Now revised & expanded, a study of how symbols can endure and
influence life for good and evil for generations and never be
redeemed, even today. A nuanced examination of the most powerful
symbol ever created, The Swastika and Symbols of Hate explores the
rise and fall of the symbol, its mysteries, co-option, and
misunderstandings. Readers will be fascinated by the twists and turns
of the swastika’s fortunes, from its pre-Nazi spiritual-religious
and benign commercial uses, to the Nazi appropriation and
criminalization of the form, to its contemporary applications as both
a racist, hate-filled logo and ignorantly hip identity. Once the mark
of good fortune, during the twentieth century it was hijacked and
perverted, twisted into the graphic embodiment of intolerance. If you
want to know what the logo for hate looks like, go no further. The
Nazi swastika is a visual obscenity and provokes deep emotions on all
sides. The Nazis weaponized this design, first as a party emblem, then
as a sign of national pride and, ultimately, as the trademark of Adolf
Hitler’s unremitting malevolence in the name of national
superiority. A skilled propagandist, Hitler and his accomplices
understood how to stoke fear through mass media and through emblems,
banners, and uniforms. Many contemporary hate marks are rooted in Nazi
iconography both as serious homage and sarcastic digital bots and
trolls. Given the increasing tolerance for supremacist intolerance
tacitly and overtly shown by politicians the world over, this revised
(and reconfigured) edition includes additional material on old and new
hate logos as it examines graphic design’s role in far-right
extremist ideology today. “Force[s] even the most sophisticated to
rethink and rework their ideas of how images work in the world.”
—School Library Journal “Steven Heller, our foremost chronicler of
graphic design, has aimed his sights at the most abominable logo of
all, the swastika. In a world where visual symbols routinely migrate
from context to context, from meaning to meaning, Heller uncovers the
unparalleled history of an ancient symbol that, in the wake of its
promotion by the Nazis, can no longer escape the gravity of its
history.” —Stuart Ewen, author of All Consuming Images and PR!:
A Social History of Spin “Heller masterfully unravels the tangled
source of the swastika’s origin. His thoroughly researched account
is supplemented by an extraordinary visual record that shows for the
first time how this once spiritual symbol was transformed into an icon
of hate.” —Victor Margolin, professor of design history,
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Extremist Iconography Today
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781621537205
Publisert
2019
Utgiver
Vendor
Allworth Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter