Essay On Late Modernism

This film not only goes so far as to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the typeface but also goes on to use Helvetica as a catalyst to a conversation that speaks of graphic design and our society as a whole, and how it reacts to typography and the visual images we are bombarded with daily.

The Baskerville typeface was based upon Baskerville’s preferred handwriting, and has become known as one of the first designs in the transitional style. Transitional typefaces have thinner serifs than their predecessors in the old-style, and a greater contrast between thick and thin strokes. These contrasts in stroke help to define Baskerville’s shape, making it more legible than old-style typefaces such as Caslon. Baskerville’s typeface achieved a delicacy previously unseen and appeared crisp on the page, making it ideal for large volumes of text. Perhaps the most notable character in Baskerville’s typeface is the famous uppercase Q, its tail a flourish from his past as a writing master, however the lowercase g is also notable for its unclosed lower bowl and curled ear. Baskerville’s perfectionism required him to inspect Handy’s punches with a microscope to ensure their quality, and he refused to use the same punchcut for more than one printing run.

Throughout time, there have been countless artists, designers and typographers that had the opportunity to make a bold statement, invent the next best thing or to engrave their name in the design industry for all eternity. Although ordinary people don’t realize a good design when they see it, they know it has attracted them somehow and they feel the need to ask and wonder how it came to be. Without question, Eric Gill has note ably revolutionized the type world. Without him there would be no benchmark for humanist typefaces; without Gill, there would be no Gill Sans, the font that will consistently be seen as a crisp, clean and readable font; as all typefaces should be. Despite for his one notorious face, he has created 11 typefaces, wrote

The influential typeface Helvetica, a neo-grotesque1 sans serif type design, came into being in the early 1950s - after the Second World War. The expectation of the designers, Edouard Hoffman and Max Miedinger was to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form and could be used on a wide variety of signage to remake a new identity apart from the past (). Originally named as Neue Haas Grotesk, the typeface was changed to Helvetica in 1960. Today, Helvetica, as an aesthetics constant, although not perfect, mastered the quantum leap in 1957 from metal type to the digital age of word processing. Axel Langer, a curator of Islamic Near Eastern Art, mentioned it as ‘an impersonal typeface for today and tomorrow ().’

“Modernism was the answer to the world’s woes.” (Heller, 2012). In a way, this was true. The modernism movement in graphic design started after World War 1, influencing the world after a time of war and hardship - just when it was vulnerable and needed it most. Modern artists of the time had the opinion that art and design should echo life in the consitutional revolution and communicate with a modern audience through deeper ideas and values in their design and art works. The Modernist movement broke away from traditions in thinking, society and art. A new era was starting. The Modernism movement eventually developed into two parts - the “high” modernism and the “low” modernism. High modernism represents the intellectuals and low modernism was based to the everyday person. Low modernism also focused on mass production and accesibility whereas high modernism focused on the ideas and values they were trying to communicate and influence through their work. The movement was moving away from traditional thinking in art and society, giving a new beginning to the world of design. This was because design was needed to relate to the every day audience as well as having a deeper meaning, so two streams were created. Modernism ignored the previous tendency to only use realism in art, deeming it unnecessary and irrelevant. In fine arts high modernism was mostly geometrical abstraction and expressionism whilst low is the practical set of guides for new influences on society. But which

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, changes in the dynamics of society caused intellectuals to question the traditions of everyday life. From religious views to the arts of literature, traditional values and forms were rejected, thus defining a line between the two time periods, which can be considered as the start of the Modern era. Also known as Modernism, the modern era used literature as an outlet for expressing the thoughts and feelings of the time. Modern texts use city life, industrialization and globalization, and ironic and satirical themes to showcase their bleak outlook on life post both world wars. The nature of these events are aspects of society

derived from earlier sources of typefaces, Slimbach did a great job in modernizing an older

“The Helvetica typeface is one of the most ubiquitous design classics of all time in 2007 it was their 50th anniversary.” “Eduard Hoffman and Max Miedinger a feculence designer who had been an employee of the Hass type family in Munchenstein in Switzerland, was

The many aspects of the modern period, political, social, and others, were all very different and yet connected in one trait: change. Some major things were happening in America, and no part was left untouched. World War 1 had come and gone, and had left its mark on the culture and economy of the country. Wars cost money, and America had spent a lot, not just in money but in lives. That war was the deadliest in history at that point, and a lot of men were killed, and those who survived had to have endured brutal conditions and horrifying experiences. Desperate to leave those dark days behind, those that returned soon pushed social life to a whole new level.

In graphic design, deconstructivism gave its name to one of the majoy typographic movements, starting in the early 1980's and contunuiing in the present realm of modern design. Taking on a more experimental approach to typography, type has been relased from its adopted linear structure since the 1920's. Floating type compostions and fragmented type compositions have become increasingly popular, creating a spatial non linear process. Now a page is no longer just read, but percieved, beyond the pure textual content. In mordern times, designers have been faced with the challenges of economic down turns, environmental issues, rising poverty, crime and terrorism forcing graphic designers to take a long hard look at their work. Designers have come to sought inspiration in mixed media and unconventional material ranging from ticket stubs to meat to express the nature of their message.

The focus of this essay is to explain why the International Typographic Style or “Swiss” style was so important to the mid twentieth century and how it got started. Firstly, it is an art movement that internationally began in the 1950’s, but the origins can be traced back at least thirty years. It can be thought of as a combination of elements from other movements such as Constructivism, De Stijl and the Bauhaus. According to Richard Hollis’ book Swiss Graphic Design, there are “at least three factors that account for the ‘Swiss’ style” (Hollis, R. 2006, P9), these being the country’s location, the language and the culture. There is evidence to prove that there are at least 2 other factors, especially for the origin of the style, which is shown in the book, along with several others. Although not directly linked to the foundation of the style itself, these 2 other factors include the designers and the typography, after all, it is known as the International Typographic Style. In this essay we will be discussing each of them in turn, and explaining views as to why they were important and what effect they had on graphic design in the mid twentieth century.

In recent years, multiculturalism, tolerance and political correctness have been integrated into how American society thinks. America seems to be trying to learn more about the ingredients of her melting pot. These efforts can be best understood by examining post-modernism. Post-modernism is especially important to breaking down stereotypes such as those that exist surrounding the black family.

Modernism at its core focuses on the world, culture and society during the time in which works were made in the late 19th and 20th centuries. While Modernism encompassed a handful of unique styles and movements, only one in particular took an interest in the qualities of dreamlike states and unconsciousness: Surrealism. The Surrealist period dates back to its beginning in 1924 and ending in 1945. Members of this art movement worked together closely in an organized fashion under their leader Andre Breton. Under Breton’s work the First Surrealist Manifesto written in 1924, he laid down the movement’s foundation and created a stepping stone for other artists to follow behind. Through this text and the artist’s works, “the Surrealists laid the foundation for a type of artistic practice that continues to maintain its relevance.”1 Surrealist artists took a stand against the formal workings of the everyday, trained artist and instead looked within themselves to create works turning away from control and logical reasoning that continuously inspires artists even to this day.

In my opinion I don’t agree whether our age is the age of modernism due to several reasons, the first reason is the concept of “multiple modernities”, modernity is not single thing, and if we have to speak about a single modernity we are ignoring other modernities like Asian modernity, African modernity and south Asian modernitnies, so there is a plurality of modernism of different civilization and in different regions. The second reason is the adaptation of nation-state and the influence of western modernity after the rise of globalization and how this adjustment affects the societies in general. The third reason is the concept of the “clashes of civilization”, the world in history or in nowadays era is consist of more than one civilization,

“Modern painting, breaking through old conversation, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world.”(Gropius) The birth of modernism and modern art goes back to the Industrial Revolution, a period that lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology profoundly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. Before the 19th century, artists created art pieces for wealthy people and institution places like the church where they can create art works about storytelling of religious or mythological scenes . These arts were there to instruct the viewers.However, this changed when during the 19th century many artists began to create works that were about people, places, or ideas that interested them, and of which they had direct experience. With the popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences.Challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world, some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums.