I have chosen three (3) pieces from different design periods throughout the 20th Century. Here is what I think!
1. I am a huge, HUGE sucker for iconic imagery. One design style that holds hands with this taste is, of course, Pictorial Modernism. One piece that I generally just enjoy given its nature and all of its associations is J M Flagg's famous "Uncle Sam." I am very much anti-war and am all for finding alternative solutions to global disputes, but this piece, along with others in its classification, are just stunning. This is for the most part casting aside their message, which in most cases involves a strong sense of nationalism. Uncle Sam wants YOU to join the Army. The British had their version, and so did the Germans. I really just genuinely like this because despite its message, it is essential Americana that has been re-appropriated in all sorts of art once the war passed.
2. The De Stijl is an interesting design period to me, mostly because it is just wild, some of the things they came up with. The way they position type and images and how there is a struggle for dominance in each piece and how it is all unified and ripping at the seams all at once. Fascinating. I have chosen a work by El Lissitzky to make my case. This piece is old-looking from the start with its brown paper bag-like background, and it is just all-around gritty, another quality that I enjoy (read: obsess over) in works of others as well as in appropriate pieces of my own. The type in this piece is so effective in catching the eye with the enlarged, white 'g' in the middle of a word that is in black ink. Then, once it has you hooked, you see the print of the woman with a telephone for a head. Its just so quirky, which is something that I appreciate no matter what the context.
3. My third design style/selected piece is "Le Tigre" by Mimmo Rotella. I really like how active it is, and how vicious that tiger looks. I don't know much at all about the piece, but it also looks like it was printed on some sort of alternative medium, which I also really enjoy and often do myself. The color choices are vibrant and right away you feel like you're being assaulted as you go about life, unsuspecting, through the urban jungle.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| UncleSam.jpg | 20.31 KB |
| ElLissitzky.jpg | 51.8 KB |
| LeTigre.jpg | 70.41 KB |
