Propaganda is a type of design that is biased or misleading in nature. It is aimed at influencing a population towards a cause a cause, it is used to enfoce a set of belief values. American PropagandaMakes use of informal language to allow the ausience to connect. Is fear mongering. Makes you feel guilty. Uses black and red, capital letters and bold fonts. Allied Propaganda (British)More positive than American Propaganda. Some provoke the feeling of guilt within the viewer. Use humour to get the message across. German PropagandaLow camera angles to show power and superiority. Use dark colours and harsh shaddows. Very sculptural (little emotion within the featured figures). Challenging Propaganda!The best way to challenge propaganda is to be just as shocking, for example editing body parts, similar to that of the German Expressionism era. Modern PropagandaModern propaganda is much more image based than the propaganda that was produced during the war. It twists established visual reality to create a new message. Peter Kennard is a good example of someone who uses this technique. French (Paris) Propaganda Atelier Populair (Wake up! See what's going on) These posters were mass produced by screen printing (single colour). They were anti-perissiment (establishment). Propaganda isn't just for countries or individuals. It can be used by coorporations to promote their cause, a few examples of this are shown below.
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Bauhaus came about when many artists decided that they wanted to experiment readically within their work, a concept that had previously been surpressed. Taking inspirations from the ideals of movements from revolutionary periods (early 20th century). One of the main characteristics of this movement was that FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION, meaning that the visual aesthetics of a design are affected by the function of the piece. This movement led to major developments within architecture, paving the way for simplistic designs. The designs that came out of this movement consisted of mostly sans-serif fonts, did not mix uppercase and lowercase type, made use of tilted angles to create angular compositions, were primarily typographic and were geometric / simple. Another key feature was that they used colour to control the visual communication of the work for example to highlight key information. Designers Influenced by BauhausJoseph Müller Brockmann (1960's) Robert Brownjohn (1960's) 8VO - Octavo (design group) Otl Aicher Jonathan Barnbrook This movement is all about expressing imagination as seen in dreams, free from the grips of conscious control. It uses anti-rationalist sensibility to question the preception of reality. One of the most iconic designers to come out of this movement is Salvador Dali. He plays with the physical form of objects, often set within a landscape (painting impossible world in a realistic way). Most of his work is based around the place that he grew up in North East Spain. Dali also played around with singular Juxtapositions. One of his most famous paintings is clocks (pictured below). He was a very lonely and anxious artist and this is reflected in his work, often showing lone figures on the beach and drawing on the environment where he grew up for inspiration. Joan Miro is another famous artist to be a part of this movement. Miro's work is also heavily influenced by dreams and pulls on abstract themes and make you question reality. The way in which he produced his work gave it a freeing and youthful feel. There is a museum in Barcelona dedicated to Miro's work. Proving just how important he was to this movement. The two examples that I have chosen below capture the essence of his work. Not all artists wihtin this movement approached design in the same way. Man Ray used awkward juxtapositions such as the iron with spikes (as pictured below) to suggest reality as a question. He was also fascinated by the idea of duality of objects, famously taking the human form and suggeesting it to look like a guitar (perhaps a suggestion of the objectification of people). His designs are intriguing not only because they make you think but because they capture you attention and are subtle at the same time. Surrealism in AdvertisingSurrealism is a common feature in modern day advertising, with so many companies competing four our attention it is no wonder that many have turened to surrealism as a way of getting it. Using images that shock us and capture our attention, ones that wouldn't necessarily make sense on their own. Making us seek conformation of thieir meaning, which is then often given to us by the tagline. Playing with established physical metaphors and making objects from other objects are just a couple of examples of how they achieve this. Surrealism in Film and FashionNoel Fielding's 'The Mighty Boosh' is just one example of how surrealism is prominent in the film industry. Using the idea of being in a dream like state, one that makes you question everything you know. Surrealism has been influencing fashion for decades, with many of the designs putting form over function. One of the most famous examples of how fashion is influenced by this movement is Lady Gaga. Her surreal outfits drawing attention as well as promoting this movement. It is evedent that she has been heavily influenced by surrealism. Dada began in Zurich during WW1 and was a battle against reason, challenging the normal ways of society. This was a movement that made art out of the ordinary. The thing that I was drawn to most about this movement was that it doesn't have to make sense, the more absurd the better. Dada artists uses any media/materials that they could get their hands on. Newspapers, everyday objects, collage and assembling, film reels, photography, poems and fashion. There really wasn't a piece of society and culture that they didn't get to. Some of the main characteristics of this movement include: Abserdity, Seterical humour, Anger, Chaos, Awkwardness, Angular compositions, Nonsensical. Marcel Duchamp, Rauhl Hausmann and Hannah Hoch were in my opinion some of the best designers and creators to come out of this movement. Each had a slighltly different approach to the movement. Duchamp famously drawing over the picture of the Monalisa, Hausmann working mainly with collage and Hoch also using collage but playing with type aswell. Some contemoprary examples of design inspired by dada include the work of Jamie Reid, David Carson and Stefan Sagmeister. Examples of their work are below in order. This was in my opinion, by far one of the most iconic design movements of all time. Even inspiring modern music videos such as the video for 'Take Me Out' by Franz Ferdinand and 'Flying Circus' by Monty Python. There is even a fake news channel called 'Day Today' to show just how gullible people really are and how you can not always believe what you see and hear from the media. One example of a story they covered was a fake drug 'cake'. There is is also a youtube channel called CasseteBoy which sows that you shouldn't take everything at face value. They do this by taking videos of speeches by politicians and remicing them to make the plitician sing a song. These are some example of dada inspired creations that take the characteristics of the movement and combine them with modern technology to create something new.
German Expressionism refers to multiple movements in German before the outbreak of WW1. Artists within this movement wanted to express meaning within their designs as opped to its predessesing movements which portrayed physical reality. The typical trates of this movement included portraying the world from a subjective perspective, which often included reality being distorted for emotional effect. This was often done to induce certain moods, emotions or ideas withing the audience.
There are many contemporary designers that have been influenced by German Expressionism. One example is Sue Coe who uses satirical visuals to poke fun at leaders. SOme of her main focuses are on issues regarding animal rights and politics. Ian Pollac is another example, exaggerating the heads of the figures within his designs, using angular perspectives and expressive use of colour. David Hughes uses mixed media (e.g. collage and paint) on pieces that often focus on a singular head. In my opinion his design take the key features of German Expressionism and bring them in to the current time using more modern techniques to create his designs. In addition to the above mentioned designers and illustrators Jordan Isip is also inspired by this movement creating melancholy pieces featuring a singular figure with the abscence of a visual gaze. He creates his work using found images and painting over the top. A method which I feel enhances his message. The syles of German Exressionism are also used in modern day film. Tim Burton is a great example of a director insired by this movement. Using candid angles, distorted camera views and making use of shoddows. All of which allow the viewer to see the world as the artist does!
This movement didn't reject machines but instead used them to it's advantage, much unlike the Arts and Crafts movement that came before it. Below are some of the most well known artists and designers from this movement and some of the characteristics that I feel run throughout their work. Alphonse Mucha: Focuses on the female form, Uses handdrawn images, Is inspired by nature. Aubrey Beardsley: Inspired by Nature, Made use of floral elements, Used alot of peacock feathers within his designs. Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Used organic forms, Fascinated by symmetry. I then went on to look at some of the contemoprary designers that have been inspired by the Art Nouveau movement. Below are some examples of their work. This movement began in the industrial revolution in the 18th/19th century, where once rural sociaties became industrialised. This was the beginning of advertising and use of typography within design. Many people were concerned about the effects of industrialisation on design.
Some of the common features of work produced wihtin this time include the use of serif fonts, usually capitalised, limiting designs to only two colours (also due to the screen printing process making it difficult to use multiple colours) and using multiple typefaces of various sizes within one piece of design. Many of the designs created within this period are also inspired by nature and natural forms, portyrayed in styalised representations. In this weeks session we talked about influences and who inspired us as designers. There were some well known people that came up such as Andy Warhol, David Carson and Paul Rand. It was interesting to see the link between the style of work that my peers produced and who inspired them.
There were two main categories of how poeple were inspired. It was either by the designers method of thinking or creating. Some examples are below, accompanied by designers which I feel use these methods. Thinking: Simplicity (Alan Fletcher). Substitution of visual elements (René Magritte). Juxtapositions (Salvador Dali). Duality (Norma Bar). Making: Colour (Andy Warhol). Textures (Helen Frankenthaler). Graphic and bold (Saul Bass). Variety of media (David Hockney). |
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