Skip to main content

MODULE 7 - GRAPHIC DESIGN 1930 to 1970

 MODULE 7 - Reflecting on Chapters 16 & 17 - 1930 to 1970 - Photoplasty

This week I'm focusing my attention on the art of photoplastics, which was developed by László Moholy-Nagy. 

Kicken Berlin - 1925 - László Moholy-Nagy
https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/40002/László-Moholy-Nagy-Photoplastics
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian artist who's work ranged from 1923 to 1946. His work was highly influenced by constructivism, which strived to include technology in art. He may have been influenced by the Berlin Dada movement and it's creation of photomantages when he developed photoplastics or photoplasty (Meggs 2016).
According to McBride (2016) photoplasty is the "combination and interconnection of various graphic and other design elements with photographic works". Photoplastics definitely has a resemblance to the photomontages of the Berlin Dada movement. Moholoy-Nagy's photoplasty's black and white creations created a dynamic visual to a period of drastically changing art of the time. 

The Law of Series - 1925 - László Moholy-Nagy
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/54364?sov_referrer=art_term&art_term_slug=photomontage
Moholy-Nagy's sense to pull photographs from various sources into one application to create unity is inspiring. And although is has the sense of the traditional collage, the uniform color and placement creates a sense of integration that isn't typically seen in collages. These photoplastics lead to more inspiration for advertising and graphic design of today's modern art world, and we can thank Moholy-Nagy's inventiveness and curiosity of using scientific tools to create this new artistic method.

László Moholy-Nagy
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/12/11/laszlo-moholy-nagy-new-bauhaus-movie-interview-alysa-nahmias/

McBride, P.C., 2016. The Chatter of the Visible: Montage and Narrative in Weimar Germany. University of Michigan Press.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

MODULE 1 - LOOK AT EVERY PICTURE IN THE BOOK

T he purpose of this blog is to read, absorb, and reflect on the history of graphic design through the  Meggs' History of Graphic Design  book (Meggs and Purvis 2016). The purpose of Module 1 is to look at every picture in the book before actually reading the text and reflect.  Picture Credit:  https://draw-down.com/products/meggs-history-of-graphic-design-6th-edition My first honest impression when receiving this book in the mail was that it was massive and I was intimidated by the thought of reading the entire thing. But it also had a modern and dynamic cover which drew me in. I know, I know - don't judge a book by its cover. Well, upon opening this gargatuan beast, I discovered smooth, glossy pages of beautiful pictures ranging from:  prehistoric cave paintings,  early alphabet forms,  first and elaborate printing of texts,  detailed art pages within the pages of the book,  colorful posters of the early 1900's,  abstract and seemingly...
Post a Comment
Read more