History of Graphic Design March 2nd

The Constructivist movement also emerged in Communist Russia as Suprematism, though the Communists would be loathe to associate themselves with Constructivism due to the political environment of the times. Suprematism established a vocabulary of geometric structure and form based on the perceptual effects of color and formal juxtapositions in the early 20th century. The graphics of the time, place, and political setting used suggestion and its subculture to produce pervasive works. The art was surprisingly had a theme of equality throughout, the emphasis being equality between the sexes.

Some of the important and influential designers discussed in class were Solomon Tellingster, the Steinberg Brothers, Rodchenko, and El Lissitzky.

The Steinberg Brothers merged the usage of photomontage, montage, and design. Using illustration and other elements of design in combination with photography, they were able to produce a large body of work that provided a real world context to their messages.

EL Lissitzky is the designer we talked about the most tonight. Through his careful navigation of politics (a dangerous field for artists) he managed to bridge the gaps between Suprematism and Constructivism. Using his skills in art and his position, he established a typographic standard for the modern movement. El Lissitzky succeeds at
the first book that is built on modernist ideals. The “Isms” of Art was the establishment of the grid as the groundwork for page layout. As an artist, he saw no distinction between the 2D visual arts and the 3D. Often moving into other fields, he was capable of capturing the movement and use of pure forms in three dimensional space.