Category: IDES 142

Canadian Design Today: Hugh Syme

hugh syme headshot
Canadian graphic artist and keyboardist Hugh Syme is known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands

There may not be a person alive on this earth who hasn’t seen at least one of Hugh Syme’s 325 album cover designs. The Toronto-born graphic artist has designed for a wide range of musicians, from Canadian Pop Queen Celine Dion to American thrash metal forerunner Megadeth. Syme has been responsible for all of Rush’s album art since 1975’s Caress of Steel, as well as their famous Starman logo. Being a keyboardist, Hugh Syme has also played with Rush, Alice in Chains, Ian Thomas Band, Tiles, and Jim McCarthy.

  • Get A Grip: How Aerosmith Reclaimed The Rock Crown | uDiscover
(left) Power Windows by Rush, 1985, designed by Hugh Syme (right) Get A Grip by Aerosmith, 1993, designed by Hugh Syme

“A lot of people don’t know that’s a painting-[Rush’s] Power Windows-because I worked from several images. I found the room, found the guy, and found TV, then painted the final as acrylic on canvas.”

Hugh Syme

Syme was a big fan of Salvador Dali growing up. One of his friends was fortunate enough to meet Dali at his Port Lligat studio and came back with descriptions “about Dali’s floor being strewn with reference photos,” which is when Hugh realized there was no shame in utilizing photo reference.

  • IRON MAIDEN - X-Factor - Amazon.com Music
(left) The X Factor by Iron Maiden, 1995, designed by Hugh Syme (right) Come What(ever) May by Stone Sour, 2006, designed by Hugh Syme

Implementing what he calls ‘improbable reality’, as well as ‘breaking the frame’ (ie. extending past the canvas limits) has led Hugh Syme to win 5 Juno Awards, as well as being nominated 18 times.

Sources:
https://blog.discogs.com/en/beneath-the-covers-hugh-syme/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Syme
http://www.hughsyme.com/#

Postmodernism in Europe: Shiro Kuramata

A collection of objects designed by The Memphis Group displayed in a living room setting

The Memphis Group (est. in 1980 by Ettore Sottsass) was an Italian design and architecture collective that aimed to evolve the future of design through eccentric pieces that have been described as “a shotgun wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price”. Colourful and asymmetrical pieces of plastic laminate and terrazzo were often fit together for an abstract object meant to be used as decoration or furniture. Although very cheap to construct, The Memphis Group slapped hefty price tags on their works, designing them to sell to a luxury market.

Grundtner & Söhne — Door 18: Shiro Kuramata

Shiro Kuramata is considered one of Japan’s most important designers of the 20th century. He was born just before the start of WW2, one artist amongst a generation of creatives who changed the way Japan was viewed by the world. Towards the end of the ’80s, Kuramata was invited by Sottsass to join The Memphis Group; unfortunately, the collective was disbanded shortly after.

How High the Moon by Shiro Kuramata, wire steel mesh and nickel chrome finish, 1986

“My strongest desire is to be free of gravity, free of bondage. I want to float”

Shiro Kuramata
(left) Furniture in Irregular Forms by Shiro Kuramata, laminated plywood base and melamine board with steel-ball casters, 1970 (right) Miss Blanche by Shiro Kuramata, acrylic and artificial roses body with aluminum pipe legs, 1988

Shiro was often known for his usage of industrial materials, such as plexiglass and wire steel mesh, as well as the way he merged popular culture, Japanese aesthetic and the Western avant-garde.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiro_Kuramata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Group

Supergraphics Innovator: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon

Supergraphics in the ’70s referred to large scale geometric graphics on a wall or building, bringing movement and vibrancy to an otherwise minimalist space. Imagine the iconic Polaroid rainbow curving around one of your walls; that was the general concept of these 1970s murals.

  • Supergraphics: Is the '70s Design Trend Making a Comeback? | Apartment Therapy
Supergraphics: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon – Marina Subach
Supergraphics at The Sea Ranch featured in Life Magazine, Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, 1966

Barbara ‘Bobbie’ Stauffacher Solomon was a front runner in supergraphics. Bobbie is a powerhouse of a woman who holds multiple degrees from some of the world’s top universities. At 23 years old, her husband, filmmaker Frank Stauffacher, died of a brain tumour, leaving her with their disabled 3-year-old child and no money. Young, beautiful and single, she reportedly fled San Francisco as all of her friend’s husbands were pining after her! Solomon took this opportunity to study at the Basel Art Institute. Being back in America with prestigious Swiss training and friends in high places, Barbara was immediately given an office and job after job. Her most famous job was actually her first: the multitude of supergraphics and painted signs featured at The Sea Ranch in California. Barbara is still living her best life in San Francisco at 93 years old.

“If Steve Jobs had known me back then, he probably would have hired me”

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon

Sources:
https://www.foldmagazine.com/multi-hyphenate-pioneer-barbara-stauffacher-solomon
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/supergraphics-is-the-70s-design-trend-making-a-comeback-240144

Psychedelic Design Hero: Alex Grey

The 1960’s counterculture movement is known for its anti-establishment ideology, human rights advocacy, and psychoactive drug experimentation. The introduction and usage of mind-altering drugs, most commonly LSD, produced some of the most popular psychedelic artists of the ’60s, such as Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, and Rick Griffin.

  • A Wes Wilson poster for the New Year’s Eve 1966 show at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. If the lettering on Mr. Wilson’s posters was often hard to decipher, that was by design.
(left to right) New Year Bash by Wes Wilson, 1966-67, Peacock Ball by Victor Moscoso, 1967, Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa by Rick Griffin, 1969

A wave of technological advances in the 1990s gave birth to the Digital Age, which allowed an even broader scope of artistic expression, thanks to computer programs. These new tools gave way to a psychedelic revival, as well as a boom in graffiti art, raves, and the production of a new drug: MDMA (Ecstacy). Here’s where Alex Grey comes in. Although he wasn’t active until the ’70s, he’s listed second on the recommended list when looking up ‘psychedelic artists’, even before Wes Wilson!

Alex Grey & Allyson Grey - Book Signing/Public Appearance | Banyen Books & Sound
(top, left, right) Net of Being by Alex Grey, oil on linen, 2002-2007, Kissing by Alex Grey, oil on linen, 1983, Over Soul by Alex Grey, oil on linen, 1998-1997

Alex Grey was introduced to LSD by his professor at a party. Since that night, he has dedicated his life to studying and depicting every layer of the human experience: metaphysical, tangible, emotional, and spiritual. His studying went as far as preparing cadavers for dissection at Harvard Medical School’s anatomy department. Although much of his early art was created while on psychedelic influence, he and his wife rarely partake nowadays.

Sources:
https://www.alexgrey.com/art
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Grey

Advertising Art Director: Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer’s experimental typeface, Universal (Sturm Blond), notable for its bold, geometric form and lack of capital letters.

An artistic polymath best known for his creative contributions while studying and teaching at the Bauhaus school, Herbert Bayer is one of the most important names to know in terms of graphic design history. Bayer is credited with designing the experimental sans serif typeface Universal (Sturm Blond) that consisted of only lowercase letters. The differences between this and the germanic blackletter typefaces he grew up seeing were drastic.

The Menstrual Cycle brochure, 1939, commissioned by Schering Corporation, to promote a hormone-based drug that helped ease period discomfort, such as cramping and irregularlity in bleeding

Bayer’s biology-based illustrations, as well as his architectural plans, are my personal favourites from the prolific artist. Pharma companies had started hiring artists to promote medicinal information and medications shortly after Bayer moved to the United States. The Menstrual Cycle brochure both informed readers of female* reproductive organs, the ovulation cycle, and a new hormone-based drug the commissioning company was selling. This illustration is unique compared to his usual advertising work, that of which was reminiscent of neoplasticism; primary colours, geometric shapes, and abstract while maintaining legibility.

*female in this context is referring to those who were assigned female at birth, but does reflect the thousands of transgender men and non-binary individuals who also have this anatomy

(left) Design for a Cigarette Kiosk, 1924 (right) Design for a Newspaper Stand, 1924

Information citations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Bayer
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2019/11/25/herbert-bayer-master-of-the-universe/

Image Citations:
https://blogs.stthomas.edu/arthistory/files/2015/04/IMG_0779-300×221.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d2/3b/57/d23b57326e99e791902436c08c6d6188.jpg
https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/348630_d89848f2b7aa39ea_b.jpg
http://socks-studio.com/2017/05/08/herbert-bayers-small-architectural-projects-1924/