I have to apologize for tonight's late post, I started to look into this sticker and the meaning behind it but realized that I bit off a little more than I could chew. I find this image and phrase fascinating but the further I try to delve into it the more confused I become. Granted my research is just what I can come up with using the internet but I seem to be hitting a dead end. Luckily for you I can guarantee that this sticker will come up again, so I will try to unpack some of the meaning tonight and will hopefully be able to come up with more later on. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of the two elements of this sticker. The image is clearly a classic illustration of Winnie-the-Pooh from the original publication. A symbol of a simpler time, when adventure was everywhere and you were full of wonder. Before Disney bought the rights to this British child's story and made it into the recognizable phenomenon that it is today. The picture is making a statement in two different ways, harking back to the innocence of childhood and to a time before mass consumerism. The phrase Visualize Industrial Collapse is what has been really throwing me with this post. I find it captivating, the idea of a world without industry that has allowed nature to take it back over. It's definitely a statement that's tied to environmental groups and the desire to help the Earth. My problem is that I can't seem to find where it started. There's a blog post from 2005 that discusses the group Coalition Against Civilization after seeing the phrase on a bumper sticker on their table. There's also a throw away statement about the phrase in a piece discussing living in the rust belt that attributes it to a group Earth First!. I've also been able to find a website that let's you buy a bumper sticker with the phrase. But when I look into both of these groups I can't see the phrase anywhere in their known slogans or discussions. And while it doesn't take much to deduce what the phrase is saying, it would be nice to see the reasoning behind it's creation. The combination of the two items really make it an intriguing sticker. A call to let society reduce it's impact on the Earth and revert back to a child like sensibility and wonder of the world. To reject consumerism and the need to fill our lives with meaningless distractions. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of this wonderfully captivating image but I hope it's an interesting start.
2 Comments
i'm so glad you posted this image! i used to work in an office (in northern california) that had a poster with the same image, although the layout of the text was a little different if i remember correctly. i can't find the image anywhere now!! do you ever find out who made these stickers?
Reply
Jackson
9/12/2023 09:27:25 am
Hey, i don't have any clue about where the phrase comes from, but I went to a hardcore show in Indianapolis last night, and one of the bands sold a shirt with this slogan and the Winnie the Pooh illustrations, and it really intrigued me too! My grandma always loved Winnie the Pooh.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
Categories |