
“What does it take to really be happy?” This daunting question has troubled society for centuries. In a materialistic society, plagued with celebrities flaunting their beauty, ads selling the dream lifestyle, and millionaires boasting their wealth, finding true happiness seems impossible. The media suggests that the more objects a person owns, the happier they will be, causing people to spend more money and work harder to achieve a false sense of happiness. Due to the fact that materialism consumes society, this issue can be found in many works of art. Various artist use materialism as a theme in their artwork to inform or entertain their audience. In this artwork, the author uses contrasting colors, emotional appeal, and symbolism to show the impact of advertisement, identifying the problem of materialism that has dominated society. 

Colors are vital elements in any illustration. Usually in a piece of art, an artist will color adjacent objects two distinct colors. An artist will use contrasting colors to draw the reader's attention to a specific area in the piece. In this painting, we see a group of hands reaching toward what seems to be a face, as if the face is in high demand. The hands are painted a deep navy blue while the face mask is a bright beige. Putting these two images in the artwork next to each other creates high contrast between the two. When the contrast is applied the face-mask is highlighted, drawing the viewer’s attention to the mask upon first glance. Since the hands reaching toward the flashing figure gives the face a superior or an idol-like appearance. The color scheme applied to the piece is similar to that of an advertisement. Usually in ads, the item that is being presented is the main focus of the picture and only the positive effects of the item is shown. Opposed to the item, those who want the item appear sad, lonely, or grim due to the fact that the item is not in their possession. 

The artist chooses to use Symbolism as well to get the point across. Emotions and different shades are added to the painting to connect the audience to personal experiences making the piece more realistic. When these objects in the painting are made realistic it is easy for the viewer to relate the object to real life elements. For example, when the blue triggers the emotion of depression hands the viewer associates themselves and others with the hands. This connection is made because the viewer is forced to believe that they, and others that have felt or are depressed, need the highlighted object to prevent or suppress this feeling of unhappiness, just as the hands do. Due to this, the highlighted face, showing positivity, is seen as the “happiness” that those depressed people search for. Since the face is a mask, an object, a thing it can be associated with an advertised item is said to give these people feeling, or have felt, despair joy. The fragments missing in the face represent the pieces that people have taken already, the only pieces that appeal to them. Usually when something is heavily advertised or deemed as good, it is not a great as it seems and comes with some sort of unwanted effects. The remains of the faces serves as parts that those that have already taken what they “needed” did not want.

Advertising companies highlight objects as the key to happiness, only doing this to make more money. People who are searching for joy, then turn to these advertised objects to find joy, making the items idols, stopping at nothing to obtain these things. Often times, these possessions do not bring happiness, and causes those who want to be happy more distress. This then leads to people who lack content to search for other advertised things that they are told will rid themselves of this unhappiness. This forms an endless cycle of running after objects to achieve this pleasure of positivity, also known as materialism. Artwork can be used to represent this concept. In this painting, the artist shows the effects of advertisement’s highlight on objects by using color, emotion and symbolism. 