Reading Response 1 – J.P – Revised

Avant Garde

Armstrong, Helen. “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde” Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Pages 9-15Q

Prompt

Do you notice similarities between avant-garde movements of the past and the design field (or the world) of today?

Lets look at a few terms you will find in the reading. In your reading response, define these terms and consider in what ways do todays designers participate in, facilitate, or reject: authorship ,Universality, Social Responsibility.

What idea(s) or concerns do you think will drive the Avant-Garde of the near future?

Response

I noticed that the influence that technology had back then on design is similar to how it was back then, even though it is advancing increasingly faster daily. Authorship is more overlooked as a result of technology making it easier to utilize information. This is one of my concerns because I sometimes am reading an article and it is hard to confirm where the information was sourced at times. This ties in with universality since it can be harder to add to the internet when having to always worry about crediting those before us, although, it is a great thing. As technology improves, we are learning more about how authorship is affecting the future considering how some designers want to allow their work to be used openly and not limited to those who purchase licenses which could debatably decrease the positive impact that an idea or invention could have due to the pay wall that increasingly limits content from being used. These impacts lead to social responsibility since with so much power to make a change in the world, it is up to society and regulators to regulate how powerful what we create can be or become based on its impact and it’s history.

Above is an example of an art style called, “Surrealism” which is very well known for how it gains attention from its viewers through unorthodox and abstract depictions of solid objects melting but retaining most of their form. This art style has probably been used many times throughout history but depending on the copyrighting of this art style, the future ability for people to make art similar to this could become limited as things become stricter, as seen with how companies like google and amazon have been pressured to be strict on how they handle the wishes of the authors of works being shared and displayed on their platforms. This drastic changes is just one of the many that will drive the future of Avant Garde which is concerning because the companies and organizations will usually have all the jurisdiction and it is becoming increasingly difficult to confirm Authorship in an era where everything is easier to do but is regulated through use of history. Confirming where inspiration and information was sourced is less important today but is becoming a trend in which social media sometimes normalizes the spread of information that may not credit sources or have reliable credibility which can result in authorship being ignored due to the ease of just relying on news trends influenced by social media providers.

Annotations:

1. Social Media_1 

2. Personal Perspective 

3. Design Profession 
4. Avant Garde Example