In the
decades following World War II, the creation of conceptual images became a
significant design approach in Poland, the United States, Germany and Cuba. Conceptual imagery demonstrates the designer/illustrator interjecting their voice into their work. One doesn't have to use someone else's words, thoughts or ideas to develop and communicate a message.
Describe the characteristics of conceptual images and the circumstances that
influenced the emergence of the conceptual image in graphic design beginning in
the 1950s.
Discuss the needs to which designers responded and cite a specific
example of a designer and a design solution from one of the countries
mentioned.
The conceptual image was birthed when post-World War II graphic designers began to seek to reinvent the communicative image to fit the needs of the current times, although this time designers weren’t only aiming to convey a narrative but concepts and ideas(1). The new wave of graphic designers concerned themselves with designing a complete design of space and merging of word with image. Designers of the second half of the 20th Century had a vast source of information at their hands along with inspiration from art movements such as cubism, surrealism, fauvism, and expressionism (2). This new direction in graphic design led to the blurring between fine arts and visual communication.
ReplyDeleteThe move to the conceptual image was prominent in Cuba, the United States, German, and Poland with the moving forcing behind all designers from these countries being to find relevant images that are effective in the post-World War II era.
Here is an example of conceptual image design from the design group the PushPin Studio made up of designers Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, Reynolds Ruffins, and Edward Sorel. Since they all graduated from Cooper Union as illustrators most of their work consists of free form hand drawing/painted work, below are some examples of there conceptual work found featured in their magazine:
1) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lWNlE4Nqg6Y/TbmjSMUCVgI/AAAAAAAAGQU/yx2a6W3-rx8/s1600/4+1959+push+pin.jpg
2) http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/images/By_its_Cover/BIC_91bottom.jpg
3) http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/images/By_its_Cover/BIC_91Top.jpg
4) http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/images/By_its_Cover/BIC_92top.jpg
I personally like most of their work because of the free flow looseness of the images
and their ability to successfully translate their illustrative abilities into visual communication. I like them mainly because of the hands on look of their work that shows the how before the age of computers and Adobe photoshop graphic designers had the chance to really be free and creative and have more control over the images created.
Sources:
(1), (2) Meggs’ History of Graphic Design
http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/postmodernTime/ConceptualImage.html
I really like the Push Pin graphic of the blue background and the bird. I think its a great example to show the blurred line between fine art and graphic design. The advantages of not working on a computer can be seen in the subtle textures of the blue background; it's not a flat vector but has an aesthetic quality to it, as well as the bird which provokes the viewer to wonder the medium used to create it and interact with the piece.
DeleteThe decades after World War II saw the development of the conceptual image in graphic design. Images conveyed not merely narrative information but ideas and concepts. Mental content joined perceived content as motif. The illustrator interpreting the writer’s text yielded to the graphic imagist making a statement. A new breed of image maker was concerned with the total design of the space and the integration of word and image, Inspiration was taken from the spatial configurations of cubism, the juxtapositions, dislocations, and scale changes of surrealism, the pure color loosened from natural reference by expressionism and fauvism, and the recycling of mass media images by pop art. The traditional boundaries between fine arts and public visual communications became blurred. Italian graphic designer, Armando Testa used metaphysical combinations to convey elemental truths about a subject. His 1950s publicity campaigns for Pirelli tires had an international impact on graphic design thinking. He borrowed the vocabulary of surrealism by combining the image of a tire with immediately recognizable symbols, In his posters, the image is the primary means of communication, and he reduces the verbal content to a few words or just the product name.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.made-in-italy.com/files/imagecache/lg/pictures/italian-design/news/2013/02/pirelli-ads-by-bob-noorda-for-rolle-and-cinturato.jpg
Specifically in Poland, after the war, the country was devastated in population, industry, and agriculture. However, an internationally renowned Polish school of poster art emerged from this devastation. Graphic designers started a union due to the communist society established after the war. The first Polish poster artist to emerge was Tadeusz Trepkowski. Tragic memories of the war and its effects were used as subject matter at the time. His approach involved reducing imagery and works until the content was distilled into its simplest statement. Here is great website with several examples of his work.
http://www.theartofposter.com/ttrepkow.htm
Other links to examples of conceptual images.
http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/miltonglaser_dylan.jpg
http://boingboing.net/filesroot/200902091145.jpg
http://www.printmag.com/Portals/1/2009/Feb2009/Web_Only/obeywithcaution2006.jpg
Megg’s History of Graphic Design
The Pirelli image is a great example of how much an image can be reduced but still immediately recognizable. The high-contrast vertical black/white tire has a dialogue with the Pirelli logo next to it and the viewer can draw similarities in form between the two.
DeleteI like the Obey poster a lot because it reminds me of the Russia style of posters of the earlier 20th Century.
DeleteJust as you mentioned in your comment you can definitely see the traditional boundaries between fine arts and visual communications become blurred in your examples. They are all strong images with use of bold colors and imagery that really screams out to the viewer.
DeleteI agree with Derek on the strong content of the Obey poster and also just like John said, the high contrast and the single dominant image that takes up the whole space calls out to the audience.
DeleteThe Obey picture is obviously a reference of Joseph Muller-Bockmann's "Less Noise" poster. I can see the designer of the "Obey" poster also wanted to express discomfort without reading the words.
DeleteDesigners are social commentators. We design in response to our surroundings and current events. Just as fashion trends become outdated, so too do designs. The traditional illustration that had been prevalent was no longer relevant to the needs of the time. The conceptual image was created to address these new needs/interests. Conceptual design focuses on the entire space of a composition, the integration of word and image, and conveying concepts/ideas instead of narrative information (1). Artists now had a foundation of art movements to be inspired by and drew upon influences from cubism, surrealism, expressionism, fauvism, etc. (2).
ReplyDeleteAfter World War II, artists were able to explore self-expression and personal images in their work, allowing them to cultivate a personal style and technique (2). They confronted social issues but also created work for commercial purposes, such as album covers or posters promoting events. As they explored new mediums, the distinction between fine art and design was blurred.
American designer Woody Pirtle is an example of an artist who was heavily influenced by his environment. While living in Texas, many of his designs incorporated images associated with the Southwest, Texas, Mexico, Native American motifs, etc., such as a chili pepper chair in his poster design for Knoll Furniture (3). His poster called Stop the Plant (4) is another design that responded to his environment – while working for Pentagram in NY, he created this design solution to prevent the construction of a cement plant/pit/mine in NY’s Hudson Valley.
(1) http://modernposterart.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-conceptual-image-in-poster-during.html
(2) https://www.inkling.com/read/history-of-graphic-design-philip-meggs-5th/chapter-21/the-conceptual-image
(3) http://www.skidmore.edu/~dhall/ADVCD/images/pirtle_000.jpg
(4) http://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/%2Bid%3A480/_/detail/relevance/asc/0/7/480/stop-the-plant-poster/1
It's interesting that conceptual image helped designer develop a personal style. I kind of saw that with Paul Rand's work. His solutions are very different conceptually, but you can definitely tell the similarities between his designs. Most of them are very playful, and the majority of them are very symbolic and witty.
DeleteI agree with Katie, because designers were so strongly effected by their environment they were all able to or forced to develop their owen style. Without the influence of the world around individual designs may all look the same. Each design can act as a backstory for a designer showing what type of life they lived because of the emotions put into and sent out of the work.
DeleteI agree with John on the fact that the designs work as narratives which eventually help them to develop a personal style from it. I really like the reduced, dominant, high contrast images used in these design, one for example ,Hot sea knoll (2), I believe the image works as a way of attracting people and bringing people together.For my personal interest this is the kind of work I like to do.
DeleteI really enjoy Pirtle's art work. It gets the idea across through image. If the viewer does not understand the image, then the text comes to help. That art piece itself is the idea behind conceptual image and works wonderfully.
DeleteThe conceptual image is the idea of designing with the use of the entire space. This could include integration of word and image, which may be conveyed as ideas and concepts. During the second half of the 20th century, graphic artist had the history of visual arts to take inspiration from. As video and photo became the methods of documentation, graphic work became more expressive and symbolic. During this period, graphic artists created more personal images, individual styles and techniques.
ReplyDeleteArnold Varga similar too Push Pin designers, used a combination of the traditional conceptualization and layout role of the graphic designer with the image-making role of the illustrator in his newspaper advertisements. He was known for using thought out integration of white space and headlines with large, simple illustrations. The gourmet shop advertisement for Joseph P. Horne received a large public response and many even asked if they could purchase it for their homes.
Examples:
http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1996/?id=325
Source:
http://www.historyofgraphicdesign.weareswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Week-3-The-Conceptual-Image.pdf
I don't really understand the notion that conceptual image designers tried to use the entire space. Wasn't that always the goal even before the conceptual image. Graphic designers have been using the space as effectively as possible even before the conceptual image.
DeleteI would agree with you katie but maybe the new concern or greater concern for the proper use of space in a conceptual image is because the wrong use of space could've affected the idea or meaning the image was trying to convey.
DeleteHi John, I'm glad I found the page which you used as an example. Since I want to be an art director it was great to learn about "The Art Directors Club". And also about a successful Hungarian who made it in the US! These people like him make me proud of being Hungarian.
DeleteThe Conceptual Image movement is about what it advertises in the name: the focus on concepts and ideas as opposed to a particular style or technique. Graphic design became a very established practice with a lot of historical solutions to draw from, and designers started to work more expressively and symbolically (1). Designers put together old techniques and ideas, and experimented with new ones.
ReplyDeleteConceptual image designers replaced the classic illustration styles with a more conceptual approach (1). Paul Rand was one of these designers who loved to work with symbolic illustrations with a great concept behind them. His famous “Eye Bee M” poster for IBM is a great example of this (2). The poster uses reduced, playful, and symbolic illustrations in place of the letters in IBM. There is a meaning and purpose behind the illustrations other than decoration, like many of the classic illustrative posters before the conceptual image movement. This poster is also a good example of how conceptual image designers made an effort to combine text and imagery into a single composition. In this example, the illustrations basically become the text.
(1) Megg’s History of Graphic Design
(2) http://www.themodernist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ibm-11.jpg
I really enjoy the Eye Bee M poster, for its concept and its accessibility. All consumers from children to adults can comprehend and interpret the symbolism of the poster, which is most important. Most conceptual images of this era are engaging but require good analytical skills to fully grasp, while Rand did more with much less.
DeleteThe conceptual image dealt with the design of the entire space, including the integration of word and image, and conveyed not merely narrative information but ideas and concepts. During the exploding information culture of the second half of the twentieth century, the graphic artist had the entire history of visual arts from which to draw inspiration. As photography and video took over the role of documentation, graphic illustration became more expressive and symbolic. During this period, graphic artists created more personal images, and pioneered individual styles and techniques, blurring the boundaries between fine arts and public visual communication. (1)
ReplyDeleteThe poster was an important form of communication in Poland and a source of national pride that received international attention during the 1950’s. Tadeusz Trepkowski was the first Polish poster artist to emerge after WWII. His famous 1953 anti-poster demonstrates his approach of distilling content to the simplest statement. A few simple shapes symbolize a devastated city superimposed on a silhouette of a falling bomb. The word “nie!” (no!) expresses the tragedy of war. As a result of government censorship during the social unrest of the 1980’s, Polish posters frequently addressed universal concerns and international issues. (1)
(1)Megg’s History of Graphic Design
Looking at more of Tadeusz Trepkowski's works, they all have this cohesion to them. Someone else said in another comment how with the conceptual image, it was easy for certain designers to develop a noticeable style. I actually really like his minimalism and how he uses just one word along with an image, yet they can be so informative. We're about to do a poster project in my printmaking II class, and I'm really looking to Trepkowski and the conceptual image for inspiration.
DeleteConceptual images in graphic design took off as the result of a few different factors around the 1950s. Part of this (similarly, in fact, to the role this course plays in our own work) was the information age, allowing the designer to draw upon all of art history as inspiration. With such a wealth of visual references and great ideas of past revolutionaries available, it’s no wonder it was a time of explosive creative expression. A classic example, of course, is Milton Glaser’s iconic Bob Dylan poster, incorporating these ideas and reshaping them in a new and interesting way. The brightly colored hair patterns were inspired by art nouveau while remaining modern and recalling the “psychedelic forms” emerging around the same time.
ReplyDeleteAnother difference between work of this time period and the majority of that which preceded it, especially in American design, were the social movements in which the designers were participating. As opposed to commissioned work and traditional advertisements, some designers were creating to advocate for causes they believed in or against conditions they felt were wrong. Social upheavals of the time included women’s lib movements and public protests against the Vietnam war. At the same time in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, design was a main source of public voice and expression of discontent. The symbol of Che Guevara still represents struggle against oppression, especially throughout the third world.
Conceptual artists began a more radical questioning concerning the way that art was supposed to look like. One of the first radical and most important points they questioned was the assumption that the role of the artist was to create special kinds of designs or material objects. Some have argued that conceptual art helped on the dematerialization of art “ by removing the need for objects altogether” However many artists worldwide and especially in time of war saw conceptual art as a radical break of formalist Modernism.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
Polish Poster Art that emerged in the late 1950s became one of the most exciting uses to conceptual images. One classic Artist Tadeusz Trepkowski utilized straightforward composition and pure color again (featured in his works Nie! and Warszawa). The principle of conceptual image in Graphic design was to pare down the imagery only to what was really important. Reduced design towards a new direction of effective communication.
The posters also were less concerned with advertising, because it focus more on central issues of economy, and dealt more with public service and events for the people.
1. Left: Waldemar Świerzy - Midnight Cowbow (1973); Right: Mieczysław Górowski - Police (1982)
http://www.fuelyourmotionography.com/files/polish-posters04.jpg
I think that Gorowski's poster on the right has a strong visual impact and does get the message across with it. I think it is interesting how artists use their art as statements against unfair or unjust things in the economy. It shows that art can be something more than just something to look at.
DeleteThe poster on the right is striking, the graininess of the image and the color choice add to the effect of the visual. I think it delivers the message perfectly
DeleteThis example is really strong and some how scary. The message is strong and right to the point.
DeleteConceptual image in graphic design was influenced by the need to reinvent the communicative image to express advanced visual ideas in the machine age. This was so that images could convey ideas and concepts. Characteristics of the design movement were “spatial configurations of cubism; the juxtapositions, dislocations, and scale changed of fauvism; the pure color loosed from natural reference by expressionism and fauvism; the recycling of mass-media images by pop art” (1)
ReplyDeleteMilton Glaser is an example of a designer who was well known for his graphic techniques creating images “using flat shapes formed by then, black ink contour lines, adding color by applying adhesive color films” (1). An example of his work is: http://cyraptor.deviantart.com/art/The-Beatles-a-la-Milton-Glaser-56089678
Other examples of conceptual images are http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphic-design-durham-nc/4113723539/ and http://grainedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pt_2.jpg
Source:
Megg’s History of Design
I really love the example you gave by Milton Glaser (I love the Beatles!). I've done a project on him before, so I'm surprised I've never seen that one before. A great example of conceptual image—it only says the band name, but you obviously know what it is based on the figures and their instruments. I also really love one of his most famous posters (http://www.miltonglaser.com/the-work/444/columbia-records-poster-for-bob-dylans-greatest-hits-1975/) for Columbia Records of Bob Dylan. I just love hom simplistic it is, yet it's apparent that these color blocks make up the notorious face of Bob Dylan.
DeleteI also think Milton Glaser has some really interesting work. I really admire how he could implement simple flat shapes and planes of color in design and still make the end result interesting.
DeleteConceptual image was a graphic style that emerged during the 1960s. It took from the ideas of surrealism, pop art and expressionism. During this time, the artists wanted to communicate using image to express the age of the machine and advanced thought. The art form was to tell more than just narrative thought. The artists sought to bring ideas and concepts into their art pieces. The artists designed the entire space while integrating words and image. (1).
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting artists of this time period was Polish artist, Waldemar Swierzy. His art works took on an illustrative painterly style rather than a typical graphic design approach. Aside from the Jimi Hendrix poster we discussed in class, he made many other posters that used this kind of style that had energy behind every stroke. An example is the poster for Cepelia (2). The rooster made for the poster with simple strokes of color combined with type is an example of conceptual image. Swierzy combines the image and type to get his message across for the event.
1. Megg's History of Graphic Design
2. http://theanimalarium.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
The poster with the rooster is really cool, it looks very dynamic because of the paint drops, and the cropping is interesting as well.
DeleteDuring the first half of the twentieth century narrative illustration ruled American graphic design. But after the improvement of photography caused the illustrator design to decline rapidly. Photography “stole” illustration traditional function to create narrative and description of an image therefor a new approach emerged in design. Conceptual image conveys not merely information about the product or idea that the poster or ad is displaying but also promotes a larger or separate concept as well. It concerned with the design of the entire space of the page and the integration of word and image. Designers were searching for relevant and effective images. Their primary goal was to communicate through the image and they reduced the verbal content to a few words or just to the product name. Mental content joined perceived content as motif. The traditional boundaries between the fine arts and public visual communication became blurred.
ReplyDeleteJerzy Janiszewski, Polish designer created the international symbol of the struggle against oppression. They used this logo in 1980 when the shortage of food, electricity and housing led to strikes and the formation of the illegal Solidarity labor union. http://www.polishnews.com/art_pics/A_Janiszewski_EU.jpg
Marian Nowinski designed very powerful political posters. He created a poster against censorship. On his image the book by the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, is closed by large metal spikes. He also created the poster “Palestine: Homeland Denied” http://www.palestineposterproject.org/sites/aod/files/imagecache/poster_images_full/posters/1010_PPT.jpg
Sources: Meggs’ History of Graphic Design + http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/Lecture09/ConceptualImage.html
Wow, I love the poster by Marian Nowinski, it is very strong. The simple black and white palette gives the poster a lot of texture, plus it is arguable that everything is more powerful in black and white. The image breaking through the lines of the Star of David is a bold statement.
DeleteSide note, do you know if the image under the scarf is a person or eagle or something complete different? I read somewhere that’s a person, but it doesn’t exactly look like it.
Around the 19050s traditional illustration started seeming outdated. Photography could produce way more realistic imagery, so the objective of illustration had to change from simply reproducing an image or creating a narrative. Instead, designers turned to symbolism and concept in order to create simple images that were more than meets the eye.
ReplyDeleteIn New York, art students Seymour Chwast (b. 1931), Milton Glaser (b. 1929), Reynolds Ruffins (b. 1930), and Edward Sorel (b. 1929) started a publication called the Push Pin Almanac (1). Glaser and Chwast united image making and design layout into a total communication conveying the individual vision of the creator, who was also involved in the total conception and design of the printed page. Using art and graphic history from Renaissance paintings to comic books as a data bank of form, images, and visual ideas, Push Pin artists freely paraphrased and incorporated a multiplicity of ideas into their work, often reshaping these eclectic sources into new and unexpected forms (1).
A lot of their ideas were simple yet very engaging. For example, (2) a post card announcing that the studio had moved, has an illustration of a shoe on it. The leg is positioned diagonally, suggesting movement. The word “moves” is italicized, repeating the contour of the leg. The actual copy could have been more effective (you can barely see it), but the whole piece is certainly eye catching.
(1) Megg’s history of graphic design
(2) http://www.pictureboxinc.com/blogs/containerlist/files/MG10-A18-Push-Pin-Moves-690.jpg
I agree that the Push Pin poster is eye-catching. I love how the image of the foot seeming runs off the poster-- like you mentioned, it gives it movement.
DeleteI have also found that a lot of conceptual art examples are more simplistic. I think this might be because since the concept is something that takes thought and consideration, the subject matter works better with less going on in the composition.
DeleteThe conceptual images became the essential parts of poster design in the United States and Poland after 50s. American graphic designer Milton Glaser is best known for his 1967 Bob Dylan poster. Those tangled color circles echoed art-nouveau, op-art, and Surrealism forms. The work from Glaser's Push Pin Studio was marked as Push Pin Style. Its international influence is far-reaching .Polish Poster art was a movement from 1945 through the 1989. The Polish Poster School emerged during the 1950’s . A classic example came from the Polish Poster School, famous for its painterly gesture and dynamic colors.(1)
ReplyDeleteOther example of using conceptual image is Italian graphic designer Armando Testa. In his posters, Testa applied the visual elements of surrealism in to images. He combined the image with simple forms to reveal the true characteristics of subjects.
(1) http://modernposterart.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-conceptual-image-in-poster-during.html
(2)http://dgi-indonesia.com/a-brief-history-of-the-poster/
(3) http://vi.sualize.us/armando_testa_pirelli_graphic_clic_advertising_poster_picture_cLsn.html
The conceptual images of the post-World War II era manifested ideas with the conjunction of both word and image. The graphic illustrators of the time focused on utilizing the image as the primary form of communication with minimal text. The conceptual advertisements of this era echoed the ethos of “less is more” by packing the advertisement’s message solely in its picture. Separate elements of the expressionism, pop art and surrealism movements cultivated a mobilizing force of inspiration of the conceptual image movement.
ReplyDeleteFollowing World War II, the Polish economy was in dire straits, suffering from the newly enforced constraints of communism. Posters soon became the thriving social force within Poland, with Henryk Tomaszewski at the movement’s forefront. Tomasweski helped his country transition from a period of lament and grief into one of vibrant color and aesthetics, and he did so solely through the poster medium. A shining example of Tomaszewski’s eccentric design style is his poster for Czyste Szalenstwo’s film, Hellzpoppin (1). The film poster bears a stark contrast from its grim predecessors by Tadeusz Trepkowski.
(1) http://www.cinemaposter.com/TOMczysteszalenstwo.jpeg
Term "Conceptual art" came into wide use after the article "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art" by the Minimalist artist Sol Lewitt appeared in the summer 1967 issue of Artforum. "Idea art" is a synonym for Conceptual art. In Conceptual art the idea, rather than the object, is most important. Conceptual artists were reacting against the commercialized art world of the 1960s, the formalism of post-war art (especially the impersonality of Minimalism), as well as the limitations of traditional art. What the viewer usually saw in the gallery was merely the document (drawing, photograph, written proposals, charts, maps, video, and even language itself.) of the artist's thinking process. Sometimes, not even a document was produced. The concept was the "material." Conceptualism was sometimes used as an all- encompassing term to describe other non-traditional art movements as well, such as Performance art and Earth art. Because the art is conceptual, the subjects were extremely varied and esoteric.
ReplyDeleteThrough the employment of diverse techniques, Minimalism, Performance Art, Installation,... conceptual artists have essentially sought re-interpret, what Pop artists first presented in a disorganized manner, and with no basis in the art theory. In fact, by defining the concept of an object in various ways, and through linguistic presentation and written explanations, they have directly questioned the very essence and nature of art, its mental and imagined aspects being a matter of no consequence.
For example, the dynamic composition of Tadeusz Trepkowski's poster, “Nie,” captured the memory of the devastation wrought in World War II—just one in four buildings remained standing in Warsaw. The threat of further international conflict generated much propaganda in the 1950s promoting the cause of peace. The Communist central state focused its attention on the rebuilding of the capital as a symbolic center of a new utopian order menaced by "capitalist aggression." Trepkowski died at age forty, acknowledged as one of the most influential poster designers in Poland.
http://www2.palomar.edu/users/mhudelson/StudyGuides/20thCentLate_WA.html
http://www.caroun.com/art/conceptualart/conceptualart.html
Fajny blog! Great Art Awesome - Evenflow STUDIO powstało z potrzeby tworzenia unikalnych rzeczy, dzielenia się naszym spojrzeniem na świat i spełniania swoich marzeń Evenflow STUDIO
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