ABOUT ARTFUL TRUTH

Artful Truth-Healthy Propaganda Arts Project is about the messages constantly being sent to us by the objects and images we see in the world around us. These messages influence our ideas and feelings. Many of the things we see-the color red, a painting by a famous artist, a sports car, a "STOP" sign, a building, an advertisement-affect us in some way. Sometimes the effect can be good. For example, an advertisement telling us to donate blood may make us think about ways to help people. On the other hand, an advertisement showing people smoking and having fun could make us think that smoking looks cool. But we know the real story about tobacco use. That is why it is so important to look closely, find out the true facts, and think very carefully about them.

Artful Truth was created by a museum, The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, in Miami Beach, Florida. It was chosen by the Florida Division of Health Awareness and Tobacco to develop Artful Truth because the museum specializes in looking at the messages we see all around us. The Wolfsonian has a collection of more than 70,000 objects made between 1885 and 1945. People at the museum study these objects to learn more about them, such as why they were made and what they meant to the people who lived with them.