American Kitsch

The Classic 50's
   The design style of the period between 1940 and 1960 is often referred to as "American Kitsch" or "50's Art". Most of the inspiration for the style is said to come from the rounded nose of the DC-3 air-craft, the dramatic and exaggerated curve has been replicated and used in many designs and advertisements of the era.
   The closing of the war was a tremendous event and lent its own inspiration to the designs of the era. I was a dramatic time so the portraits and caricatures had very dramatic features and poses.
   Everything of the era was dramatic, exaggerated and curvy.

 

< I like the juke box; it is a classic and will last forever. This juke box has the classic exaggerated curve of the 50's. And the bright colours are evidence of the post war cheer.

 > Not a fan of the exaggerated faces, I find this image quite annoying. This woman’s exaggerated expression is typical of American Kitsch, as is the simple font and alter in size of the text. Having one word significantly larger than the rest puts emphasis on that word.

Information Reference:

http://gds.parkland.edu/gds/!lectures/history/1940/kitsch.html 

http://www.emerald.miahi53.com/lnk.html

http://www.greatworksofstyle.co.uk/2010/03/1950s-adverts-monday-masterpiece.html

Art Deco

A.M Cassandre

In 1901, Adolphe Jean Edouard Mouron was born in Charkov, Ukraine, and he later adopted the name of Adolphe Mouron Cassandre. 

Adolphe Cassandre was a Poster Designer, Painter, Typeface Designer, Artist and Stage Designer. Cassandre studied at Ecoles des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1915, where Cassandre briefly taught in 1934.

In 1936, Cassandre traveled to America, where he designed several surrealistic covers for Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar. 1939 saw Cassandre's return to Paris where he remained untill his death in 1968.

Over his lifetime, Cassandre developed the four typefaces; Bifur, Acier, Acier noir, and Cassandre.

< This is one of the covers Casssandre designed for Harpers Bazaar. The colours used in this cover design work softly together and are not over-powering. The layering and positioning of the objects featured in the piece was well thought out and they look like something you would find on someones work desk. I believe his choice of typography was a good one, mixing a simple bold/block style font with a simple caligraphic style works because neither type over-powers the other, they are both on equil ground.

 

< This one uses colours that stand out against each other more and don't blend. Another point that lets this image down is the choice of typography. He has used a small simple font that has been shunned by a much larger and more extravagant font.

References:

http://www.drleslie.com/Contributors/cassandre.shtml 

Early Modern

Lucian Bernhard,
   Emil Kahn was born on the 15th of March in Stuttgart, Germany, and he Latter changed his name to Lucian Bernhard, as which he is known as to this day. 
   Bernhard studied at Akademie in Munich for a short period, but for the most part he taught himself.
   Bernhard moved to Berlin in 1901 where he worked as a poster designer and art director of magazines until 1920, when he became a professor at Akademie der Künste. this position was short lived because three years later he emigrated to New York City. In 1928 bernhard opened the Contempora Studio with Rockwell Kent, Paul Poiret, Bruno Paul, and Erich Mendelsohn where he worked as a graphic artist and an interior designer.
   Bernhard worked as a painter and a sculptor from 1930 until his passing on May 29, 1972.

   I know many people swear by Lucian Bernhard's work and i find it hard to say this but, I actually have yet to find any of his posters or advertisements that I have no issues with. Sure, I find some aspects of his work that I like but not the whole piece, I think most of my problems with his work are based on his choice and usage of colours.



< The background colour is to strong and there is too much for it to be able to work well with the blue text. and the text colour looks atrocious when combined with the colours in the picture. the only thing I like about this poster is the way he has done the picture, I like the way he has shown the light and tone, how he roughed up the edges of each shade so it looks like it is blending.

< I have mixed feelings about this piece, this is probably the one of his images I like the most, and even now I can see that that the combination of those bold colours; pink and yellow, are the downfall of this piece. Though I may not like the colour choices, the underlying image is superbly drawn, and I find that Bernhard is very good at depicting light sources. And I like the curvature of his text.

Information Reference: 

http://www.designishistory.com/1920/lucian-bernhard/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucian_Bernhard

Arts and Craft Movement

William Morris
   William Morris was born in Walthamstow, Essex, on march 24th 1834.
   Morris begun his training at Marlborough College in January 1848 and he graduated in December 1851. He continued his education at Exerter College in Oxford, where he graduated in June 1852. Morris had intended to practice as a priest but after reading several criticisms of the profession he decided to for-go the priest-hood and devoted himself to the arts.
   After a brief apprenticeship to the Architect George Edmund Street (G.E. Street), he decided to become a painter.
   He is well known for his position in Morris, Marshall. Falkner & Co (which eventually became "Morris & Co"). Morris & Co were best known for their Stained Glass. He also founded Kelmscott Press, where he designed three different typefaces; Golden, Chaucer, and Troy.
   Morris later died on October 3rd 1896, in his home, Kelmscott House.

<  Of all the Stained Glass windows of his that i have seen I find love this one the most. The use of warm colour's is wonderful, and I particularly like the way he uses black lines to show shading. And the detail is quite simple and yet interesting, he even remembered to include the Adams apple.
 

<  The figure in this painting is simple, with a hint of elegant. and whilst she is plain, the entire background is a mess of detail, this helps the eyes choose a place to focus of, they are drawn to the simplest area of an object (or in this case; painting) because it is least confusing. this is a very intricate painting and is one of last known pieces to have survived.

Information Reference:

www.morrissociety.org/

Art Nouveau

Alphonse Mucha,
   Alphonse Mucha was born on July 24th 1860 in Ivancice, South Moravia, to, father, Ondfiej Mucha.
   After some misfortune, Mucha made his entrance to the art and design industry through a job offered to him by Count Khuen Belasi. Belasi hired Mucha to decorate his castle in Emmahof. Belasi's brother then decided to mentor Mucha and sponsor his education which kick-started his future.  
   Mucha was in Czechoslovakia in 1989, and when the nazis invaded, he was arrested and put through questioning before he was permitted to return home. Mucha passed away on the 14th of July in Prague, later that year.


   During his life, Alphonse Mucha produced a lot of paintings and images of women. The images he produced are very feminine and delicate in appearance.Each of his images contain a large amount of detail, and the use of ornate framing appears often in his works.

< I like this one of his designs particularly because of it's celestial appearance, Mucha has made it so that the woman appears to be ascending to the heavens like and angel.

< Of Mucha's designs, this one is my favorite. I love the graceful appearance of the woman and the flow of the fabric draped around her. I also like his choice of colour's; most of the colour's are shades of orange and they blend together, and then there is the blue in the mid-ground and back-ground that stand out, it is very effective.

Information Reference: http://www.muchafoundation.org