F.T. Marinetti, “Manifesto of Futurism”; Aleksandr Rodchenko, “Who We Are: Manifesto of the Constructivist Group”; and El Lissitzky, “Our Book”, Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong, pages 19-31

Questions

  • What common views do these artists/designers share and where might they disagree?
  • Which elements of these texts remain relevant for the present, and which elements are problematic? 
  • Using visual examples from the Futurists and Constructivists, present the ways that political and economic power can be expressed through visual design.
  • How has the communication process changed since the early 20th Century, specifically with regard to “feedback” and “noise”?

Response

After reviewing pages 19-31 in Armstrong, Helen. Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009 we can see how many artists have strived for the same goal but had different ideas on how to achieve it. For example, we take a look at F. T. Marinetti who used his style of different typography to form all kinds of shapes as we see on page 20. This is a different way from how other artists say El Lissitzky who in my opinion didn’t go all out with the tools compared to Marinetti with his use of shapes and underwhelming text. However, this is the very nature of graphic design with all different people using their art style to achieve their goals whether it be the same or not.

What elements remain relevant for today would be how the use of technology that was introduced in that time would include printing and photography. With the production of printing reaching new heights, many different works can be published to be spread out faster. Something which photography with the technology being further developed to bring such realistic images for many people to see. Something that could be seen as problematic would be Rodchenko’s belief in saying technology and art don’t go together which is kind of backward since there is innovation in technologies for art to flourish. 

To see visual examples from the Futurists and Constructivists, present the ways that political and economic power can be expressed through visual design. We can see “Who We Are” featuring Rodchenko, Stepanova, and Gan who used this text to state their ideals on technology and where it should stand, and that’s not with art as a form of drawing a line whether or not it would benefit mankind through economics or spreading information at a rapid pace for political uses. 

On the topic of communication processes regarding “feedback” and “noise,” it has changed greatly since the early 20th century. With such innovations in the technology of sharing through the internet, you have the option to share your thoughts in the comment section or even message someone directly to let them know how you feel. You can see many examples of this today with Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and much more.

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