Assignment One - Influential Designers

Today in class we just worked on our assignment which is due next week. We all have to pick either one or two graphic designers/typographers to research. We write a 2000 word report explaining about the designer but also explaining how they influenced designers today. We do a 5-10 minute presentation on our findings through a slideshow.

My designer I'm researching is Saul Bass. I went to the library and borrowed 4 books on him and have found much information on the internet. He was very famous for his film titles/credits and also his logo designs. For each design he would do about 300 rough drafts before he finished his final product.

(Left) Image of Saul Bass himself.










Below are some of his logos and designs

Frank Lloyd Wright

• Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect. 
• He was born in the Richland Center situated in Winsconsin on the 8th June, 1867.
• He died on the 9th April, 1959 at the age of 92 in his home at Pheonix, Arizona.
• His parents were known as William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones. 
• He attended Madison High School, during the Summer he spent it with his uncle on his farm. During this time with his uncle he realised his dream was to become an architect. 
• In 1885 he left high school and started working for Allan Conover, who was the Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Engineering department. Before moving to Chicago he spent 2 semesters studying civil engineering. 
• He moved to Chicago in 1887 where he started working for an architect known as Joseph Lyman Silsbee. 
• Lloyd's style of architecture involved the use of a horizontal plane, which included no basements or attics. 
• All his creations were built with natural materials and never painted. He utilised low-pitched rooflines with deep overhands and walls of windows to merge the horixontal homes into their own environments. 
• To his designs he added either large stone or brick fireplaces in the middle of the home which he referred to as 'the homes heart'. He made the rooms open to one another also so everything was connected. 

• His simplistic houses served as an inspiration to the Prairie School which was a name that was given to a group of architects who had a style that was indigenous to the mid-western culture. 

Example of his architecture pieces. 

 

Swiss/International Period

 
Today we looked at the Swiss/International period slideshow within art and design.

 Information about the Swiss Style and how it came about.















Mies van der Rohe is one of the most influential architects of the 20th century (left). His buildings were extremely famous and became the 'blueprint' for the modern industrial society.  
His designs were known to critics as 'big glass boxes'. This was due to his love of using exposed metal and rectangular forms to create his buildings.

To the left is an example of one of his buildings that represents the metal and box form.

This is an example of the type of furniture during the Swiss period. It is very 'box' like and geometric. This was the same as the Bauhaus period style. 

 This was one of the first and one of the most box like cameras. It has very sharp 45 degree angles which makes it a very popular antique today. Nikon is still an extremely famous company who are doing very well.

This aircraft was called the 'Concord', it was specifically designed and engineered for supersonic speeds and also its simple look noticed by it's sleek form.
Unlike normal aircraft's this one was very geometric, for example the rectangular box shaped engines.

This design is an example of the grids that were used, this was also the same as the Bauhaus period. Simple shapes and colours were also used to create a very unique and interesting design.

This is an example of how simple the Swiss period intended to go, this is showing the sea, land and sun all within 3 colours and 2 shapes. This captures the eye and is very interesting to look at despite its lack of creativity. 

This poster shows the repetition used within this period. Two colours being shown in a pattern, this creates an interesting look for the audience. Transformation also became very popular.

Fifties' American Kitsch

This lesson we looked at an American Kitsch slideshow and discussed the humor that we found whilst looking at the artworks. 

A main influence was James Dean for this design period due to his 'rebel' look.

 The odd looking shapes that are similar to the basic shapes that are used in the Bauhaus period. Although the Kitsch period took it to a whole new level by adding the boring looking base.

 The odd looking shapes clock. Although I liked this design, many did not. A similar shaped mirror is currently at Ikea, the design hasn't left the shops.

 The uniqueness of the coffee table, very art styled period. Focused a lot on art and design itself.

 The bright colours which were used, these were also used in the Bauhaus period. The simple styles were also famous in the Kitsch era.












This poster represents the strong and dramatic looks on the faces of the people. This man looks serious but also adds humor to the poster.

Comic books were also popular during this period. The dramatic style was a main section of American Kitsch.

Many typefaces were influenced by hand written types, especially during film titles. Also the lighting is very bright and stands out. 

Romanticism & Classicism

- Classic style - vision of logical ordered systems of stability and beauty
- Values represented by romanticism and classicism and social conditions reflected. 

Romanticism (emotion)

• Frank Ghery - Contemporary artist influenced by the Romanticism period.
• 17th and 18th century Baroque and Racoco period 
• Rising height on the central axis - represent emotional heights.
• Embellishments and very decorative 
• The ecstasy of St. Theresa - significant sculpture depicting a moment of spiritual ecstasy - MOVEMENT.
• Romanticism - emotional release expressive - quite often regarded as feminine.
• Goya - Spanish artist
             - painted depictions of human ugliness, greed, violence, power, mongering and oppression by war
• Exotic subjects were on the increase with greater world travel (not on 'classicism' because it's going against the status quo but on romanticism because it talks about people, emotion and feeling.
• German expressionism (Gaudi)
             - used colour and form in a way that facilitated expression of strong emotions including despair.

       

Antoni Gaudi

      - Spanish architect of Modernism

       - Born in Reus in 1852

       - Received architectural degree in 1878

       - Most unique and distinctive architectural styles

       - His work was greatly influenced by forms of nature, this explains the curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures and organic forms.

       - Many buildings contain coloured mosaic looking patterns on the walls and windows - the use of colour was a main form which Gaudi looked closely into. 

       - 4 passions - architecture, nature, religion and love  for Catalonia.

       -  Influences - Neo-Gothic art, Oriental techniques.

       - Was part of the Catalan Modernista which came about around the 19th-20th century. 

       - Work - mainstream with the tweak of an organic look due to his love of nature. 

       - 1984 - 2005 - 7 works were declared as World Heritage Sites. 

       - Catholic and was nicknamed "God's Architect"

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/barcelona-gaudi.html

http://assets.artandculture.com/media-prod/public/uploads/images/62012/antoni-gaudi-architecture-building_thumb_large_horizontal.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxA9PMIbu7pcA_LxhMNdb3YPpKrX_dEBLpqQtzeUJ3ZS_SIhl5MVQOf-y3iwW3oYBr-L9WVD62SezSejJv_lLgj2BdXsztvh4lbtqztXU3G3HC5XZpUKqE1lGQL47cmHz1oZxebamc20/s640/gaudi-casa-batllo-VisualBrainGravity_com_.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/sagrada-familia-church-in-barcelona-antoni-gaudi-matthias-hauser.jpg

Classicism (science)

• Order -  repetition of units that create two patterns (regular and mathematics).
• Maths - scientific approach
• Emotional values - beauty (in formula), symmetrical & systematic, requires balance and stability. 
• Ancient Greece - very coherent style 
• Represents the status quo
• 1775 - Neo (new) Classicism - revival of Classicism
           - allergory - ppassing on political issues - French revolution
           - represent power and stability
           - often government buildings are neo-classicism
• Bauhaus - makes beginning of early modern movement
                  - represents values
                  - logical rejects embellishments
                  - simple and affordable - reductionism - form
                  - colour - red, green, blue
                  - shape, geometry, math
                  - form follows function
                  - "Less is More"   
• Mies Van der Rohe contrasts with Gaudi
           - principles of geometry minimal and rationality
• Surrealism - psychology by Fraud.
                    - comes from science

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

       - Born - March 27th, 1886 (Aachen)
       - Died - August 17th, 1969 (Chicago)
       - German-American arcitect
       - One of the pioneering masters of modern architecture
       - Created an influential 20th century architectural style that involved clarity & simplicity.
       - Buildings used modern materials such as steel and glass.
       - His goal was to create his artworks using minimal framework with a lot of open space for flowing freedom.
       - Called his buildings "skin and bones"

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe
http://blog.ricecracker.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/03wa.jpg
http://www.pro.ba/utopia/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/19-Mies-van-der-Rohe-Maquette-Glazen-Wolkenkrabber-1922.jpg
http://figure-ground.com/data/neue_nationalgalerie/0006.jpg

The Biennale

These are some exhibits from the 18th Biennale in Sydney.

Cockatoo Island Wharf

Cal Lane:

Born 1968 in Halifax, Canada. Lives and works in New York, USA.

'Domesticated Turf'

Unknown.

Philip Beesley:

Born 1956 in Westcliff-on-Sea, England
Lives and works in Toronto, Canada 

'Hylozoic Series: Sibyl, 2012'

Adam Cvijanovic:

Born 1960 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. Lives and works in New York, USA.

'The River, 2012, at Cockatoo Island' 

Monika Grzymala and Euraba Artists and Papermakers:

Born 1970 in Zabrze, Poland
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

'Embodying time and space'

 

Ed Pien with Tanya Tagaq:

Ed Pien - Born 1958 in Taipei, Taiwan

Lives and works in Toronto, Canada

Tanya Tagaq - Born 1975 in Cambridge Bay, Canada
Lives and works in Manitoba, Canada 

'Source, 2012'

 Unknown.

Li Hongbo: 

Born 1974 in Jilin, China
Lives and works in Beijing, China 

'Ocean of Flowers, 2012'

Erin Manning:

Born 1969 in Ottawa, Canada

Lives and works in Montreal, Canada 
'Stitching Time – A Collective Fashioning, 2012'

Khadija Baker: 

Born 1973 in Amuda, Syria

Lives and works in Montreal, Canada

'Coffin-Nest, 2007–12