Art in today's society takes many forms. With the proliferation and advancement of information technology, graphic design, publishing capabilities, and understanding of human vision and comprehension, art has invaded sectors of society that before seemed separate and unconnected to artistic endeavors. Artists today pursue careers in architecture, graphic design, advertising, and civil engineering. Advertising has benefited the most from these artistic "mercenaries-. Ads today utilize many facets of sight and perspective, and visual depictions of products or ideas are usually more effective than written words. These ads are the closest things we have to the commissioned artworks of the earlier times. Instead of wealthy families paying an artist to paint and incorporate them into famous and emotionally-charged scenes, companies pay advertisers to put their products in exaggerated settings. Advertisers use light, texture, shapes, lines, and colors just as earlier artists did. And they use them for the noblest purpose of all: the pursuit of money.
The ad I chose to analyze came from the January 6, 2003 issue of ESPN The Magazine. It is an ad for ESPN, one of a recently-introduced string of advertisements showcasing all the aspects of sports which affect our culture and the basic fabric of the world around us in ways we don't normally think of. It shows a young boy (or possibly girl) on a grass field with a soccer ball at his/her feet, and the caption reads "Without sports, weekends would be weekdays."" It is poignant and simple, and serves to conjure up all kinds of feelings in the viewer.
The first thing a viewer notices is the nearly all-white soccer ball close to the forefront, against a sea of dark green grass. The young child's legs direct our view there as well. As our eyes leave the ball, the same legs direct our vision back upwards. It is then that we notice that the child's head is cut off by the top of the page.
