Tuesday 23 August 2011

Post Modernism? - Visuals


"Postmodernism? What exactly does postmodernism art looks like?"



(I-D Magazine cover during the 1980s, designed by Terry Jones)

Why is this post modernism design?
There's a use of aggressive collages, colors, experimental photography were the norm and were the "style" of postmodernism that was able to strike a dramatic design aesthetics. (Refer to first post: American Punk) 



(God save the Queen by Sex Pistols, Album cover by James Reid)

Why is this post modern design?

Moving away from the conformities of design. Anti-patriotic. The poster has texture along with quite bold, block colouring, both qualities being characteristics of postmodern design. This cover would later come to influence a style that would come to categorize early postmodern design different typeface in one compositions with little to no visible organization and the use of appropriation.

(Another Cover of Sex Pistols' album by James Reid)

Why is this Post Modern Design?

This is experimental with type, a key feature of postmodernist design. Bold, block colouring. A modern twist to traditional materials. Dramatic layout, not conforming to the traditional techniques, mirroring the punk rock social attitude at the time.



(Poster by Barbara Kruger)

Why is this post modernism design?

There isn't a specific grid system to the layout of the type, making it look "free".


(Poster by El Lissitzky)

Why is this post modernism design?

The use of geometric shapes going against traditional conventions is a characteristic of post modernism within graphic design.



Conclusion : Postmodernism favors expressive designs and a rebellion against for strict constraints, and many of the designers who pioneered this movement were young, the design aesthetics of a magazine centered around a postmodern youth culture proved to be a perfect catalyst for such experimentations in typography and image manipulation. An important facet of postmodern design theory is the idea of anti-humanism, which explains that a universal principle cannot possibly be shared by all human beings, and insists that any principles must be determined historically and culturally



Sunday 31 July 2011

What is postmodernism art?

Post modern art is used to describe an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism. Post-modernism often embodied complexity, contradiction, ambiguity and unresolved diversity. Movements such as intermedia, installation art, conceptual and multimedia. Particularly involving media are described as post modern. The traits associated with the use of the term postmodern in art include collage, simplification, appropriation etc, a return to traditional themes and techniques as a rejection of modernism.

One characteristic of postmodern art is its conflation of high and low culture through the use of industrial materials and pop culture imagery

The term postmodern, has come to apply to a distinctive international style, based not on stereotypes but on the somewhat hap hazard confluence of various theories and practices of individual designers worldwide




American Punk

Like other 20th century youth movements, current youth culture has invented it’s own dominant design language. As signals of rebellion, comics are mainstays of the new style, and the basic primitivism of the collage technique helped to express an essential rawness. Collage was therefore the preferred artistic method during the early stages of Punk, and it was ultimately refined as a mainstream design technique.

American Punk originated from New York. Its visual characteristics are: Collage, Comic. It includes elements of irony, absurdist, humor and genuine suspicion of mainstream culture and values.

Famous Contributors; Art Chantry, Gary Panter, Mark Marek





American Post modernism

Prevailing trends in architecture have traditionally influenced typographic and pictorial styles. In light of the increased creative interplay today between architects and interior and graphic designers, it is not surprising that an architectonic style of graphics has come to typify the American Post Modern style.

The style is influenced by Architectural, typographic, and pictorial. Because of the increased creative interplay between architects and interior and graphics,

Architectonic of graphics has come to typify the amerian post modern style.

American Post-Modernism started in the 1980s,originated New York, Houston

Famous Contributors; Woody Pirtle, Michael Vanderbyl, and John Cassado


American New Wave

American New Wave is a art movement during Late 60’s, 70’s- 80’s, Originated from New York, San Francisco

It experimented with New Optics & Computersand kinetic quality designs. Designers who studied in Switzerland during the late 60s and 70s returned to the USA to practice what they had learned.

Their works, however, did not reflect rational design influence of earlier generations. They went against the fundamental principles of legibility and attempted to define a current graphic vocabulary.

Visual Characteristics includes Graphic Imagery Reflects the Contemporary Fetish or Products of the Material, Commercial, and High-Tech Culture

Famous contributors: Dan Friedman

A little more about the artists:

Daniel Friedman

  • 1970s
  • Published teaching methods in design
  • ‘New Typography’
  • Basis of New Wave
  • “Legibility in conflict with Readability”
  • His approach lived through American design education

April Greiman

  • Expanded the boundaries
  • Synthesized complex layering styles
  • •- Artist like Raushenberg
  • •- New Wave typography
  • Visionary pioneer





Basel New wave

Basel New wave started in 70s, 80s and originatd from Basel, Switzerland

Its art style includes Loosening up loose forms, informality, photographic & electronic technologies ,Layered text & photography. Its attitude was the Advancement of Modernist principles, Recycled Modernist styles and techniques.

Famous artists :

Ettore Sottsass, Jr (1947)

-Violated tradtional swiss rules of order with his free form typography, wideletter spacing,and mixing of type weights It lasted from 70s to 80s

Wolfgang weingard.1960s




Zurich

Zurich is a style developed from a method of typographic collage that gives the viewer an illusion of involvement in the design process.Originated from Zurich, Switzerland in the 1980s.

Its visual Characteristics based on geometrics, Simplicity, use of white space and primary colors, Typographic collage

Famous contributors: Rosemarie Tissi, Siegfried Odermatt




Memphis

Memphis is an Italian Design & Architecture firm Started by Ettore Sottsass

In Milan, Italy. It is developed from the from creativity and constant rejection of functional design in Italy during the seventies,linked to cartoon like furnitures and textiles. Its attitude of art: Function became secondary. Visual Characteristics includes exaggerated geometric forms.

Ettore Sottsass ,in the 1980s refocused his designs to Cartoon-like, pastel-coloured and strongly affected graphic design in different countries until today.

It had spread to London, New York,

A little more about the astists:

Wolfgang Weingart

  • Born 1941
  • Internationally know graphic designer & typographer
  • While studying
  • Heavily influenced by Armin Hoffman & Emil Ruder
  • Did not like the cleanliness
  • Mixed type weights
  • Created grids
  • Arranged them to images
  • Played with printing techniques
  • Computer-age liberation from 2D space
  • Brought about Post-Modern designs
  • Students expanded creative approach

Armin Hoffman & Emil Ruder

  • Two major designers (1950s / 1960s)
  • Associated with International Style




European new wave

Originated from France, Holland.

French graphic designers developed an effective visual language of solid graphic forms and modified hand lettering.

Style became sophisticated over the years with layered photography, intricate typographical and pictorial designs, and unique color and black and white experiment.

Famous Contributors; Grapus, Studio Dumbar, Joost Swarte





Conclusion

Using the post modernist method in design you can create effective posters and graphic design that incorporate all the strong elements that have been tested by time rather than using limited personal knowledge to guess at the best result.

The different styles happened around the same time in the 1960s to 1980s but at different parts of the world.

Styles usually are born from ideology and culture.

It is often the result of men’s need to create something new from the old,,simply either out of boredom thus feeling the need to rebel.

Although the different graphic styles appear to be distinctive and different,

There is actually a similar point, which is that they wanted to rebel.

They experimented with new ways of pictorial and typographical execution, and thus a new style was born.