Magnotta- Blog Four

Kim Magnotta

April 15, 2022

Professor Shirk 

Greenpeace and Bansky: Save or Delete Campaign: 

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) attempt to raise public awareness for a variety of topics through different artistic mediums. The visual arts provide a valuable method for NGOs to influence everyday citizens in a memorable fashion. While some organizations turn toward large poster-publishing companies for inspiration, perhaps one of the most Avante Garde attempts at raising public awareness was sponsored by Greenpeace. Through a campaign that was initiated in 2002, Greenpeace collaborated with world-famous street artist, “Bansky”. In Greenpeace’s campaign, Banksy was tasked with drawing art that would encourage the public to become more aware of deforestation-related issues, through a “Save or Delete Campaign”. In essence, Greenpeace urged individuals to help prevent deforestation, or see the natural environment be “deleted”. After receiving the commission from Greenpeace, Banksy designed stamps, a wall poster, and a stencil that depicted Disney’s Jungle Book characters being bound to a forest that had been destroyed as a result of human influence. While Greenpeace intended to share Bansky’s work on an international scale, they eventually had to cancel the social campaign, as a result of copyright infringement on Disney’s animated characters. 

While Bansky’s art was created with the intention of raising awareness about an environmental concern, it also demonstrates the influence of globalization. While the “Save or Delete” campaign intended to reach audiences across the globe, Greenpeace elected to accept an ad campaign that would likely best resonate with people from the United States. One could argue that there is a degree of irony in Greenpeace’s campaign, as one of the key critiques of an increasingly-globalized world is that the environment will be seen as an economic tool, rather than something that should be preserved. Therefore, in Greenpeace’s 2002 campaign, the firm elected to fight the effect of globalization with globalization. The concept that Mcdonald's and Disney are American brands that have inundated the foreign markets speaks to the way in which cultures are lost as an effect of a world that values more interconnection. While the intent of Greenpeace's 2002 campaign was not to speak to the qualms of globalization, it is crucial to recognize that the NGO was accepting all the aspects (both positive and negative) of globalization while producing this ad. 

In addition to class lectures, the following source was used. 

https://www.getabanksy.com/store-get-a-banksy/banksy-save-or-delete-greenpeace-poster-5xjgj#:~:text=Banksy%20Save%20or%20Delete%20Greenpeace%20Sticker%20Sheet,-250.00&text=In%202002%20Banksy%20worked%20with,piece%20sticker%20set%20and%20stencil.