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The Sleeping Gypsy, 1897
Oil on canvas; The Museum of Modern Art, New York
I have been lucky enough to have seen some of Henri Rousseau’s work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and can say that most of the criticism of his work is fueled bigotry and jealousy. Rousseau was rarely taken seriously as a painter because of his working class background, his dream-like painting subjects, and his simple painting techniques until artists such as Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky came to express their appreciation for his work. If Rousseau is unknown to you, below is some background information on the painter.
Henri Julien Rousseau (1844-1910) was a French Post-Impressionist painter who helped to develop the ideas behind the surrealist movement. However, Rousseau was much different than avant-garde artists of the time as he was self-taught and from the working class. Because of his class and initial status as a hobbyist, many ridiculed and still do ridicule him. Rousseau retired from plumbing at the age of 49 to try his hand at painting. He was extremely naive, had had no academic art training and his painting technique was considered extremely simple, but he developed his own painting style that was different fromt the avant-garde art surrounding him at the time.
The Dream, 1910
Oil on canvas; The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Despite starting out as a hobby painter, Rousseau deserves to be recognized as a true forerunner of Surrealism.
The AIGA design archives house some of the more extensive visual resources of graphic design history. I frequent them often and have found some great work in promotional design, motion graphics, package design, typographic design and more from the past. I will share what I find with you and post it under its respective title over the next couple weeks.
To begin, here are some brand and identity designs from the past few decades:
Imagination Incorporated, 1986
Douglas May Design
This Is My Card, business card, 1969
Larry Miller
Southern California Savings & Loan, 1980
Robert Miles Runyan & Assoc.
CHAQWA, 2006
Jason Schulte Design
Green City, business card, 1996
Sagmeister, Inc.
I am a very active supporter of minimalism because many times the simplest designs are the most successful. Which of the above do you feel is the most successful and why?
Milton Glaser is a legendary graphic designer, whose name may only resonate within the design community, but whose work has been seen by many. Not only has his most noted designs from decades ago had an influence on my work, but he continues to have an influence on my life. After September 11th, he updated his I Love NY logo and in 2003 he designed a “copyright-free” poster seen below for Another Poster for Peace. Funny (not at all) how five years later the posters are just as relevant as, if not more than, they were when they were originally designed.
In realizing how Glaser and other designers had influenced my work, I couldn’t help but wonder, “who influenced them the most?” I then came across an interview with Glaser from 2002, and discovered how timeless it was. Certainly I would be interested to hear what he thinks about the current state of the the Union, but even more interesting was reading about his influences and how he came to think the way he thinks. Graphic design after all is not just images and text. It is an idea communicated through images and text.
Click here to read Brad Holland’s interview with Milton Glaser.
I was browsing GigPosters the other day when I stumbled upon a stunning screenprint poster by illustrator and designer Sam Chivers that was commissioned by the UK band Turin Brakes for their most recent tour.
The poster borrows strong elements from multiple art styles, some of which I identified as Art Nouveau, Art Deco and even a hint of Psychedelia. However, Chivers does so in manner in which these differing styles complement each other very well and as a result his poster looks extremely fresh and new. Read the rest of this entry »
That which we call a rose blog.
By any other name would smell as sweet make more sense.
So what is Dracula Vs. Eisenstein? It’s not a 1969, ‘71, or even ‘72 horror picture. DvsE is a discussion about design and the graphic arts. The tools of graphic design have changed so much in the last few decades, but the process of design should never change. We may see more computer-generated designs today than hand-crafted designs simply because it’s easier and quicker, but the computer is still just a tool that needs a mind, eyes and hand to guide it. A lot of graphic art today ignores the techniques and process of the past. Some work may be inspired by previous art, but many times does not represent or embody its true spirit.
Each day I make decisions that will determine a successful design from a flawed design. I certainly do not make the right decisions all of the time. Whether it be in print, web or interactive design, motion graphics or even film, I learn a great deal by studying art of the past as well as discovering the art of today. Just as in politics, we need to learn from history and act upon that which we have learned. I will share what I have learned from art history as well as the designs, techniques, literature and film that I am still discovering. I hope to learn the same from you.
If you are interested in film history (nice segue!), I recommend researching Eisenstein and reading his essays. Eisenstein was a Soviet film director whose innovative use of montage and subversive messages in his films has influenced me greatly, and not just in my video/film work. A few other artists that I’m fond of are Wassily Kandinsky, Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, Saul Bass, Bill Viola and Charles and Ray Eames.
