Interactions Between the 3 Levels

 

This is an advertisement poster for an exhibition featuring pieces by 35 inspired artists of Tezuka Osamu and to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of his birth. One of his famous works is Astro Boy, which is presented on the poster.

Representational
The representational view of this poster is one of the well-known Japanese animation characters, Astro Boy. The story is about a young human boy who lost his life in a car accident, but came back to life as a robot with the help of his father. The young robot devoted his life saving the citizens of Japan and became the robot boy called, “Astro Boy.” In this image, we see a half –faced Astro Boy and on the other half are colorful geometrical shapes spreading out of the image. This poster is here to promote an exhibition called, “Tezuka Gene: Light of the Darkness” by 35 artists inspired on Tezuka Osamu’s work and his view of the world. Corresponding to the word “Light”, Astro Boy’s pupil is emitting light and smiling brightly. Astro Boy will bring light into the exhibition as the viewers come to see the exhibition. Looking at Astro Boy will bring smiles to the viewers’ faces. Overall, this image illustrate that visitors will see many inspired Tezuka Osamu’s famous works, including Astro Boy.

Abstract
The abstract view of this poster is the geometrical shapes coming out of Astro Boy’s right-sided face. On “A Primer of Visual Literacy” Dondis states, “…the more abstract, the more general and all encompassing it is” (p.74). The geometric shapes illustrate to viewers that the exhibition will display many pieces inspired by Tezuka Osamu. Hence, on the far right corner of the cube is a little character which is created by Tezuka Osamu. The abstraction promotes the colorfulness of the exhibition to the viewers. The split face of Astro Boy creates a representational and symbolical view. Viewers can see the exhibition of Astro Boy and many more.

Symbolic
The symbolic view of this poster is where Astro Boy emits light from his eye. Same as the title of the exhibition, Astro Boy will bring ‘light into the darkness.’ Referring to the animation, the darkness signifies the countless enemies Astro Boy would encounter. On the other hand, the light in his eye symbolizes his good/ pure heart for saving citizens from danger. Relating to abstraction, the geometrical shapes signify the viewers will see the colorful pieces by the 35 artists. As for representational, this will encourage the audience and artists to open to imagination and continue to grow just like the geometrical shapes are continuously expanding. The exhibition itself is to motivate new artists to design their own style of art and entertain the viewers.