At the end of the twentieth century, art went through rapid modernizing transformation, where as the movement of postmodernism started to emerge, which is a movement in opposition to the modern style, given that it captures distinctive features and characteristics in regards to previous artistic movements. The stylistic features of postmodernism “include mixing diverse type sizes and weights, overprinting cluttered pages, deliberate ”mistakes”, unpredictable historicist references and blurred photographs” (Eskilson, 2007, p.336). Postmodernism “resists the sense of modernism” (Appignanesi, Garrat, Sardar, Curry, 2004, 4). It encompasses no specific approach to which the artist must follow. It implies a more freedom of choice. It is also considered the breakdown in which the imagination can be used to express some inner thoughts and feeling and make it visible without having any boundaries or restrictions. However, in regards to the stylistic features, "postmodernism movement opposed modernism rules" (Barnyard, 2005, 147). Meaning that, " if modernism sought to create a better world, postmodernism appears to accept the world as it is"(Poynor, 2003, p.11). However, back in the mid 1970s, the “I love NY” logo was launched by Milton Glaser to promote an advertising campaign to attract tourism to New York City. Given its extreme simplicity, it left a huge impact on the American society at that particular time. The concept of the logo design was to use a rebus as an abbreviated form of transmitting “pictures or objects that viewers interpret as sounds and words” (Eskilson, 2007, p.346). With the new logo, a huge achievement was made in the history of modern graphic design. It, nevertheless, introduced a new theory of which designers are still inspired to. After this breakthrough, designers use the language of signs and codes as a method of transmitting a message to the public, rather than the old, straightforward technique which did not include anything different or special.
As part of postmodernism, a new serious of typefaces started to emerge to replace the old, traditional seriffed ones. As an example, the typeface Avant-Guard Gothic became notably accepted and admired in the 1970’s, where Herb Lubalin was asked to introduce a new san serif font for the logo of a given magazine. “The resulting logo featured evenly weighted capital letters, with an innovative flair created by the sharply angled stems of the “A” and the “v” (Eskilson, 2007, p.349).
Another astonishing achievement in magazine design was the work of Neville Brody. The handmade cover of the last testament, illustrate his individual approach to design. He was well known for creating handcrafted elements, whether printed or carved. He implemented the technique of rebus by introducing the hand figure, which he used as a symbol to situate the termination of the music scene. As it is seen, “the irregularly shaped images of hand and fish are in stark contrast to the strong geometric grid formed by the type” (Eskilson, 2007, p.359).
Therefore in conclusion, postmodernism simplified the art of graphic design in terms of shapes. It emphasizes mainly on grasping a strong, concrete concept to make art more creative in style. Additional examples on postmodernism: The following show some examples of post modern graphic design in relation to the typefaces used, colors, simplicity and choice of freedom.      External Links: http://www.slideshare.net/JenniferJanviere/a-brief-history-of-20th-century-graphic-design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism http://books.google.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/guide-whatisgraphicdesign http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/itc-avant-garde-gothic/ http://www.computerarts.co.uk/in_depth/features/inside_magazine_design\ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/april/fabers-beckett-covers http://jacketmechanical.blogspot.com/2011/01/kafka.html http://b-samra1013-cts.blogspot.com/2011/02/5-examples-of-postmodern-graphic-design.html Bibliography: Appignanesi, R., Garratt, C., Sardar, Z. & Curry, P. (2004). Introducing Postmodernism. Barnard, M. (2005). Graphic Design as Communication. Eskilson, S. J. (2007). Graphic Design: A New History. Poynor, R. (2003). No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism. Woods, T. (1999). Beginning Postmodernism. |
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Postmodernism in Graphic Communication
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Guillaume Apollinaire
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| Guillaume Apollinaire To listen to the real voice of Apollinaire while telling his poem click here. |
Graphics are the process of expressing thoughts, emotions and sensations into illustrations. It is done either by drawing, painting, poetry, or sculpture making. It is linked to the human’s creation and imagination as well as the way they look at things around them in order to convey a specific massage to the public. Graphics represent lines, shapes, geometric figures, symbols, and everything that falls in between. In theory, graphic design is the art of putting words and pictures together to produce visual representations.
Guillaume Apollinaire was known for leaving a huge impact on modern design and poetry. Apollinaire was a French poet, novelist and art critic who was a great exponent of avant-garde movements of the twentieth century. He published a book called Calligrammes, which was noted for how the typeface, arrangement and letter stream play a role in giving a tangible meaning to the poem. The purpose of the essay is to briefly present the first foot steps to what lead to the modern graphic design by Apollinaire.
One of Apollinaire's works, however, is called "the visee". It is defined by a series of independent lines placed to interrupt any linear description of the theme and replace it with overlapping verbal images. The pieces of the poet’s wording are combined to create a reflection on the understanding of war. The title of the poem essentially refers to a machine used to aim artillery shells. Furthermore, Apollinaire states vaguely in his second line “Machine guns of gold are croaking legends”. These patterns are the basis for the structural composition which defines the orientation of the machine gun fire. Moreover, the triangle shape provided in the design represents the targets for bombardment. The destruction implied in Cubist aesthetics is a perfect means of expression for Apollinaire’s reflection on life and death at the front. (Eskilson, 2007).
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| Il pleut Il pleut type in motion (video) |
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| La cravate et la montre |
The poem, La cravate et la montre, was written “when Apollinaire took off his tie in the offices off Soirees de Paris, putting it on a table beside Serge Ferat’s watch” (Apollinaire, 1913).The poem demonstrates the way people look at time and how it plays a role in approaching their destinies.The lines illustrated in the form of a tie demonstrate the overwhelming outcome of the civilized society, forming the conclusion that if every moment of a human’s life was enjoyed to the fullest, a better life will be waiting for them. On the other hand, those who excessively oversee time and never get their eyes off their watches usually end up missing a lot of pleasurable moments. So therefore, there is a clear tension between the way the way the text is represented and the poem’s words. Without representing the poem in this visual way, the comparison between the two types of people wont be as expressive.
Coeur couronne et miroir, or heart crown and mirror, gives the depiction of reflection, memory and transformation. The bold capital letters at the heart-shaped poem “indicate that one should read in a clock-wise direction.” (Apollinaire, 1913).
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| Coeur couronne et miroir |
Apollinaire loved endowing himself with royal roots and felt affiliated to many kings who died during his time. His poem used oversized capitals that downward read “ Quia” (because) marks the certainly of a flow kingship to poet.
The text in the mirror is represented in a three dimensional manner to give the illusion of depth to the poem. The mirror wreath represent a radiant cycle or loop and the words forming the loop represent delicate, cheerful memories.
The poem, Madeleine, combines both verbal text and graphical images. The poet, however, decided to give it a more sense of personality by writing it by hand. To show his true feelings to Madeleine, he used love language that is gentle and appropriate. Not only he included the two shapes (the heart and the star) for decorative purposes, but also to reveal a strong hint of intimacy. (Apollinaire, 1913).
Paysage is considered one of Guillaume’s most outstanding calligrams because it is represented as a whole rather than a sequence of dissimilar elements. The poem speaks about lovers affection and how they are lying together, “but if the word members is taken to be grammatically in opposition to amants, the further implication is that the lovers are the poet’s own limbs and that they will be separated” (Apollinaire, 1913). This, however, gives the indication of the breakdown of affection and love.
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| Madeleine |
The poem, Madeleine, combines both verbal text and graphical images. The poet, however, decided to give it a more sense of personality by writing it by hand. To show his true feelings to Madeleine, he used love language that is gentle and appropriate. Not only he included the two shapes (the heart and the star) for decorative purposes, but also to reveal a strong hint of intimacy. (Apollinaire, 1913).
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Paysage |
Though, one of the negative aspects of this poem is the way the sentence “amants couches ensemble” is represented. It gives a false illusion of a figurative form of a human being than to reveal the actual meaning which could be a bit misleading to the reader. (Shattuck, 1955).
In conclusion, Guillaume Apollinaire was the first to initiate a more rhythmical and symbolic type of poems. In his book calligrammes he did not focus on one method of representing emotions, but rather, his compositions were mainly demonstrative as well as spontaneous.
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| Voyage |
The main theme of the poem is the loss of love and a sense of transience represented by the train disappearing into the distance. The setting of a landscape at dusk, the graceful phrasing, the sad coloring of the language all flow from there complementary themes and create the mood of dreams touched with sadness which is typical of many early poems during that epoch. The big values of a landscape setting that do to enhance the themes in the poem are suggested by graphic means. Furthermore, the typographical overview strictly depicts the schematic of landscape. The normal direction of reading and the typing size forces the reader to put the cloud and the train into the forefront. Furthermore, by coming to the sky only at the bottom of the page which introduces depth and perspective. (Apollinaire,1913).
In conclusion, Guillaume Apollinaire was the first to initiate a more rhythmical and symbolic type of poems. In his book calligrammes he did not focus on one method of representing emotions, but rather, his compositions were mainly demonstrative as well as spontaneous.
Bibliography:
1. Apollinaire, G. (1913). Calligrammes. London: University of California Press.
2. Eskilson, J.S. (2007). Graphic Design: A new history. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
3. Shattuck, R. (1955). The Banquet Years. Canada: Random House of Canada Limited.
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