POST(MODERNISM)

Today we discussed the modernism versus postmodernism and how these two contrast, follow each other and influence designers in today's world. Since it was our last lecture class, it was a very insight look at where we stand in the graphic design field and what direction we want to go in our career.
First, a little catch up from the class. Post modernism is defined with such characteristics as form over function (contrary to modernism), feel over rationale, self consciousness, self-referencing design, mix between high and low culture (pop culture) and experimenting with surface, texture and different materials never used before in the arts. It was a revolutionary time when people reacted to the world situation and broke the boundaries of art (kitsch). Design did not stand alone, but started to be combined with music, film and popular culture, especially accessible to the young generations. One of the prominent artists of the times was Wolfgand Weingart, German born typographer and graphic designer. His unique style from 60s and 70s was focused on letter spacing, the use of sans-serif, the rule of stair stepping applied in grids, diagonal lines. Because of his innovative approach to the design he is named the Father of 'New Wave' or Swiss Punk design. Weingart was an important person for introducing the brave and new that came in 60s, 70s and 80s. It is fascinating to note how the inspirations and the drive for design shifted at that time and it was not the mainstream art but music and cinema that design was responding too. Rock and punk brought new opportunities to attract young people to express their ideas through graphic design. One of the strongest fields for Punk, both music and design, was England, especially Manchester and London. These places were full of underground bands, youngsters forming groups and associations celebrating the freedom. Among working designers there were Patrick Negal, Charles Anderson, Peter Serville and Malcolm Mclaren. They represented a New Wave creating posters, CD covers, concern invitations for such icons as Sex Pistols, Joy Division and later New Order, David Bowie, etc. Another groundbreaking moment in the graphic history was the introduction of Mac computers into a public use in the early 80s. Although these revolutionary machines did not perform many options in the beginning, they were a source of inspiration for many artists. Designers got fascinated into the digital, pixelated effect, layers and blocks incorporated into a grid system. Ed Fella popularized the experimental, expressive typography. David Carlson stepping into the field without any formal design education was focusing on the spacing and legibility. It was an exciting time of experimentation and attempt to break the boundaries. Stefan Sagmeister has been a prominent example of such an approach to the arts and for many years has presented shocking and provocative works. 
I think we all have a very romanticized image of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. For the people who were born in the 90s, everything before seems like a big wild party and young people had a tremendous freedom to affect the culture. How amazing it had to be to work for Sex Pistols or Sex Devision or The Cure even before the whole world heard about them? I believe it was the feeling of making something completely new and partially banned that electrified everybody and gave them inspiration and power to overcome the academic approach to the art. But 'those dancing days are gone' and I wish people today had such a direction to follow and be excited about. I think it became almost impossible to come up with anything completely new that would shock the people in the world and create such a strong international and intercultural reaction as New Wave. That could be the reason why so many people come back to the modernism and try to find the conformity into established design truths such as grid, rationale, function. It seems as if New Wave was a XX century form of Rococo and now after the frivolity and emotional expression, people seek for some stable and fixed solutions. Personally I think I include myself into the modernism. I feel that design should have a clear purpose and function rather than shocking just because. Getting to known the traditions and 'academic' basics is a backbone for further explorations. 

 

 

Swiss versus NY style

Today in class we looked at the differences and similarities of Swiss and New York graphic styles. Swiss design or International Typographic Style was a theoretical concept, focusing on the design as an important and socially useful aspect of modern life. Started after the WWII in 1940, it had its roots in De Stijl, Futurism, Constructivism and Bauhaus. It is recognised by sans-serif fonts, objective photography, logical mathematical grids used as the layouts. There was a strong belief that typography should be clear and not allow any distractions for an actual content. On the other side Swiss style was not based on any historical and geographical period in arts and eventually it spread around Europe. Max Bill and Theo Ballmer were the significant representatives of that International movement, both graduates from the Bauhaus. In 1953 Max Bill together with two co-workers founded the Ulm School of Design in Ulm, Germany. It was set on the foundations of the Bauhaus and later shifted towards the intergration between the arts and science. It is also notable that the ULD included the semiotics as an important field of study. Semiotics (or semiology) discusses the signs and symbols in a certain context and how the meaning of an object changes it throughout the placement and situation. There are three branches of semiotics: semantics (relation between signs and the things to which they refer), syntactics (signs in formal structures) and pragmatics (relation between signs and the effects they have on the audience).
Adrian Frutiger and Armin Hoffman are otehr prominent Swiss designers, focusing on typography. Adrian Frutiger is best known for typefaces, such as Universe (completed in 1954 after 3 years of work on a system of 21 versions of the font. In 1970s he began to redesign the font and create new variations.), Frutiger, Linotype Didot and Egyptienne. Arman Hoffman was a head of the graphic department at famous Schule für Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design). His works are characterized by a rich use of the negative space and the play between relationships and contrast (scale, black & white).
The New York Modernist Style starting in 1940s is reflected into a pragmatic approach to the Swiss design. Main figures that stand out in the history of the graphic design are Paul Rand, Saul Bass and Ivan Chermayeff. These three man completely changed the face of the design and entered new doors to the modernism in the United States and the whole world. There have been thousand of opinions on their work but there can be no discussion in admitting how influential Rand, Bass and Chermayeff were. 
From three of them I really liked Saul Bass' works, especially the motion animation on the title sequence for Hitchcock's movies. I think it is very interesting how the times and technology shifted graphic design and opened new opportunities and means of expressions. And as a matter of my personal taste, I admire Bass for working with the best artists of the time, like Hitchcock and creating new visual effects and entertainment for the audience. I also enjoyed the subejct of semiotics as a philosophical theme included in graphic design. I believe there is too little discussion between such issues as linguistics and typography. Communication designers should be able not only to use the words with fonts and grids but also have a deen understanding of the meanings. Semiotics provide a background to interpret the text and turn it into a significant content.

New Design

Staying in the spirit of the great Bauhaus, we explored and discussed more artists, influenced by the modern design, and how they introduced these concepts into a daily life of people, especially in America. Among many, there is Jan Tschichold who plays a very significant role in the process. Born in a German family of a signwriter, he was traditionally trained in calligraphy from his early years of school education. After visiting Bauhaus in 1923 at the age of 21, he became strongly influenced by the modern design. Two years later he started to write on the matter and released his first work, trade magazine, Elementary Typography. In 1927 he published his most acclaimed book, entitled Die neue Typographie, New Typography. It was a manifesto and a collection of graphic design rules, such as the use of Grotesk fonts (sans-serif), non-centered layouts, asymmetric balance of the elements, use of the white space, standardized paper sizes. It was followed by the series of articles and soon after 1927, the works by Tschichold gained popularity among German workers and printers. However, due to six weeks interrogations of him, his wife and the son, and pressure from the Nazi government, which denounced Tschichold and the follow designers as cultural Bolsheviks, he had to abandon the modern style. From 1932 onwards he turned back into the classic style. Later in his life he criticized the fascination for the modern, functional ideas written in New Typography. He moved to England and started to work for the Penguin's book, creating over 500 cover designs. He set up the system of Penguin Compositional Rules which are used until today. 
Herbert Matter was another designer working in the field. He was a Swiss born artist, acclaimed for the use of photomontage. As Tschichold he was traditionally trained and studied painting in academies in Geneva and Paris. When he moved back to Zurich he was commissioned to work for Swiss National Tourist Office to create advertising posters. He tended to combine clear type with a new method of photomontage. In 1936 he came to the United Stares and started to work for such giants as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Knoll and taught at several universities, including Yale. 
Addison Dwiggins and Lester Beall were influential designers who introduced modern aesthetics to the American audience. Even though the field of graphic design had already been working in a spirit of the modern design, the common people did not share these ideas in their daily life. Dwiggons and Beall were both commercial artists in the major cities in the country, e.g. Chicago, New York. Beall produced a series of advertising posters for Rural Electrification Administration, Time Magazine, Chicago Tribune. 
Robert Muchley also worked for the social benefit. Working with the government he became a part of a new movement of art and design for people. His posters are characterized by a generous negative space, silk screening methods and a feel of cubist shapes and forms.
I think it is very interesting to see the transition between the Bauhaus design and how it was approached in America. While in Germany the artists had to fight for their existence and worked on the edge of danger, designers in the United States could not only work freely but also contribute to the society. It is fascinating to see how design is applied in the life of common people through the advertising and how it actually helped the people. I think it was a ground breaking time for the designers to get separated from the group of traditional artists, such as painters, sculptors, etc. They became a part of the industry and indeed very influential part in the modern times. I especially liked the posters with social context, 'John is no really dull', etc. We might laugh at the content now, but these posters did not differ in the rhetoric from nowadays advertising for breast cancer tests or HIV tests. 

 

 

The Bauhaus

Staatliches Bauhaus, from a German word Bauhaus 'House of Construction', was founded in Weimar, on 16th of March, 1919 by Walter Gropius. It was an innovative institution of art, design and architecture, focal of avant-garde ideas, combined together in a unified way of teaching and building a bridge between art and industry. Gropius intended to create a school that would focus on both, art and crafts referring to the ideas of John Ruskin and William Morris but in a more urban and technological way. He believed that every artist is a craftsman and therefore should work on multiple fields and produce the art works conceptually and technically to fit into machine culture of the XX century. 
"Let us create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist!"
During the first period of the existence of the Bauhaus in Weimar, its director and founder, together with the Council of Masters, created the foundations of the school courses. Among 10 masters (the lecturers were not called teachers, but masters to further establish the idea of the craftsmanship) there were three first faculty members and main ideologists who supported Gropius in this attempt. Gerhard Marcks was a 'Formmeister' of the sculpture workshop and pottery shop. Llyonel Feininger was a master of painting and Johannes Itten took charge of the first six months of the preliminary courses until 1923 when he was replaced by László Moholy-Nagy. Itten was a Swiss painter, color theorist, follower of mystic  Mazdaznan and a strict vegetarian. His lifestyle reflected in the approach to the arts, heavily contrasting with the Classical academic thinking, was very inspirational to the students. At the same when he was gaining reputation and followers, he got into a conflict with Gropius and was forced to leave the school. Yet before 1923 due to his connections, he invited Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer and Georg Muche to join the Bauhaus. László Moholy-Nagy who replaced Itten was a Hungarian constructivist, a follower of El Lissitzky. He introduced many innovation to the core program, encouraging students to use latest technology, such as photomontage (he stated that photography is a new painting). He also brought an idea of 'New Typography'. A student and, after graduation in 1925, a faculty member Herbert Bayer was heavily influenced by Nagy's approach to typography. He was commissioned by Gropius to create a typeface. The result was so called Universal, a simple geometric sans-serif font. Later his methods were applied by Jan Tschichold who even though never attended the Bauhaus was inspired by its artists. Combining all the talents emerging from the school, the Bauhaus presented its first public exhibition in 1923. 
Forced to leave Weimar in 1925,  the school was moved to the city of Dessau and the main focus was shifted to the theory and industry. Gropius decided to build a new impressive building that would hold all departments and facilities necessary for such a diverse art school. The structure reflected a strong interest in functionality and modern architecture. At that time Gropius decided to hire a faculty member to conduct newly-founded architecture program and Hannes Meyer accepted the position. In 1928 Gropius resigned due to the political situation and Meyer took over the director post. He opened up the school for a free political discussion and the students became interested and involved in the social issues in the country. As a vocal Communist he was accused by the Nazi Party and forced to leave two years later, in 1930. The Bauhaus started to be associated with the Communist ideology and social liberals which was a threat to the rising power. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became a new director in 1930 and he expelled the students who were engaged in the Communist activities. Yet it did not satisfy the Nazis who pressured the school and in 1932 it had to be moved to Berlin, its final destination. Even Gropius referring to his patriotism during the WWI could not save the school. The depressing new location and further repressions brought the end of the Bauhaus in April 1933. The masters and the students spread around the world. Many moved to the New Continent looking for a better future in the United States, especially in Chicago. László Moholy-Nagy attempted to recreate the school but the chapter of its history ended in Germany in 1933. On the other hand the influences it has created over the years is enormous comparing with only 14 years of its existence.
I think that the Bauhaus is one of the last attempts of seeking the importance and beauty in the field of art and design. Looking at the modern world of the XXI century, it is sentimental to see such a united community of young people fighting for their passion and creating art from the bottom of their hearts no matter the consequences. In my opinion it is impossible to compare it to any of the art schools or artistic movements today, especially in the United States. The historical times and location of the Bauhaus determined the path it took. It is remarkable how strong and firm in believes the students were. They did not shake nor hide. They knew that it was a time of great changes and unrest. At the same time they all came together to devastated after the WWI Germany and had their own mark in the history. To compare it to the modern American schools is a insult to these people who were ready to sacrifice their life for studying and contributing to art. Although we might share similar structure of the core classes and projects I believe there is an ideological conflict. From my discussions with the students I hear that their greatest aspiration is to get a well paid job. Many never consider the politics or social issues in their art. Many do not even intend to be a part of the community and share the experience. I do not judge them and state myself above others yet at the same time do not agree that we can truly identify with the students from 1920s/30s. Of course the times and the situation in the country does not prompt us to take such drastic steps as protests or rebellions against the government but there are other ways to approach the problems of the modern world and get involved on a smaller or greater scale. For me the students of the Bauhaus remain role models and a source of inspiration for meaningful art and life. 
PS: I'm sorry for the delay in posting the last entry blog. I had it written down on Thursday night but studying for the exam on Monday I realized I did not hit the publish button. No experience in blogging, I'm sorry!

 

From 'savage primitives' to El Lissitzky

Today in class in order to continue with the modern art in Russia, we discussed the works by El Lissitzky. In fact Lazar Markovich Lissitzky, he was a Russian visionery artist exploring different fields of art and design, such as architecture, painting, typography, poster design, photomontage. One of his landmarks is a new composition style incorporating type into the page. In the beginning he was influnced by Malevich and a group of suprematists. Teaching at the school together with Malevich, Lissitzky developed his own style, called Proun (Project for the Affirmation of the New). He focused on the dimentional elements and how to represent multiple perspectives on the flat surface. Later due to his education in architecture, he was creating fully dimentional pieces and commercial designs. In 1920s Lissitzky moved to Berlin and became an ambassador of Russian avant-garde art in the Western world. He experimented with typography and more commercial, political and public art. He was a source of inspiration for many of his contemporaries, starting from the artists associated with the Dada movement to Jan Tschichold and the De Stijl movement in the Netherlands. The movie 'The Battleship Potemkin' from 1925 featured one of the greatest interest of Lissitzky, the new exciting technique of photomontage. The film by Sergei Eisenstein is regarded as one of the most propaganda works ever produced and shows a dramatic battle between the Royalists and the common people of Russia. 
Another representative of Russian avant-garde is Alexander Rodchenko. He was appointed Director of the Museum Bureau by the government in 1920. He was not only a painter but in his later years got engaged into photography and graphic design. His great contribution in the avant-garde movement and constructivism was the studies on color that eventually he reduced to a monochromic pallet. He stated that by doing so he 'reduced painting to its logical conclusion and exhibited three canvases: red, blue, and yellow. This is the end of painting'. 
Unlike in Russia where the cenzorship and Lenin's party did not support the arts, in the Netherlands a new movement flourished. De Stijl was introduced around 1917 and for the next 15 years gave a direction for the young artists. The group took an Utopian approach to the aesthetics. They believed that people need harmony and balance after the dreadul years of wars and chaos. The main characteristics of the new style was a pure abstraction consisted of geometric shapes, lines, arranged at right angles, primary colors, black and whites, the lack of ornamentation, texture and illustration. De Stijl was represented by Theo van Doesburg, Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondrian. It was Mondrian who came up with the philosophy of the movement that he later named neoplasticism.
The final movie on Russian avant-garde was an interesting closure to that period of time in the art and design history. The transition from the celebrated and prosperous artists into the victims of the Communist system is an imporant factor to understand. Contary to the group led by Theo van Doesburg in the Netherlands, the artsist in Russia struggled to carry on their professions and had to make sacrfices and adjustements to the philosophy of the Bolschevik party. I think it was very interesting how the artsist, such as Tatlin turned into the social/public art and saw a bigger purpose in creating design for packages, advertising, commercial posters. Following the constructivism they felt importance in their acts and service to the people of Russia. This awareness kept them eager and inspired to work despite the political limitations. 
A note on the figure of El Lissitzky. I think it is fascinating to see how Russian avant-garde art developed from Cubo-Futurism called by Filippo Marinetti (Italian Futurist) 'savagely primitive' to Constructivism. The influence of Lissitzky as a representative of Constructivism shows how art crosses cultural and political boundaries. He did not only inspire Russian artists. Moving to Germany he opened a new way to the Western world, blocked by the Russian regime. In Germany he became a recognised figure and joined the Dada movement. He was commissioned with a special issue of the magazine 'Merz' . Through his relation with Walter Groplus his work was also a source of inspiration for the Bauhaus. Finally, De Stijl with Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg as the founders was based on the ideas brought from 'primitive' Russia by its greatest ambassador or arts, Lissitzky. At the same time he was extensively writing on design, attending conferences, lectures and exhibitions and stayed open to the evolving technology (contrary to more traditional artsist such as Malevich). He said: 'The sun as the expression of old world energy is torn down from the heavens by modern man, who by virtue of his technological superiority creates his own energy source.' As for me it is very inspiring to see such a man on the field of graphic design. He embraced different fields of art and left a significant mark on all of them. I think it is right to call him a Renaissance artist of XX century for his passion and explorations in arts and education. 
As for Lissitzky's designs I feel that even now they are innovative and breaking the boundaries of what one could call 'safe' or 'correct' design without any outstanding elements versus the sparks of genius. On the example of 'Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge' from 1919, I find it amazingly interesting to create such a fascinating composition of pure geometric forms and type (also very geometric). There is a movement to the design that creates an order from that, at first sight, chaotic composition. It is further emphasized by the simplicity of the color pallete. Red capturing our attention and then the gradient of black and white. There is also a clear hierarchy: first come the elements and afterwards the text. I feel these is so much to apply to my design work from only this one piece by Lissitzky. Finally it is not purely a design, but a propaganda poster with clear symbolism of red as Bolscheviks and revolution and white, the anti-revolutionary forces (reinforced by the text in Russian 'Bey Belych' meaning Beat the Whites 'Klinom krasnim' with the Red Wedge)

 

 
Lissitzky | van Doesburg | Mondrian

Русский авангард

Over 100 years ago the people of the era welcomed the new century with excitement, anticipation and hopes for the better future. They could not predict that the technology they were praising would lead to a global disaster. That free thinking they were encouraging would cause more divisions in the society and injustice. That new leaders raising from the crowd would soon become modern kings and tzars they tried to get rid of. People strongly believed in a necessity for a new approach to life in each and every aspect of it. Also in art they started to look for modern ways of expression. Cubism was one of the first forms that rejected the academic thinking and initiated a beginning of experimental styles that have been constantly evolving to our times. In graphic design artists tried to meet the expectations of the people craving for progress and modernity. 
Ludwig Hohlwein was a German designer, born in XIX century (1874) but introducing a fresh new thinking and a need for a change, typical for XX century. Before he started his career in graphic arts, he had been an architect and in his later work he drew inspiration from modern architecture of a city. Nowadays he is said to be 'the most prolific and brilliant German posterist of the 20th century'. Working mainly during and  before WWII, he became a leading commercial artist in Germany, producing a massive amount of works, only by 1925 over 3000 different advertisements. His style was recognized by a strong focus on color, shadow and defined forms. Also one could that Hohlwein was referring to emerging at the time cubism. Analytical represented by Braque and Picasso's synthetic cubism showed new perspectives of depicting form and color by sophisticated reduction. Hohlwein's posters for Red Cross, Olympic Games in 1936 or typical Nazi propaganda posters had a strong reference to cubism. 
An influential movement that became an inspiration to the world was Russian avant-garde. The movement that flourished during and after Russian Revolution in 1917 turned upside down the modern art in Russia that for centuries was trapped under a tight fist of a tzar. There were few phases of Russian avant-garde: cubo-futurism, suprematism and constructivism and alter futurism. Each style has its great representatives whose works started a real revolution in the arts and also the country. 
Kazimir Malevich, Russian artist, born in Ukraine and of polish parents was a leading feature in the movement, and the originator of suprematism. He was strongly interested in the geometric forms and forever wrote down a chapter of the art history with his paintings on Black / White / Red Squares. The emotions the art should evolve did not come from the image itself, but the color and form, reduced to their basics. This conceptual thinking was the essence of the avant-garde. 
Another artist important for constructivism was Vladimir Tatlin and The Monument of the Third International became the landmark in his artistic career. The idea was to make the Eiffel Tower (the pride of the Western world) look caricatural in comparison to the greatest Russian monument. Although it was never constructed it was a symbol of revolution of the seize of power by Bolsheviks.
Alexander Rodchenko was the third of the great trio of avant-garde artists. He was appointed Director of the Museum Bureau by the government in 1920. He was not only a painter but in his later years got engaged into photography and graphic design. His great contribution in the avant-garde movement was the studies on color that eventually he reduced to a monochromic pallet. He stated that by doing so he 'reduced painting to its logical conclusion and exhibited three canvases: red, blue, and yellow. This is the end of painting'. 
Other artists working under the wide umbrella of Russian modern arts were Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, El Lissitzky, Stenberg brothers.
The movie that we watched in the class did not only conclude the works and lives of the trio, Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko, but it also brought a light to the situation in the world in the beginning of XX century. It is hard to imagine how different art and graphic design were for American audience and Russian people. The movie talked about the oppression and censorship the artists faced and to what tragic consequences it led. I was really moved by it and I feel it is critical to understand how important art is and how people sacrificed themselves for its sake. Perhaps it is an abstract thought for many Western societies. Nevertheless Russian avant-garde is an example of the reality where in XX century artists were persecuted and constantly watched. I am really interested in an idea how art can influence society not through its beauty and alienation from the bad world, but rather how it can function along the politics, social issues, religious and ethic persecution. For me it creates a context for a meaningful art where an artist expresses his deepest emotions looking for a medium that would truly project his feelings. After the revolution when Russia rejected the past with the tzars and centuries of oppression and backwardness, people really needed to find a new path for arts. To express post revolution moods was to express a different reality than the once under a tzar. 

Malevich | Tatlin |Rodchenko

The years of anticipation

Relatively calm years of Pax Britannica were over even before the beginning of the WWI in 1914. People felt the anticipation and changes coming along with the new century. Since the Industrial Revolution, the world was undergoing major alterations on the speed that had never been seen before. Each and every aspect of life was affected, from industry and agriculture to culture and religion. In the class we touched upon major topics of interest, starting with graphic design and then focusing more on the spirit of XX century in politics, social issues and culture. The movie featured the major events in the United States and the world and how they led to the greatest conflict in the history. 

The Vienna Secession movement formed in 1897 was a group of young painters, designers and architects. The first president was Gustav Klimt whose works expressed the ideas of the Secession. Psychological and intellectual language of art used by Klimt and artists belonging to the group reflected a need for a  new, modern approach to art and culture in general. Other members were Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Max Kurzweil, Egon Schiele. At the same time in Germany there was another progressive group called Deutscher Werkbund, German Work Federation. Artists from different fields, like painting, design, architecture saw a possibility of interaction between art and industry. The motto of the group Vom Sofakissen zum Städtebau (From sofa cushions to city-building) indicates how manufacture-oriented it was. 

Among 12 architects working with Werkbund organization Peter Behrens became one of the leading figures. He started his career as a painter associated with the Jugendstil and moved his interest towards architecture in 1899 at the age of 30. Four years later he was appointed a director of Kunstgewerberschule in Dusseldorf. During his stay at the school he introduced foundations classes and educational reforms. Few years passed and Behrens got involved into a creation of Werkbund. The principles that William Morris implemented to the Arts and Crafts movement were also applied to German organization. However, the founders felt a need of changing an initial model and twist it towards a modern, practical movement. Behrens continued his work as an architect and designer in a close association with Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft, AEG. This German electric company commissioned him with a logo and the project turned out to be the first fully comprehensive identity program including consistent layout, typography and logo based on a grid. The grid is also visible in the construction of AEG turbine factory that Behrens completed in 1909. The building made of brick and glass automatically relates to its function as an industrial site. 

Plakatstil was another form of artistic expression present in Germany at the beginning of XX century. The main characteristics of Plakatstil were contrasting color combination, bold straight type, simple imagery. Started with a simple poster design by Lucian Bernard in 1906 it became a leading style for poster design for commercial goods, but also social and political issues. War posters as a source of propaganda in the countries of Axis, such as Germany started to have more important role in the society. They had sophisticated design that combined simple graphic forms with metaphorical meanings such. On the other hand the countries belonging to the Allies, especially the United States focused on heart warming imagery of national symbols of patriotism and pride, such as boy scouts or Statue of Liberty. In a contrast with graphic forms they used detailed illustrations. 

I believe that in the period preceding the WWI, art and artists became more involved in the social issues. They did not only discuss current events and portrayed them in their works, but also formed groups and organizations that worked with the industry and government. By declaring a political and social  statements they turned away from a stereotypical picture of an artist and served as public figures for the people. I think it follows along the discussion of William Morris' involvement in British politics I started in a previous post. For me each artist, designer, painter or architect has a moral responsibility to find their place in the society and through their work and actions become engaged with the world around.

On a second note I really enjoyed the movie showing the life of common people on the edge of XIX and XX century. Although it mostly focused on American history I was very interested in the differences between the New and Old continent. It seemed to me that while from European perspective I tend to think about social, scientific and philosophical changes that started at that point in the history, Americans were more involved in rag, jazz and resorts. I do not believe that we can compare the turn into XX century with our experience of XXI century. While 100 years ago the lives of most of the people were still focused within their families and cities now though new means of communications we are involved in the world issues and events from across the globe can affect us as much as the national happenings. 

AEG by P.Behrens

Gustav Klimt

 Lucian Bernard

The beauty of Art Nouveau

Today in class we discussed an amazing movement of Art Nouveau. I think it is one of the most amazing periods of history for graphic design and art in general. On one hand it is a continuation of John Ruskin's and William Morris' testimony based on the movement of arts and crafts. On the other hand it is a style that introduced new, fascinating solutions and brought together typography and art. There are several important names without whom Art Nouveau could not progress and in this note I want to highlight the greatest achievements and changes that these particular people initiated. 
The essence of Art Nouveau is hidden in its sensuality, femininity, organic ornamentation, geometric lines and shapes. It started in Brussels in the last years of XIX century as an opposition to the academic schools and Classical inspirations (many scholars point out to England in 1860s as the beginning). Although nowadays it is mostly associated with graphics of such artists as Alphonse Mucha, the movement was yet an another attempt after Morris' arts and crafts to unite art and life in general and create a modern style. Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh or Toulouse-Lautrec were highly influenced by Art Nouveau and its inspirations found in Japanese prints. In literature there were Baudelairel, D'Annunzio, Proust, Maeterlinck, Ibsen. In music Debussy, Sibelius, Strauss. 'New Art' or 'Jugendstil' was the first modern movement that has changed the tendencies in arts on all fields.
Jules Cheret is named the father of modern poster. Although he started as a painter inspired with Victorian art, he became a leading persona in advertising. He introduced an idea of an ideal woman, shocking at his time, and replicated on all of his posters. Since he worked on the three stone process on lithography, the colors were more vibrant and truly reflected Parisian night life in cafes and theaters, such as famous Moulin Rouge. Within time his designs were so popular that as soon as the posters were hung on the walls people stole them and keep in private collections. In 1884 Cheret decided on opening the first poster exhibition in Paris. Among the participants there were such artists as Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Mucha, Steinlen, Grasset, Penfield, Parrish and Bradley.
Eugene Grasset, considered a pioneer of Art Nouveau also lived and worked in Paris, the bohemian capital at the time. His unique style was based on a heavy block lines. He did not only focus on print, but created designs for tapestry, wallpaper, jewelry, fabrics and furniture. Later in his life he was commissioned  by Harper's Magazine to make a series of advertising. This was the movement was introduced on a New Continent and later developed by William Bradley and Ethel Reed, referred to as the first American female figure in the field of graphic design. 
Arthur Mackmurdo further developed the block printing effect in his works. Inspired with an encounter with John Ruskin with whom he travelled to Italy in 1874 he and Selwyn Image set up the Century Guild of Artists. It was a successful partnership that involved not only the production of interiors, furniture and buildings but was involved in 'Hobby Horse Magazine' first released in 1882. It treated of art, design and ideas and was open to broader audience. 
Aubrey Breardsley was another influential artist who set up a popular at the time magazine, entitled 'The Studio'. In his work he used inspirations found in Japanese woodcuts. His erotic images, shocking for his contemporaries. were based on mythology and history (e.g. 'Salome' advertising the play by Oscar Wilde). 
Among all artists Alphonse Mucha is an unquestionable father of Art Nouveau. He found fame working in a little print shop in Paris when one night he was surprised with a visit of Sarah Bernardt. She was the most famous French actress, working on the stage of Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Within two weeks Mucha was commissioned to produce posters for her play Gismonda. Overnight he became the most sensational artist in bohemian Paris and from a simple art student from Czechs he turned into a leading persona in the emerging movement of Art Nouveau. He brought his noncommercial style to the advertising. Th characteristics of his designs are in the curly hair, feminine figures, sensual poses on the decorative background using gradient pastel colors and golden ornamentation. 
At the time of Belle Epoque in England, Art Nouveau in France, German artists were under the influence of Jugendstil, the style of the youth. Young artists studying at the universities incorporated the spirit of Art Nouveau into their own designs focusing on the geometric forms, curve and lineal elements, rectal structure of the works, floral and organic ornamentation. There was a strong tendency towards symbolism, allegoric imagery and stylized forms. On the other side of the continent in Britain four students of the Glasgow School created an influential movement, later called Glasgow Style. The Four, also known as the Spooky School Margaret and Frances MacDonald, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Herbert MacNair were inspired with Japanes prints, Celtic Revival very popular at the time another art movement and the works of other Art Nouveau artists such as Mucha (elongated forms, sensual images). 
I think that Art Nouveau brought some of the greatest inspirations to the arts. There is a union of 'higher arts' with such forms as posters, postal cards, furniture, interior design. On one hand designers who produced commercial works for advertising used illustration imagery and on the other hand artists such as Gauguin incorporated design and typography in their works (e.g. Gauguin was signing his works by incorporating the signature to the paintings).  Young students who were lectured on the Neoclassical style, were looking for a modern forms of expression. They intended to not only limit themselves to art but expand the impact of the new thinking thought the distribution of magazines, papers, manifestos, exhibitions. It shows a real dedication and belief in the arts. Groups such as the Four proved to the contemporary people that artists have a chance and should break the boundaries and seek above the Neoclassical and academic examples. Personally among all Art Nouveau artists I have always admired Alphonse Mucha. His noncommercial approach to the design, used for the public purposes (such as posters hung on the streets), and constancy of the style are  great inspirations. When I got a chance to visit his museum on the central plaza in Prague, Czech Republic, I was truly amazed. Thanks to Mucha people of the era had a unique opportunity to live daily life among one of the greatest artworks pasted on the streets. 
PS: First time I could correct American pronunciation thanks to my origin. Czech and Polish language are so similar and it's MUCHA, with H like in Heaven, and funnily enough it means a fly. 
PPS: A beautiful movie about Mucha:

    

Eugene Grasset | The Four, Margareth McDonald | Jules Cheret | Alphonse Mucha