Maggie's Graphic Arts Blog: The Modern Movement In America and the International Typographic Style

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