Subway Posters Score - Constructing Meaning

This chapter in the text was entitled Constructing Meaning and it included sections on Modernism and Postmodernism.  While taking Graphic Design History last fall, I discovered that I love the American Modernist Movement.  So, why not?

This is a poster designed by Paul Rand, an iconic American graphic designer in the modern style.  I found this poster on the MoMA website www.moma.com.  He has an amazing body of work from posters to corporate branding to packaging to books.  His website is www.paul-rand.com. This particular piece was commissioned in 1947 to advertise the NY subway system.  It attracted me because of the use of simple shapes, bright colors, asymmetric balance, and its overall happy effect.  Since the composition was designed in 1947 to advertise the NY subway system, I would guess it was designed to appeal to a broad audience to entice them to use the subway.

The artwork in this poster is made from overlapping circular and rectangular brush strokes in primary red, blue, and yellow, with green of a similar value (brightness) and black (smile and nose).  The shapes create a stick figure of a human.  The angled text is serif, all lower case in black.  The axis of the poster is tilted from lower left to upper right.  The logo is placed beneath the text 24 hours a day they never miss.   This piece is unified and balanced by color, shape, texture, and repetition.  The angles, colors, and sizes of the text boxes, and head also provide balance. 

The style of the piece is typical of Paul Rand who was the pioneer of the New York School.  His style was unique and distinctive portraying humor and straightforwardness.  He made use of many of the modernist techniques such as collage, tilted axes, typesetting, print setting, and other techniques that changed the look of graphic design.  He strongly believed that the audience should be an active participant in advertising - not just a passive onlooker - that the audience should make an intellectual connection between the artwork and the ideas being presented.  Intelligence should be awakened; the audience should invest, think. 

To quote Rand, "To design is to add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify, to modify, to dramatize, to persuade, and perhaps to amuse.  To design is to transform prose into poetry."

The Red Shoes - Color

This is the cover art for Kate Bush's seventh CD which was released in 1993.  In addition to the CD, she created a short film entitled The Line, The Cross, and The Curve.  The film was inspired by the 1948 full-length film of the same title. Both Kate Bush's and the 1948 film were based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale (same title).  The fairy tale is about a dancer who is possessed by her art and then her red shoes take on their own life.  The shoes will not allow her to stop dancing.  Eventually, it drives her insane.  The CD had an amazing variety of high-profile cameos - Prince, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) to name a few.  The title track The Red Shoes tells the story of desire, obsession, and mania. 

I have always been a Kate Bush fan - even though some of her music is odd - so, I purchased this CD as soon as it was released.  I immediately loved the artwork, storytelling, and the music.  The photo of the red shoes is really appealing to me: the shape of the foot, the strength, the satiny, red shoes.   Recently, my daughter and I were listening to my iPod in the car and The Red Shoes shuffled on.  She liked the music and especially the artwork.  To her, the artwork represented a dancer's commitment.  Worn shoes, big holes, and runs in tights are a "badge of honor" at the studio - it means you've worked hard and have been dancing a long time.  After listening to the song, she understood the real idea behind the picture.  Obsession.  Desire.  Insanity.  Many dancers feel these emotions especially when trying to make it professionally. Obsession with body weight.  Obsession with practice.  Obsession with auditions.  Obsession with performance.

I think the artwork is appealing to all audiences.  It is well-unified, balanced, and has a strong focal point.  The circular picture focuses on the shoes.  The shoes are surrounded by a yellow, highly-shadowed, nondescript background - maybe a drop cloth of some kind.   The background color makes the red, satin shoes stand out even more.  The circular picture is enclosed in a black square.  I feel like I am looking through a telescope - focusing solely on the shoes - nothing else to distract.  The white text is a funky (hand-drawn?), all upper-case typeface which curves to the picture at the top and bottom of the photo. This adds to the balance and unity.   

Color...  Red is an emotional, high energy color.  It has been known to increase heart rate, pulse, and respiration rate.  Red is the color of fire and blood.  It is associated with danger, power, determination, passion, desire, and love.  The red shoes in this artwork represent all of these emotional responses: the blood, sweat, and determination that go into dancing; the fiery, passionate emotions that possess dancer; the desire for fame; and finally, the power and danger of the obsession.  The Red Shoes - initially an object of desire - turned into obsession - and eventually into demise.

Jimi Hendrix - Color

This is a poster of Jimi Hendrix that was created by Waldemar Swierzy in 1974.  Swierzy was initially a fine artist and approached graphic design from the point of view of a painter.  He often incorporated crayon, chalk, acrylics, and watercolor into his design.   This is one of his many (and possibly most famous) works.  I initially saw an image of this poster in Megg's History of Graphic Design by Philip Meggs and Alston Purvis.  This image is taken from http://www.polishposter.com/.   The image is still sold today through numerous websites to Hendrix fans and art lovers alike.  The price for a 26.5" x 38" poster is around $400 and is waitlisted on many sites.

I was initially attracted to the representation of Hendix because of the dynamic - almost electric - feel of the poster.  It is animated with nervous, vivid, bright lines which vibrate around his hair and clothing. This represents his cutting-edge music.  Jimi Hendrix's work was raw, harsh, but always soulful with a strong blues influence.  The emotional eyes of the artist are so expressive and sad - blues personified.  Swierzy created outlined shapes in the hair and clothing. Then he filled them with flat and graduated values of color - he used different brightness values of purple (and a bit of green) for the fill and gradation.  He shaded the face, eyes, and background using various value (brightness) of the purple hue.  This is basically a monochromatic purple color scheme (with a touch of green in the clothing).  Although the we image may not reflect it, the background is a purple-gray color. The purple/green colors are warm and the electricity created from the bright lines create a dynamic contrast.

The piece reflects the design principles of unity, emphasis, balance, and rhythm.  The monochromatic color scheme, repetition of the lines and grouping promote unity and balance.  As stated in the text, the human face draws our attention thus creating emphasis.  There is a rhythm to the piece - the soft flowing lines create a smooth, legato feel while the brightness of some of the lines creates accent and energy.

The Economist - Problem Solving/Seeking

Problem Seeking/Solving

I found this photo on the London International Awards LIA website (http://www.liaawards.com).  The LIA awards were established to honor creativity and new ideas in advertising, design, and digital media.  It was established in 1986 in London and quickly grew to a global award.  This was one of the finalist in the billboard category in 2005. 

This billboard is an advertisement for The Economist,  a weekly news magazine which is published in London.  The audience for billboard is prospective readers/subscribers to The Economist.  The typography is a serif style font characteristic of a newspaper or weekly (perhaps Times Roman?).  It is placed in the lower left-hand corner in white  The background color is red which immediately catches the eye.  The 3D light bulb is initially off until someone walks under it and then it lights up.  The implementation and cleverness of the advertisement initially attracted me to the piece.  I really like the idea but what happens if no one is passing beneath the bulb OR if a large crowd is walking past and the text is covered?  I guess it would still attract attention because of the color and 3D bulb.

How does this relate to the topic of the week?  Problem solving/seeking.  A glowing light bulb, above a head, is an iconic image representing creative thinking and problem solving.  The advertisement is counting on the public connecting the bright idea with The Economist magazine.  Read The Economist and be well-informed, be filled with good ideas, be brilliant...  As mentioned in the text, ideas come from many places - some of the strategies idea generation include:

·         Transforming a common object,

·         Studying nature,

·         Observation,

·         Brainstorming,

·         Making connections between ideas

·         Journaling,

·         Collaborative brainstorming,

·         Sketching, and

·         Model making.

I would guess that all of these strategies went into creating this solution (maybe not studying nature).  The thought of creating a connection between a common object (light bulb) or idea (light bulb over a head = great idea) and the magazine is most obvious to me - the notion of  creating a relationship between the light bulb, being brilliant, and reading The Economist. 

Through the Eyes of a Child - Cultivating Creativity

I found this picture on a website about talented and gifted children called http://www.exquisite-minds.com/.  It is a source of information for parents of gifted children.  The website presents resources, a forum, and offers products for sale (games, books, and movies) to enhance the world of the gifted child.  I was attracted to this photo for two simple reasons.  I like close-up photography and I am a math geek.  Upon closer inspection, I was attracted to the green eye, the linear pattern shown as a reflection in the glasses, and the rectilinear shadow cast across the eye.  I think this is a well-composed piece.  It has a strong focal point - the green eye of a child.  It is well unified in that it uses grouping, proximity, & repetition (the math formulae) and containment (glasses frames).  I like the continuity created by the math formulae flowing seamlessly through the glasses and the tilt of the face (eyes).

In my opinion, this represents the opening of a young mind - the attentiveness, the focus, the shadow being lifted to reveal more about the world that surrounds us.  So, what does this have to do with cultivating creativity?  According to the text, there are seven characteristics of creative thinking:

·         Receptivity - openness to new ideas and experiences;

·         Curiosity - eagerness to understand the world around us;

·         Wide range of interests - art, math, science, literature, music, language, culture,...

·         Attentiveness - realization that every experience is valuable;

·         Connection Seeking - finding similarities in seemingly different disciplines;

·         Conviction - passionately and openly looking for knowledge; and

·         Complexity - ability to combine the rational with the intuitive.

In a child, all of these can be fostered and developed without any of the preconceived notions of adulthood. Who better represents each of these characteristics than a child?  To quote Picasso, "All children are artists.  The problem is how to remain artists once we grow up."  I think this applies to every field of study.  Many people believe math and science are not creative - nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true the 2+2 will always equal 4, real math is so much more!  Creativity is essential.   I have so often heard the questions "When am I going to use algebra in my life?" or "I am not going to be a scientist, so why do I have to study chemistry?" or " Why do I have to read Shakespeare?  It doesn't have anything to do with my life now."  When did we lose our childlike need to learn for the sake seeking knowledge?  For unearthing connections between the past and present?  For inspiration?

When I was an undergrad, studying math and engineering, I read a book that opened my world.  It was entitled "Gödel, Escher, Bach The Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R. Hofstadter(1979).  It discussed the connection between math, art and music - specifically the mathematician Kurt Gödel, artist M.C Escher, and musician J.S. Bach.  It also tied in literary and historical findings. It borrows from author Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) in that each chapter has a dialogue between historic characters like Achilles and the Tortoise.  This book made me see how everything - even the most obscure scientific findings - are interconnected in our world, through pattern and music and ideas.  Knowledge is doubling at an astounding rate - nearly every 18 months now according to many experts.  Since the book was written, many of the ideas in the book have been expanded to the n^th degree - chaos theory, fractals, number theory - yet the connection remains unending - the connection between math, art, literature, and music. To me, this represents the connection between creativity and the quest for knowledge.

Which brings me back to the photograph and the topic...  Retaining a child's sense of receptivity to knowledge is so important to each one of us on a daily basis.  Our creativity can be sparked in so many ways that we can never predict.  This photo represents all of the possibilities, all of the focus, all of the complexity, curiosity, and conviction that is required to ignite creativity - though the eyes of a child.

The Old Violin - Texture, Value, & Illusion of Space

William Michael Harnett, The Old Violin, 1886, National Gallery of Art, Washington

This is a composition by the American artist William M. Harnett  (1848 - 1892) entitled, The Old Violin, which was painted in 1886 and is displayed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The audience for this work is gallery visitors and art spectators.

William Harnett was a still life painter who use the technique called tromp l'oeil .  Trompe l'oeil meaning trick of the eye is a method that can "so resemble reality that deception occurs." [Stewart p.25-26]  This work of art was so realistic that the people actually reached out to grasp the violin to see if it was real or painted.  This style is also called illusionism.  This technique was popular with the public but often criticized by the art reviewers of the time as "exact copies" or "threatening the ideal of art as beauty and truth".

I was intrigued by the explanation of and debate about this method and started looking at artists and works which employ this device.  This particular piece attracted me because of the beautifully aged violin, the curl of the music, and the letter at the bottom of the painting.  Everything in this painting looks aged, well-used, even loved - the door with the rusted braces, the varnish on the violin worn from years of practice, the dog-eared music, the lighter color beneath the curled corner of the music, and the letter...  The  letter, what does the letter mean?  Is it innocuous - just representing a correspondence to be noticed?  Does it represent the reason that the violin was hung on the door, never to be played again?  A lost child, a jilted lover, a rejection... 

The colors are melancholy, earthy, subdued.  The color value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a surface and contrast is the amount of difference in the values.  Value distribution refers to the proportion of lights and darks in the composition. This piece is visually heavy due to the dark colors, low contrast, and darkness of the value distribution.  In this painting, darker values create the sense of sadness, loss, or a forgotten past.  The lighting appears to be from the left of the painting which help to create the three-dimensional feel of the composition.  Cast shadows appear on the letter, music, and the door (from the bow and violin).  Even the rusty nail on the door casts a shadow to its right.   Maybe a hint to the contents of the letter?

This work (and the device of trompe l'oeil) is an example of color value distribution, visual texture, and linear perspective.  Each fold in the music and letter was drawn and shaded to represent the objects as if they were lighted from a source to the left of the painting.   The strings and body of the violin show the white residue of the rosin and it's reflection from the light.  The bow's shadow is projected due to the source of light.  The color of the door darkens from left to right. 

As stated in the text, this technique is visual texture taken to an extreme.  Each and every detail is drawn - nothing is left for the observer to complete - except the interpretation.

http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/harnett/oldviolin_1.shtm

Evian Bottle - Line/Rhythm

This is a limited-edition Evian bottle designed by Paul Smith for the French water maker (distributer?), Evian.  It was used to promote the water by attracting attention to the beautiful bottle.  I saw the bottle on the following website: http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/2009/09/22/paul-smith-for-evian/  According to the website, Evian has commissioned several designers to design limited-editions of their bottles.  Paul Smith is the second designer.  The design features the actual signature of the designer and uses his signature colors. 

The typography for the logo is red and in Evian’s typical font – san-serif, lower-case - simple and corporate. The signature is the designer’s hand – smaller in size and black in color.  It adds interest to the Evian logo.

I was attracted to the weightless appearance of the bottle – translucent bottle, crisp clear water, rings of color rising to the top, the colorful bottle tops which match the colorful rings.  It looks so refreshing and appealing.   It must be just delicious and thirst-quenching.  I’m not at all affected by advertising…  Tee Hee. 

In my opinion, the bottles are really works of art.  As I said, it looks simple, clean, refreshing.  I love the way the colored bands appear to overlap and can be seen through the glass as they circle the back.  The shape of the bottle is luscious, smooth and curvy.  And the way it is topped off with the colored bottle cap that matches one of the bands on the bottle.  The colors are also just gorgeous and highlight the neck of the bottle.

Now more on rhythm and line…  As I said, the shape of the bottle, the way the bands move up the neck, the colors, the lovely bottle tops all contribute to the visual rhythm, the lightness of the bottles.  The bands are not equally spaced so they create a dynamic, spiraling effect – like the water is going to jump right out of the bottle.  The repetition of colors and decreasing sizes of the bands also creates a sense of motion and movement toward the top of the bottle.  The way the bottles are presented in the photograph creates a curved line from the bottom left to the top right, the bottles get smaller as they move along the line, and they also tilt toward the right reinforcing the dynamic nature of the composition.  The tilt makes it look like someone may be getting ready to take a drink. Very appealing advertisement!