Reading Response #2 – MM

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

Questions/ Prompts

• What political events were happening during the time and place that these manifestos were written? How did those events influence the authors’ beliefs?
• Consider if and how these manifestos addressed the concepts of authorship/ownership, universal systems of communication, and social/political engagement.
• Which elements of these texts remain relevant for the present, and which elements are problematic? 
• How has the communication process changed since the early 20th Century, specifically with regard to technology?

Reading Response #2

When these manifestos were written there was a world war happening along with industrialization and an advance in technology all over. These events helped artists express themselves in a chaotic and unapologetic manner. Their work started to reflect what was happening around them, which was utter chaos. They tried new aesthetics and typefaces to catch people’s attention and show them that a huge change in society and life, in general, was in order. These manifestos addressed the concepts of ownership and authorship by artists’ speaking their minds about their views whether they be emotional or political and putting them on public platforms such as newspapers, books, and magazines. Their art was able to communicate and catch peoples’ eye on a global level because of the new approaches they were taking such as minimalism and asymmetrical designs. 

Some of the elements that remain relevant today are the strive for change through art and they want to spread a message across the globe through it. The elements that are problematic are probably the radical beliefs of some of these manifestos and their approach to solving problems that occur in societies. The communication process has become a lot easier since we can send a text within seconds and call across the world and talk for hours. Especially with so many social media platforms and the internet, art and the artist itself can go viral worldwide within days of posting. Communication has become a lot more convenient to say the least.