April 7, 2010

Important topics introduced tonight:

• Armin Hoffmann- Graphic Design Manual
• Josef Muller Brockman- Grid Systems
• Swiss Movement
• The Swiss Grid
• Paul Rand
• Lester Beal
• Saul Bass
• Bradbury Thompson
• Corporate Design
• Ivan Chermayeff
• Tom Geismar
• Chermayeff and Geisman Associates
• Vignelli Associates- NY City Subway System- Knoll
• Alexis Brodovitch
• Media revolution
• Henry Wolf
• George Lois- advertising
• Doyle Dane Bernbach
• George Lois
• The role of art director was expanded into editorial deliberations.
• Herb Lubalin
• Goal: give graphic form to a concept or message that engaged the reader through an intensification of the message requiring active participation.
• Postmodernism


From the film seen today in class I wrote down some of the main characteristics of postmodernism. Postmodernism rejects boundaries between high and low forms of art, rejects rigid genre distinctions, emphasizes parody, irony, and playfulness. Postmodern art favors reflexivity and self-consciousness, fragmentation and discontinuity, and emphasizes on the non structured, dehumanized subject.

The movement of Postmodernism began with architecture, as a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and Utopianism of the Modern movement. Modern Architecture was focused on the pursuit of a perceived ideal of perfection, and attempted harmony of form and function by eliminating ornaments. Postmodernist architecture was one of the first movements to openly challenge Modernism as old, favoring personal preferences and variety over objective, truths or principles.

I found it very interesting how in the film they talk about all the different ways of communication and arts. How they talked about specific artists and what they did in this movement, also how their work was influential to what we know and use now a days. Many of these artists had different ideas that were very influential. They also talked quickly about Andy Warhol, which I believe is a great innovator. Personally I like his works a lot because of the different styles he uses.