I saw something peculiar in a local store in my town. The stores like a resale store that has junk from all over the place, and I saw a puzzle that looks very much like the artwork of William Morris. So i did my research and found an image of the actual object.
some museum puzzle thing??
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts Movement and closely involved with the Pre-Raphaelite artists of the mid-19th century. His ideal was integrating art, literature and graphic design. Morris was an artist, poet, writer and designer himself. He is probably best remembered for his fabric designs and his book designs for Kelmscott Press. He pioneered modern renderings of antique styles of type as well as the production of high-quality home furnishings to last for generations. Morris left behind a lasting legacy of quality and creativity which will continue to inspire artists for years to come.
My last post was about surrealism, and i only saw fit to dedicate this post to the greatest surrealist ever, and my favorite artist personally, SALVADOR DALI!!!
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol
(May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), commonly known as Salvador Dalí
(was a prominent spanish catalan surrealist painter born in figueres.)
Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters.His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, (to some its known as the melting clocks) was completed in 1931. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire includes film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also had an affinity for partaking in unusual and grandiose behavior. His eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork to the dismay of those who held his work in high esteem and to the irritation of his critics.
heres Dali in 1939
and in 1972
Dali sought a change in his life after the meeting with the Surrealists in 1928 in Paris and he knew that this change was not going to occur in Catalonia. However, the Surrealists saw in Dali the future of the movement, because he was armed with an exceptionally rich imaginary baggage. This baggage was a result of his erotic desires for women and his undying interest in the concept of the unconsciousness devised by Sigmund Freud. His precise style enhanced the nightmare effect of his paintings. By 1929 he had become a leader of surrealism.
SOME OF HIS WORKS
Dali is such a pivotal and amazing artist he is still having a huge impact in the world!!!!
The Philadelphia Museum of Art used a surreal entrance display including its steps, for the 2005 Salvador Dalí exhibition (image below)
even earlier this year in january 2011 the new Dali museum opened up in Florida.
Here is the link to the article in New York Times all about it.
Dali is such a huge influence even his mustache is famous!! his MUSTACHE!!
For gods sake theres even a published book about his mustache
MY WORD WHAT CAN I SAY!!! hes just such a powerhouse of a human being with artistic prowess that is quite hard to surpass let alone GRASP!
anyway, heres to the man, the legend, the mustache!................DALI!!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Surrealism was the art movement fascinated in visual creating, in a tangible way, ones subconscious. Ones thoughts, memories, ideas, and overall ones mind, in a visually stimulating form (painting, drawing, sculpture, etcetera etcetera).
A huge focus was that of dream lik states or image transition/manipulation, and we have seen many references of surrealism in modern movies and what not.
like MC Escher's stairs are quite similar to the stairs in harry potter
However, Surrealism is now playing a major part in video games, and how, in the TRAILERS!!
every trailer is designed to capture the viewers attention, and keep them entertained and awed long enough so that the viewer wants more of said game, and the only way to get more, go out and buy the game.
look at these trailers:
Take the newly announced "Bioshock Infinite," the second sequel to the exceptional "Bioshock" role-playing series. Without explanation or a line of dialogue, we take in a riveting first-person view of being tossed out a window to view another in a series of eerie retro-futurist worlds that have become a signature of the series. These games are about an alternate American history of steampunk machinery and crackpot Ayn Rand-style despots in mid-20th century.
The trailer doesn't try to tell the story, which is not to say there isn't art here. It comes in the form of environments, alternate worlds dense with detail and texture. The trailer gets that and communicates not what the game is about so much as what it will feel like.
Likewise "Mafia II," expresses the game's noir grittiness. A single tracking shot comprises the spot, a move that Scorsese himself would endorse. But in this case the frantic action is all rendered by the game engine as we zoom in surreal fashion through some of the game's major episode, all to the song stylings of the incomparable Dean Martin's "Kick in the Head."
Good game trailers are the ones that promote, the style, game play, and franchise (if any) of that game in an aesthetically leasing manner. GREAT trailers are the ones that throw you off of your horse and make you wonder what the hell it is you just saw.
combining form and function, the bauhaus movement was that of primary colors and shapes. The Bauhaus movement is a school of art, architecture and design characterized by geometric design, respect for practical material, and its severely economic sensibilities. The Bauhaus movement was founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Germany and ended in the 1930’s. Gropius coined the term Bauhaus as an inversion of the word meaning ‘house construction’ or ‘Hausbau’. Gropius taught at a school which focused on functional craftsmanship, and his students were guided to focus on designs that could be mass produced.
This chair is an example of the bauhaus style. Functional and simple, with a high investment with aesthetics. The ability of this piece to be mass produced was also a main concern because it not only was profitable but its the fact that bauhuas art put "art" into everyones home.
The Bauhaus movement continues to influence us today, where any modern environment often incorporates elements of the period. The ideas of the Bauhaus creators have influenced architecture, furniture, typography, and weaving. Famous artists of the Bauhaus movement include Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, Franz Marc, Georg Muche, and Oskar Schlemmer.
So this past wednesdsy, March 2nd, i saw the garth walker show at my school. Artist Garth Walker had a talk, and then his art was opened at the Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Yeh art gallery. From South Africa, garth walkers art evokes much of his homeland in both spirit and design.
When I looked at his art, it is very busy and intuitive with a large focus on identity. He knows his homeland and he wants to show how he is connected to it, and does so in many art forms (product design, illustration, magazine layouts, photography, etc. etc.)
he explores his identity through all of his designs: "what makes him South Africa" and he strives to show that through imagery.
for more on garth walker look at the links following
I know my last post was on typeface, but i came across this yesterday, and could not possibly NOT post this.
If you read my blog you know that I am an obscene fan of comic books, cartoons, all that good stuff. My favorite comic book character (amongst many others) is BATMAN!!! oh my god i wish i WAS batman.
anyway, so batman is awesome, and the latest movie of the awesome character, being Christopher Nolans, the Dark Knight is a masterpiece of the masterpieces. One particular scene in the movie is the second appearance, but first speech of the villainous and psychopathic Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger may he rest in peace). The speech is a very masterful one and is one of the most powerful scene in the movie (my favorite)
so some genius has saw fit to honor this scene in a typographic way, and do i say it is masterful.
The following video speaks for itself
video courtesy of youtube user shibby31485
the typeface used is so cryptically perfect for the speech if i do say so myself!
