Graphic Design History
Upon reading about graphic design history, many facts stood out to me that made me more interested in the topic. I saw through out the chapter. the way graphic design grew through political, economic, and cultural circumstances through history. There are many different types of movements that expressed many different views on art at the time. While I enjoyed many of these movements, I was most intrigued by four; Arts and Craft movement, Futurism, Dada, and Constructivist. Each movement expressed interest quint the time, some even addressing historical issues that lightened life at the time.
Arts and Craft Movement
The first full scale movement in art history was the Arts and Craft Movement in 1880, lasting 30 years. This movement interested me due to the fact that this is where it all started, a popular trend that rose from the need of people. This art movement was here to look back on the Middle Ages, showcasing things such as textiles. furniture, cabinet making, and stained glass. I like when art looks back at another time, because that is the only way I can truly view how life has been before I was born. These handcrafted forms brought physical and spiritual pleasure to my point of view, just as the movement inttended. I also used to take a stained glass course in High School and I really enjoyed constructing pieces that spoke to me with many different colors and textures. When looking into the Arts and Crafts Movement online, I found that there are examples capturing the movement here in New Hampshire. Seeing something unfold in an area so close to you is always interesting to experience.
Futurism
Created by Fillipio Marinetti in 1909, the Futurism Movement took off for nearly ten years in the second decade of the 20th century to focus on the modern machine age. This movement tried to capture and use the dynamics of motion in each piece of artwork, I believe it showed a scientific approach rather than an abstract, historical approach. As seen below, many pieces of work use various lines and sizes to show the direction of the work, creating depth. While this is my least interesting of the four in my opinion, I love how different this movement is from any other. Thinking of the early 20th century, seeing work like this must have been very different from what they’ve seen before. This movement made it more common to see posters, typography, and images especially around Italy museums, as its intent in the first place. I am fortunate for this movement as I love looking at posters with many details as portrayed below.
Dada
After World War II, when the world was in shambles, it was clear there needed to be something that Brough everyone to come together peacefully. The Dada Movement was created to just that, to show a mad world in a peaceful way. Dadaists rejected all traditions and standards in art, doing the opposite of what art stood for at the time. Originating in Switzerland, moving over to Germany, France, then America, Dada showed everyone that anything can be art. Take for example, Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal in 1917, where he presented the plumbing fixture upside down signed ‘R Mutt’. While his work looks little like art, that is exactly what he wanted it to be, he wanted to create an ironic piece for the Society of Independent Artists, even though he was rejected. What I liked most about this movement is how it normalized photo montages more, starting an amazing movement in its own. One of my favorite ways of art are photo montages because I love how you can put multiple pieces of art into one to make an even bigger art piece.
Constructivist
During the Dada Movement came quite the opposite movement know as Constructivist. Embarrassed by communism, creator, Vladimir Tatlin decided art should have a social purpose, a meaning behind it. While I do not believe in art always needing a meaning, I do applaud the Constructivist Movement for creating something that can be used in educational, and more serious timings like work as well. My favorite times in school are when I have to make a poster or any visual to show my knowledge or beliefs on a. topic. This allows me to be creative while also learning important issues that will make me more educated in life. For instance, Tatlin symbolized a spiraling glass construction as a symbol of industry, creating a certain aesthetic of moving arts from expression of personal a style to a collective style based on the machine. Many examples also include; writers, photographers and designers.
Summary
All above movements are all particularly different in their own ways, however share the common reasoning that in life, everyone needs art, depending on their personal styles. All movements I chose came from me realizing I have used nearly all in school and my free time. With Arts and Craft Movement, I have created stain glass pieces as well as worked with textile fabrics to create pieces I enjoyed for many personal reasons. With Futurism, I have had to create pieces with students when participating in Unified Art. In this class, we found colors that spoke to us in magazines, then cut them out to make shapes that came together in one art piece. Next, with the Dada Movement, as a kid I would put random things together to form one collective art piece they Amy have not had meaning, but still felt like art to me. Finally, Constructivist Movement I have used mostly in school, where I would have to creative yet effective poster based on topics given by my teachers and professors. Art in history is very important in helping to realize just how much we use graphic design especially in our day-to-day lives.
