Your turn #2

Codex Gigas, illustration of the devil, Folio 290, recto (circa 13th century) 

This is also known as The Devil's Bible.

 

hi class. Pick a post, theme, or idea from Thursday's class and develop it.  

Remember: 150 words minimum; be original. Do your own search (Wikipedia); no idle talk going nowhere, no echo chamber. Avoid repeating what someone else posted unless you take it somewhere else. 

Some general points to remember:

1- History is about epochs, and epochs are self-contained. Say you want to understand gothic style circa 1224. Why do you see a pointed arch in churches along with pointed rib vaults, flying buttresses, and stained glass windows? First thing, leave your 2024 glasses behind. What works in 2024 is a definite hindrance in 1224. Learn the language, eat the food, smell the air, make friends, learn the rituals & make no judgment. Becoming a 1224 folk yourself is the only way to learn. Surprise! As you make your way back, you learn 2024 doesn't feel the same anymore. 

2- No epochal process is planned by human agency. We're inside the process ourselves and cannot cherrypick. Whatever happens, comes in an avalanche already above us. There's so much we carry from ancestors that we can't even begin to fathom. 

3- In art and design, it's THE MARK that changes all by itself as it's repeated repeatedly. 

4- It's time to think of typeface! All objects have at least two faces; you just have to find them. 

(I close the post for comments Thursday @ 12 noon).

Go ahead.

the repetition of the mark makes wonders: standardization!

Type, developed by Gutenberg, circa 1450

what's standard?

standard is what has been repeated tried and becomes popular. 

Your turn #1

Summerian eagle-headed protective spirit 865-860 BC (bass-relief)

Hi class. This is your first post for comment. Normally, posts are 150 words minimum (this one is shorter because we have a second assignment; make it 80 words minimum). 

Pick any topic, idea, image, etc, you found interesting from yesterday's class and just present it in written form. You can go from trivial to mind-boggling. In case you need perspective, students wrote this for the first post, Spring 2023. 

To leave a comment, click the link "comment" below. A comment box appears. Write your comment in the box & sign your name (no aliases), and click "post comment." Refresh, and the comment should appear. You have until next Thursday at 11am to finish this, at which time I close the option to comment. Naturally, I need time to read what you write before the class. 

Note: It has happened before that a student writes the comment in the box and clicks "post comment," and the comment gets lost. I recommend you write the comment separately in Word, then copy and paste it into the box. If it gets lost, you still have your original comment saved. 

Go ahead. 

STUDENT EVALUATIONS

DEAR CLASS, IT WAS A REAL PLEASURE TO BE YOUR TEACHER.

IT'S TIME TO EVALUATE MY PERFORMANCE. 

AM A FALLIBILIST AND A SKEPTIC. I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK. 

THIS IS YOUR VOICE. YOUR EVALUATION IS ANONYMOUS. IT'S GOOD METRIC FOR THE SCHOOL.

DID YOU LIKE IT? SAY IT. DID YOU HATE IT? SAY IT. 

AM THE MARK NOW,

GO AHEAD!

Post Typography's (LETTERS WITHOUT RULES)

Post Typography was founded in 2001 by Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen. They define their style as Punk Rock vs. Swiss Modernism.

Post Typography's message:

We each will carve our visage from the faceless screen, and let the ink from our pens bleed into our hands and paper. We will cast off the shackles of Photoshop to return to the freedom of letters without rules. We are the Times New Romans! We are the Franklin Gothics!

first thing first manifesto, 2000

 

the FTFM, launched by Adbusters, is a document of purpose of a generation of designers talking about concerns and priorities of the profession for the twenty-first century. the 34 signatories are amongst the most respected of the profession.   

click here for the full text of the manifesto, and list of signatories.

There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programs, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and help.

We propose a reversal of priorities in favor of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication -a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design.

List of images for final exam, spring 2025

1.

Christoph Niemann, illustration, New York, Berlin, (early 2000's)

2.

Andrey Logvin, High Resolution, Poster (early 2000's)

3.

Flamingo Studios, This is Ja, Poster (early 2000's)

4.

Post Typography, Poster, (early 2000's)

5.

Atelier Rene Knip, Netherlands, Design installation, (late 1990's)

6.

Martin Woodtli, Sport Design, Poster (1990's)

7.

Fons Hickmann, Heimatkunde, Platinum Award Poster (2014)

8.

Maviyane-Davies, Many Rivers to Cross, Zimbabwe (1990's)

9.

 Jop van Bennekom, The Face, Cover (1996)

10.

Sara Fanelli, Book spread: Pinocchio, (early 2000's)

11.

Andy Rementer, Good Morning, Poster (2000's)

12.

Ken Tsai-Lee, Defeat Aids, Poster (1990-2000's)

13.

Jonathan Barnbrook, David Bowie's cover of Heathen (2002)

14.

Arem Duplessis,  New York Times Magazine? Study for cover, (2000's)

15.

Chris Ware, A Feeling Those People, Graphic Novel (2000's)

16.

David Carson, The Black Swan, Cover, (2011).

17.

Stefan Sagmeister, Form Magazine, Cover (2008). 

18.

Jamie Reid, Pretty Vacant, Poster (1977)

19.

Deborah Sussman, Los Angeles Olympiad, signage (1984)

20. 

 Pat Gorman & Frank Olinsky, MTV logo, (1982)

21.

April Greiman, Wet, Cover (1979)

22.

Ed Fella, Architecture & Urban Design, Poster (1989)

23.

Wes Wilson, Fillmore Concert Poster, (1967)

24.

Bill Atherton and Allan Brooking, Pregnant Man, Poster, (1969)

25.

 Paul Rand, Westinghouse Logo, (1960)

26.

William Golden, CBS Logo (1951)

27.

 Saul Bass, The Man with the Golden Arm, Poster (1955)

28.

George Lois, Esquire Cover, New York (1968)

29.

Die Design Politie, Can Tourism Benefit the Poor? Poster (2003)

30.

Franciszek Starowieyski, Lulu, Poster (1970's)

31.

Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, Poster, (1969)

32.

Iman Raad, A Single Work, Poster (2007)

33.

Joseph Müller Brockman, Less Noise!, International Typographic Style, Poster (1960)

34.

Herb Lubalin, Ad for Ebony, New York (1968)

35.

                Herbert Matter, Poster for Swiss Tourism (1934)

36.

                  

László Moholy-Nagy, Poster for BAUHAUS (1931)

37.

Alvin Lustig, Catalog for World Inventors Exposition (1947)

38. 

Lester Beall, Here it Comes, Rural Electrification Poster (1930)

39.

A. M. Cassandre, Cover for Harper's Bazaar (1939)

40. 

Alexander Rodchenko, Woman with Leika, (1924)

Your turn #10

Poster for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, by Jacek Staniszewski

Wow, what a class! I hope you enjoyed our discussion of the brief history of Polish posters. Why is this development so significant for the history of art and graphic design in particular? This is one of the few times in the history of art (with the exception of the advent of the Gothic in the 11th Century AD) that, for a brief moment, the art produced by the artists prevailed over ideology and censorship to bring forth a highly original style that was embraced by the people. It took a tacit understanding between both the artists and the people that this wonderfully diverse, colorful & bizarre imagery was the only way to tap into freedom. 

So, again, we have plenty to discuss (besides Polish posters): Alvin Lustig, Helvetica, Dada collage, Moholy-Nagy, Shigeo Fukuda, advertising, propaganda, Fortune magazine, George Giusti, Kula Robbins' Jenny on the job, Norman Rockwell, etc. (to avoid cacophony, if a comment addresses Polish posters, please, talk about individual artists, so more people have a chance to contribute). 

Go ahead!