Skip to main content

MODULE 6 - EARLY 20th CENTURY GRAPHIC DESIGN

Module 6 - Early 20th Century Graphic Design - Chapters 13 to 15

This week I'm focusing my attention on Hannah Höch, who was born in 1889 and lived in Weimar, Germany during the height of World War I - which had a major influence on her dynamic and groundbreaking style of art. 

https://www.crfashionbook.com/culture/a22158013/cr-muse-artist-hannah-hoch/
Höch was a member of the German Dada group, which was considered a satirical group of artists (established in 1916) that was born from opposition to WWI and conventional art of the period (https://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/022-dada-berlin.html). Their art frequently made fun of the culture and German society stemming from the current political issues of the day (https://www.moma.org/artists/2675).
https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_mama_the_dadas_the_pioneering_feminist_artwork_of_hannah_hoech

Höch's typical art consisted of carefully constructed collages with her medium created from magazines,  fashion publications, and journals (https://www.moma.org/artists/2675).  She was known as one of the originator's of this type of art form. 

Hannah Höch: "there are no limits to the materials available for pictorial collages—above all they can be found in photography, but also in writing and printed matter, even in waste products” (Herrmann 2014).

Personally, I found Höch's work to be intriguing for the period and was most likely a jumping off point for many artist leading to pop art later in the history of graphic design. Modern day graphic design has elements of Höch's work and I believe she was a true artistic inventor of her time. More importantly, she was a woman making a name for herself in the Dada movement and was not afraid to make fun of the "modern woman" in Berlin of the time period - which hopefully made people take another look at their own mark on history at the time. 

  1. Hannah Höch, “On Collage,” in Hannah Höch, ed. Dawn Ades, Daniel F. Herrmann (London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2014). 












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

 Module 9 - Late Modernism - Chapters 21 and 22 Sister Corita Kent  (1918–1986) ...AKA "L.A.'s Pop Art Nun" is who I am choosing to highlight this week. How did this seemingly quiet Catholic nun become a famous graphic designer of late modernism? That's what I wanted to find out for myself.  https://www.corita.org/about/corita Megg's (2016) briefly covers the work that Kent accomplished, only referring to her style as childlike and as her as a bit of a rebel. According to www.corita.org, a website devoted to Sister Kent's work, she joined the art department at the University of Southern California in 1947, where she obtained her Master's degree in art. Near the end of her stint at USC, Kent began experimenting with screen printing on paper. In 1962, Kent became inspired by Andy Warhol's pop art and produced her first piece of pop art. https://www.corita.org/about/corita Throughout the 1960's her art was everywhere - window displays, magazines, etc....
Post a Comment
Read more

MODULE 8 - EUROPEAN INFLUENCES AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

MODULE 8 - EUROPEAN INFLUENCES AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN: Jacqueline S. Casey This week we are reading chapters 18 to 20, and I chose to focus my efforts on Jacqueline S. Casey and her graphic designs for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Casey made a name for herself at MIT and in the world of graphic design by breaking gender stereotypes in her field ( https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/exhibition/poster-art-jaqueline-casey ).  Jacqueline Casey https://www.rit.edu/carycollection/jacqueline-casey Casey was the director of the design services for MIT from 1963 to 1990 ( https://www.rit.edu/carycollection/jacqueline-casey ) and produced hundreds of posters and other graphic material for the school during her time in charge. Poster design was Casey's preferred form of art and her design work incorporated  new Swiss typefaces Helvetica and Univers typography, in combination with strong geometrics designs reminiscent of post-war Swiss design elements. Her color choices ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MODULE 10 - Chapters 23 and 24 - Post Modern Design and the Digital Age

 Module 10 - Chapter 23 and 24  Post Modern Design and the Digital Age This week I'm focusing on the wonderful work of LUBA LUKOVA ! Her bright, graphic designs instantly popped out of Megg's (2016) to me.   https://www.artsatl.org/design-catalyst-change-luba-lukova-moda-designing-justice/ Lukova is a Bulgarian born artist living in New York City and uses her graphic design power to initiate social change for good. Her basic design philosophy is "less is more" and to include simple, bold design elements that pop from many backgrounds of bright colors ( www.artsatl.org/design-catalyst-change-luba-lukova-moda-designing-justice ).  Peace - Luba Lukova - 2001 https://www.artsatl.org/design-catalyst-change-luba-lukova-moda-designing-justice/ Her most famous and beloved piece is "Peace", in which graphic of warfare are made up to create the vision of a dove, which represents peace. Her question was, " do we protect peace by creating endless wares? " He...
Post a Comment
Read more