Poster Presentation

PosterIllustration

Class blog

http://www.historyofillustration.blogspot.com/

Some Categories to Consider…

Some categories that, as I’ve been reading, I’ve found posters fit into include:

Advertising Posters (Literary, Theatre, Consumer Goods, Travel, etc.)

Publicity Posters

Public Service Announcement Posters

War/Propaganda Posters

Postwar Tendencies, pgs. 313-315

“It may appear easier to follow the development of the poster in recent times, but in fact the poster today has acquired a much greater importance and a much more complex character than it had in the past.  Earlier it was possible to single out the middle European poster, or the French poster, or the Russian poster, or the French poster after Cheret, and so on, but now national and cultural distinctions can no longer be made.”  p. 313

“A poster should never be thought of as a painting; it should be considered only in the context of the specific publicity campaign to which it belongs.  Among other things, a publicity poster on a wall is a reduced image of a more complex advertising message that establishes a dialogue with the viewer.  Beacause of this, a history of posters abstracted form their social context and the specific advertising campaigns in which they figured would be incomplete and misleading.

I would suggest, therefore, that to trace the development of postwar posters, one should try to reconstruct the context in which they appeared.  Only by considering them as part of their respective publicity campaigns, rather than as the work of individual artists, can a historically accurate appraisal of them be made.” p. 315

German Expressionism and the War Poster in the West

“The expressionist revolution was influenced by the discovery in the West of Japanese wood engravings, the revival of populist nationalism, the Jugendstil, and a certain civic-mindedness.  Expressionism—which was symbolic, emotional, sometimes violent, and always non-realistic—had a particular impact on film poster, for example the 1919 poster for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [by Stahl-Arpke]…It also greatly affected posters created during and immediately after the First World War.”

Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) was heavily influenced by painters such as Gaugin, Van Gogh, Munch, and Klimt.  He created complex posters for theatre productions and literary novels, geared towards the elite educated class.

However, he also made wartime posters (such as Neider mit dem Bolschewismus, 1919).  Wartime posters were specific to the style popular in the countries they were made.  Thus, in France and The United States they were realistic.

Half way there…..

Hey guys,

Hope you all are having a good weekend. I was wondering if you guys would have a few minutes to stay after Allan’s class Tuesday to discuss where we are and how to go about the presentation and the paper. I’m gonna finish up American Poster Art of the early 19th century. I’ve traced back to the Japanese prints, so maybe we can research the history of printmaking (Ian you might know a good bit about that already) to cover the pre-French Poster Art time period, and then start on the more contemporary stuff. I think the major points we still need to hit are the Polish posters, travel posters, early Hollywood movie posters, and the 60’s Fillmore/pschyadelic music posters. If anyone has some stuff they’d like to add to that, just post. I’ll start drafting some paragraphs on what we’ve covered, post it, and we can all begin to edit together. Hope  to see you guys Tuesday.

-Lindsay

“The Art Nouveau Tradition in Europe,” Max Gallo, pages 303-304

“The style variously called liberty, art nouveau, and Jugendstil [literally translated as ‘youth style’] was a phenomenon that emerged across Europe.  it led to a substantial change in the relationship of words and images in posters, and except in France it dominated the culture of Europe for fifteen years, spanning the turn of the century.” p. 303

Artists who represent the style in England: William Morris (1834-96), Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98)

In Scotland: Margaret Macdonald (1865-1933), Frances Macdonald (1874-1921), Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928)

In France: Alphonse Marie Mucha (1860-1939)

Alphonse Marie Mucha

In Belgium: Jan De Velde (1863-1957)

In Austria: Gustave Klimt (1862-1918)

Gothic lettering had a massive effect on poster illustration at this point.

William Morris was influenced by 15th century Flemish manuscript decorations

In the beginning, Mucha designed his posters in the tradition of Cheret.

“The most inventive contributors to the Jugendstil were [Jan] Toorop and [Henry] van de Velde…In van de Velde’s very famous poster for Tropon (1899) the illustration is ambiguous and allusive, almost as abstract as a trademark, while the inscription is explicit.  The Jugendstil is a far cry from the realism of French posters at the end of the nineteenth  century.”

Lautrec’s Japanese Influences

Hokusai

Color Woodcut Print, 7.6" x 6.7"

Katsukawa

Woodblock print, 12.2" x 5.5"

Woodblock print, 14.5" x 9.5"

Kitagawa Utamaro

influence of Lautrec, color woodblock print

Toulouse Lautrec

color lithograph, 75" x 46"

 

Henri de Toulouse Lautrec

 

from book: Scenes of the Night

born into an aristocratic family in Albi

his mother & father were first cousins, probably related to his dwarfism- weak & sickly from birth- minor falls in early life resulting in 2 broken bones that kept him from growing to full height

strained relationship with father, who was an enthusiast of sports and falconry, which Henri could not participate in bc of his handicap- father was amateur painter and draftsman

settled and worked at Montmarte, France

Montmarte:  Moulin Rouge, Mirliton, and Moulid de la Galette, Chat Noir

 

The Players: 

Aristide Braunt- singer/composer- opened cabaret Mirliton on the site of the Chat Noir founded by Roudolphe Salis that moved to larger premises

performers of Mirliton included: Nini the Tart, Rosa the Red

Braunt threatened to not perform at Theatre des Ambassadeurs if owner Pierre Ducarre did not accept Lautrec’s poster concept for show- this portrait/poster gained recognition for poster as genuine art form

middle class & aristocratic audience- thrilled to be in low company

famous painting (large scale) “Chilperic”  featured dancer Marcelle Lender

Jane Avril (Jane Avril and Divan Japonais)- intimate w in 1890; tremendous energy- nicknamed 

 

stage lighting – cast shadows of actors upward, exaggerating facial features (caricature), gestures & postures, silhouettes stood out

 

1890- peak of his career: finest of his paintings produced, best known posters, & took up lithography

 

Moulin Rouge: 1st poster done by Jules Cheret (called “The Tiepolo of double colombier” [old paper format used for papers] by critic Felix Feneon)- featured windmill “jaunty woman miller”

Lautrec commissioned to do 2nd poster by MR owner Charles Zidler. TL had different approach than Cheret- showed one of stars La Goulue dancing w audience in silhouette (inspired by shadowpuppets & Japanese Prints) & partially-silhoutted portrait of Valentin le Desosse {Lawyers son, passion for dancing} in foreground

posters all over Paris & snatched up by collectors- offensive to the Academie bc of top 

The Academie vs. Cafe Life

critic Felix Feneon in anarchist magazine Le Pere Peinard on Lautrec’s 1st Moulin Rouge Poster:

urged readers to tear the finest posters off the walls of Paris and thus “get hold of paintings with a bit more zip than the dismal daubs that look as if they’re done in licorice juice that so delight the cognoscenti arseholes.”

 

First Prints:

photography- art lovers became interested in original artists prints as opposed to engraved reproductions of paintings

Lautrec built rep for printmaking – “boldness matched by technical mastery”

 

Japanese Influence:

Kitagawa Utamaro 1753-1806), Shunsho Katsukawa (1726-92), Hokusai Katsushika (1760 – 1849)

 

(to be continued)

Coles Phillips

WWI ad - U.S. Fuel Admin., 1917

COLES PHILLIPS

• Coles Phillips 1880 -1927 – Springfield Ohio, lower middle class
• was 1st to introduce Art Deco styles into advertising design
• Saturday Evening Post with very modern and seductively designed women
• first pin-up girl- Fadeaway girl
• 1907 and 1927- one of most popular illustrators in nation (contemporaries were leyendecker and flagg)
• Kenyon College 1902- college’s monthly magazine was first publication -dropped out junior yr to go to NYC
• American Radiator- fired after found caricature of the boss > same night story told to Life publisher J.A.Mitchell- saw cartoon, asked to meet Phillips> job offer- declined to take art lessons
• hired as staff artist few years later- immediately popular w Life audience
• Fadeaway Girl – girl linked cleverly to background color – illusion of figure coming forward and receding simultaneously
• had to study proportions of canvas, cover dimensions resulting final published, negative shapes and positive shapes had to be interchangeable
•  advertising illustrations: Willys Overland Automobiles 
• Spirit of Transportation competition- his entry impressed all w composition & use of pastels
• other covers: Good Housekeeping, Colliers, The Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, Saturday Evening Post, Women’s Home Companion, Liberty
• introduced more sexuality in advertising illustration w ‘Miss Sunburn’ Suntan lotion ad
• probably influenced by Maxfield Parrish in composition, possibly technique (Jell-O ads & Community Silver for Oneida)
• cerebral approach & design device- appealed to mass audience
• close friends & neighbors w Leyendecker
• died @ 47

National Museum of American Illustration

Vernon Court, 492 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840, USA

http://www.americanillustration.org/html/Phillips/Bio_Phillips.html

author of article  n/a