Dani Cummings Post 2


When looking at the national differences throughout early 20th century design I think it’s really interesting to notice the simplistic nature of Britain as compared to the other nations. Britain is completely different in its use of white space and typography as compared to France that leans more into the graphic elements of photography and imagery. My favorite example given in the book is the French piece Pivelo by Cassandre. The graphic-ness of the composition feels like something out of this time period that is so universal.

Cassandre, A.M, 1924, Pivolo, Retrieved from Hollis reading
I think that the style also seen throughout the reading by Cassandre is so distinct that you can tell it’s by the same artist which I enjoy.

Cassandre, A.M, 1932, Dubonnet, Retrieved from Hollis reading
When looking at the United States graphic work in the 1930’s its notably a blend of the same graphic-ness of the French design while embracing a simplistic view similar to Britain. We can see a blend of photography with graphic overlays like seen in the vanity fair cover as well as the use of interesting type to create an image like in Harper’s Bazaar. I think that this time period for United States design is the backbone to how we see design today. As sort of a hodgepodge of all elements being used to create something aesthetically pleasing while still working as a supplement to effective communication. This style and design is something that I feel many artist and designers try to replicate as a feeling of nostalgia. I find myself attracted to this era of art when replicated by modern artist. 

Retreived from @veryrealfantasy on Instagram, 2019



Comments

  1. Gabrielle StephaniJanuary 22, 2020 at 12:18 PM

    I agree with your point that you make at the end of your post. We see a sort of nostalgic-feel in a lot of graphic design (and also photography) in present day. It is interesting to see the blend of present and past techniques and styles, creating a modern style that incorporates older aspects. This allows for the piece or photograph to give off a certain feeling to the viewer. Personally, when I look at the Harper's Bazaar piece that you shared, I feel a sense of comfort and reminiscence.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post 1 (Matthew Donald)

Image
One of the pieces that really caught my eye during the reading was Alphonse Mucha's Job  cigarette papers advertisement. There was something very intriguing about the way he created a background texture using an element from the foreground. "JOB" is written in big letters at the very top of the poster and its accented by "job" written in little letters evenly throughout the background. I think it does a good job at creating an interesting composition while maintaining the central focus around the brand. The big "JOB" flows on top of a large ring where a woman sits. I think the overall shape of the illustration was executed very well because of its emphasis on curves. The curves of the hair and the woman are all reinforced by the circle in the center of the page. Mucha, A. (1898). "Job" poster for cigarette papers. Retrieved from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOB_(rolling_papers)  on January 1st, 2020. In this piece of typography created ...
Read more

Post 3 - Sam Weible

Image
From the experimentation and norm-breaking designs of the avant garde movement came some of my favorite European designs predating 1940s. From this period, I particularly love the posters advertising the London Underground. I first saw some of these posters at the Art Institute over the summer and was immediately intrigued by their design, how they managed somehow be both artistically beautiful and utilitarian. The elements of each poster followed suit, text and imagery being generally separate from one another on the page yet communicating a since of uniformity. While that was the case for most of the poster I got to see, it wasn't for every Underground poster. There are actually a great variance of design and style between these mass-produced posters. This poster, "Power", from the textbook, for example, hardly has any visual unity. What it's trying to communicate is unclear and the visual ties the artist tries to make between each element isn't as unifying as...
Read more

2/5 in class reflection

I liked learning a bit of back story on Bert Stern. I like learning a more in depth about a designers history. Its interesting to see where these designers are coming from however, I know that the time frame of this class doesn't really allow for too much of that. I didn't really like watching the ted talk at the beginning because, while the message is good, this is the fourth class I have had to watch that talk in.
Read more