Sunday, March 1, 2009

Your turn #6

23 comments:

Kara D said...

Last semester I want on a class fieldtrip to the Wolfsonian where we investigated the history of typography. We saw how letterforms have evolved over the centuries as well as how the process has changed since the time of the letterpress.

One of the memorable parts was Italian Filippo Marinetti’s poem “Zang Tumb Tumb”, which is one of the images you posted this week. As a futurist, he believed in glorifying war as a means to cleanse the world. Marinetti’s decision on how to arrange the words, in addition to his choice of words, successfully conjures war imagery. The letters are placed on the page as if they are bombs and bullets flying down and across the page. His choice to use a variety of fonts adds to the illusion that there is a cacophony of sounds of war going on when you look at the page. His choice to use only two colors puts an additional emphasis on the letters’ arrangement.

It was amazing to see in person and I look forward to discussing it in class.

Victoria S. said...

im not sure if we have to post this week, but just in case we do, here i go:

I have always been fascinated by the work of Rene Magritte. I remember when I went on the Closeup Trip to DC, I saw "The Human Condition" for the first time. I just stared at the painting for minutes and minutes because I simply couldn't understand what I was seeing. Were those shotguns under the windowsill? Parts of a guitar? Why was everyone understanding what they were seeing but me?

And then I got it. And it was fabulous. A painting of a painting in front of a window? The mysterious subject matter intrigued me. Now I was looking at the painting in fascination, not in confusion. Why does our mind assume that what is in the "painting within the painting" is being seen outside the window? We assume it is, given the placement of the easel, but who is to say what exists beyond what our eye can see? On that note, there actually isn't anything beyond the "painting within the painting," because that is all that Magritte has chosen to show us.

This is not reality, and yet we desire to make it a reality to our minds. Clearly those mountains in the painting are being seen out the window. In reality, there is no window, no mountains, no scene being depicted within the inner painting at all. The layers of understanding in this modest, unassuming work have stayed with me since that moment in the museum in Washington, DC. I went on to paint my version of "The Human Condition" for an art class, and am continuously intrigued by new Magritte paintings I see. They ask us to take a second look, to think, to maybe stare for longer than usual and find the true meaning of the work. It is subtle, and yet, when you understand the meaning it screams out at you for the rest of your life.

-Victoria

Ryan Eckert said...

At first when I saw the automatic drawing I thought that the style looked similar to blind drawing. This caught my attention because I took a drawing class and we tried the technique of blind drawing. Basically you look at an object and don’t take your eye off it; you’re not allowed to look at the page you are drawing on until it is finished. It is frustrating but as you practice more the drawings improve.
Automatic drawing is produced through your subconscious, there are no restrictions. Pablo Picasso has expressed some form of automatic drawing in his later etchings. André Masson’s style of automatic drawing started branching to painting, continuing into today’s culture with graphic design. Some still feel that the works done on a computer are not as responsive to the automatic feel of the hand but I think that the mouse can translate the message of the subconscious just as good as the hands.

CardM said...

Dalí made his dreams real and made it come true for all to get trapped in. Un chien andalou was the combination of dreams between Buñuel and Dalí, but I also admire Destino, a collaboration between American animator Walt Disney and Dalí (WKPD). As for how surrealist made their presence in graphic design industry, I have yet to learn.
What I find most interesting of Picasso is his love for the figure. Whether he is fragmenting it in analytical cubism, or rebuilding it with layers in synthetic cubism, the figure is there.
A trip to Chinatown by The Beggarstaffs stood out and puzzled me. Its Japanese influence is seen through its over all simplification of shape, and pure, flat use of color. The text was the name of a musical comedy. The printers, not the Beggarstaffs, were responsible for the text that appeared on the final poster. The Beggarstaffs disliked it so much that they left it unsigned (Yaneff International). I wouldn't mind owning this one.

Alfredo Triff said...

Imagine I lectured on these images. As usual you post your 150-word comment based on the images and concepts.

Unknown said...

I found the post about Dali the most interesting this week. While I was in Barcelona during my semester abroad, I took the two hour train trip to the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figures. This museum is by far contains the most facinating combination of mediums that I've ever seen in one place. From the architecture to the doorknobs, every single aspect is a work of Art. Murals cover the walls, and large installations are in the round.

(http://photospain.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/Figueres-Spain042.JPG)

I found each piece thought provoking and bizarre. The pieces were functioning artwork as well, for example from the top of a tall ladder, one exhibit is of a face, with two framed pictures creating the eyes, a fireplace creating a nose, and a couch that makes the lips. When you walk into the room, you do not see the whole picture.

(http://www.jimzim.us/pics/europe/0620.jpg)

The artwork in the museum gives you a glimpse into the wild mindset of Dali.

(http://www.authenticsociety.com/img/Dali.Gala.Lincoln.20meters.jpg)

Whie Yves Tanguy's style is similar, his artwork seems to be much more methodical than Dali's. I felt that the works are different but not nearly as drastic as Dali's.

scolbert said...

I think the Dada era was very interesting because of its communication of "anti art." Though Dadaists tried to rebel their pieces were still beautiful and meaningful. For example Marcel DuChamp's toilet was displayed for the first time the public was outraged but it was still an art form because he took it out of its original context and into a place where its meaning could be disputed. The Dada Soiree piece is also a very beautiful one with the dynamic type and type placement and bold use of red and black, which catches the eye and makes it move around he the piece. This piece really defines the beginnings of the graphic design in magazine layouts. I’m used to seeing and its great to see how designs have evolved from type heavy pieces like the Gutenberg Bible to type heavy pieces as we are presented with here in a different and more contemporary way.

Unknown said...

The automatic drawing by Andre Masson is interesting. It looks rather random and similar to a 2 year olds black crayon drawing but it is much more than that. Surrealists practice automatic drawing as a means of expressing the subconscious. Automatic drawing is when the hand moves randomly across the paper making marks and lines by chance. This method of drawing is believed to free one of rational control. Surrealists believe that the drawing that is produced is attributed in part to the subconscious and may reveal things about the psyche, which normally are repressed. Andre Masson created drawings such as the one above through sleep deprivation, starvation and drugs. Masson did this in an attempt to reduce his state of consciousness, thus freeing him from rational control and helping him further understand his subconscious in his drawings.
This all sounds a little like something Freud would do don’t you think?! Freud was born not long before Andre Masson. Perhaps Masson got some of his ideas from Freud’s work on the unconscious.

Emily said...

I was never able to grasp the idea of, or identify a Dada. Perhaps this is because this post war art movement is extremely diverse, and although is began in neutral Zurich, Switzerland during WWI, is also emerged independently in many other cities throughout the world, most notably New York City. Dada includes visual arts, literature, poetry, art manifestos, theory, theatre and graphic design. But even more so, I think Dada can be viewed as more of an idea, or of a mind-set than of a certain art style. If order, reason and logic led to the disasters of WWI, then Dadaists believed anarchy and irrationality would prevent further harm. This anarchy or absurdity is a clear focus in Dada art, but does it even have a focus if is also referred to as anti-art? Even the name Dada is irrational; not describing the type of artwork produced during the movement, and yet does describe the irrationality of the movement.

Emily said...

I agree with Scolbert in that Duchamps “Fountain” is artwork in that it is taken out of its original context, but Duchamp did more than that. He presented his “ready-made” sculptures as common objects, but altered them in various ways to present an every-day object in a new light. “Fountain,” is a porcelain urinal, presented on its back and signed with a pseudonym, R. Mutt. Everything about this piece rebels against tradition, and at the same time is completely random. Dadaists loved using the idea of chance in their artwork. They saw chance as the unconscious mind discovered by Freud, and using chance produced an extremely avant-garde art movement. Zurich’s Hans Arp pioneered such use of chance in his “Collage Arranged by Chance.” Scolbert also notes that the Dada piece, which he refers to as Dada Soiree, with the black and red letters, makes your eye move around the piece. Well, with this idea of chance, I do not this wanting the viewers eye to circulate the piece was a major concern of the artist. It is reminiscent of the Dada style that emerged in Berlin, where random found photos were pasted together by using chance.

Emily said...

Although Automatic drawing looks very similar to blind drawing, as noted by Ryan, the idea behind it is very different. When performing a blind drawing, you have an image in your mind that you want to create, and you are focused on that image. In automatic drawing, the entire subconscious ends up on the paper. The artwork is created without conscious control, and is much more reminiscent of surrealism. In automatic drawing or automatism, the viewer may not be able to propose a specific meaning to the artwork. Furthermore, the artist himself may not even be able to explain it. Automatic drawings are filled with random movements of chance, very similar to the Dadaists. It is clear that the post war movements had similar desires in breaking with tradition and exploring the Freudian subconscious.

Anonymous said...

It was no less than a year ago (last spring) when I went on a field trip to the Rubell Museum in Wynwood. We were looking at different works of art and all of a sudden, there it was, the most fast forward idea that I had witnessed in a long time. Or so I thought. Little did I know that it had already been done by Luigi Russolo over 100 years ago in the early 1900’s. The sculpture or art work is a massive sized sonic organ that is titled “Geist Ueber Materie (Future Organ) [Spirit Over Matter(Future Organ)]” by the artist Thomas Zipp, from the Berlin art scene. Here I was thinking how innovative this noise making machine was, and although slightly different than the original creation of Russolo, the intense similarity left me awed in class with “the Art of Noise” creator, (and a bit disappointed with my previous conclusion although I admit that im still impressed by Zipp’s work ).

Luigi was a man who was sick of the monotonous sounds of his present and attempted to fast forward into the future with his passion for sound. This love for all machinery noise (versus the instruments of his time) was borderline fanatical (he too had a fervor for the sound of war machines just as his friend Marinetti author of “Zang Tumb Tumb), but his obsession lay in creating an orchestral symphony of pure and all machine sounds. I found the additional readings an interesting one since he classified and separated sound into six families. Im not quite sure yet after reading it a few times over if he was separating noise based on sound level or similarity of sound, which are two distinct things, but either way, he was innovative and way ahead of his time as the title of his movement suggests. Synthesizing music with machines (and now computers) is still considered by some, to be fast forward thinking, but as we all know history tends to repeat and reinvent itself. Some attempts of course are more successful than others.

Below are links to images of Thomas Zipp’s "Future Organ":

dark image
light image

Alfredo Triff said...

Elysa, you almost got the link right.

Anonymous said...

sorry about the mistake. heres my second attempt

link attempt 2:

dark image

Nicole Severi said...

I have to agree with what we discussed in class in terms of today being an era of collage. I feel as though all forms of art today are a mix of previous art forms, thrown together in an expected combination to make new art. Living in this day and age, I'm a victim to this type of art and love anything that is familiar yet different. This is why I particularly like dada pieces. I first learned about Max Ernst and Duchamp last year in another art history class and thought their style, though reusing other pieces, was highly creative and ingenious.

I thought L.H.O.O.Q. was a great play on such a classic piece, although I'm sure it was hated by many art lovers of the time. Today, however, art like this would be (and generally is) embraced and loved. Dada is still influencing today's art, especially with our modern-day love of collage.

For example, some art exhibits today are being considered "Neo-Dada", such as one that featured a football completely covered in pink sequins. While some might not consider this art, I love these types of pieces; they're not only interesting to look at but they reflect our current collage-ist society. This may keep us from ever starting a completely new and innovative trend in art, but for the time being, I find these pieces way cool.

Annika said...

I thoroughly enjoy the bizarre art of dadaism and surrealism. The "automatic drawing" by Andre Masson looks like the attempts of drawing that I have so often created, and inspired me to look up more of his work. Much as I like the varying line quality and texture of Masson's pieces, my favorite strange artist remains Dali. I first experienced his work in the Dali museum in Figueras (Spain) when I was younger and have been fascinated by him ever since. The way that he utilizes ornate detail and color to express symbolism through his bizarre images, such as the melting clocks, is so impressive and demonstrates many layers of meaning-- a quality that other art styles (such as Impressionism) fail to do despite their gorgeous aesthetic qualities.

pais said...

I agree as well. the use of collage is becoming more prominent in todays world of art. people are constantly merging ideas to try and create a new form of art. due to the fact that there have been so many attempts at making new art, it is difficult to try and create something new rather than re create somethng that has already been created.

Rene Magritte was one of the many great artists who decided to change the view of art. He took objects and placed them in unordinary situations or scenarios making them look random or unreal, yet still contained a true meaning to them. For example, in his painting of a pipe where he says that "this is not a pipe" although it is a pipe, yet really it is a painting of a pipe so it is NOt a pipe.

I believe that it is still possible to take art and create new ideas and create new ways of making art that has not been accomplished before.

Anonymous said...

I have found and currently find myself very much drawn to surrealism. When looking up about the Surrealist Manifesto written by Andre Breton, it was interesting to see that one man was able to create such an abstract artform and ideal. of course, Andre Breton didnt create the idea of expressing ones thoughts through art. He did verbalize the idea and struggled with the concept of the functionality of thought. All of our creations are thought-driven and for one man to create a school that encompasses this is fascinating. Surrealism stresses dreams and is evident in works by Dali and Ernst whow ere able to breathe life into their works. The techniques developed in conjecture with the hallucinatory thoughts of the artists spawned a truly unique, and thought-provoking artform that can be applied to everyday life.

Unknown said...

A post from last week that stood out to me the most was on Surrealism. I really enjoy the works from this movement, especially since I am a psychology and art major. Surrealists seemed to tap into the subconscious through their art. For example, artists like Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst use juxtaposition in their works, just like many other collage artists. In many ways, Surrealism is a type of collage. For example, Salvador Dalí, in one of his most famous works called The Persistence of Memory, finds a way to incorporate softness and hardness as he depicts these dripping clock images in a nature scene. Not all of these pieces are made to evoke a positive, happy emotion from the audience. Instead, many of Dalí’s works have a darker and anxious tone to them. I really do enjoy much of the artwork from the Surrealist movement, and the fact that it can elicit distinct feelings and emotions.

Anonymous said...

From this section, the futurists really caught my attention. I’ve studied the futurists’ painters before, like Balla and Severini, and I find it extremely interesting how these techniques are translated into text and font by the graphic designers of the time. There aim of “exalt[ing] aggressive action, feverish insomnia, the racer’s stride, the mortal leap, the punch and the slap” is clearly conveyed by using an interesting composition created by arranging multiple fonts, sizes, directions, and patterns. These techniques are exemplified by the creator of this movement, Filippo Marinetti’s, especially in his Manifesto. Marinetti breaks the boundaries from the social norm of how text should be written in straight lines, neatly laid out for maximum legibility. By using different fonts and sizes he creates a dynamic hierarchy that enhances the visual interest in order to get his point across to the viewer. He also uses repetition and curved lines in order to convey a sense of dramatic movement, which was a critical theme in futurist works. I think his work introduced the idea using text as a work of art to enhance the message rather than just spell it out.

Lauren Santa Cruz said...

I know that you didnt post anything referencing Jerry Uelsmann when talking about Surrealism but i think he is totally underrated. Uelsmann did all his work in a dark room without any digital imaging which I think was incredible revolutionary for his time. As opposed to Dali and others who painted theyre surrealist drawings (allowing for easy artistic expression) Uelsmann has to construct his art work from already shot photographs- the result being amazing images that are like eye candy. I wish that he would be referenced more often when talking about Surrealism because his photographs are truly the results of design at its best...http://www.uelsmann.net

Magdalena said...

I was reading Triff's comment about the different techniques that were used to create surreal images, and he mentioned that a lot of imagery created by the artist depended on his/her hallucinatory mind. Well, I deffinitely think they had to be on something to create some of their work. I'm not a fan of abstract work, so when I see some scrappings or other kind of surreal work created in similar way and they don't really show anything that my mind can recognize, all I keep thinking is: how did the artist think of that? is there any way he/she could be sober minded and create that? Maybe. I guess it is possible. I'm just not really believing that. However, some other surreal work when we have a subject matter, and all this dreamy environment and scenes, that faascinates me. It's no longer psychodelic imigaes but dream-like creatures in wierd situations and with wierd surroundings. I've got to say I love Dali's work. His paintings make me want to look at them for hours and not be bored with it. I just makes your imagination going loose and wonder.

Tia said...

When looking at these images, I was immediately intrigued by the automatic drawing. It reminded me of a free had piece of work that an artist would complete, while simply thinking of random things that come to mind and later realizing that they have created a beautiful piece of work. I was also intrigued by the works of the Dada movement, specifically the Dada collages. The pieces created by Max Ernst and John Heartfield send a very powerful message by combining images and symbols to create the message. This idea reminded me of when graphic designers mix images to create the overall product and to enhance their message. The toilet by Marcel DuChamp is also very interesting. Its amazing to think what message a piece of art like this can send and although it is a toilet and created such an uproar of reactions it still serves as a prominent piece of art.