Walter Gropius; The Theory and Organization of the Bauhaus (1923), László Moholy-Nagy; Typophoto (1925), On Typography (1967) in Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 32-34 and 44-49.

  • According to these  authors, what is missing from the art of the past?
  • What role should typography, photography, and other media play in shaping a new kind of art? 
  • What role should language play in art and design?
  • What sort of new strategies or ideas will be necessary for future art forms? 
  • What should education or “the academy” teach artists about their field?

According to the authors, art institutions only guided artists of the past down specific paths of academia. They were forced to adopt linear skill sets and develop talents that could not be applied anywhere in the real world. In the past, there was no room for alternative talents to be explored and fleshed out. Theories were never developed, leading artists from those academies to fail in the real world. Mediums such as typography and photography should be combined together. When combined in something like a magazine or newspaper, these mediums can open up new forms of communication that can break through cultural and language barriers. In art and design, language should serve as a signifier of the culture the piece comes from. Language is a very powerful communicative tool and thus, it can be used to communicate messages or works that hail from a specific place. It should be used to demonstrate the uniqueness of the culture it originates from. For future art forms, I believe that artist and designers will continue to embrace more contemporary styles like minimalism, surrealism, and pop art. However, I do believe that in the future, we may see art in virtual reality/augmented reality form. I do believe that virtual and augmented reality is the next evolution of technology after computer screens and I do believe that the artists and designers of tomorrow will create new art that embraces these mediums. As the technology of these mediums improves, I believe we may be able to experience art that utilizes styles like minimalism and surrealism in ways never seen before. Maybe the designers of tomorrow can utilize VR in ways so that we can “interact” with the art itself instead of being just a viewer of it. With the rise of minimalist design and growing influence of the post-modern style, things such as shapes and colors hold more significance than ever before. I believe by utilizing these tools to greater effect, artists and designers can propel their designs to great heights. I believe “the academy” should encourage artists and designers to try out at least every medium once. I believe that trying each medium and seeing which one they prefer the most will lead to more fulfilled artists. I also believe that more projects should be introduced where art students are asked to develop a thesis on their artistic interests and create new art based on that thesis.

Hypothesis Annotations

  1. True creative work can be done only by the man whose knowledge and mastery of the physical laws of statics, dynamics, optics, acoustics equip him to give life and shape to his inner vision.
  2. Theory is not a recipe for the manufacturing of works of art, but the most essential element of collective construction; it provides the common basis on which many individuals are able to create together a superior unit of work; theory is not the achievement of individuals but of generations.
  3. True creative work can be done only by the man whose knowledge and mastery of the physical laws of statics, dynamics, optics, acoustics equip him to give life and shape to his inner vision.
  4. typography was for the first time seen not as an isolated discipline and technique, but in context with the ever-widening visual experiences that the picture symbol, photo, film, and television brought.
  5. Instead of using typography—as hitherto—merely as an objective means, the attempt is now being made to incorporate it and the potential effects of its subjective existence creatively into the contents.
  6. The unambiguousness of the real, the truth in the everyday situation, is there for all classes.
  7. Neither curiosity nor economic considerations alone but a deep human interest in what happens in the world has brought about the enormous expan-sion of the news service: typography, the film, and the radio.