Andy Warhol appropriated the everyday pop image into a work of art, added a new layer of meaning to the familiar, and conceded. Warhol and others of the Pop Art movement exposed our subconscious obsession with superficial surfaces. Slick design, balanced color fields, and textures with 3-dimensional illusions are techniques that advertisers and artists use to captivate viewers. Today advertisers and artists continue to dig deep into what compels consumers visually. However, with the introduction of an educated consumer and heightened visual comprehension advertisers often create as if they are producing works of art.

Artists Mikhail Sokovikov and Jason Aaron Wall in their new series titled, Industry Calling, draw influences from advertising, consumerism, and capitalism. The large vinyl on Plexiglas collages contain bold primary colors that crisscross seamlessly across the surface. The result is a hypnotizing design that requires nothing more than a visceral reaction. The representations within the frames are recognized objects like tropical trees, graffiti elements, national flags, and classic fonts that homogenize the works against a rainbow-like palette.

The process for Sokovikov and Wall begin at their computers pulling countless images from the Internet then deconstructing them within Illustrator and Photoshop programs. The final composites printed on vinyl and then mounted to Plexiglas leave behind products that visually stimulate viewers like a commercial advertisement. The methodology and materials are identical to that of a advertising graphic designer. Mimicking the advertorial approaches that is seen in banners and signs throughout the city begin to blur lines between art and advertising. As Andy Warhol stated in his 1975 book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again): “Business art is the step that comes after Art. Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.”