Paul Klee (and the mark of the child)

paul klee has been called many things: a father of abstract art, a bauhaus master, the progenitor of surrealism —a very hard man to pin down. 

klee's weird paintings are tied to numerous groundbreaking 20th-century movements, from german expressionism to dada. 

paul klee, portrait of a yellow man, 1921 

                                                        paul klee, angelus novo, 1920

what's klee's mark? 

*anaglyptographic skills (his mark appears to be carved in low relief). 

*mystical symbols (glowing stars and suns, topsy-turvy checkerboards, disembodied heads).

* children doodlings,

* incorporating the art of people with psychological disorder ("they have the power to see").

By the 1920s technology is the "new frontier" of art

El Lissitzky, Lenin Tribune, 1925

1920s &1930s' coordinated typography indicate a new professionalism in graphic design

binder's plakatstil poster (1930s)

Designing the modern life style

Roger Brothers, Vichy, 1926

Kaspar E. Graff, Franklin Car Co. 1929

Adolphe JM Cassandre, Sports cap, 1925

F. S. May Schweppes Table Waters, 1931

What do we have here? 

1. Geometric shapes and symmetry, bold colors: gold, black, red, and metallics, 

2. Streamlined, futuristic elements reflecting progress and luxury.

2. Elegant typography with sans-serif and decorative fonts.

3. Hand-drawn, idealized figures often portraying luxury and leisure.

4. Look at the exaggerated poses in fashion ads.

5. The backgrounds are minimalist, to illustrate the product and lifestyle.

6. Airbrushed effects for a smooth, glamorous look. 

the culture of consumption

Coles Phillips, Holeproof Hoisery, 1921.

As sheer and draped material expertly rendered in Coles Phillips' illustration, women's stockings possess an aura of intangible but definite desirability. Comodities served a symbolic purpose and satisfied a psychological need. (GDAHG)

asasasas

the reason you see geometric abstraction being used in graphic design is that it was adopted by art & technology as a sign of functionality

ed lissitzky, the isms of art, 1924

the cubist poetry of Juan Gris

how about looking a the work above as POSTER ART? they are extremely effective, partly because of their beautiful designs. they squeeze the content out of the form & the end result is direct and beautiful.

by the 1920s-1930s the notion that graphic design had a mission higher than mere presentation crept into the profession. graphic designers were perceived as "consumer engineers"

Mehemed Fehmy Agha (the reform of American graphic design between wars)

Who is Mehemed Fehmy Agha?

When the extraordinary art director Dr. Mehemed Fehmy Agha arrived at Vogue’s New York offices in 1929, he ignited a thrilling design revolution, re-imagining and revamping the magazine—as well as its sister publications Vanity Fair and House & Garden—while redefining his profession for generations to come.

Vanity Fair cover by Fortunato Depero (1930)

What do we get here?

1- No more Vogue’s old-fashioned appearance,
2- Graceful Art Deco curves and the clean lines of Constructivism.
3- No more italic lettering. Instead, we get sans serif fonts like Futura,
3- All unnecessary elements are eliminated from the pages (borders around photos, column rules, sidebars),
4- the magazine gets a latest European avant-garde look,

Welcome to Plakatstil!

lucien bernhard poster 

"Plakatstil" means "poster style" in German. Plakatstil, was an early poster style of art that began in the early 1890's and originated out of Germany.

lucien bernhard poster

Characteristics: 

1- usually bold, straight font with very simple design. 

2- flat presentation, 

3- shapes and objects are simplified, while the subject of the poster remains detailed.

julius klinger poster

What's the aim? Standardization!

lucien bernhard

The smoother the image, the better consumer identification. 

Plakatstil shied away from the tentacle/like complexity of Art Nouveau to emphasize a more modern outlook on poster art. 

hans rudi, manori, 1920

You can tell that Plakatstil has adopted the simplification proposed almost 40 years earlier by the Beggarstaffs' general shape and simple outline which become standard. 

hans rudi, neverfail, 1911

Famous Plakatstil artists include Lucian Bernhard and artist Ludwig Hohlwein.

COLLAGE: the mark of synthetic cubism

the first work of synthetic cubism is Picasso's Still Life with Chair-caning (1911–1912), 

which includes oil cloth pasted on the canvas. at the upper left are the letters "JOU", which appear in many cubist paintings and may refer to a newspaper titled "Le Journal". 

newspaper clippings were a common inclusion in this style of cubism, whereby physical pieces of newspaper, sheet music, or the like were included in the collages.

the mark of analytic Cubism as monochromaticism + broken facets

 

analytic cubism developed between 1908 and 1912. 

to understand the mark of "analytic" cubism you have to wear Cubist glasses.

let's try to understand its evolution from this monochromatic phase (known as "the Blue Period"),

 to this geometric splitting of facets,

except that in the middle, we need the mark of the African mask,

there's also the Iberian mask element,

the still-life component to it,

here's the mark through photoshop,😂 😂, 

what do we have here?

cubism breaks down subjects into basic geometric shapes like cubes, cylinders, and rectangles, simultaneously representing them from multiple viewpoints. 

no single viewpoint. instead cubism depicts objects from various angles, creating a more complete and complex representation. 

cubism rejected traditional perspective and shading, instead emphasizing the two-dimensional nature of the canvas, resulting in a flat, abstract appearance. 

cubism is divided into two phases: analytical Cubism (1910-1912) with its fragmented, muted palette and synthetic (after 1912) with brighter colors, simpler shapes, and the introduction of collage techniques. 

analytic cubism used a limited, muted palette of browns, grays, and blues. 

in the meantime we have pop culture: roaring 20s, USA

this is in the middle of probihition.........

and after the Hollywood's code,

this is my female heroine of the mid 1920s,

poster goes to WWI (our side of propaganda)

didactic,

message driven,

patriotic,

newsworthy,

propagandistic,

Your turn #7

 

Gustav Klimt, Woman in Gold, 1907

Dear class. Plenty to talk about:

Josef Hoffmann's Stoclet Palace, Marcelo Dudovich's poster for Campari, the Viennese Secession, and Peter Behrens' work. Gustav Klimt (his Secession poster and now destroyed fresco), the Wiener Werkstätte (and last but not least, my manifesto). 

murnau's nosferatu and the expressionist influence in british and american cinema

                        the poster for f.w. murnau's nosferatu: eine symphonie des grauens. the film shot in 1921.

what's the importance of Nosferatu?

1. it's a key example of german expressionism, a film movement that rejected realism in favor of creating imaginary worlds where stylized and distorted set design expressed psychological states of fear and despair. 

2. the film's visual style, with its use of shadows, eerie lighting, and surreal landscapes, is a hallmark of the genre and continues to inspire filmmakers today. 

3. don't forget. this is a silent film! meaning it relies heavily on visual storytelling and atmosphere to create a sense of dread and terror. 

following some influences:

 psycho, 1960, alfred hitchcock

 downhill, 1931, hitchock photomontage

                                                                                 orson wells, citizen kane, 1941

 orson wells, lady from shanghai, 1947

 orson wells, citien kane, 1941