Citations
The Weiner Werkstatte was part of this ‘quest for an appropriate design for the new century’[1]. The artists involved were people who questioned the world around them, and the First World War intensified their desire to do things differently. ‘From the turmoil, ashes, rubble and disorganization following WWI came the natural desire for reconstruction, for the creation of a new world based on proper principles[2]’. The war is a prime example of how this want for a new society was not just in the arts. Politics were also ready for huge changes. Russia was experiencing fierce revolutions during 1917, and this inspired artists and intellectuals alike. ‘Many young artists and designers pledged allegiance to the working classes’ as a result[3]. The world was calling for a new breed of design that could transcend different classes, races and cultures. The influence of Politics spans the entire 2oth Century, WWII saw the Nazi’s rise to power and the effectiveness of Hitler’s propaganda. ‘The fact that the swastika elicits such strong emotional responses is a sinister testament to the power of the Nazi campaigns’[4]. They were an Avant Garde political party, they may have rejected the modernist style but they were a movement of people who thought they had the answer. Switzerland became a safe haven from Germany for artists such as Tschichold, Ruder and Hoffman; their ideas were dubbed the ‘International Typographical Movement’. There was a ‘transformation of the radicalism of early modernism into a seamless instrument of corporate capitalist enterprise’[5]. Unsurprisingly this mainstream caused the emergence of alternative culture. Events such as the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights struggle and Gay liberation stirred the population. Zap was at the forefront of this counterculture a magazine that ‘included LSD fuelled fantasies, libertarian politics and sex – plenty of sex[6]’. It was an age where people felt they could do what they wanted. This carried over into the 80’s and the economic boom. Seen most clearly in architecture of the time. The 1972 demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing estates served as a metaphor for the death of the 1920’s ‘Utopian Dream’. The ‘vision of modern skyscrapers that had served as a launching pad for new lives had collided with the reality of urban poverty’[7].
[1] Aynsley, J. (2001) Pioneers of Modern Graphic Design – A Complete History. London. Beazley Publishers.
[2] Remington, R. (2003) American Modernism. California. Laurence King.
[3]Aynsley, J. (2001) Pioneers of Modern Graphic Design – A Complete History. London. Beazley Publishers.
[4] Heller, S. (2008) Iron Fists – Branding the Totalitarian State. New York. Phaidon.
[5] Remington, R. (2003) American Modernism. California. Laurence King.
[6] Sabin, R. (2001) Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels – A History of Comic Art. New York. Phaidon.
[7] Eskilson, S, J. (2007) Graphic Design – A New History. California. Laurence King.