During this semester I was able to expand my knowledge and perspective on the art world, as well as find other ways to advance in creating my foundation. Being a part of this class has opened up new ideas and offered new ways to develop my skills. Things that I never would have ever thought about embracing was put to the forefront, and will allow me to go back and reference. One lecture that I was very fond of was the lecture that included Nazi Propaganda and political art. I was very interested in seeing how people were able to affect the minds of the people that they wanted involved in the wars. It was almost as if they were battling through art as well, not just on the battlefield. This lecture gave me a better understanding of the “power” that we as designers possess, and how we can seriously impact everything around us. And though some of the lectures were pretty stale at times, I feel as though it was still needed in expanding my horizons as a designer. I do not regret taking this class, and I do have an appreciation for all of the art that I was exposed to. I understand that it is the foundation that artists stand on today and tomorrow.

I really respect the call back to Do It Yourself that is going on, in contemporary art. The beauty of having something handcrafted can be lost in translation when someone uses a computer. It feels more personal and more profound when you know that someone got down and dirty with their project, turning it into something that someone else could’ve done on a computer easy. But it’s the effort and energy that was put behind it that makes it so amazing. I feel as though I would definitely want to do some DIY projects in the near future, that will push me out of my comfort zone into doing thing that I never would of thought possible for myself. The hand lettering was just as beautiful. It almost seemed like “Freestyle Typography” if I have to put it that way. I feel as though you could put hand lettering and graffiti together in some ways. Considering they both don’t have to consist of a specific structure and follow a specific format. The video that we watched of the designers doing hand lettering on a cold window displays the “freestyle” nature of hand lettering. No need for stencils, or any guides. Just straight forward lettering, how you believe it should be done.

In this lecture I believe that it was a huge step away from the simplicity and structure that was found in the Swiss style. There was barely any care given to the type and more to the way that the image made you feel. Saying that you had to be on LSD to understand the poster or read it was hilarious. It was clear proof of how prevalent psychedelic drugs were at the time. So much so that they had to make posters that centered around the drugs. Although, I find it kind of ironic how everything was about rebelling and changing the way that art is viewed but they were still taking things from earlier styles. For example, the art nouveau style very heavily influenced a lot of their styles. Honestly the color palettes that were chosen had to be centered around making people puke. The colors vibrated against each other, and made a visually stressful impact upon the individual that was onlooking. It was beautiful! No one can dispute that the time of psychedelic visuals and the coming of Rolling Stone was instrumental in changing culture. I did not care too much for the post modernism style. The layouts and color choices were not all that amazing and it just seemed like a decline in design.

The focus on typography was very needed. I really enjoyed the heavy focus on type that was placed during that time period and the extreme focus on legibility and simplicity. The way that type was looked at was definitely revolutionized. In terms of what can be done, people seriously gathered a greater perspective and began to see type as part of the image rather than something that just transfers information. I think it is amazing how so much emphasis can be placed simply on the words and the way that they are used on a page. The contributions of Swiss Design were game changing. The sans-serif types that were contributed were very instrumental in changing our world today. I mean, the emphasis and stress that was placed around legibility and simplicity was well needed. It affects the way that we make our street signs and pretty much everything today. Magazines, commercials, movies, almost everything tends to use sans-serif type  because of the reasons above. Who knew that their only needed to be simple changes made to letters to make everything run much smoother. This is definitely a lecture where we were allowed to further see the beauty, that is type, and explore how it impacted our world much more than we assume.

Considering there was a lot of content to cover in the  last lecture, I will pick out a few things that stood out to me overall. I really enjoyed the craftsmanship and hard work that was put into making the magazine covers for Bazaar and Vanity Fair. It just seemed like artists around that time had more of a tedious hand in the artwork.  Art wasn’t done on a computer. The text, the typefaces, the format, none of it was done on a computer, yet people were very skilled at what they did. Every piece had some type of significance to it and relevance to the time, especially in the vanity fair covers. I specifically like the Vanity Fair cover that had “Uncle Sam” sitting on the planet depressed in the shape of a four. This was very significant, considering that the country was in a depression at that time, so they personified the situation. I can truly see how the graphic design field became more prevalent at that time, and became more instrumental in changing the business world. People became more apt to embracing artistic ideas and visual representation. I also found it interesting how the federal government paid people to create art for them.

The Bauhaus was a very influential place in art, with the artist that it gave to the world. Watching parts of the Metropolis movie was very interesting and I bet for that time, the effects in the movie were outstanding. I mean obviously Metropolis is nothing compared to what can be done now, but at least it paved the way for newer movies effects to be brought to the stage. I also respected the political stance that was taken in the Bauhaus, with the people willing to stand against the Nazis and even go down, rather than conform to their rule. This is just another way that shows how artists are very influential in the world around them. No one can deny that at that time, standing against Nazi principles and beliefs was revolutionary and courageous. I also find it funny how the people that were supposed to be standing up against the structure were suit wearers but that’s another topic. They were definitely ahead of their time. I also really respect how they were beginning to see type as an image rather than just and additive to the page. It was becoming something that you can play with and make something beautiful out of, rather than just a functional piece.

The De Stijl art pieces were very odd, but in a very positive way. I believe that it was hinging on a more functional area of art, considering that I could see some of those pieces, or the designs in a doctor’s office. I liked the way that they used primary colors and stood on the basics of using minimal design aspects. Only emphasizing on crisp lines, primary colors and blocks of color. This makes De Stijl a very simplistic but powerful art movement. For me it is hard to deny the beauty in simplicity. Some pieces seemed to be lacking but when I imagined the process behind it rather than just taking it for face value, it resonated deeper within me that these artists were truly about their craft. Such as the piece with the blue gradient square. In contemporary day that would be easily done in photoshop or illustrator, but the materials that they were using DID NOT do the job for you. They did the work and they put their energy behind something that should speak for itself. It was truly a break away from the idea that images had to be this very complex and beautiful thing.

Cubism has it’s own kind of spin on art and I like that. The way that they stand for the crisp lines an geometric patterns are very interesting and thought provoking, considering that the patterns show an image that you need to find. I believe that Cubism was one of the essential steps towards breaking away from traditional art. I didn’t however like the synthetic cubism too much. It seemed a little bit too out there for me. The Calligrammes weren’t really interesting. I liked how they were starting to use type and consider how it works in space and whatnot, but I suppose that it was more centered around the meaning in the poem or art piece rather than the way that it looks. I found it interesting how it did sort of pave the way for people to use type to create and image, and that was overall an artistically revolutionary act on part of the artist. Orphism was beautiful, with the rich color palettes that were used, and the design choices. I really enjoyed the painting of the Eiffel Tower in the city. IT was really emphasizing the beauty of distorted architecture, that which was yet to be spoken of.

I believe that propaganda is a great example for how the mind can be strongly affected by art. Art is directly words to the unconscious. One can see something that hits them on a deeper level than just seeing a picture. For example, the Nazi propaganda was a very thorough and simple brain washing technique that caused people to contribute to a catastrophe. Some knowingly and unknowingly, but either way the propaganda was a process of changing public opinion. I totally agree with the fact that the Nazis are the reason that propaganda gets such a bad rep but that just speaks to how powerful it can really be. I believe that all of the propaganda was openly bias and the way that it worked is by displaying something simple but meaning so much more. For example, the “I Want You” posters must have had a profound effect on the men who would see them. It made them feel as though they were singled out, and possibly weighed on their unconscious, causing them to make decisions that they would’ve possibly not made. Especially, when in the posters they made it seem as though war was a very romantic and heroic act to be a part of. You could draw that parallel to the movies about war that they have now. Pearl Harbor, the movie, makes war seem like it is a very heroic and romantic setting to be a part of, when killing is never something that should be romanticized.

In the continuation of the Art Nouveau discussion I believe that it is important to focus on the fact that every art piece by each artist has something unique. So rather than it being a part a uniform specific look, artists had their own way in the movement. I believe that, that is the essence of a movement. Where there can be more than one path but they are still under the same umbrella. Whether the designs are with flowing hair and beautiful flourished clothing, or straight, long hair, with stiff lines and crisp edges, it all fell under the same umbrella of Art Nouveau. The Secession furniture was a very “unique” for lack of better word. It seemed to be more for ornament than functionality. All of them seemed more design centered. I believe that some of the colors that were used, weren’t considering ambiance as a factor in the setting. For example, the fire place with the roses was kind of tacky, when it came to the color. And based on the way that it was presented, I don’t believe that it was intended to be used for actual fires. Either way, every artist had their style which I highly respect.