Internationally Known Author Brings Anti-Corporate Message to Colorado State University April 1

Colorado State University will host a public lecture by Naomi Klein, internationally known journalist and author of "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Branding Bullies." The talk, which begins at 7 p.m. April 1 in the Lory Student Center Theatre, is part of the university’s Critic and Artist Residency Series.

Klein’s "No Logo," which is her first book, has been translated into 22 languages and hailed internationally as both a strident call to arms against, and a critical look at, growing corporate culture. "No Logo" also contains an extensive look at artists who oppose corporate culture as well as an examination of the visual strategies used in corporate branding.

In her talk, "The Branding Boomerang," Klein will discuss the role of the brand in marketing and other aspects of culture. She said of branding: "Branding is about more than logos and marketing. It is a mania that is transforming the economy, from the factory floor to the superstore. In their quasi-spiritual quest for ‘brand image,’ brand equity’ and brand meaning,’ many multinationals spent the past decade pouring resources into marketing and yanking them from production, a process which has seen our public spaces invaded by logos and our workplaces degraded by unprecedented insecurity, even in booming economic times."

The New York Times called Klein’s book "a movement bible," and the Guardian Newspaper short-listed it for their First Book Award. Klein’s articles have appeared in numerous publications including The Nation, The New Statesman, Newsweek International, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Ms., The Baffler, and Saturday Night. She writes an internationally syndicated column for The Globe and Mail in Canada and The Guardian in Britain.

Klein was born in Montreal in 1970 and now lives in Toronto. For the past five years, Klein has traveled throughout North America, Asia and Europe, tracking the rise of anti-corporate activism. She is a frequent media commentator and has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, Yale and New York University. Last December, Klein was named one of Ms. Magazine’s Women of the Year.

Klein’s lecture runs in conjunction with an exhibition called "McTopia – A Ten-Year Survey" by artist Chris Woods. Woods’ paintings also explore the contemporary phenomena of commercialism and mass production, and Klein features his work in "No Logo." The exhibition, also part of the Critic and Artist Residency Series, runs from March 25-April 26 at Colorado State’s Hatton Gallery. The gallery, located in the Visual Arts Building on campus, is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 1-4 p.m. Saturdays.

The Critic and Artist Residency Series is a program sponsored by the FUNd, an anonymous $1 million endowment given to the Art Department in 1997.

For more information, call the Hatton Gallery office at (970) 491-1989.