List of images for final exam, spring 2024

 click here for list of images,

032c, magazine design for a contemporary culture

032c is a contemporary culture magazine that fiercely believes in the intelligence of its readers, and rises to the challenge of surprising them. Published twice a year, it is both timely and timeless—a celebration of and for the most cutting-edge in art, culture, and fashion.

 The quote, above, taken from the wonderful 032c Website.

032c is a bi-annual contemporary culture magazine at the intersections of fashion, art and politics. The magazine has been considered to be "dedicated to the celebration of ideas" by i-D, "revue ultra-pointue" by French Vogue, or simply as "the Berlin magazine that propogates an aesthetic of brutal elegance" by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The magazine fuses art and architecture, literature, urban studies and fashion in ways", states New York Times, "that can make one forget how depressing a visit to a newsstand has become."

Your turn #10

 Plexus, front cover, Felix Labisse, January 1970 (via 50 watts)

this is a heavy duty list: Memphis School, April Greiman, Deborah Sussman, Dumbar aesthetics, Ed Fella, Stephan Seigmeister, Dan Friedman, Oliviero Toscani, Lucas de Groot, David Carson, Jonathan Ellery, Chris Ware, Branbrook. 

what do you think? 

your turn #9

Franciszek Starowieyski, Stacks, 1974

Again, plenty of stuff to discuss: LOGO and its pioneers: Bass, Lois, Chermayeff & Geismar, Rand; Jazz Albums covers; Swiss Typographic Style (and its heroes); Stankowski's metadesign, & the amazing Polish School of Posters (1950s-1970s). 

Pick your favorite while doing a bit of research. 

Your turn #8

Giovanni Pintori, Olivetti, 1952

dear class, we have Dada (and its various graphic techniques), Surrealism (poster, interior, furniture, installation), the phenomenon of BAUHAUS, Neoplasticism, Magritte, German Propaganda, Varo, roaring 20s in America, the inimitable Vargas, Alvin Lustig, Cipe Pineles, wow.

Your turn #7

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 😊). 👏👏👏

14. igor nivinsky's constructivist theater design

 Preconstructivist production of Turandot at the MAT (Studio), designed by Igor Nivinsky, 1921

your turn #6

juan gris, harlequin with guitar, 1917

dear class: 

there's plenty to talk about: gesamtkunstwerk, symbolism, bildroman, adolf loos, two different schools of expressionism (blaue reiter & die brücke), expressionism in cinema, two moments in cubism (analytic, synthetic), the importance of still life/nature mort/vanitas for art, and everything in between. pick any topic, spin it with a bit of research & keep it novel and original.

your turn #5

paul burch for die fläche magazine,  

dear arh 346 class: we covered an intense fin de siècle. the movements: arts and crafts, art nouveau, the vienna secession. the stars: dudovich, mucha, pissarro, toorop, van de velde, selwyn image, the beggarstaffs. the architecture: hoffman's stoclet palace, rennie mackintosh's hill house. 

be mindful of your comments. no echo chamber (we did better last week).👏👏👏

American Art Nouveau: William Henry Bradley

William Henry Bradley was largely self-taught as an artist. He began working in a printer's shop at the age of twelve in Ishpeming, Michigan, where his mother had moved in 1874 after the death of his father. This work experience would be important in introducing the young man to the many issues of typesetting, advertisements, and layout that would occupy him in the years to come. Bradley executed a number of designs to promote The Chap-Book, a short-lived but important publication based in Chicago. His 1894 design for Chap-Book, titled The Twins, has been called the first American Art Nouveau poster; this and other posters for the magazine brought him widespread recognition and popularity. (Above, Bradley's poster for The Chap Book, 1895).

Your turn #4

john williams water house, cleopatra, 1887 (a pre raphaelite)

let's go back to the 2/25 lecture. 

there's plenty to talk about: chromolitography, yellow journalism, the presentation of fashion in magazines, photojournalism, natural science illustration, pictorialism, victorian design, the pre raphaelites and their aesthetics, star designers like william morris, dana gibson, privat livemont, thomas nast, randolph caldecott, etc.

an observation: in your comment try to dig deeper, i.e., be less casual and more deliberate. use wikipedia if needed to amplify your ideas. there is plenty in here to write 150 words.

your turn #3

Incunabula (spread around two pages, moveable discs) Petrus Apian, Astronomicus Cesareus, 1530

last class we discussed specific moments in the development of graphic design from late middle ages to renaissance and humanism. we covered incunabula, newspapers, maps, moveable type and specific book masterpieces: the nuremberg chronicle, plantin's biblia poliglota, geoffroy tory's champsfleury, edhard ratdolt's works, manutius' hypnerotomachia polyphili (and bembo), tyndale's bible, albert dürer's four horseman, william blake, vesalius' de humanis corpora fabrica and the best book ever produced: the gutenberg's bible!

go ahead. 

your turn #2

                                book IV of the codex calixtinus (santiago de compostela cathedral)

we covered plenty of middle-ages marks: life in the country, in the city; cheese, dung, feces; our fabricated myth of "organic"; scribes, scriptorium serendipities, piment!; we contrasted the slow evolution of typefaces from trajan to beneventan to similar developments in architecture; codexes, old book parts; illumined manuscripts; frontispiece, etc., colophon, secretary hand; decretals; minuscule vs. majuscule; book of hours; ars moriendi; dance macabre,    

wow.    

pick a subject and spin it like you did last time. as usual, I close the comment option next wednesday 10pm.

BANKSY

Banksy is a household name in England—the Evening Standard has mentioned him thirty-eight times in the past six months—but his identity is a subject of febrile speculation. This much is certain: around 1993, 

his graffiti began appearing on trains and walls around Bristol; by 2001, his blocky spray-painted signature had cropped up all over the United Kingdom, eliciting both civic hand-wringing and comparisons to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. 

Vienna, San Francisco, Barcelona, and Paris followed, along with forays into pranksterism and more traditional painting, but Banksy has never shed the graffitist’s habit of operating under a handle. His anonymity is said to be born of a desire—understandable enough for a “quality vandal,” as he likes to be called—to elude the police. 

BANKSY aesthetics:
1- be subversive,
2- be invisible,
3- be omniscient,
4- be accessible,
5- be humorous.

your turn #8 (last post for comment)

elliot earls, three cream rabbits fuorescent, 2000s

dear class: this is your last post for comment for this course. say whatever you want about this or any class, anything whatsoever related to graphic design. 
go ahead!

list of images & concepts for our final exam (spring 2020)

list of images for the final exam.

list of concepts for the final exam.

your turn #7

eric nitsche, history of flight

we covered a wide terrain of graphic styles from the 1940s and 1950s the vargas pinup girl, constructive graphics, jenny on the job, german propaganda, norman rockwell, advertising, cipe pineles, alvin lustig, the international typographic style, fortune magazine.

go for it.

Bass' Scorsese's ,Cape Fear

political design comes of age

Political poster, National Association of Manufacturers, 1930's

your turn #6

new york's world fair 1939, joseph binder. 

hi class, we're back to posting and making comments. our last class covered 51 moments in the history of graphic design. what is your opinion? say  it here.

12. Mieczysław Szczuka (the influence of neue typographie)

 Mieczysław Szczuka (1989-1927) is one of the top representatives of the Polish avant-garde of the 1920s, for whom functional art was key. He did very fine photomontages. He designed posters and campaign materials for the Polish Communist party.

Along with his life partner and co-worker, Teresa Żarnower, they produced Blok magazine (initially with the assistance of Władysław Strzemiński and Henryk Stażewski), which initiated the era of functional printing (the idea came from Strzemiński – he proclaimed that the concept of a graphic layout should be equivalent to a literary construction, a visualisation of an idea).

Their most acclaimed work, executed in the spirit of their new typography, was the graphic design for Anatol Stern’s poem Europa (1929).

how is woodcut done?

click here for more information,

your turn #5

Christophe Karel Henri de Nerée tot Babberich (decadent 19th century illustrator, influenced by bearsdley and toorop)

class: we've covered art nouveau, harper's, the glasgow style of charles rennie and margaret mckintosh, women photographers, jan toorop, l'art pour l'art, muscha, the beggarstaffs, dudovich, beherens, van de velde.

go ahead!

your turn #4

Dante Gabriel Rosetti's Day Dream, 1880. 

hi class: we talked about chromolithography, comics, pictorialism, some of the protagonists: Charles Gibson, Thomas Nast, Arts and Crafts, Morris, preraphaelites, and some more I couldn't cover but you'll read on your own. go ahead!

your turn #3

Guéricault, anatomical studies, 1818. 

thanks for your calligraphic studies!
we've talked about political satire, newspapers, romanticism, camera obscura, early photo, photojournalism, prerraphaelite design, etc. pick your favorite.
go ahead.

welcome to yellow journalism (end of 19th century)

New York Journal's sensationalism responded to a need that was part and parcel of the mood of the times. 

The term "tabloid", like gutter press or the British term rag, also refer to a newspaper that tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news. Often, tabloid newspaper allegations about the sexual practices, drug use, or private conduct of celebrities is borderline defamatory; in many cases, celebrities have successfully sued for libel, demonstrating that tabloid stories have defamed them.

... an interesting excerpt from Hearst's The Examiner:

HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey, Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher, With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in Upon the Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled and Panic-Striken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon the Scene of Terror. The Magnificent Hotel and Its Rich Adornments Now a Smoldering heap of Ashes. The Examiner Sends a Special Train to Monterey to Gather Full Details of the Terrible Disaster. Arrival of the Unfortunate Victims on the Morning's Train — A History of Hotel del Monte — The Plans for Rebuilding the Celebrated Hostelry — Particulars and Supposed Origin of the Fire.

Calligraphic project for next week (it could be fun)

Here is our calligraphic assignment:

1- One SMALL paragraph of text (think of 2 sentences). What the text says is not important, you can get an excerpt from a magazine, a novel you love, etc).

2- The paragraph should occupy the center of the page. Pay attention to the following:

3- Leave space for a Rustic Capital, like the one you see above or below (it doesn't have to be as ornate). This rustic capital drives the energy of your page. Think of it first, design it & rehearse it in a different sheet of paper. The rustic capital takes a good part of the left hand-side of your page. It's part illustration part lettering.

REMEMBER YOU LEAVE THIS FOR LAST (after you have finished the paragraph).  

4-  For the paragraph. Use a blank 8x11 inch sheet. Determine how many lines your paragraph will have. In pencil, draw very, very thin lines to guide your lettering. Don't write ON the blank paper without a line matrix to guide your script. Only then, you may write your paragraph.

5- The style of your lettering will be calligraphic (meaning cursive with ligatures) and symmetric, meaning do not change the letter's "type" once you adopt them. This is a chance to explore ascenders and descenders. REMEMBER: DON'T CHANGE A LETTER ONCE ADOPTED!
 
6- Pay attention to your ligatures (the serifs connecting the lettering). Rehearse your ligatures before doing them on a project sheet. Practice how to connect your different letters.

For example,

7- See that each capital after the first rustica is smaller. DO NOT IMPROVISE! Better to achieve uniformity. LESS IS MORE!

8- No smudges, no mistakes. DON'T GO FAST. LET YOUR HAND PULSE BE SLOW AND DELIBERATE.

9- LEAVE MARGINALIA ON LEFT AND RIGHT.

GO AHEAD!

your turn #2

the Codex Leicester is a collection of 30 scientific journals by Leonardo da Vinci was named after the Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1719. It was sold to Bill Gates in 1994 for more than $30M. 

thanks for showing up in spite of the rain. we traveled to the middle ages to look at typeface's 800 years evolution from trajan to gothic. to understand how typeface and calligraphy evolve and diverge we peeked a bit inside the life of common folk & artisans doing these graphic marks as well as the types of documents (ars moriendi, decretals, missals, the codex) and the scribe and their milieu. life was tough and short, but good.

go ahead!     

your turn #1

hi, arh346 class. this is our first post-for-comment. pick an idea from the previous lecture and spin it any way you like. as you see other comments in the comment thread, try to keep your own voice (we don't want an echo chamber) and maybe do a bit of self-research -if you want. advice: better to write your comment on word, then copy and paste, instead of concocting it in the comment box (you may lose it when you hit enter). the post-for-comment closes around wednesday, at 11pm (no post uploaded & you miss your chance). lastly: 150 words minimum. tx.

is graffiti art a form of vandalism?

The New York Times explored the question above. My answer is here.

Ken-Tsai Lee's "identity" design

In Taiwan, Ken-Tsai Lee is a university professor and principal of a prestigious studio. In New York, where he recently studied English for two years, he found himself questioning the feasibility of Andy Warhol’s adage. “Where were my 15 minutes?” he says, “Who knew me? No one knew me.” With ambitions to expand beyond the localized Taiwanese market, he had been drawn to the city of strivers—“the capital of the world,” he says. “I knew I needed to overcome many problems if I was to achieve my goals,” he says from Taiwan, now preparing applications for U.S. graduate studies in design. “And the first problem was language.” As he realized how formidable his obstacles would be as a foreigner, Lee created a self-promotional poster series featuring his name in 12 languages, including Thai, Bangladeshi, Egyptian, Hebrew, Arabic, and Polish, that comments on the immigrant experience in general and marks his yearning for recognition—which came in surprising places. 

Lee's ideas:
1- social design,
2- identity politics,
3- global reach,
4- be upbeat.

your turn #9 (last post for comment)

LOGO masters: Saul Bass, Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar, GeorgeLois. 1970's Punk, Ed Fella. The Polish School of Poster. The 1980s: Greiman, Sussman, Dumbar. The Memphis School.

Go ahead!