American Bauhaus & International Style

DESIGNERS BEAT DEPRESSION!

          I thought that the WPA, or Work Progress Administration, advertisements were a good idea. Good job FDR and his New Deal. I remember my historyyy and it actually relates to graphic design! But I don't think that the US really gave much thought to the arts. I mean really... was FDR all, "Ohhh let's give these artists a job and then maybe, juuust maybe, our unemployed will get out of the Depression!"

          Nah. It went more like, "Let's use these artists for our benefit, to advertise these projects for the unemployed of the Depression." But what goes around comes around!!! So everyone benefits even if it wasn't exactly foreseen by the administration. Ha! You silly administrators overlooking the well being of the arts!(as usual!) I'm in doubt that the artists were taken into much consideration even if the WPA advertisements were to put people back to work. I think it just sorta happened. That's what it looks like anyhow. As with calendars! I don't think the government set out the need for calendars to be made. Definitely one of the creative artists looking for work decided it'll be the next cool, useful thing to do...
         Which makes me wonder, since times of the Depression were rough, was inspiration a bit low? Or was this actually the height of creative spark? When artists decide what is the new and what is the old? I guess I could answer that myself now that I think about it... since the Victorian aesthetic changed into a modern aesthetic well during the Depression.
         So the Depression actually enhanced artistic change. Art became more useful, such as ads or promotion, which means that not only were these early designs memorable, but they were also useful! And Depression needs useful! It didn't really hit me until now. That without the artists, who would've saved the unemployed?? FDR couldn't have done it without our creative minds! HEY, there's a point for all of this: ARTISTS ARE PART OF EVERY MOVEMENT. AND WE SHOULD BE DAMN PROUD :)

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1919-1933 Bauhaus

Weimar... start. 1st public exhibition:1923

Dessau... golden years

Berlin... end.

Paul Klee

Moholy Nagy

Johannes Itten

Herbert Bayer

Kandinsky

Mies Van der Rohe

Walter Groupus

Oscar Schlemmer

Joseph Albers

Utopian desire to create a new spiritual society.

Unity of Artists and Craftsmen to build the future.

Ideas from all of the Advanced art and design movements were explored and applied to functional design.

typophoto

photogram

photoplastic

no capitals... two alphabets, it makes no sense. 

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Models of teaching... strict vs open.

Jan Tschichold. hand lettered AD. son of designer & painter... learns calligraphy as child. Work is like Lissitzky, but with type instead of rectangles. Writes book about typography... The New Typography. The aim of every typographic work is to... form follows function: practical. Modernism. sans serif, limited color, underlying grid.

Herbert Matter. All roads lead to Switzerland poster. The modern poster. Extreme perspective and scale shifts. Precise and efficient. Brings his style to America

Addison Dewigins. abstract compositions, limited palette.

Lester Beall. Modern aesthetic.... lots of arrows, bars, and rules. More of his work... used in ads during the Depression:

WPA ADS

container corporation of America... cardboard boxes. Herbert Matter.

Ladislav sutnar, 1934. 

International Style... modern design. universal truths, pure, clean, efficient works.