Dada Typography

Dada developed as a response to the horrors of the First World War (1914-1918). (Click here for a Dada manifesto written in 1921). Dada artists worked with different media including collage, assemblage, and photography.

They also used typography: "Dadaists delighted in uncoventional typographic design, frequently mixing fonts employing unorthodox punctuation, printing both horizontally and vetically on a single sheet, and sprinkling texts with randomly chosen printers' symbols. This experimentation reflects their fascination with the newly ubiquitous print culture. Tristan Tzara, describing the Dada revolution with graphic describing, noting: "Each page must explode, either by deep and weight seriousness—the whirlwind, the vertigo, the new, the eternal—by the crushing jokes, by the enthusiasm for the principles, or by the manner of being printed." (from the National Gallery of Art website).

Here is some Dada typography:

Kurt Schwitter’s "Gesetztes Bildgedicht/Arranged Picture Poem", created in 1922













Dada Magazine cover. Published by Tristan Tzara.













































Click here to learn more about the history of dada.

Marcel Duchamp's urinal

From the Tate website:
"Fountain is the most famous of Duchamp's so-called ready-made sculptures: ordinary manufactured objects designated by the artist as works of art. It epitomises the assault on convention and accepted notions of art for which Duchamp became known. The original, which is now lost, consisted of a standard urinal, laid flat on its back and signed with a pseudonym, 'R. Mutt 1917'."





















To emphasize how much this urinal "assaulted convention" consider this: In an art survey, it was named the most influential modern art work of all time (Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which we also talked about in class, came in second).
You can read about more about this art survey in a BBC post here

Tour Fallingwater Now!

The good people at Columbia University have posted this amazing link to an interactive tour of Fallingwater. Go here:
http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/related_sites/fallingwater/index.html

and click on the little rectangle on the right hand side under the word "Tour". You can view video, photos and floorplans of Fallingwater. It's the next best thing to actually being there!

Have fun!

Design and historical references

Last class we talked about the Victorian era and how this was a time of historical revivals from the past. We talked about how one could furnish a library in Gothic revival reminiscent of medieval cathedrals, while one's parlor could be done in Greek revival featuring classic Greek klismos chairs.
We talked about how at the beginning of the 20th century artists and designers rejected this historical pastiche and searched for new ways of expression that spoke better of their time and their concerns at the time (industrialisation, segregation of art and design, etc.)
However, as the 20th century progressed, historical references began showing up again in designers' work. Why? Read an interesting article on the topic by clicking here. Please note that the author of the article makes a distinction between using historical references indiscriminately (without apparent reason) vs. using them deliberately: "It is important to distinguish retro design from processes that draw from different stylistic periods and trends indiscriminately, and without an overarching point of historical reference."














Chrysler's PT Cruiser's lines refer to a streamlined past.

Juhani Pallasmaa Lecture on Campus!

Very exciting news!
Juhani Pallasmaa, Finnish architect and architectural critic, is visiting our campus both for an informal event and a lecture! These events will take place Monday, February 22nd and you are all invited.
Below is the invitation. (click on images for enlargement)




























Pallasmaa's writings about architecture and the senses have been food for thought for many people in our profession.

If you are interested in learning more about Pallasmaa before the event, look up his bio online, and also see if you can get a hold of his book The Eyes of the Skin.

Design vs Art

In class we talked about what design is, and we watched a video on what good design is. We also briefly touched on the subject of design vs. art. What is the difference? Is there an intersection? What distinguishes design from art?

Various artists and designers have, through the years, approached this subject from different perspectives.

Click on the image below and flip through to pages 8-9 to see what various designers have said about this.



Artist and furniture designer Donald Judd wrote a famous essay on the subject entitled "It's hard to find a good lamp" which you can read if you click here.

Donald Judd, Chairs #84/5

Donald Judd emphatically distinguishes between design and art. On the other end of the spectrum lie designers such as Marc Newson, who are the embodiment of what's known as "design-art"

Newson's Lockheed Lounge Chaise Longue (1986) sold at auction for $968,000, a sum of money that one would correlate to works of art, not furniture.

Marc Newson, Lockheed Lounge Chaise Longue (1986)

The New York Times has a very good article on "Design-Art" which you can find here

and here's the link for previous post:

http://designwashere.com/80-inspiring-quotes-about-design/

Designers on Design

More quotes from designers on what they think design is.

Hello everybody! This is just to a message to see if I understood howe this works... :) If it does, I promiss I will post something more intereseting... hannah

CLASS 1 VIDEOS

What is good design?



Don Norman: the three ways that design makes you happy