Assignment #5 Graphic Artists

Graphic Artists

Maggie Merkin

ARTH 230.1

T. Long

            Over the course of this class we have discussed the various early periods of graphic arts history and have talked about the various influential graphic design artists that had a profound impact on graphic design as a whole movement. Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec and Aubrey Beardsley are two of those artists who each have had such an influential impact in the graphic arts. Lautrec (1864-1901) turned to drawing and painting at the age of thirteen after having (supposedly) been in an accident that broke both of his hips, leaving him crippled (although theories of genetic mutation and familial incest are attributed to this disability as well). Despite this disability, Lautrec became a part of the Art Nouveau period, in which his poster design and other works made milestones, featuring simplified symbolic shapes, dynamic spatial relationships, as well as form and communicative images. He immersed himself in the culture and city life of Paris, haunting dance clubs and cafes while sketching and gathering inspiration for his posters. Although he produced only thirty posters, he used techniques that rivaled the style and talent of other artists such as Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, and paved the way for a more fluid, reportorial line and flat color style of art that other artists started to use in their work. Beardsley (1872-98) also had a profound impact during the art nouveau period, as his penmanship, graphic black and white works, and exotic and stylized imagery began to make their way in monthly, illustrated, typographic installments. Unlike Lautrec (who used a lot of flat and bold color and imagery), Beardsley was influenced by the contrast of organic and geometric shapes, the strangeness of the distortion of human figures, and powerful black and white shapes. His work (despite the criticism of others, like fellow artist William Morris, and the banning English censors) resulted in numerous commissions, and helped him to establish himself as art editor for London’s Yellow Book. Towards the end of his life, Beardsley was an invalid (and ultimately died of tuberculosis at the age of 26), and when he could work on his art, his style shifted to a more naturalistic tonal quality, and the bold and harsh lines of his previous work became softened and less pronounced.  These two artists (despite their separate artistic styles and differing inspirations and influences) were similar in the fact that they each were visionaries in their talents and continued to produce art that changed the way society looked at and considered the various facets of visual communication during that time.

 "La Goulue au Moulin Rouge" (1891) Lautrec

 Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine (1896) Lautrec

 Reine de Joie (1892) Lautrec

 The Studio (1893) Beardsley

 Morte d'Arthur (1893) Illustrated page Beardsley

 "The Eyes of Herod" (1894) Beardsley

The Bridge to the Twentieth Century: Part II

Art Nouveau

Maggie Merkin

ARTH 230.01

Terry Long

The late nineteenth century saw an incredible increase in trade and communication between Asian and European countries, causing many societal and intellectual/artistic changes as a result of all the influential exchanges. Graphic design became revitalized, as Asian art provided North American and European designers and artists with new approaches and techniques to color, space, subject matter, and drawing conventions. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” defines Japan’s Tokugawa period, a period of national isolation that forced artists to acquire a singular national character with as few external influences as possible. Influences from the decorative arts, theater, erotica, and city life had a profound effect on the art of that period. Japanese art and artifacts began to leak into Europe, and European artists drew much inspiration from the calligraphic line drawing, flat color and silhouettes, decorative patterns, the use of bold black shapes, and the simplification and abstraction of natural appearances. From this movement came Art Nouveau, an international decorative style of art that encompassed all aspects of design art- architecture, fashion, graphics, furniture and product design, etc. The identifying quality of art nouveau is an organic, plant like line that dominates the spatial area and other visual properties of the piece, such as color and texture. This type of design/art unified decoration, structure, and function. English art nouveau was primarily concerned with graphic design and illustration rather than architecture and product design, and was influenced by the Gothic arts and Victorian painting. French art nouveau drew inspiration from the city and night life; artists like Toulouse-Lautrec obsessively drew from their observations using bold lines and color.

 Ando Hiroshige, Evening Snow at Kanbara, 1832-34

 Eugene Grasset, exhibition poster, 1894

 Kitagawa Utamaro, portrait of a courtesan, late 1700s

 Jules Cheret, poster "Palais de Glace, Champs Elysees," 1893 

 Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, poster "Tournee du Chat Noir de Rodolphe Salis," 1896

      

The Bridge to the Twentieth Century: Part I

The Arts and Crafts Movement and Its Heritage

Maggie Merkin

ARTH 230.01

T. Long

            The Arts and Crafts Movement saw momentous change and innovation regarding graphic design techniques and skill. A book design renaissance began: diagrams and symbols began to be printed in brilliant primary colors using woodblocks, and color began to replace traditional alphabet labeling to identify lines, shapes, and forms. This renaissance was the result of the Arts and Crafts Movement that flourished in England during the nineteenth century, as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. William Morris was the leader of the English Arts and Crafts movement, calling for a “fitness of purpose,” “truth to the nature of materials and methods of production,” and “individual expression by both designer and worker.” He was concerned with the various problems of industrialization and the factory system. Feeling that there was a certain tastelessness of the mass-produced goods and a lack of honest craftsmanship, he strove to reunite the arts with crafts, so that honest work was once again being made, workers could begin to enjoy honing and building their craft, and artistic communities could unite. From this movement came the Century Guild, with a new focus. The goal was to “render all branches of art the sphere, no longer of the tradesman, but of the artist.” The movement would elevate the design arts to that of the level of painting and sculpture. It would soon dismantle, though, in 1888, as it gradually lost the desire for collaboration among artists (and artists became preoccupied with their own personal work). After the Century Guild would come other societies and groups with the arts and crafts as a focus.

 Arthur H. Mackmurdo, peacock design, 1883

William Morris, Rose fabric design, 1883

 William Morris, title page spread from The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1896