Cubism was a new approach to representing reality. It came about in the early 20th Century and was championed by artists such as Pablo Picasso, consisting of objects and figures being broken down and reassembled into abstract forms. It was a very geometric approach to reality which wasn’t often seen at the time.
Cubism often seems to fall into the shadow of Picasso himself and I can see why. To me it is Picasso and Picasso is it, they are unfortunately interchangeable. I’m not sure if this is just a skewed perspective of Cubism on my part but I feel he either mastered the movement or the movement clung to him.
By the turn of the 20th century many artists started looking beyond the complexity of movements such as the likes of Art Nouveau. Plakatstil ignited what today is described as graphic design, relying on symbols and shapes rather than illustration. It is unique in its use of negative space and typography. Combined they created some super engaging pieces like those shown below.
I find plakatstil to be a highpoint of modern design. It embodies everything I value in design. It is clean, concise and most importantly timeless. These designs stand the tests of time and look better than most contemporary designs today. It is a shame it is not emulated more in todays design world. That being said you can see but not enough in my opinion. Here is a good example of Plakatstil in modern design.
WW1 brought about a new need to design. Propaganda. The need was dire and therefore the product was great. The propaganda focused on recruitment or defacement of the foe. This was done as to create a public perception of the enemy in hopes of recruiting youngsters to fight or to gain support against the enemy. Britain played a major role in producing WW1 propaganda with some pieces achieving great fame, being recognisable today more than 100 years later.
This poster was perceived to be so powerful it was emulated a few years later by the USA which would perhaps go on to become one of the most famous images ever. okjnj
Dadaism came about post WW1. It was an anti establishment art movement created in reaction to the horrors of the war. It intended to challenge social norms and create new art.
Notable artists of the movement include Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali and Hugo Ball.
I am not the biggest fan of Dada but I understand it’s origins and how such a movement was needed by those in the art community to cope at the time. Whilst I do find it interesting it always feels to fall flat for me personally. You can find some examples of Dadaism below.
We tackled a lot in todays class most of it I found to be very intereting. I particularly enjoyed Plakatstil and i find it very inspiring, I hope to create something similar in upcoming projects. I did learn some things, for example I knew of a lot of these movements but not why they came about, their origins seem to explain a lot about the style and Im thinking that might be something I have taken for granted when approaching art.