rene magritte, the philosopher's lamp, 1936
this is 20th century, folks!
a lot is -simultaneously- going on: juan gris' futurism, malevich, constructivism, new typography, new objectivity in vienna, plakatstil, war posters, dada collage, leonora carrington + european graphic design influences begin to appear in the US.
do what you do every week (only better 😊). 👏👏👏
10 comments:
I remember the first time I saw the famous “I Want You” WWI poster on my high school history class wall. I didn’t truly know what graphic design was then, but I remember how captivating, eye-catching, and direct the message was to me (exactly what graphic design is).
It fascinates me such war propaganda posters were done over 100years ago because the principles/goals of the designs continue to be the same now - an eye-catching, direct, clear design to communicate with the audience through visuals and words.
While looking at the class posters, and others I found on the internet I reflected on our pandemic and the posters we have been exposed to this past year. While obviously, the messages are very different from WWI, during this pandemic there have been several messages aiming to communicate with the audience in the same way they did during the war. This time, about masks, distancing, vaccines, staying home… What I did notice is how I found the war posters way more creative and with more original illustrations some of them even had a sense of humor or satire almost. While what we are exposed to currently, feels more obvious, normal, the same graphics over and over again, just concerned with being a clean design.
The minimalist designs we have now are still appealing, but seeing the posters side by side from the different times did make me reflect on how much this change happened due to a concern with the audience.
Julia Martins
POSTERS:
https://www.ors.od.nih.gov/mab/Pages/COVID-19-Resources.aspx
https://time.com/3881351/world-war-i-posters-the-graphic-art-of-propaganda/
https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/first-world-war-recruitment-posters
Russian constructivism may have been long ago, but there seems to be an uptick in its use today. Many recent projects I have seen have incorporated some elements of this style in the work. I have even noticed myself using some of these elements especially the more collage style examples. A lot of the Russian posters with black and white juxtaposed with the bold colors are familiar to me even though I did not know it was a specific era in art history until taking this class. The bold minimalist ways of illustrating are also coming back into style in recent years. It is so interesting to see how cyclical art styles are. Something that was popular at the beginning of the 21st century is not coming back into fashion just to be replaced by another comeback style in several years. It is almost as though nothing really goes out of style it just takes a short hiatus until someone rediscovers the building block of art and makes it “trendy” again.
Olivia Ginsberg
Russian Constructivism began in 1913 but began to take shape from the Russian revolution of 1917. The purpose of Russian Constructivism was to advance more of a philosophy rather than just an art style. The art style mainly focused on functionality rather than frivolous paintings. This in itself echoed the message of dismantling the bourgeois and their expense and lavish taste. Furthermore, to replace the replace this with a more sensible proletariat. The minimal color pallet of red, yellow, black, and white again stripped the art down to the basics and delivered the meat and potatoes of the Russian communist ethos. The Proletariat was working-class people who did not have the time or necessity for “extra” and was primarily focused on surviving with the essentials. The point of the art was to get the message as concise as possible. The art is meant to be a bit blunt with its use of images to catch the view off guard and to draw them closer. At the time of this movement, much of the population was illiterate, so the soviets understood that a picture was worth a thousand words and was an instrumental piece for the propagandizing machine. The purpose of art is too much for us to feel something, whether it be good or bad. Having these posters almost yelling at you creates some source of immediacy and excitement. Art is the best form of propaganda because it can be mass-produced, and you do not even have to speak the language to understand the general message.
https://creativepro.com/russian-constructivism-and-graphic-design/
Sam Zeigler
Kasimir Malevich’s Black circle, 1915 and black square and red square, 1915 stood out to me because it made me think about the idea we hold that, “that isn’t art because it’s too simple”, or “a 3-year-old could have done that!” To be quite honest, sometimes I have that view point at times, for instance when the duct taped banana sold for $120,000. I guess when people say “well I could have done that” then the answer is simple: yes, but you didn’t. According to Malevich, this simple art form was his way of removing himself from the objectivity of art and he developed “suprematism” as a form of abstract art “based upon ‘the supremacy of pure artistic feeling’ rather than on visual depiction of objects” (Wikipedia, Suprematism). The object itself is seen as meaningless and the emphasis of the work is the feeling it provokes, which reminds me of the idea behind expressionism. The object is not the symbol, it is not the meaning behind the painting. “Is the milk bottle the symbol of milk?” The thing and the ideas are separate.
Meghan Morrison
One of the first publications I studied when I took an interest in graphic design was Depero Futurista, which ignited my love of type. Depero's Bolted Book uses typography with such a dynamic expressiveness that Futurism has become one of my favorite movements of all time. I find that the way that Marinetti deconstructed and reconfigured words is as powerful as contemporary kinetic typography animations in how it simulates movement and sound. Many type designers today draw from this synesthesia, including myself. However, it often seems like the contemporary design world is competing to invent the most avant-garde, nearly illegible font, while the experimental nature of Futurism was messy in a way that was clean, commanded attention in both its speed and stillness, and spoke loudly while sitting on a silent page.
Lauren Maingot
Jose Victoriano Gonzalez-Perez better known as Juan Gris (March 23, 1887 - May 11, 1927) was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life.
His works are closely connected to the emergence of an innovative artistic genre-Cubism.
Born in Madrid, Gris studied mechanical drawing at the Escuela de Artes y Manufacturas in Madrid from 1902 to 1904, during which time he contributed drawings to local periodicals. From 1904 to 1905 he studied painting with the academic artist José Maria Carbonero.
He was the first to introduce the idea of "poster art".
I think I find Leonora Carrington one of my favorite artists that we’ve talked about in this class so far because of how she redefined female symbolism and imagery in surrealism. At the time, many of the artists in the surrealist world were not “forward-looking when it came to women and their place in the world.” It is possible that Carrington felt paralyzed by the way male surrealists had treated women as artificial beings with manipulable bodies and elusive spirits. They were thought of as perfect for being desired and for being painted but not for creating an art of her own. Carrington was not content to merely be a muse, but was also interested in presenting female sexuality as she experienced it, rather than as that of male surrealists’ characterization of female sexuality. Rejecting the surrealist ideal of women as a source of creative energy, she turned to the animal world, the occult, and Celtic myth for hers.
Ellie Massaro
One of my favorite things about art is how the artistic movements of each period reflect the conditions and political atmosphere of the time. While many art movements do not overtly display politics, they often are telling of the time, as it shows us what communities found visually appealing, or what they prioritized- thinking of how David’s work highlighted France’s politics or how religious symbolism in art shows the community’s devotion to a religion. Dada, on the other hand, was extremely overt in its interest in politics. George Grosz made lithograph prints poking fun at the German government and was arrested and had his unsold prints destroyed. He criticized the bourgeois class and capitalism as a whole. This was in 1919, so long before WWII and just after WWI. Germany had lost WWI and had war debts and reparations. The economy and politics of Germany were in chaos, a time that all countries are most vulnerable to oppressive rule, and the German officials chose to suppress artists who were critical. When learning about the history of the Nazi party it is so important to understand the environment in which the party was able to flourish. A government that destroys private property based on its own embarrassment breeds extreme political views as citizens seek polarizing alternatives to their current situation. Dada is so much bigger than just the works of art and is very telling of the period.
Emma Pitcairn
When one hears Vogue, one thinks of powerhouse Ana Wintour, the current global editorial director of Vogue. She has changed the course of fashion, influencing many and brought you countless iconic editorials that makes Vogue what it is today. However, we must not forget who has come before and has influenced her to what she is today. Dr. Mehemed Fehmy Agha changed the course of Vogue when he became the art director in 1929. His re-imagination for the publication brought a design revolution that rid of redundant components to a modern fresh take on the long-standing magazine publication. Ukrainian born, Fehmy Agha went to study economic, photography and typography which landed him as art director of Vogue Berlin in 1928. His concepts and new interpretation of the magazine got him scouted by Conde Montrose Nast to become the Art Director of American Vogue in New York City. He brought the European avant-garde movement to the states and brought the art deco movement into full effect. His creation of extending the margins to have more white spaced boarders around the pages, double page spreads and full-bleed pictures are still actively used in various publications. He made simple look luxurious, making him the inspiration for many brands and publications we see today.
Max Speziani
Throughout the 3/25 lecture we discussed a large array of creative mediums from constructivism and new typography to the birth of dada-collages, a particular favorite of mine. I find the way current events and societal emotions dictate an artist creative path particularly fascinating. This is evident in the dada art movement and dada-collages particularly. World War I was the catalyst for the dada movement as many artists were upset and disagreed with the social structures and political nature that led to the war. As a result, an art movement was born to critique the hierarchal system that got them to this point. The art was based off chance and improvisation, something the art world largely steered away from. As I reflect on these artists decisions to stand up, I am reminded of 2020, a year like no other. As an artist it very much felt as though this last year dictated much of my creative process. Whether it was systemic oppression or a worldwide pandemic the effects of last year undoubtably affected the world. As we continue to live in what many believe is the most polarizing America artist must recognize this time for birth. The best way for an artist to combat their critics or social disagreements is to attack through their art, exactly what the Dada artists did in their collages.
Harry Reid.
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