Colour Theory and Cool Type (1925-1930)

Summary:

In this week’s lecture, we learned about Art Deco, the Bauhaus school, and the leap forward into modern typography. The Dasstaatliche Bauhaus opened in 1919 in Weimar, Germany. Their goal was to create useful objects and designs. Walter Gropius was named the Bauhaus’ first director in 1919 and he had a new way of teaching design where students would be able to learn, but also able to make prototypes and sell them. He hired numerous famous and respectable artists to teach at his school. These include Johannes Itten, Josef Albers, Gerhard Marcks, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Lázló Moholy-Nagy, Oskar Schlemmer, Marcel Breuer, and Herbert Bayer. However, due to the eccentricity of the school, the government and public believed that the Bauhaus provided no value and wanted to cut their funding. In response to this negativity, Gropius moved the Bauhaus to Dessau instead, allowing the school to gain more freedom.

Jan Tschichold never went to Bauhaus but he was inspired by their exhibition. He was very interested in typography and wrote an essay that set out rules about using type and layout effectively. He invented in Sabon type in the 1960’s and Paul Renner created his Steile Futura type in 1927. Kurt Schwitters was the leader of the Ring of New Advertising Designers, Piet Zwart thought himself as a typotekt (typographer and architect), and Paul Schuitema was another modern typographer.

Other notable events that occurred were the art movement Art Deco, the creation of the Chrysler and Empire State building, and Charles “Lindy” Lindberg’s crossing the Atlantic by plane.

Continue reading “Survey 9: A Confusing Dream”

Charlestons and Communists (1915-1925)

Summary:

In this week’s lecture, we learned about the first World War, Dadaism, and the Russian Revolutions and constructivism. World War 1 was the main subject in advertising and poster design. Much propaganda focussed on recruiting able-bodied men to the war, women to join the workforce and factories to make supplies for war, and people to invest their money in war bonds so that governments could fund for the war. In the US and UK, their poster designs were mostly the traditional pictorial approach while in other areas, such as Germany, their posters were still following neo-classical designs with heavy gothic type.

Art movements were also prominent at this time. Dadaism artists mocked a society that had gone insane and their art was a reaction to the senseless suffering and loss of life they saw during the war. Surrealism emerged from Paris and its artists searched for the “more real than real-world beyond the real”. The Dutch De Stijl movement was a complete opposition to Dadaism and was an abstract geometric style seeking balance and harmony during the war. In Russia, the Suprematist movement focussed on the idea that geometry was the highest form of beauty. Constructivism derived from the Suprematist movement and featured basic, abstract geometric forms and the use of red, black, and white.

Life in the 1920’s was a difficult time. Many families were hurt by the emotional and physical trauma soldiers suffered when they came home. From 1920-1933, Canada and the US’ alcohol Prohibition was in effect. In 1920, Canada began forcing indigenous children to attend residential schools. However, not all was negative. This was also the time of the “Golden Age of Radio”, the age of jazz, and many famous figures such as Coco Chanel and Josephine Baker.

Continue reading “Survey 8: The “Truth to Materials””

Cubism and Corporate Identity (1905-1915)

Summary:

In this week’s lecture, we learned about the impact of modern art, plakatstil, and the origins of corporate identity. Modern art was developing. Artists such as Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Marcel Duchamp were all part of the art movement known as cubism. The Armory Show in New York City was an international exhibition of modern art that changed the way Americans thought about modern art. Hundreds of artists participated in this exhibition and The Armory was called the most important exhibition ever held in the US.

In 1905, Lucian Bernhard designed a poster for Priester Matches, creating the plakatstil style (poster style). This style consisted of only two basic elements, the product name and the product image, and conveyed a message that was both impactful and effective.

The AEG turbine factory designed by Peter Behrens was the first to have a logo and a corporate identity, making Behrens the first logo/corporate identity designer. This designer was also the first to design a typeface for a specific company where the company only used this typeface- the Behrens Schrift typeface designed for AEG.

Many other inventions were also created during this time. The first Model T was produced by Ford Motor Company and invented the factory line, cutting costs of production. In 1909, an early Autochrome colour photograph was invented by the Lumiere Brothers, Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay introduced keyframe animation, and in 1914, the American Institue of Graphic Arts (AIGA) was founded.

Continue reading “Survey 7: It’s Like Classicism, But Not”

Dreams and Designers (1895-1905)

Summary:

In this week’s lecture, we learned about art nouveau, the Glasglow school, the Vienna Secession, and the transition from artist to designer. The art nouveau and Arts and Crafts movement were similar, but their differences lie in their focuses in the past and future. While the Arts and Crafts movement had nostalgia for the past, the art nouveau movement was interested in combining the old traditions to create a modern form of beauty. Many artists had an art nouveau style, especially Eugène Grasset, Paul Berthon, and Alfons Mucha. While it is unknown whether art nouveau started in Paris or Brussels, both cities’ architecture was influenced by art nouveau.

In Scotland, from the Glasgow School of Art came a combination of Arts and Crafts and art nouveau style. Created by the Glasgow Four (Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert McNair, Margaret Macdonald, and Frances Macdonald), this new style was art nouveau with a geometric twist. From designing architecture to creating illustrations, these four were popular in Germany and Austria. In addition to the Glasgow version of art nouveau. Other forms of art nouveau were also present. These include Jugendstil (young style) and Sezessionstil (Secession style).

In this era, many geographic-political events occurred. The development of the union movement, Suffragist movement, and Queen Victoria’s death. In the science and technology community, many inventions were also taking place. The Lumiere Brothers created the first moving picture and the first science-fiction film, Sigmund Freud publishes his “The Interpretation of Dreams”, Zeppelin ships (passenger carrying airships) were invented, Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio message, and the Wright brothers fly the first gas-motored plane.

Continue reading “Survey 6: Max Out that Poof”