Space to switch between raster and bitmap, click to zoom DISCLAIMER: I am not a tankie/communist by any means it's just an assignment for my sociology class Music: Boney M - Rasputin Karl Marx's head was vector traced off google btw Oh yea and here's the paper I wrote on it: My t-shirt design seeks to encapsulate the core ideas of Karl Marx and conflict theory in an aesthetically pleasing minimalist representation. The front of the t-shirt features a design inspired by propaganda posters of the Soviet Union and Chinese Communist Party, two governments that adopted a modified Marxist ideology. The contrast in the two-tone “ink” of the “poster” represents the divide of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the two primary classes Marx’s ideology recognizes. Marx believed that the gap between the bourgeoisie, the wealthy who owned the majority of the means, and the proletariat, the common working class, would eventually lead to conflict. The main focus of the front design is Karl Marx bringing together the “red sea”, imagery with multiple connotations. Firstly, the context is that it’s a biblical allusion to Moses parting the red sea. In the bible the Israelites, slaves, escaped the Egyptians, slave owners, through the help of Moses. After they crossed the red sea God brought the water back and drowned the pursuing Egyptians. This is a use of irony as Marx is taking the place of God and the real life Karl Marx was very anti-religion. He has been quoted stating “I hate all gods, they do not recognize man’s self-consciousness as the highest divinity.” He believed that religion was another form of control and would undermine this ideas of equality. Secondly, the name “red sea” has a double meaning. It is a biblical allusion in addition to being a pun as the colour red has been historically associated with Marxism, originating from the red flags used in the French Revolution to “represent the blood of the workers who died in the struggle against capitalism.” Thirdly, the design represents the four primary assumptions of Marx’s theories: competition, revolution, structural inequality, and war. Competition of limited resources occurs in every human interaction as theorized by Marx. He assumes it’s the default rather than cooperation. The imagery of Marx bringing together the sea that was parted represents unity. Marx theorized that revolution was an abrupt and large force required for a change in the power dynamic, hence the tall waves moving in at a quick pace. Structural inequality is the assumption that some individuals and groups in society inherently develop more power and reward than others. Marx believed those who are disadvantaged by the system should fight back, represented by the waves, the proletariats converging together to drown the bourgeoisie. Finally, war is represented by the inertia that the waves generate. Marx saw war as a unifier or “cleanser” of societies, resulting from growing tensions between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. Waves are often violent due to the inertia generated overtime through tides. The focus of the back design of my t-shirt is simply text that reads “WORKERS OF ALL LANDS UNITE.” This phrase is a translation of the most famous motto from the communist manifesto, a book authored by Karl Marx. The motto conveys that proletariats around the world should unite in the fight against capitalism to achieve victory in class conflict. Symbolism is scattered around my design in both the front and back. The hammer and sickle symbol was created during the Russian revolution to represent unity in the proletariats against the bourgeoisie. It makes an appearance behind the illustration of Karl Marx, representing a rising sun along with the sunburst stripes, another element adopted from communist propaganda posters. The sun is the new light that overtakes the darkness that represents class conflict. The sunburst stripes converge towards the centre, once again perpetuating the unity motif. In my design Karl Marx has both hands raised. His left hand is clenched in a fist, a symbol of strength, defiance and resistance. It was also a salute used by communists throughout history. I specifically chose his left hand because Marxism is a leftist political ideology. Through elements of design, allusions, and symbolism, this t-shirt design is able to portray conflict theory as Karl Marx intended.
