Choosing a particular period from 1800 to the present, in what ways has art or design responded to the changing social and cultural forces of that period?
In October 1917 the Bolshevik party over threw the Russian Provisional Government, this was the beginning of Communism in Russia, a new and revolutionary period of Russian history.
When Nicholas II came to the Russian throne, he never wanted to be Tsar, however despite the fact he could have made things a lot easier for himself and his country by creating a constitutional reform he did not, thus making him extremely unpopular with the majority of the population. Social problems at the outbreak of war included bread riots from the failed harvests, uncountable battle losses from the War and chaos on the front line, with soldiers lacking basic necessities including shoes and weapons, a rise of four times more inflation from 1914-1917 and the peasants began to hoard food due to the increased prices, therefore the cities had no food, Russia had a massive amount of man power, however unlike Germany they lacked the industry to equip its soldiers. ‘The real wages of the workers fell about 50 percent from what they had been in 1913. Russia's national debt in October 1917 had risen to 50 billion rubles’[Wikipedia]. The majority of the population blamed these problems on the Government, rather than the war. In February 1917, tsar Nicholas II abdicated from the throne, leaving the Republic Government to control the country. However, like Nicholas II, this government could not solve the problems with the country, and thus in the October of 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian Provisional Government. Despite the new union of soviet Socialist Republican’s (USSR), large amounts of the population were not happy and thus civil war broke out. After fear of the ‘white army’ seizing guard of Tsar Nicholas and his family, the Bolsheviks took the whole family and servants down to the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg on the 16th July 1918 and shot them all dead. The civil war continued till 1923, by this time Russia was in a state of ruin. Its economy was in pieces, millions of people had died, disease was rife and food was short. Despite this, society changed. No longer was there an upper and lower class, people were equal, men, women, old, young. Furthermore constructivism was born as ‘Trotsky was in agreement with the Realist position that works without subject matter gave up their capacity to communicate. It was in opposition to the view that this capacity resided solely in subject and motif, and that art reflected society, that Russian Constructivism developed’. [Fer, 1989,p.15] This meant that people now sought realisation in the fact the art was not now created for arts sake, whereas now it was created with a purpose that was functional.
I have decided to look at Arkady Rylov’s Sunset of 1917[Fig 1]. This piece of art work shows a sunset across a river. The colours used are bright and bold (purple, orange, red and yellow) which are very predominant. The picture itself has no functional purpose other than to look ‘nice’, however before the Revolution, artwork was only produced for the upper class members of society for aesthetic appeal. This is evident in this piece of artwork by Rylov, as it is very aesthetically pleasing, however it has no purpose to it, other than show a landscape. I feel this image portrays everything about Russia before the revolution, the fact that this image is very fantasized, with the colours. The upper class at this period of time did live in a fantasy world, they did not understand the hardship and suffering the lower class endured.
I have decided to look at the work of Vladimir Mayakovsky ‘Remember Red Army Barracks Day’ this piece produced in 1920 depicts for illustrations on one poster [Fig 2]. The first illustration shows a man in white with white hair being stabbed in the stomach by a red pole. The second illustration shows a fat man eating a white circle, to me this represents the world, his hand has sharp nails on it too, representing evil. The third illustration depicts a soldier filled in red with a star on its head holding a gun, the soldier has an attacking stance to him and looks big and powerful due to the size of his legs and arms. The fourth illustration shows a red hand holding a blue shirt and in the background there looks like a yellow foot kicking the shirt. In the caption by the side of the poster it states what each illustration is says underneath ‘1.we’ve finished off Russia’s white guards. That’s not enough. 2. The ogre of world capitalism is still alive. 3. That means we still need the red army. 4. And that means we’ve got to help it out- the task is clear’. Art in this period of time has changed significantly with emphasis being put upon communism. The work includes many references to communism with the colour red, the hand, the pole and the soldier, which also has the star on its head, this too is a symbol of communism. It represents how communism had spread across Russia and how art work integrated this into its style. Another response to the changing social and cultural force of this period was the fact that although the majority of Russians did not want the Tsar’s to rule the country and knew that there needed to be change, some did not agree with the ‘red army’ and created the ‘white army’ this although could be represented in these images, to the communists anyone who did not agree with communism was seen as an enemy. There was also now a modernist feel to Mayakovskys work due to the ‘freedom’ of this new Government. This was represented with the sharp edges and lines to the work as demonstrated in the fourth image with the hand grabbing the shirt, the hand has a very sharp edge to it. Alongside this, the bold colours that work together create a confident and loud atmosphere to the work, which demonstrates the new era Russia had come to where everyone was equal and no one had any more than anyone else.
Alongside the opposition which influenced art work of this period there was also a new found freedom of sorts, however not in the form of wealth as in communism everyone was equal therefore nobody could have more money than anyone else. Despite this the Bolsheviks wanted art for the masses therefore artists such as Alexander Rodchenko thrived on creating new and exciting pieces of art. Lilya Brik by Alexander Rodchenko depicts this new found freedom of art for the masses it also demonstrates the change in society [Fig 3]. The image depicts a woman in a round circle ‘calling’ with her hand around her mouth, there is then a triangular shape coming out of the circle with words on it. The predominant colour in the image is red, however the colour green, black and blue are also used. The words say ‘the streets are our brushes, the squares our pallets’. I feel that this image as a whole shows so many things about the changes in Russia one was ‘for artists, the situation of putting one’s convictions, ones vision to the test by a socialist revolution was unprecedented’ (Guerman, 1979 p.8). Firstly all propaganda posters such as El Lissitzky’s work ‘beat the whites with the red wedge’ contain the image of a white circle being pierced by a red triangle. This was one of the symbols of communism that people could relate to. Therefore this is shown in Rodchenko’s work. Furthermore, as communism was meant (ideally) to make every single person equal, the woman in this image is depicted calling the people to begin to create art, however, before the revolution women would not have been placed on a poster such as this as males were seen as more dominant and therefore people would be more likely to do something if a man was telling them ‘prior to 1913, they did not even print literature dealing specifically with women’ [Bobroff, 1974, p540] However this is a prime example of social change in Russia at this time as women were now allowed to do the same jobs as men and could wear more masculine clothes. ‘most Bolsheviks themselves felt that directing particular attention to one segment of the working class would create unnecessary division within it. Until 1917, the Bolsheviks firmly opposed any form of separate organization of women. Believing that the revolution was necessary before anyone, including women, could achieve genuine liberation, they called women workers to fight for socialism ‘hand in hand with men’. [Bobroff, 1974, p.540]. Furthermore, ‘Despite all the hardships of everyday life, the strong pulse of the Soviet Republic could still be felt. The working people were of one mind, confident that everything the Revolutions enemies had destroyed could be restored, that all Russia would gain its freedom’ [Guerman,1979,p.21] again this shows that Russian art at this time was very directive in eliminating Russia’s enemies-the white army. Again, as this government was not afraid of change the sharp lines and bold colours are also evident in this image.
Therefore it is evident that art and design in Russia has responded to social and cultural forces of the early 20th Century. This was due to the Russian revolution of 1917, the whole social system changed from a hierarchy of upper class and lower class to equality (supposedly), meaning there were no classes. Furthermore the hardship, and experiences during the revolution before and after meant that there was a new birth of art in a sense of art which has a purpose-constructivism, rather than art for arts sakes.
Margolin,V(1984), Constructivism and Modern Poster, Art Journal, Vol 44, no1, pp 28-32
Mosley.P.E, Russian Revolution http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/russianrev.html, (Accessed 14th January 2011)
HuntFor.com, Constructivism,www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c20th/constructivism.htm, (Accessed 18th January 2011)
Metaphor & Modernity: Russian Constructivism, page 15, Oxford art journal, vol 12, No.1 1989, Brioney Fer
Guerman.M,(1979), Art of the October Revolution, Leningrad, Aurora Art Publishers
Cooke.C (1995),Russian Avant-Garde Theories of Art, Architecture and the City,United Kingdom, Academy group ltd.
Hale.H.E, (2005), perspectives of politics,Vol 3, No 1.
Bobroff.A (1974) Soviet Studies, Vol 26, No.4, Oct, p540
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_%281917%29 (Accessed 12th January 2011)
March 20th, 1917
http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1917-03-20-08-001&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1917-03-20-08 (accessed 20th January 2011)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution (accessed 20th January 2011)
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Portfolio Task 5: How to Read a Photograph
Read the text - 'How Do We Read A Photograph' in Clarke, G (1997) 'The Photograph', UK, Oxford, pp. 27-40
In approximately 500 words, summarise the authors main points, then conduct a brief critical reading of a photograph of your choosing, in the way that the text suggests.
We read a photograph not as an image but as a text which involves a series of problematic, ambiguous, and contradictory relationships between the reader and the image. The meaning of the photograph is created through a language of codes which is called ‘photographic discourse’. A photograph is part of a larger language of meaning. The photographer invites us to look deeper at the photograph rather than non-responsive. The photograph mirrors the world we live in, but mirrors it to show our way in the world, it does this through the photographic message of the culture of the world. There is not only mirroring occurring, but the photographer makes us aware of how and why the photograph has meaning. The photographer as a person is ‘actively’ taking the photograph, taking what they want to into the photograph. The photograph by Diane Arbus ‘Identical Twins’ demonstrates how we can look at a photograph and read into it. The fact that the title suggests that these twins are identical, we immediately look for the differences, furthermore as she has taken just one image with little knowledge of what is around these twins we cannot place these girls in a certain period of time, thus neutralising the photograph. Photographs themselves like pieces of writing have style, which we learn to recognise, this then demonstrates that the photographer self-consciously gives meaning to the photographs. Barthes stated that there are two relationships between the reader and the photograph, one is the studium which is a passive response to the photograph, whereas the punctum allows the reader to create a critical analysis of the photograph. Matthew Brady was a photographer in the American civil war, his photograph ‘General Robert Potter and Staff, Matthew Brady standing by Tree, 1865’ is a photograph which demonstrates two things, one a formal photograph of the army and secondly made himself the subject of the image, which in turn creates himself as a representative icon of the military world. This can then be seen as a conventional portrait. Another photographer, Lee Friedlander purposefully made his photographs difficult to read through breaking up the photographic surface and playing on the absence and presence. His work ‘Albuquerque’ demonstrates this well, yet not only is it broken up and there is an absence of parts in the photograph it too has no single focal point, thus making us look all about the image. Friedlander changed the history of photographs, through creating inferences through the objects in the photographs which in turn demonstrates how to read a photograph and its meaning.
Kate Moss 1990, http://www.corinneday.co.uk/exhibitions.php?action=zoom&id=190&exhibition_id=8
I have decided to look at this photograph by Corrine Day. It portrays a bandy legged, youthful Kate Moss on a beach. The photograph has captured her as a semi developed woman, this captures the shy awkwardness of a teenager. It has also captured her at her most vulnerable. The use of colour in the photograph or lack of it is nostalgic. This demonstrates the mirroring of a photograph and the way that we are in this world,(G.Clarke 1997) 'in other words, series of visual languages or codes which are themselves the reflection of a wider, underlying process of signification within the culture', the vulnerability of a teenage girl, the fact that the landscape, whether created on purpose demonstrates the isolated feelings which teenage girls go through. I feel that as stated by G. Clarke 'the image is much a reflection of the 'I' of the photographer as it is of the 'eye' of the camera', thus demonstrating as the photographer is a woman, she herself is capturing in Moss what she herself has felt at some point in her life.
In approximately 500 words, summarise the authors main points, then conduct a brief critical reading of a photograph of your choosing, in the way that the text suggests.
We read a photograph not as an image but as a text which involves a series of problematic, ambiguous, and contradictory relationships between the reader and the image. The meaning of the photograph is created through a language of codes which is called ‘photographic discourse’. A photograph is part of a larger language of meaning. The photographer invites us to look deeper at the photograph rather than non-responsive. The photograph mirrors the world we live in, but mirrors it to show our way in the world, it does this through the photographic message of the culture of the world. There is not only mirroring occurring, but the photographer makes us aware of how and why the photograph has meaning. The photographer as a person is ‘actively’ taking the photograph, taking what they want to into the photograph. The photograph by Diane Arbus ‘Identical Twins’ demonstrates how we can look at a photograph and read into it. The fact that the title suggests that these twins are identical, we immediately look for the differences, furthermore as she has taken just one image with little knowledge of what is around these twins we cannot place these girls in a certain period of time, thus neutralising the photograph. Photographs themselves like pieces of writing have style, which we learn to recognise, this then demonstrates that the photographer self-consciously gives meaning to the photographs. Barthes stated that there are two relationships between the reader and the photograph, one is the studium which is a passive response to the photograph, whereas the punctum allows the reader to create a critical analysis of the photograph. Matthew Brady was a photographer in the American civil war, his photograph ‘General Robert Potter and Staff, Matthew Brady standing by Tree, 1865’ is a photograph which demonstrates two things, one a formal photograph of the army and secondly made himself the subject of the image, which in turn creates himself as a representative icon of the military world. This can then be seen as a conventional portrait. Another photographer, Lee Friedlander purposefully made his photographs difficult to read through breaking up the photographic surface and playing on the absence and presence. His work ‘Albuquerque’ demonstrates this well, yet not only is it broken up and there is an absence of parts in the photograph it too has no single focal point, thus making us look all about the image. Friedlander changed the history of photographs, through creating inferences through the objects in the photographs which in turn demonstrates how to read a photograph and its meaning.
Kate Moss 1990, http://www.corinneday.co.uk/exhibitions.php?action=zoom&id=190&exhibition_id=8
I have decided to look at this photograph by Corrine Day. It portrays a bandy legged, youthful Kate Moss on a beach. The photograph has captured her as a semi developed woman, this captures the shy awkwardness of a teenager. It has also captured her at her most vulnerable. The use of colour in the photograph or lack of it is nostalgic. This demonstrates the mirroring of a photograph and the way that we are in this world,(G.Clarke 1997) 'in other words, series of visual languages or codes which are themselves the reflection of a wider, underlying process of signification within the culture', the vulnerability of a teenage girl, the fact that the landscape, whether created on purpose demonstrates the isolated feelings which teenage girls go through. I feel that as stated by G. Clarke 'the image is much a reflection of the 'I' of the photographer as it is of the 'eye' of the camera', thus demonstrating as the photographer is a woman, she herself is capturing in Moss what she herself has felt at some point in her life.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Portfolio Task 4: Postmodernism
barbara kruger 'I shop therefore I am' 1987 http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue3/consume_image2.htm
This image is postmodernist as it is a clear step away from the clean cut feel of modernist work, it is also socially challenging with the message it is trying to tell. It also incoporates typography, colour and photography together, which postmodernist work does-a combination of different mediums. Furthermore, it is playing on the quote 'I think therefore I am', which is about being human, therefore this is stating that all we do in this consumer world is shop and that is all we are.
Marcel Duchamp, 'Fountain' 1917 http://www.installationart.net/Chapter1Introduction/introduction01.html
This piece is postmodernist as it is most definitely not clean cut, it too is socially challenging with the symbolism of the object. Again more so than Barbara Krugers work, it uses a real combination of mediums-sculpture and typography together.
Andy Warhol, ‘A Shot of Marilyn Monroe‘ http://www.marilynmonroeart.net/marilyn-monroe-painting/andy-warhols-marilyn-monroe-art
This piece of graphic design by Andy Warhol can be considered postmodernism as it does not follow the modernism feel of form over function as it is more about looking attractive and socially challenging than actually purposefully being designed cleanly to create , furthermore, the graphics used is rough and not clean. Therefore this demonstrates postmodernism.
David Carson http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/09/art_design.html
This piece of graphic design can be considered post modern as it rejects the modernist idea of form over function, this is due to the fact that there is alot of type on the design yet hardly any of it can actually be read.
Rick Poyner, 'No more Rules Graphic Design'Postmodernism"http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/62/52/no-more-rules-graphic-design-and-postmodernism.jpeg
This piece of graphic design by Rick Poyner- the cover for 'no more rules graphic design and post modernism' can be described as post modernism, this is due to the fact that the typography runs off the page and onto the next line without the line word being finished. Furthermore, the blue colour of the typography makes those words difficult to read, however it does make the book cover attractive and eye catching, which to post modernist work is the most important thing, not the function.
The concept of avant-garde is a radical and dramatic change from the norm. It is considered a step away from the mainstream art that the audience know, not only does it defy the idea of graphic design it too is at times politically and socially challenging. Avant garde tackles new subject matters, new mediums and approaches to creating graphic design. Avant garde graphic design can also be judged in terms of originality.
"the architecture of patterns" covers designs in progress, June 2009 by David Carsons http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/t
An example of a piece avant-garde graphic design is "the architecture of patterns" covers designs in progress, June 2009 by David Carsons. This demonstrates the concept of avant garde well as the typography itself is nearly illegible, which, with the purpose of typography being to communicate a message through the written word, this does not. Therefore showing the challenge of avant garde graphic design to the mainstream graphic design.
El Lissitzky - Chad Gadya (1922)http://burmachronicles.blogspot.com/2011/01/russian-avant-garde-el-lissitzky-1890.html
Another example of avant garde graphic design is that of the Russian artist El Lissitzky. Chad Gadya, like 'beat the whites with the red wedge' this shows a new and controversial piece of graphic design, which to look at now, could be said to have been produced in the past few years, due to the radical modern feel of the piece. Like Carson's this piece of graphic design is illegible, yet symbolic at the same time, getting the message across about communism. This, as a good piece of avant garde graphic design, it shows political and social challenges due to the colours used (Red for communism), furthermore the red circles and triangular shapes are very symbolic of communism at the time.
"the architecture of patterns" covers designs in progress, June 2009 by David Carsons http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/t
An example of a piece avant-garde graphic design is "the architecture of patterns" covers designs in progress, June 2009 by David Carsons. This demonstrates the concept of avant garde well as the typography itself is nearly illegible, which, with the purpose of typography being to communicate a message through the written word, this does not. Therefore showing the challenge of avant garde graphic design to the mainstream graphic design.
El Lissitzky - Chad Gadya (1922)http://burmachronicles.blogspot.com/2011/01/russian-avant-garde-el-lissitzky-1890.html
Another example of avant garde graphic design is that of the Russian artist El Lissitzky. Chad Gadya, like 'beat the whites with the red wedge' this shows a new and controversial piece of graphic design, which to look at now, could be said to have been produced in the past few years, due to the radical modern feel of the piece. Like Carson's this piece of graphic design is illegible, yet symbolic at the same time, getting the message across about communism. This, as a good piece of avant garde graphic design, it shows political and social challenges due to the colours used (Red for communism), furthermore the red circles and triangular shapes are very symbolic of communism at the time.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
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