Poster Movements Essay Research Paper Poster MovementsConstructivismThis

Poster Movements Essay, Research Paper

Poster Movements

Constructivism

This art form appeared in the early 20th century as a result of the Russian Revolution and grew a tremendous amount during the 1920 s and 1930 s. Founded in1917 in Russia by sculptor Antoine Pevsner and his younger brother Naum Pevsner Gabo, they believed that art should be functional and include materials and technology that are new to the market. All the people who eventually succeeded in this art form, where either forced into exile or imprisoned. Although Constructivism was primarily based on sculpting, posters also became and important aspect of Constructivism. Angular lines and abstract shapes mostly characterized them; the colors were usually strictly limited with black, white and red. Most were produced using mechanical printing techniques, with elements taken from architecture and photography. All Constructivism posters have a political undertone; they also by the use of modern typography and photomontage effects would reflect the designer s interest in Cubism and other contemporary European artistic movements. Some of the most important Constructivism poster designers include writer and thinker Alexander Rodchenko, Vladimir Mayakovskyii, Kazimir Malevich and George and Vladimir Stenberg who developed posters for the Russian film industry. Germany was the site of the most Constructivism activity outside the Soviet Union, especially as home to Walter Gropius s Bauhaus, a progressive art and design school sympathetic to the movement, but Constructivism ideas where also carried to other art centers, like Paris, London, and eventually the United States. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, material came out in large quantities both legally and illegally; the condition of these posters is often very poor, because very few have been looked after. I believe the poster I chose is a good example of Constructivism because first of all it has forms with angular shapes and abstract shapes, as I also stated earlier, the colors are limited to black, yellow and red. Also one can notice the elements of photography and a slight influence if architecture, some work would show more evidence of the link between Constructivism and architecture. I like the expression in the face in the background; it clings it the mind. The Stenberg brothers did this poster; it advertises a 1929 movie called Fragment of an Empire .

Pop Art

Pop Art used the imagery and techniques of consumerism and popular culture, hence it name pop art. It was basically a reaction against Abstract Expressionism, the pop artist thinking that this art form was too pretentious and over-intense. Pop Art brought art back to the material realities of everyday life. It incorporated object that are in our daily life or things that we would see or use such as Campbell soup cans, comic strips or advertisements emerging in the late 1950 s in England but realized its fullest potential in New York in the 1960 s. In the US it was linked to the wealth and prosperity of the post World War II era, in Britain it wasn t as glamorous and had a more nostalgic feel to it. But one cannot deny the roots of this art form, and a person perhaps said to be the artist responsible for the first work considered being pop would be Englishman Richard Hamilton. Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenber were some of the first Pop artists in America, and used popular imagery such as the American flag and beer cans in their paintings, prints and collages. But the artist that I believe made Pop Art what it is in the US and maybe all over the world, has to be Andy Warhol who was known for his silk-screens of both famous people and everyday objects. He did a work representing Marilyn Monroe that was seen and used all over the world in many advertisements, he did many works which had the same feel to this one, such as the one I have chosen. It basically represents James Dean with some Chinese typography, even today I don t find that works like this one lost they re style. There are some other people who would focus on other simple everyday things like Roy Lichtenstein, who employed a comic strip illustrative style in his paintings.

The 60 s Poster.

The poster I have chosen to show the art of the poster in the 60 s is the poster of the 1964 Olympic games in Japan. I liked this poster because it is simple yet expresses a very strong message. Basically, it represents a Japanese running champion with a warm sunset background. He is holding the most important sign of the Olympic games after the 5 rings, the Olympic flame. One can notice that there is not slogan; perhaps it is because none is required for an Olympic event, but I believe that the picture even for another sports ad doesn t necessarily need a slogan. All that is shown is the picture, the logo and name of the Olympic game and the date, and I believe one doesn t need to add anything else. The general mood for poster designers in the 60 s, depends on the background of the designer, for example, I have previously talked about Pop Art, by looking at a Pop Artist s work one can notice the designing and creativity flowing. There is a feeling of more than meets the eye in every poster; it is as if the artist wants us to imagine what he was thinking or as if he wants us to view things his way. On the other hands there are posters like the one I m currently talking about, which basically tries