Kathrin Teh

A quintessential pop-artist, Roy Lichtenstein was an extremely prolific artist whose work continues to populate the media to this day. His use of exaggerated Benday dots – dots that are used to construct images in printing – became the trademark of his pieces and pop-art as a whole.

A pioneer of both the Surrealist and Dada movements, German artist Max Ernst created what many consider to be the first Surrealist painting. One of the first painters to apply ideologies from Sigmund Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams”, Ernst spearheaded Surrealism with the dreamlike imagery and distorted perceptions of life which are prevalent in his work.

Moody, gory, imbued with emotion; provocative, expressive, disconcerting – these are all traits of Chaim Soutine’s paintings. Born a Jew in Russia, the expressionist artist suffered abuse and discrimination which led him to move to Paris at age 20 – though the unfortunate experiences of his childhood would later bleed into his work.

When I think of the 20s, The Great Gatsby immediately comes to mind: its opulent parties, flapper dresses, and jovial music. With the increased popularity of the gramophone and radio, in addition to high morale after the carnage of WWI and the exponential economic growth in America, celebration was in order. Hence, the dissemination of jazz culture.

Advertisements – they’re everywhere; we find ourselves submerged in them on a day to day basis. Poster design is one huge facet of this industry, and though ads via the use of posters have been around for a quite a while, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the modern, simplified posters we see so often today were born.

This week, I was assigned a spread on science. I have chosen to do it on the early film, as I remember being introduced to several early films when I was younger – the strange imagery burrowed its way into my dreams. In particular, the moon from Voyage Dans la Lune and the train in L’Arrivée d’un Train à la Ciotat.

Paintings can evoke many feelings – sadness, nostalgia, trepidation, delight. When I look at Auguste Renoir’s paintings, I feel transported into another, softer, world – as though I’m viewing private moments of tranquility in idyllic lives. His paintings, like those of Fragonard, simply make me feel happy.

Advertisement is everywhere – it permeates all aspects of society – from billboards, to pop-up ads online. Posters have become commonplace, but things weren’t always this way. For this, we can thank Jules Chéret – the Parisian father of poster design.