Photomontage

Photomontage is produced by manipulating two or more images from separate sources and combine negatives and positives in order to create a new image. Although this type of art started around world war one by the Dadaists, the use of photo manipulation was already being introduced in the 19^th century when photography was invented.

Dadists rejected the widespread attitude of patriotism and sacrifice. They could not tolerate the horrors of war, society`s faith in technological development and how text and images could be manipulated in such a way that innocent people were persuaded to believe lies and act irrationally. Artists rebelled with their art, and people like John Heartfield used photomontage to do so.  Heartfield`s work used this type of art in order to directly attack the Nazi party using symbols or quotes

directly taken from the Nazi`s. An instance of this, is his
work ‘Millions stand behind me’ which was a phrase used by Hitler himself. Hitler wanted to state that he has the support of the public, however Heartfield used the

'Millions stand behind me' John Heartfield

same slogan in order to criticize his reliance on wealthy contributors in order to achieve electoral success. Furthermore it communicates to the viewer that politics runs on money. In his work, the artist eliminated any extra details that could have been a hindrance to the message, which makes the poster even more effective and powerful. Moreover, he uses limited colours, sans serif typography and dynamic diagonals. Heartfield`s aim was therefore to raise public consciousness and promote social change. Contrary to Heartfield, artists such as El Lissitzky and Aleksandr Rodchenko made the use of photomontage in order to emphasize and promote commitment to Communist plans and accomplishments.

'Cut with the kitchen knife through the last

Weimar beer-belly Cultural Epoch in Germany'

Another important person who used photomontage was Hannah Hoch. Hoch first used photomontage in order to attack the failings of the Weimar republic in Germany. Later on however, her work focused more on gender inequality. She was very much inspired from the collages of the cubist Pablo Picasso and Dadaist Kurt Schwitters. Perhaps the most popular work by Hoch is ‘Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer- Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany’. This photomontage is a heavily populated poster which features various political figures, photos of machines as well as typography taken from newspapers, magazines etc. Hoch makes use of both serif and san serif typography whilst the composition is

organized into sections. The kitchen knife represents the stereotypical ideas of women in society. Pictures of women also feature in this photomontage, whilst on the right hand lower corner the artist put a map of the countries where women had achieved the right the vote. Next the map, Hoch put a self portrait as a signature.  Other photomontages by Hoch include ‘portly German politicians in their swimsuits floundering against a backdrop of fine embroidery’ and 'Flucht' (Flight).

Photomontage is still sometimes used in political or satirical contexts among others however, artists today use Photoshop which facilitates and quickens the process. Contemporary artists such Adrian Brannan, Peter Kennard and Yutaka Inagawa use this kind of art in their work.

Adrian Brannan

Yutaka Inagawa

           

                    

Peter Kennard

       

Reference:

Hannah Höch | Artworks, Artist Biography | Artsy. 2014. Hannah Höch | Artworks, Artist Biography | Artsy. [ONLINE] Available at:https://artsy.net/artist/hannah-hoch. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

A Short History of Photo-montage I: 1822-1945 | Disphotic. 2014. A Short History of Photo-montage I: 1822-1945 | Disphotic. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.disphotic.lewisbush.com/2011/01/21/a-short-history-of-photomontage-i-1822-1945/. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

John Heartfield: The Meaning of the Hitler Salute. 2014. John Heartfield: The Meaning of the Hitler Salute. [ONLINE] Available at:https://suite.io/zuzana-minarikova/40p82tk. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

A Short History of Photo-montage I: 1822-1945 | Disphotic. 2014. A Short History of Photo-montage I: 1822-1945 | Disphotic. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.disphotic.lewisbush.com/2011/01/21/a-short-history-of-photomontage-i-1822-1945/. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

MoMA | The Collection | Photomontage. 2014. MoMA | The Collection | Photomontage. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10158. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

MoMA | Hannah Höch. Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (Schnitt mit dem Küchenmesser durch die letzte Weimarer Bierbauchkulturepoche Deutschlands)]. 1919-1920. 2014. MoMA | Hannah Höch. Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (Schnitt mit dem Küchenmesser durch die letzte Weimarer Bierbauchkulturepoche Deutschlands)]. 1919-1920. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/29/704. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

MAT 200A 2011. 2014. MAT 200A 2011. [ONLINE] Available at:http://cargocollective.com/mat200a/Photomontage-A-Collection. [Accessed 25 October 2014].

Steven Heller, 2012. 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design. 3.3.2012 Edition. Laurence King Publishing.

Philip B. Meggs, 2011. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. 5 Edition. Wiley.

The New Art

William Morris

Towards the late nineteenth century, critics and artists were extremely displeased about the great decline of craftsmanship due to the effects of industrial revolution. They despised the imitations of ornaments created by the machines. John Ruskin along with William Morris wanted to restructure the arts and crafts movement. Their aim was to replace cheap mass production with handiwork. Although they did not succeed in their mission, Ruskin and Morris managed to inform the public about the problems that industrial mass-production had raised. They desperately hoped for a ‘new art’ “based on a new feeling for design", as stated by E.H Gombrich   in his book ‘the story of art’.

'Peacock Skirt' by Abrey Beardsley

The term ‘Art Nouveau’, came from the salon de l` Art Nouveau, a gallery in Paris run by art dealer Samuel Bing. This gallery was an important site, an international meeting place where many young artists were introduced. Art Nouveau was a style of art that looked at natural organic forms. Common motifs included peacocks, flowers and human figures amongst others. The use of flat colours, chromatic contrasts and new lithographic techniques were also quite evident in works produced in this manner. It was not only traditional art that was influenced by this style but all aspects of art and design including architecture, graphics as well as product design.

Japanese Prints

On the other hand, art nouveau was influenced by various things including Japanese prints, the arts and crafts movements, Celtic art as well as William Blake`s book illustration. Other inspirations include the post impressionist artists Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, modern architecture, abstract art and also surrealism. Perhaps the most influential aspect however, was Asian art. The East and West influenced each other’s style of art when these countries started trading. Asian art influenced the western art in aspects such as subject matter, use of space, flat colours, simplification of forms, as well as the use of decorative patterns. All of these aspects, helped to revive graphic design during the last decade of the nineteenth century. This influence is clearly seen when one compares the Japanese print with Aubrey Beardsley's 'peacock skirt'. The flatness, black lines, along with the stylized patterns on the drapery and figures themselves are all common traits found between these two illustrations.

A new law was introduced in 1881, which removed several censorship bans on press. This new law also stated that posters could be hung anywhere except on churches, at polls, or places where official announcements were hung. This helped greatly the poster industry, creating a new value for the applied art. In 1866, Jules Cheret, an important graphic artist at the time, opened a printing firm where he produced chromolithography (colour lithography), a system which used three stones to produce colour. Due to this, Cheret is now known as the father of modern poster. His posters made use of refined designs expressing energy and movement, the idealized female figure and luminous colours. The subject matter was mostly of the Parisian nightlife and activities in cafes and theatres in Paris. The provocative female figure occurred in many of his posters, so much that they were nicknamed ‘Cherettes’. Artists that influenced Cheret include Watteau, Fragonard and Turner. 

Jules Cheret`s Poster

Jules Cheret`s Poster

Jules Cheret`s Poster

References :

The Peacock Skirt; A Portfolio of Aubrey Beardsley's drawings illustrating 'Salome' by Oscar Wilde | Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent | V&A Search the Collections. 2014. The Peacock Skirt; A Portfolio of Aubrey Beardsley's drawings illustrating 'Salome' by Oscar Wilde | Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent | V&A Search the Collections. [ONLINE] Available at:http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O140256/the-peacock-skirt-a-portfolio-print-beardsley-aubrey-vincent/. [Accessed 13 October 2014].

Jules Cheret: French Poster Designer, Lithographer. 2014. Jules Cheret: French Poster Designer, Lithographer. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/jules-cheret.htm. [Accessed 13 October 2014].

History of Art: Modern Style - Art Nouveau . 2014. History of Art: Modern Style - Art Nouveau . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.all-art.org/history530-3.html. [Accessed 13 October 2014].

Philip B. Meggs, 2011. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. 5 Edition. Wiley.

E.H. Gombrich, 1995. The Story of Art. 16 Edition. Phaidon Press.

Pictograms, the international language

Chinese Characters derived from

 pictographs

The origin of the word pictogram is from the Latin verb pingere – to paint or depict. Similarly, a pictograph is an image signifying a particular object, place, event, idea or action. As evident by discoveries made in Egypt and Mesopotamia, these illustrations were the first form of writing where the picture, resembles the meaning. This is also the case for Chinese characters which have derived directly from pictographs and phonetic symbols.

Pictograph showing the escalator

going up.

These illustrations have always been a means of visual communication, an international language which can be understood by everyone, despite the person`s native language or educational background. An advantage of such illustrations is therefore that even an illiterate person is able to understand the message clearly. Anyone in the world familiar with an escalator will understand the significance of a pictogram similar to that on the left . On the other hand however, if a person comes from a different culture where he is not familiar with the object depicted, then the message communicated might not come across.

Isotype logo

In the 1930s the Viennese economist and museum director Otto Neurath along with his wife, introduced the international system of typographic Picture Education, also known as Isotype. This set of pictographic characters was initially created so as to produce a graphic communication of information about locales and events amongst others. Neurath`s pictograms were formed from simple silhouettes which represented an image. This type of silhouette was much favoured since it did not allow for personal interpretation.  The main idea was ‘to create narrative visual material, avoiding details which do not improve the narrative character’ as was stated by Neurath in one of his books. He was convinced that isotype could potentially become the first worldwide pictorial language.

Another example of pictograms is found at the international Olympic games. Otl Aicher and his team created a set of about 180 pictograms for sporting events and services using a square grid. Other projects by Aicher and his team include work for large corporations such as Lufthansa and the information system in Frankfurt airport. The future style of symbols was influenced greatly by the complete system of symbols for air traffic and travel created by Aicher. On the other hand, El Lissitzky, a Russian artist and designer, created a set of pictograms when he collaborated with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky on a collection of poems which were meant to be read out loud at public meetings. Lisstzky changed text type into pictograms, so as to give the reader a greater sense of the meaning.

Pictograms for different sporting events

Pictographs are still used today as illustrative signs, for statistical diagrams, as well as an indication of places such as toilets, airports, and Exits. In addition pictograms are used on clothing labels to indicate the proper way to wash particular clothing. Interestingly enough, these symbols are still used today in some non-literate cultures in Africa as a means of written communication. As can be seen therefore, pictograms are still a powerful means of communication which can also be described as an international language.

Pictogram found in bathrooms

Pictograms found with clothing

References:

Oxford Dictionaries. 2014. Oxford Dictionaries. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/. [Accessed 7 October 2014].

An Introduction to the History of Graphic Design. 2014. An Introduction to the History of Graphic Design. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.designhistory.org/. [Accessed 7 October 2014].

What is the History of Pictographs?. 2014. What is the History of Pictographs?. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-history-pictographs. [Accessed 7 October 2014].

The History of Visual Communication - Ideograms. 2014. The History of Visual Communication - Ideograms. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.citrinitas.com/history_of_viscom/ideograms.html. [Accessed 7 October 2014].

Steven Heller, 2012. 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design. 3.3.2012 Edition. Laurence King Publishing.