Group Members: Zi Hang, Lily, Hadassah, Bryan, Christian
TOPIC: After reading “Revisiting the Avant-Garde” and reviewing the videos “History of Graphic Design: 1888-1930,” do you notice similarities between avant-garde movements of the past and the design field (or the world) of today?
Let’s look at a few terms we came across in the first reading. In what ways do today’s designers participate in, facilitate, or reject the following? Provide specific examples if you can (ie: specific designers, social media tools, design trends, advertising campaigns, etc). Check out AIGA’s Eye on Design to find out what contemporary designers are working on.
- Authorship
- Universality
- Social Responsibility
What idea(s) or concerns do you think will drive the Avant-Garde of the near future? Who will lead the charge?
In the comments, add your thoughts about these questions, including links to related material as needed. Ask a follow-up question to generate dialog with your group members. Respond at least 5 times in your discussion group — ideally more. Feel free to jump into other groups, but you must contribute meaningful discussion within your assigned group too. Note: free sharing of ideas helps us learn and it’s also part of your participation grade. 🙂
Please add your comments before by Friday, Sep 10th at 11:59 pm to allow time for replies. Check back often to read and reply to the comments.
There are similarities between Avant-Garde and the video because both talk about where art first started from cave paintings. It also says how it has improved over time in decades. An example is from the artist Piet Mondrian who created the piece De Stijl Movement. Where it has very simple shapes that convey a larger meaning. Similar to cave paintings how they show simple shapes and it tells us a story.
What Ideas or concerns will drive Avant-Garde in the near future? and who will lead the charge?
I am not so sure who will drive Avant-Garde in the near future. My guess would be uprising companies, programs, and industries since they would be very new they would need new designs to reach their target audiences and reach more people.
Hey Lily I was wondering do you think only official companies can lead the Avant-Garde or do you believe that it could be a group of individuals that have similar ways of thinking that can make a collective for change
Interesting comparison. I can see why you chose this art piece and compared it to the video. When I looked at it, I felt like the world is changing. Even designs are evolving just by looking at this piece just like the video you watched.
Well, there is one that comes to mind someone like Terry Irwin who is changing her career path to a more socially responsible one. As she is someone who has shifted away from a more corporate heavy design to being one of the founding members of MetaDesign which is a design firm that deals with more ecological thinking and sustainability in design. She as a professor at the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University taught her students to not only see design as a tool for corporate identity but as a tool to change society as a whole.
Interesting topic you mentioned. I did some research and it does seem like her career’s shifted into a more socially responsible one (Transition Design). I found it interesting she’s been a designer for 40 years and works for companies like Nike, Apple, Nissan, and etc. She seems like an influential person. Does her background make you interested in her story?
I feel like her change is something that we all go through from focussing on work going through a growth period whether it is caused by something tragic or we are just compelled to change it is always interesting.
Excellent, Bryan and Zi Hang. I was hoping you’d find that interview on Eye on Design. Yes, Terry Irwin and others have had a big impact on addressing unsolvable problems or “Wicked Problems.” Check out this site for some more ideas about considering unsolvable problems: https://www.wickedproblems.com/1_wicked_problems.php
Well, the ideas that will drive the Avant-Garde are probably the ideas that are already circulating around the world which is a need to become more aware of climate change or how we are becoming a society that is accepting to all sexual orientations. And who will lead this change well I believe that it will be a collective there is not one person who can lead to change but it has to be a collective that strives for the new Avant-Garde.
This is for Terry Irwin from earlier https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/terry-irwin-on-navigating-a-mid-career-crisis-and-solving-big-problems-through-design/
That’s a interesting way to phrase it. I think whoever’s in charge of Avant-Garde requires great knowledge to lead the movement.
There are similarities between avant-garde movements of the past and the design field. The Bauhaus. This style of Bauhaus is related to the Art and Craft Movements with Modernism, The Bauhaus was a school in Germany that teaches all kinds of design to designers. Still to this day, most design education was based on the Bauhaus style. It’s a place where all previous movements and styles came together. Let’s take Paul Klee’s Senecio, 1922 as an example. He made use of orange, red, and yellow to reveal the portrait of an old man. These two styles both have similar art styles and experiment with art. Looking at both of these art styles does tell you a lot of things about how design works. The color scheme and design.
So who will lead Avant-Garde in the future? These can be a tough question as I have no answers to them. If I have to guess, a renowned artist or a famous company or industry. For them to lead the Avant-Garde movement, the person or company needs to be knowledgeable about this topic.
For anyone interested in Paul Klee’s Senecio, here’s the link to it: https://www.paulklee.net/senecio.jsp
Ah, yes. The use of geometry and primary colors are reflective of the Bauhaus style. Interesting to compare with Lily’s Mondrian example and the De Stijl Movement. Klee’s paintings were not as stripped down and stark, however. They reveal more of the artist’s hand with brushstrokes, etc. – whereas Mondrian’s paintings aimed for an ideal geometry. What do you think?
That’s a hard topic to say. I’m not too familiarized with paintings. I did do some research to some extent but if I have to say something, looking at Klee’s art, it seems like the case. I think each artist’s style are quite unique. While Mondrian aimed for ideal geometry, Klee’s painting aim for design through painting. Although different purposes and methods, they still aim for the same destination.
That’s a hard topic to say. I’m not too familiarized with paintings. I did do some research to some extent but if I have to say something, looking at Klee’s art, it seems like the case. I think each artist’s style are quite unique. While Mondrian aimed for ideal geometry, Klee’s painting aim for design through painting. Although different purposes and methods, they still aim for the same destination.
You can ignore the second thread to this. My screen froze for a second.
The Bauhaus was one of the most interesting things because it was a school that was for designer to design for practicality and for human-centered design
Yes, it definitely was interesting. I found it a little surprising that the Bauhaus has foddered some of the best artists and designers in the world.