Branding and brand hacking - an investigation of the struggle for the meaning of cultural and commercial symbols between the dominating and sub- and counter-cultural spheres.

Sammanfattning: In my thesis I present the work of the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and the British street artist Beejoir, both of whom have done work involving the trademark monogram pattern of Louis Vuitton. Through my analysis of central parts of Murakami's body of work, I show how his cooperation with Louis Vuitton constitutes an ideal symbiosis where the carefree luxury of the Vuitton brand is complemented by - and becomes embedded in - the super flat and colourful world of Murakami's art, removing it from the troubles of everyday life while associating the company name and its products with both fashionable pop culture and contemporary high-brow art. I then show how a submercial unsanctioned urban expression by Beejoir takes the monogram pattern of Louis Vuitton out of its normal context by associating it with the problems found in developing countries, thereby creating a juxtaposition of symbols that plays on the viewer's preconceptions of the brand. Through this contextual change the brand is hacked and different meanings emerge from the symbols. Based on the results of the analyses I go on to argue that these artworks can be understood as manifestations of a struggle between different social and ideological spheres for the meaning of cultural and commercial symbols. I further propose that the complex interplay of symbolic appropriation ultimately helps keep both the dominant and the sub- and counter-cultural spheres alive and vibrant through a reciprocal exchange of symbols, wherefore the true subversive nature of brand hacking can be questioned.