HisGD- 4/03

Herbert Matter, Lester Beall

Herbert Matter

-Swiss-born American photographer and GD

-important for use of imagery, and scale shift

-influenced New Yor school of Designers

Swiss tourism

-exaggerated scale, graphic lines

1936- comes to the U.S

Paul Rand- good guy

                                    Charles and Ray Ems

-uses abstraction of form to speak about the form.

Ad for knoll

 Modernism was very slow to take in U.S.

The Container Corporation of America

-made/invented cardboard boxes

-highers A.M Cassandre, Herbert Matter to design ads and print.

-embraced Modernism and European art

Tischold’s Elements of typography was not embraced, “anarchy!”

Lester Beal – 1903-1969

-graphic designer- self taught, 1920s and 30s

-moves to NY from Chicago-

Corporate Design movement= Madmen

-Like visual contrast

-“Pioneers in Peoria”

  

Rural Electrification Administration 

-using form that’s not there

-communicating the most information with the least means

-like dots and diagonals, graphic

- silk-screening becomes popular

Works Progress Administration- WPA

-effort to employ millions of Americans

-built roads, bridges, and art

-hire European artists to create posters, promoted modernism

-simplicity of form as necessity of medium

-

silkscreen- get most equity of paper

Thoughts: 

Its funny, now that I have seen Herbert Matter's work, I can now see how much of a direct influence his work has had on graphic design. Photo collage was something I appreciate but always considered an easy victim to over use and amateurs. Yet, from Herbert Matter's work, not only did he create the medium, but explored its full potential and kept evolving it to knew levels. By the end of his career, I would consider him more of photographic designer rather than a graphic designer. The emphasis and the effort he put on his photography is what I accredit to Herbert Matter as his most influential contribution. Some of his photographic techniques, such as the ones he used on his vogue covers see similar to a favorite photographer of mine, Jerry Uelsmann. He combined images together during developing to create surreal black and white images. What I got most out of the Herbert Matter movie was an appreciation for "designing" a photograph,whether by collage or straight photography , rather then taking a snap shot.

Questions

I dont have a question so much as a question the consequences of Matter's lifestyle. His work effort and drive to do more made him a great innovative designer, but it seemed to have some negative effects on his family and personal life. I agree that it does vary per person how they balance between work and life, but it called me to question how I want to balance between my work and personal life. I love being a designer and producing good work, but I feel that sacrificing relationships and even health would take away from that enjoyment. I may have periods of my life where my work will, like Matter, take a larger priority than anything else, but it's a lifestyle I could not see myself choosing to maintain.