Reading Assignment #6

Revolutions in Design

The first world war influcenced cubism and graphic abstraction outside of US, France (Cubism, Orphism, Futerism, Purism), Britain, and Italy:
The Netherlands - De Stijl
Russia - Constructivism

De Stijl

  • founded in Leiden in 1917
  • created a sense of order in response to the trauma of the war 
  • its name is bland, impersonal, and uses universal principles, which is part of the group's ideology - a mix of admiration for the modern war machine that was sometimes mixed with a  spiritual style or sorts that conveyed a sense of severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence
    •  it was believed that individualism and nationalist egotism was responsible for the savagery and violence of the war so De Stijl offered the world a universal language of geometric abstraction that was meant to heal the soul of Europe
    • it was considered a universal style because it did not connect with one specific country or individual. "the old is connected with the individual, the new is connected with the universal"
    • non-objective painting can be derived from the artist's study of nature by simplification and the addition of geometric structure - natural forms contain the essence of universal harmony
  • The term used by the group that indicated that they wanted a fresh start in art as well as society: 
    • nieuwe beelding (new imaging) = Neoplasticism 
  • Theo van Doesburg - served in Dutch army for 2 years before moving to Leiden
    • cow drawing in complete abstraction - eve a cow could be representative of a higher plane of Neoplatonist transcendence and also passes through a cubist phase before being further symplified
    • was the publisher of the journal De Stijl, which was first printed in October of 1917
      • 36 total publications were printed 
    • Created an experimental alphabet in 1917 that was based of boxes that were made of 5 rows of 5 and distorted the letters to fill the shape of the square - the grid was a key design element of De Stijl and also a representation of pure neoplatonic forms
  • Peit Mondrian - described his style as Neo Plasticism. He rejected excess decoration, and emotional complexity.
    • progressed to a Cubist phase when he moved to Paris in 1911 but he offered an even more radical type of simplification that Picasso or Braque
    • His works became non-objective and he limited his formal elements 
      • straight lines
      • orthogonal compositions
      • austere palette - red, yellow, blue, black, white, and grey
  • Bart van der Leck
  • Gerrit Rietveld

Seeking Universal Harmony

  • The group limited the amount of expressive elements in their works so they could represent common and abstract ideas in material terms and create a strong, utopian theme
    • purified art and emotion to effect a broader social change
    • details of social changes were brushed over so it was never clear what the specific utopia was being sought after by these artists
    • Dutch traditional values of sobriety and Calvinist discipline are shown by this style and promoted a puritanical attitude towards art
  • It was impossible for the Dutch artists to completely shed their nationality and fully embrace universalism and not all of the artists in this movement or (even founded it) shared the same visions of art and society


Typography and Journal Design

  • First printed in October of 1917,  the journal De Stijl allowed the artists to send their art to a wider public
  • From 1917- 1932 the journal was active with the ideas of European avant-garde as well as a place that showcased the group's principles as they related to graphic design
  • included essays mostly written in Dutch and mainly about Piet Mondrian's principles (He wrote about 70% of the content before 1920)
  • The cover of the page combined a logotype made by Van Doesburg and a wood cut design by Vilmos Huszar
    • letters made of squares and rectangles separated by discrete units
  • they were the first group to start using negative space as a positive design element which would become a key component of the New Typography
  • contrast in composition as well as color were both suggestive of the elemental forces of the universe and the idea that universal truths expressed were expressed through contrast (Dutch philosopher M.H.J. Schoenmaekers)

De Stijl Redesigned

  • The redesign was done in 1921 to appeal to a broader European audience
  • was published in Paris and Rome now as well as Leiden where it was first published - was also now published not only in Dutch, but in French and other launguages
  • was mostly the brainchild of Van Doesburg even though Mondrian participated in its creation
  • New cover has red letters NB (nieuwe beelding) with De Stijl printed over it in black
  • white space is an active element "absence of design", color is used as a structural element
  • avant-garde letterpress printing to create an new abstract language - beauty being found in mondane aspects of elements found in an average printer's typeset
  • Van Doesburg had an openness to emerging trends that shared similar interests as his group
    • published "Of Two Squares" - dutch poem for children, recreated by Russian artis El Lissitzky (awareness of Cubist Calligrammes)
  • Van Doesburg creates "Contra compositons" by putting his rectangles at a 45 degree angle (increased vitality of composition, but still maintain rigorous geometry)

De Stijl Architecture
De Stijl Poster Design
De Stijl and Dada

Revolution in Russia
The Russian Revolution and the Bolshevik Poster

The Bolshevik Poster

Russian Supermatism and Constructivism

Kasimir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin

A New Utopia

Constructivism and Alexander Rodchenko
Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Mayakovsky
Photomontage and Film
Filmic Vision
Gustav Klutsis
Film Posters: The Stenbergs
El Lissitzky
El Lissitzky in Germany