'hand rendered' approach, testing whether a friendly typeface using ink would suit the brand. These looked crafty and didn't capture the brand as I was hoping. Using a hand rendered type would look welcoming and conversational, however it is not appropriate for this brand - the aims are for a polished and 'cool' aesthetic, inviting consumers in who may not initially be religious, and using design to entice and engage them. 

Moving on from this I began to envision a more chunky typeface, which suits the contemporary vision and demographic of young adults. A thick typeface is impactful and loud. 

I experimented with placing a 'droplet' as the 'O' letterform to invite concept and embeds the product within the logo. Similarly, this was tried with the crucifix as the 'T'. This would look better designed digitally but gave me a feel of how to communicate the connotations of the product from the initial logotype. 

Experimentation with just an icon gave me ideas on how to manipulate the crucifix to connote both the words 'holy' and 'water', in doing so, this creates a successful brand image which accurately conveys what the product is about from the first glance. This was done above by combining both the cross and the water droplet.

Now I will take to illustrator to try some of these ideas digitally and refine them, also experimenting with more blackletter / decorative typefaces. 

COP 03 / The Church

The reformed Church on woodhouse lane was once a nightclub by the name of Halo. I never attended it, but it previously did have connotations relating back to the theme of religion - evidently due to the nature of the building. This nightclub had built up a specific theme: 

Halo shut down whilst I was in my first year of university, however recently they have had a rebrand, now titled the Church, another nightclub. The branding is more current, clean and approachable, relating more strongly to the type of music and the atmosphere. This branding will appeal a lot more to a younger, student audience. 

What is interesting to me is that although it is a church physically, the branding did not necessarily need to emulate this. The cross is used as the logo for the nightclub, relating back to religion very heavily. This is the globally known sign for Christianity. It is interesting to me how this can be used for a place that Christianity may reject, or may have rejected more strongly in the past; a place of drinking and partying and general ungodliness. Through the use of the cross, The Church has achieved a juxtaposition and has used religion as a leverage to communicate the novelty of their brand. 

The language is also important to note alongside the aesthetics. Here you can see the semantics used relating to religion, 'church', 'mass'. Alongside religious imagery that has a updated and contemporary feel through the use of colourful illustrative images alongside historical images with a more intellectual connotation. The contrast of these two themes brings about a modern aesthetic with mixed media and a fun image. Another contrast is the use of serif type and sans serif, again creating a juxtaposition between traditional and contemporary.

It would be interesting to contact those who did the branding for this project and enquire the reasoning behind it, or contact those in charge of the establishment to find out their reasonings for using religious themes. 

COP 03 / Primary Research / Phil Bains

I recently came about Phil Bains' feature in Eye Magazine, which is an informative read regarding Phil's career. He began studying for Catholic Priesthood but abandoned his studies at the start of his fourth year in order to pursue Art and Design at Cumbria College of Art and Design. The next year he moved to London to study Graphic Design at Central St Martins 

"Baines’s work of this period was heavily biased toward experimental typography that took inspiration from medieval manuscripts and the writings of Marshall McLuhan and George Steiner – he has often noted that his influences came from written rather than visual sources. Letterpress exerted a particular attraction due to its do-it-yourself aspect: the entire process could be handled from concept to production without outside involvement." (source)

He now works as a professor at St Martins. 

Due to the nature of my dissertation theme, I imagined Phil Bains would be a good individual to interview as he has both an insight into religion and graphic design.

I have sent him an email with the following questions:

1. Do you think religion is becoming a brand? 

2. If yes, what factors do you think have effected religion adapting to become a commodity in our society?

3. Do you think this has effected secularisation in any way?

COP 03 / Tutorial 01

During the first tutorial with Ben, my final question was discussed, and I went into depth about the areas I will be exploring during the module. It was helpful to collate my thoughts onto documents and slides and made it easier to articulate my project.


During the tutorial we worked through the planned structure of the essay, which again was beneficial into establishing where the project would go during writing. So far I had been taking notes and quotes, and did not have a developed and final essay structure.


It was also useful to begin to talk about the practical element, even if I'm currently not at a developed stage with this element of the module. Thinking about what I will produce as a practical piece now means that this can now start to evolve over the next few weeks.


Ben also gave me a selection of resources to broading my reading/research:

• Philosophical notions of “The Gift” (Derrida) 
• http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713650416
• http://www.iep.utm.edu/derrida/#SH7a
• Bataille ‘Theory of Religion’ – I think you might like Bataillle’s writing (I haven’t read this one, so can’t comment) http://www.totuusradio.fi/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Bataille-Theory-of-Religion.pdf
• Investigate the etymology of the term: brand – are there any links to religion there, even vaguely (fire as religious symbol)
• http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=brand
• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brand
• Elias Canetti ‘Crowds and Power'

In preparation for the next tutorial, I will bring the first draft of chapter 01 and the introduction, 4 key quotes and examples of case studies.