Sunday, November 2, 2014

Happy Inc.

Visiting the American Dream
 
We are not shy from asking difficult questions to our inner selves here on Stuck In Plastic, and both Shelly and me touched upon our influences with Big Inc. in a variety of posts, including this latest one where I wondered if having a boardroom exposition at Shell would be off limits.
 
This weekend I had the pleasure to visit the history of another Big Inc. in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. One that turns universal happiness into a bottle of fizzing pleasure, and while my European roots sometimes got an overdose of too much sweet and happiness, it was an awesome journey through The Coca Cola Company history.
 
An history that started with an artist pharmacist called John Pemberton and a fantastic marketeer listening to the name of Asa Candler.
 
A story that may have had a hidden reference to Van Gogh but given that I was so overwhelmed with the happiness inside, this only dawned on me once I was outside again.


Howard Finster at the World Of Coca Cola

The Coca Cola Company is for sure part of Big Inc. yet it plays its role in the art scene.

From being a major pop culture sponsor today over art projects like the 1996 Olympics when more than 70 artists around the world, including Howard Finster turned their cow bottle into art to using advertising artists of the highest level with people like Haddon Sundblom to create a complete generation of pop art culture (or should I say pin up) around the American Dream.

I am still very much fascinated by the influence of Big Inc. on the Art scene.

An influence that goes far beyond sponsering an exhibition or endorsing an artist on a new product release.

Big Inc.

To be continued.

Me2.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad to see you had a chance to visit the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta. I never managed a single trip there, even though my son graduated from "the university that Coca-Cola built," aka Emory University. My tfavorite was the city historical museum in Buckhead, because I visit historical museums everywhere I go, and this one was especially strong in chronicling the rebuilding of the city after the Civil War.

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