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.
Lucian Bernard
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