Blog Post 4 – Elizabeth Lin

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019

Daniel Pelavin: Timeless and Enduring

Daniel Pelavin:

Daniel Pelavin is an illustrator, and typeface designer whose work is best recognized for its precisely drafted shapes, unique colour palette, and original typography.

He began his career as an apprentice, working up through the ranks of a local art studio where he was able to train with all kinds of graphic artists. These included decorative, fashion, product, and technical illustrators. In addition, he was also able to train under letterers, typographers, and graphic designers.

He is a master at combining stylistic elements from different historical periods while maintaining unwavering focus on clarity. To do so, he uses a restrained and simplified vocabulary of geometric forms, rich flat colours, and typography that is inspired by the 20th century’s culture/objects. The result is a style that is retro and very deco and works that are timeless and enduring.

January 31, 2019February 1, 2019

The Golden Age Part 2: Bill Mauldin (1921-2003)

Bill Mauldin

Bill Mauldin was an American cartoonist who is one of the best known and best-loved newspaper cartoonists in America. He is remembered for his depiction of life in the trenches during World War 2- which initially gained him fame- and then later became known for his editorial cartoons that dealt with a wide range of social and political issues. During his time in the military where he was assigned in Europe, he produced numerous cartoons that essentially captured the experiences and emotions of an entire generation of soldiers, usually through his characters Willie and Joe, two infantrymen. He chose to draw pictures for and about soldiers because he knew what it was like and wanted to make something out of the humorous situations that came up even when the soldiers thought that life could not get any more miserable. In addition to his cartoons about fighting in the war, he also created cartoons that boldly displayed social and political commentary. For example, some of the cartoons attacked the issues of racism, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and McCartyism.

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018

Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Rococo: George Stubbs (1724-1806)

George Stubbs:

George Stubbs was a British painter of the eighteenth century. He was best known for his paintings of horses and conversation pieces (a type of group portraiture), and established a reputation of the leading painter of horse portraits. This brought him a lot of commissions, including from many noblemen who founded the Jockey Club, a breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in North America that still exists today. From an early age, he had an interest in anatomy and this was a driving force in his career. His paintings of horses are among the most accurate to ever be painted, but his work transcends naturalism. He also painted a variety of other animals, including the lion, tiger, giraffe, monkey, and rhinoceros, marking him as an outstanding animal painter and anatomical draftsman. He knew the importance of observation and anatomical analysis, and believed that nature was superior to art.

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