The Modern Movement
in America and the International Typographic Style: The War Years and After the War
Maggie Merkin
ARTH 230-01
T. Long
The World War
years saw many foreign governments struggle with disruptions in their ability
to produce sufficient graphic war propaganda. To counteract this, several
painters, illustrators, and designers were able to receive commissions from the
U.S. Office of War Information, producing graphics ranging from colorful, eye-catching
posters, to informational or training materials/manuals and even amateur
cartoons. In 1941 America’s entry into the world wars was becoming more and
more inevitable, so the federal government began to promote the increasing need
to produce by creating and commissioning propaganda posters. Notably, one of
the more famous production propaganda posters that was created during this
time was by Jean Carlu, a French graphic designer who started his career as a
professional poster-designer in 1919. The Cubist movement and artists such as
Juan Gris and Albert Gleizes greatly influenced him. He had been commissioned
by Charles Coiner (an art consultant to the federal government) to create a
propaganda design. Carlu’s design, entitled “America’s answer! Production!” had
over one hundred thousand copies distributed throughout the country. The work
of Carlu and other prominent designers consisted of intense feelings toward
Hitler, Pearl Harbor, and the war in general, and as a result of these
feelings, posters that were commissioned were extremely powerful in their
communication. Commercial, illustrative artist John Atherton (1900-52) was born
in Brainard, Minnesota on June 7th. After a brief service in the U.S. Navy
during WWI, he began to study the fine arts. Atherton expressed his feelings
and thoughts toward loose talk, gossip, and careless discussions of the
movement of troops and other sources of enemy information, in his poster
designs. Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954) was commissioned to produce
designs that would boost the overall morale of the Allied nations, while Ben
Shahn (1898-1969), the social realist, created posters that suggested the
brutality of the Nazis. These artists and their particular designs were able to
communicate their own opinions and attitudes toward the wars to the general
public, while also successfully creating posters and pieces to promote the war.
After World War II, the U.S demobilized millions of troops and converted
industry from wartime needs to consumer markets. The Container Corporation of
America (CCA) sought another institutional advertising campaign in the fine
arts, commissioning paintings from artists of each of the then 48 states. Once
the artists were chosen, they were allowed to freely express their own artistic
convictions. The state campaign would express the same ideas of the Bauhaus:
the union of art with life. After this state campaign, the CCA developed
another brilliant advertising campaign, in which they asked for artists to
present their various ideas and opinions centered on Western culture. The
beginning of February 1950 saw an unprecedented amount of advertising in fine
art, with ideas about liberty, justice, and human rights being conveyed to
audiences of business leaders, employees, and investors. This campaign lasted
for nearly three decades, with 157 visual artists contributing and creating
artwork for almost two hundred “Great Ideas” advertisements, with art ranging
from paintings to sculpture and even collage. While the CCA set a standard for
excellent advertising campaigns, multiple designers and photographers remained
prominent in their magazine work. Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) was a Russian
born photographer, designer, and instructor who helped identify new talent for
various magazine powerhouses. Some of his protégés included photographers
Richard Avedon (1923-2004) and Irving Penn (1917-2009), who received early
commissions and advice from Brodovitch. Another prominent photographer and
artist, Herbert Matter (1907-1984) received freelance design commissions from
the CCA, as well as commissions from clients such as Vogue, Fortune, and
Harpers’ Bazaar. Overall, the years during and after the great World Wars saw
much production and artistic achievement, as well as commentary and graphic
communication that reached audiences everywhere.
Jean Carlu, poster for the Office of Emergency Management 1941
John Atherton, poster for the U.S. Office of War Information 1943
Ben Shahn, "Poster 1930S"
Ben Cunningham, CCA advertisement honoring Nevada, 1949
Alexey Brodovitch, cover for Portfolio, 1951
Herbert Matter, poster for Pontresina, 1935
