Post 2 - Ivy Markham

Hollis: 37 – 75 | The Avant-Garde and the Origins of Modernism
One of the first things that stuck out to me in this reading was the work of Fortunato Depero. The book calls him the most important figure in graphic design, and his huge influence on the futurist movement had lasting impacts on graphic design as a whole and especially advertising. Despite being imitated by many, his work still stands out as uniquely his. A key part of his style is playing with geometric shapes, angles, and typography, as displayed in his book.
Depero, F. (1927). Depero Futurista [Book]. Retrieved from https://www.boltedbook.com/ (21 January 2020).
I’ve seen some of El Lissitzky’s work before, and we discussed him during a lesson on composition in a past class. Part of the constructivism movement, Lissitzky used geometrical abstraction in most of his work. I picked a work of art rather than a book spread or advertisement or such because it shows his mastery of composition and balance. Despite the fact that it appears very simple and clean, the piece is quite complex and intricate in the way the different shapes come together and layer, and in texture and color.

Lissitzky, E. (1923). Globetrotter (in Time) [Lithograph on paper]. Retrieved from https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lissitzky-5-globetrotter-in-time-p07142 (21 January 2020).
Herbert Bayer began his career in commercial design, then transitioned into stationery and printing design for the Bauhaus. In the 1930s, he transitioned again into what is now called information design. The image below is from a brochure he designed about the menstrual cycle. I found it interesting because it’s such a departure from his Bauhaus designs, besides the sans-serif type, it is not geometric and more intricate in detail. The solid black background, thin white lines depicting the days of the cycle, and small moons equate the menstrual cycle to the lunar cycle and give it an almost mystical feeling.
Bayer, H. (1939).  The Menstrual Cycle [Brochure]. Retrieved from https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2019/11/25/herbert-bayer-master-of-the-universe/ (21 January 2020).

Comments

  1. Karin BuffieJanuary 22, 2020 at 3:08 PM

    The second design by Lissitzky really caught my eye. I also wrote in my post about a design that was both interesting and complex but also very clean, simple and modern, too. Designs like this are my favorite because to be able to make something that is so eye-catching but also so simplistic can be difficult to master. But as our world continues to modernize, and clean and simple aesthetics continue to be popular, it is essential that we learn how to design with both a simplistic AND complex mindset to still get peoples attention.

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