1. Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion Advertisement Art of the Day Analysis Ben Weldner

2. “The future will either be green or not at all” – Bob Brown

3. Kirill Chudinskiy, a German graphic artist, shares this same view of protecting the environment by looking to ‘green’ solutions. For Volkswagen, he has expressed this idea in a surreal advertisement, attempting to persuade customers to purchase the company’s latest environmentally friendly car. The artist cleverly places symbols within his work to convey that this new car will spark a revolution that will save our Earth from pollution.

4. Character

5. Focuses on weeping mechanic Character

6. Focuses on weeping mechanic Tears falling Character

7. Focuses on weeping mechanic Tears falling Distortion Character

8. Focuses on weeping mechanic Tears falling Distortion Open pockets and ‘closed’ sign Character

9. Color

10. Top half of picture is composed of blues and yellows Color

11. Top half of picture is composed of blues and yellows Bottom half is mostly brown Color

12. Top half of picture is composed of blues and yellows Bottom half is mostly brown Bright white and yellow spread up painting Color

13. Light

14. Darkness lies along borders Light

15. Darkness lies along borders Light is beaming from the middle Light

16. Angle

17. Paints from an eye- level angle Angle

18. Paints from an eye- level angle Everything relating to the oil companies is offset from the light Angle

19. Proportion

20. Mechanic takes up one third of the picture Proportion

21. Mechanic takes up one third of the picture Four oil pumps which increase in size Flowers taking over oil pumps Proportion

22. Mechanic takes up one third of the picture Four oil pumps which increase in size Flowers taking over oil pumps Small ants looking onto picture Proportion

23. Placement

24. Oil pumps transitioning to flowers are placed in the center Placement

25. Oil pumps transitioning to flowers are placed in the center Seashell under hung fuel gauge Placement

26. Oil pumps transitioning to flowers are placed in the center Seashell under hung fuel gauge Rusted truck Placement

27. Setting

28. Middle of a desert

29. Setting Middle of a desert Tears falling to make pond

30. Character: The photo focuses on a weeping mechanic. His tears express the frustration and sadness that big name oil companies are feeling because of Volkswagen’s new, gas efficient car. By painting the mechanic in a distorted manner, Chudinskiy conveys how corrupt and evil big name oil companies have become. Also, by having the pockets on the worker’s uniform outturned, the artist implies how the companies are going bankrupt, and by hanging a ‘closed’ sign from his forearm he further strengthens his point. Color: Chudinskiy continues his theme of new beginnings by contrasting color. The majority top half of the picture is composed of vibrant blues and yellows, which symbolize happiness and positivity, while the bottom half is made up of dirty browns, symbolizing sadness and wistfulness, suggesting how the revolutionary eco-friendly car will win over the other old, oil guzzling cars of the past. The bright whitish-yellow that is spreading up the painting parallels the goodness of Volkswagen topping the evil oil companies. Light: Darkness and shadows lie along the borders. Bright light is beaming from the middle of the rising sun, expelling outwards, indicating goodness is coming from the new day, or era, of nature friendly cars. The light also represents a positivity that will come from Volkswagen’s new line of automobiles. Through the artist’s use of light, he is able to convey how the Polo BlueMotion is pushing the evil of cars ran on oil out of the picture, both literally and figuratively. Angle: Chudinskiy paints from an eye-level angle, attempting to relate to any average consumer. He also paints so that everything relating to the evil of oil companies (the mechanic, hung fuel gauge, truck, etc.) is not in the way of the light, portraying how nothing will stand in the way of these new cars. Proportion: The mechanic is the most dominant image in the picture, taking up almost an entire third of it. Chudinskiy does this because the mechanic represents the oil companies, which currently are much larger than any other force in the automobile industry. However, he includes four oil pumps in the middle of the image, which start small then increase in size. He does this to communicate how the movement Volkswagen is starting is slowly getting bigger and bigger. There are also flowers that seem to be taking over these pumps to represent the environmental dominance over oil. The extremely small ants in the front of the painting, looking onto the entire image, symbolizing consumers, and how minuscule and powerless they are compared to the oil companies. Now however, that this new car has been released, the ants, or consumers, will not have to abide by these companies. Placement: The oil pumps transforming into flower pots are placed right in the center of the painting, which extend from the sun, representing how nature is slower gaining momentum over corporate companies. These themes of oil industries falling are nothing new by now, but Chudinskiy cleverly teases the demise of the specific company Shell, by inserting a seashell right underneath the hung fuel gauge, implying the ‘death’ of shell. This theme of oil companies closing is strengthened by the truck, rusted and old because it is out of use. The artist continues to strengthen the messages of the ‘nature revolution’ through his ingenious placement within his work. Setting: The artist sets his work in the middle of a desert. But despite the desert’s its dryness, the tears of the mechanic are compiling into a small pond, that is gradually growing in size. This expanding pond parallels the exceeding flower pots exactly, which reflects how Volkswagen is sparking an environmental movement that is growing in size. The viewer can only assume that the dry desert, which represents the current world we live in, will be overtaken by nature, resulting in a friendlier, healthier, and happier environment. Chudinskiy’s Painting attempts to advertise how these cars will result in a more utopian world.