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Isnt the abstract real - if only we can contemplate it?
Until the end of the 19th century, virtually all painting was representational. Artists
painted pictures that were straightforward, and people looked at those paintings for
one reason: to see the particular images that were depicted. The early 1900s, new
inventions such as electric lights, telephone, automobile, elevator, skyscraper asserted
societys dominance over nature and trumpeted the seemingly invincible technologi-
cal progress of the human race. At the same time, the latest breakthroughs in physics
pointed to the play of invisible forces and matters transformation into energy.
This is why artists started creating images that do not realistically represent any
object. This type of abstract art may be called nonrepresentational or nonobjective art.
(7) It may be composed of basic geometric shapes and forms or a complex arrangement
of colors, shapes, textures, and lines. Renouncing the depiction of the physical world in
their paintings offered a liberating alternative: an art that was pure, that could exem-
plify energy, order and clarity through a balanced composition of internal components.
Aesthetic contemplation affords humanity a means of uniting with the universal in an
abstract, that it to say conscious way, Mondrian wrote. Isnt the abstract real - if only
we can contemplate it?
The Bauhaus
The Bauhaus was a German design school that attempted to create a new unity be-
tween art and industry by rejecting any division between decorative and constructional
techniques. Herbert Bayers workshop made striking typographic design innovations
along constructivist and functional lines. The influences of the Bauhaus transcended its
fourteen year life. It created a modern design movement spanning architecture, product
design and visual communications.
Example 10: Herbert Bayer Divisumma Olivetti; 1953
This poster announces Olivetti calculators. This abstract configuration suggests the
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function, or the purpose of the product being advertised. Design elements include
elementary forms and the use of grayscale with bright accents.
Swiss Style
The International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style, is a graphic design
style developed in Switzerland in the 1950s that emphasizes cleanliness, readability
and objectivity. Hallmarks of the style are asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif
typefaces like Akzidenz Grotesk, and flush left, ragged right text. The style is also as-
sociated with a preference for photography in place of illustrations or drawings. Many
of the early International Typographic Style works featured typography as a primary
design element in addition to its use in text, and it is for this that the style is named.
Example 11: Top left: Josef Mller-Brockmann, Musica Viva, 1957;
top right: Armin Hofmann, Spitzen; bottom left: Armin Hofmann, Kunsterziehung
in USA; bottom right: Josef Mller-Brockmann, Musica Viva, 1958
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Pioneers of Digital Graphic Design
In the eighties, a small group of designers embraced digital technology as an innova-
tive tool capable of expanding the scope of design possibilities and the very nature of
the design process. Emigre is a graphic design magazine art-directed by Rudy Vander-
Lans using fonts designed by Zuzana Licko, published between 1984 and 2005 in San
Francisco. Emigre was one of the first publications to use Macintosh computers and
had a large influence on graphic designers moving into desktop publishing. Its variety
of layouts, use of guest designers, and opinionated articles also had an effect on other
design publications. (http://www.emigre.com/EMagView.php)
Example 12: Emigre 26 - All Fired Up; 1993
Celebrating its 10th year of publication, with issue 26 Emigre continues to highlight the
experimental spirit that lurks within the field of graphic design.
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Moet & Chandon Champagne Ads
Example 13: Representational
Example 14: Less Abstract
Example 15: More Abstract
Example 16: More Abstract
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For the second part of the exercise, please answer the following questions: (Give
specific reasons for your answers)
1. Did we all agree on what category works should be placed? If not, why do you
think we disagree?
2. All works of design are by their very nature abstract. Do you agree or disagree
with this statement? Why or why not?
3. Isnt the abstract real - if only we can contemplate it? Do you agree or disagree
with this statement? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it takes more or less design skill and creative ability to create abstract
art? Why or why not?
5. Read other students responses and comment at least two of them. Keep the
discussion going!
REMINDER: you get grade points for participation. Participation includes communica-
tion with your classmates: reading and commenting their posts.