Revisiting the Avant-Garde

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

Questions / Prompts

While reading “Revisiting the Avant-Garde” 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 you will find in the reading. In your reading response, define these terms and consider in what ways do today’s designers participate in, facilitate, or reject:

  1. Authorship
  2. Universality
  3. Social Responsibility

Provide specific examples (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.

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

Response

Avant-garde movements of the past are kind of similar to the design field of today because artists of today are constantly trying to explore new ways to express art. Either experimenting with new ads, videos, logos, or their own personal works of art. Authorship means being either the author or creator of a book, article, document, or art. All designers of today want to be recognized for their own work and that is what started freelancers to do their own work and get recognition for it. Although you can get recognized in a company as well, sometimes from a business standpoint they will not specifically mention you but the company as a whole. Universality means the quality of involving or being shared by all people or things in the world or in a particular group. Social Responsibility is the principle that, in addition to pursuing profit generation, corporations should strive to act in a way that positively affects society and the world. An example of this is the Black Lives Matter artwork that was made to remind others to respect one another and to stop racism against black people or like Disney when they create video ads for kids to be nice to one another and to help others. One of the concerns that I think might drive Avant-Grande is A.I.-generated art. It is something new and being experimented with but I can see it potentially hurting freelancers.

Annotation Links:

Impartial Communication

Objectivity

Prosumerism