Plakastil used today

Lucian Bernhard was a poster designer in Germany during and after WWI. He style used the ideas of addition equals subtraction and monumentalize the mundane. Is style was known as Plakastil (or Object Posters). This style is used a lot today in advertisements.I decided to show some ads from today that use this concept.
RG

http://www.carolinashoe.com/news-press/?cat=1

http://bestdesignoptions.com/?p=235

http://www.omega-fanatic.com/pages/advertisements-downloads/classic-print-advertisements.php

Hair Dryers

In class this week one of the presentations was on hair styles around the 1920s. Well doing some research on what was

happening at that time I found out that the first handheld hair dryer was invented in the 20s. The very first hair dryer was invented in the 1800s. It was pretty much just a large fan that women sat in front of and eventually women were able to dry their hair at home by using a hose that hooked up to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner. Finally in 1920 that handheld hair dryer came out. The first one was made out of nickel and zinc and weighed about a pound. I can't imagine using a hair dryer that weighed a pound to dry my

RG

hair.http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/hairdryer.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-the-Blow-Dryer

http://www.myhairstylingtools.com/blog/434/

Rise and Fall of Vaudeville

Live theatre was the one of the most popular forms of entertainment before, during and after World War I. Variety entertainment had been around for a long time, but after the industrial revolution, the growing middle class had more money and more leisure time allowing the entertainment industry to flourish. The 1920s, a time of overall prosperity and fun, were the hey day of Vaudeville.

Vaudeville theatre in the United States consisted of a single show which encompassed multiple separate acts. The acts could be anything: singers, musicians, comedians, acrobats and circus-type pieces, magicians, ventriloquists, etc. Shows lasted for hours, and going to the show became a main part of social life. There were approximately 1,000 venues throught the U.S. that hosted Vaudeville shows. The entertainers would travel circuits between these theatres, often performing the same acts hundreds of times. Vaudeville was the first form of entertainment to expose people to the diversity of the U.S. at the beginning of the century, both in terms of race and class. Many immigrants and families of immigrants found a place to belong on Vaudeville, performing dances, songs, and other traditions of their country. Vaudeville's main element was comedy, and it actually had roots in the live shows of bars, which were meant for men.

New York's Palace Theatre was the main Vaudeville theatre in the country, and it was the dream of any Vaudevillian to perform there. The French actress Sarah Bernhardt gained fame at the theatre, and after that, everyone thought they could make their career by being in a show at the Palace.

Vaudeville swiflty died out when film and radio came on the scene in the 1930s. The Great Depression also contributed to its downfall because people didn't have money to spend on entertainment. Many people who appeared on Vaudeville stages went on to have successful careers in movies and television in later decades. These include Will Rogers, Bob Hope, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to name a few.

http://www.lazervaudeville.com/SGhistory.html

http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.dovendorId=FWNE.fw..va011100.a#FWNE.fw..va011100.a

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/vaudeville.html

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA02/easton/vaudeville/vaudeville.html

JH

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)

As we learned in class, Norman Rockwell was an American Painter and Illustrator. In my opinion, Rockwell was an amazing artist. His paintings are so naturalistic and realistic. I say that beause his paintings look very life like, and they depicted what was going on during the time period.

He was successful early on in life. He was only 16 when he was commissioned to paint four Christmas cards. In 1916, he painted his first of many covers for The Saturday Evening Post. He painted a grand total of 321 covers for the Post. That's a lot of paintings!

Rockwell was very interested in what was going on in every day life. Quite often he took very common things and used them to create a meaningful message for the public. Sounds like something we have to do as graphic designers. He received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1977. I think he greatly impacted how the public viewed life. He made them aware of what was going on around them.

"Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed." -Norman Rockwell

EV

http://www.nrm.org/

http://www.art.com

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/506383/Norman-Rockwell

Band-aids

As I was searching for a topic to talk about, I ended up finding information on the invention of the band-aid in 1920. Earle Dickson was the American inventor of the band-aid and worked for Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey at the time as a cotton buyer. As the story goes, his wife would cut herself when doing housework. Earle noticed that when he used gauze and taped it to the cut, it wouldn’t stay on throughout the day. He ended up placing the gauze in the center of a piece of tape and covered it with crinoline (“a stiff fabric with a weft of horse-hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread) to keep it safe and sterile”. This would end up staying in place for a long period of time. Earle’s boss got wind of his invention and “decided to manufacture band-aids to the public and make Earle Dickson vice-president of Johnson and Johnson.” The company started making the band-aids by hand. Each band-aid took about 30 seconds. They were made in sections 2 1/2 inches wide and 18 inches long so that you would just cut off the size you needed because they were not made pre-cut until 1924. This is when they started machine making them.

I thought this was an interesting story of the band-aid which I hadn’t heard about until now. Its amazing that this product is still around today and is such sought after product. It really makes you think about how the small things we have around were first invented.

DH

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/dickson.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_Dickson

http://images.google.com/

Pain to My Ears

Probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard comes in the form of Dada sound poems. I knew that I listened to music that was considered less than impressive, but I cannot believe that this...noise ever had any audiences. 

Developed by Kurt Schwitters, he called them sound poems. These poems would be performed at Dada gatherings. These poems had no words, they were merely syllables and individual letters that formed meaningless sounds. This was supposed to be a metaphor for the destruction that war caused as well as how language can be used to deceive. I fully understand the metaphors, I just cannot understand how there weren't any other better ideas to achieve this. 

I think back in the day I would have a  hard time listening to the views or beliefs of anyone that dressed like this. This is a photograph of Hugo Ball performing one of his sound poems. Below I have put a link to Kurt's "Ursonate" for you to listen to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Bi1VxtC4g

So all in all, I don't believe that Dadaist were insane, I understand the desire for a peaceful world, but there had to have been a better way. On a positive note, this is definitely a group of independent individuals who created something new that will probably remain all their own. 

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2006/dada/techniques/sound.shtm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/BFda_HugoBallLG%20.jpg

LH

The 19th Amendment

It is hard to believe today that nearly 100 years ago women did not have the right to vote. The views of women generally were not considered. In the mid 19th century, women had had enough. They began lecturing, marching, writing, lobbing, and held silent vigils and hunger strikes all for the act of voting. 

In July of 1848 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton gathered people for the first women's rights convention in Seneca Fal

ls, New York. Here they began the woman suffrage movement. Many attendees had a goal of universal suffrage and in 1870, this goal was partially realized with the 15th amendment which gave black men the right to vote. 

The following year, 1871, the Senate and the House of Representatives received a petition which asked that women now be given the right to vote and that they would be allowed to speak on the floor of Congress. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were among the suffragists that signed this petition. In 1869, Anthony and Stanton began the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA).

As of 1872, women still could not vote. Susan B. Anthony registered and voted anyway this year in Rochester, New York. As expected, she was arrested for "knowingly, wrongfully, and unlawfully voting for a representative to the Congress of the United States," convicted by the State of New York, and had to pay $100, which she refused to pay. On January 12, 1874, Susan petitioned that her fine be taken away because it was unjust. 

By 1917,  almost every major suffrage organization was behind this cause. In this year, New York adopted woman suffrage and President Woodrow Wilson changed his position and supported the amendment in 1918. It seemed like the the majority was coming to support women voting. However, this year also saw a petition from the Woman Voters Anti-Suffrage Party asking that women not be granted this right. 

The photograph to the left shows a suffragist with a banner comparing the President to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany before he had changed his position. Acts like this were often met with hostility and sometimes violence. 

In 1919, The House of Representatives passed the 19th amendment by 304 votes to 90 votes. The Senate also passed it with a vote of 56 to 25. Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan ratified the amendment first. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee also ratified it (Apparently this came from the changing of a single vote by 24 year old Harry Burn because his mother insisted it). This made Tennessee the 36th ratification that was necessary for the final adoption of the amendment. 

Surprisingly, (or maybe not so surprisingly), some states did not endorse as quickly. For example, Maryland did not ratify the amendment until 1941, and did not give the ratification document to its State Department until the year 1958.

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

LH

The Titanic

The Titanic was designed and built by William Pirrie's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff. Ironically, the design of the vessel would forgo speed for more safety and comfort. The construction took approximately 3 years. The captain of the ship was Edward John Smith. It was to be his last commission before retiring.

On May 31, 1911 the Titanic was launched and spent ten months being furnished. Little did anyone know that the "unsinkable" ship would not be around to celebrate it's one year anniversary. On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. The Titanic was the largest vessel on the water. On April 11, the Titanic raised it's anchor for the last time

when leaving Queenstown. A few days later, on April 14 at 11:40pm, Frederick Fleet (the lookout) spoted the iceberg. The ship was steaming at 22.5 knots, which is approximately 25 mph. They were traveling almost top speed (top speed: 23 knots). It's estimated that 37 seconds passed between the sighting and the collision. That's not a lot of time to turn a 46,000 ton ship, especially traveling at the speed it was. On April 15, at 2:20am, the Titanic sank.

There were 2,207 people on the Titanic when it hit the iceberg. Only 712 people survived. The movie, Titanic, depicted how the 1st class passengers were considered to be more important than the lower class/steerage. The statistics back up that statement.

1st class passengers: 201 survived/123 perished

3rd class passengers: 181 survived/527 perished

In 1895, Dr. Robert Ballard, an oceanographer and marine biologist, discovered the remains of the Titanic. The debris from the ship was spread out over a 1/2 mile on the ocean floor. The bow and the stern were found about 2000 ft apart.

EV

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/

http://www.gma.org/space1/titanic.html

http://www.britannica.com/titanic/01_01.html

Japanese Influences in Dresses

The organic shapes, line quality and Japanese influences of art nouveau were found in women's apparel during that time. In the

1800s, women wore bustle and corsets to alter the look of their physical appearance, but at the turn of the century that started to change. They began to wear looser fitting dresses to create a more gentle curved silhouette. Oscar Wilde noted in a letter that "'the laws of Greek dress' were now being realized in dress that was suspended from the shoulders and relied on the drape and fall of the fabric for the beauty."

At first, Women started to wear looser and simplified dresses to make iteasier to do housework. These looser fitting dresses became to be known as kimono dresses, and that would be popular until the 1920s. The dresses were made from natural materials and may of them were decorated patterns that were inspired from nature.

RG

The Kimono Inspiration: Art and Art-to-Wear in America" by rebecca A. T. Steve

http://www.costumegallery.com/Designers/main/duff1.htm

http://www.sensibility.com/vintageimages/1900s/pagethree.htm

http://www.doylenewyork.com/pr/couture/04CT02/default.htm

http://glassoffashion.wordpress.com/page/10/

http://www.wikipedia.com

Art Nouveau Jewelry

The Art Nouveau period lasted from about the late 1800's until the early part of the 1900's. Stylistically, Art Nouveau was organic, unifying, and curvilinear along with influences of Japanese art as well. This decorative style appeared in many art forms at the time including jewelry. Art Nouveau jewelry is best described as exotic, bold and expressive and implemented the art style of the time. The motifs included nature (animals included) and the female form. The casting of gold, enameling, and carving used new techniques that were not seen before. "Art Nouveau jewelers also employed a pastel color palette. Color was, for the most part, achieved through the use of enamel, and plique a jour (open to light) enameling that added a delicacy and level of technical sophistication not previously seen in jewelry." This technique most often gave the jewelry the look of stained glass. "The Art Nouveau movement made a lasting impact on the jewelry industry which is still felt today."

DH

http://www.farlang.com/art

http://www.artnouveaujewelry.net

http://www.estatedept.com/artn.asp

Lewis Hine: Social Photographer

At the turn of the century, photography rapidly became an important medium of commenting on society. Lewis Hine was an influential voice pushing for social change on multiple issues.

In 1900, Hine was attending the University of Chicago, where he met Professor Frank Manny, who would become his mentor. A year later, Hine accepted a position at the school where Manny was superintendant in New York, and began his education to become a teacher. His first big project, which began in 1904, was photographing immigrants at Ellis Island. The attitude towards immigrants at the time was very negative. Most immigrants lived in crowded, dirty housing and worked long hours for little pay. "Manny encouraged Hine to portray the newly arrived with the same dignity and respect as those immigrants who landed at Plymouth Rock," (photocollect.com). This is one of his most well-known collections of work.

Another very famous body of photographs Hine took are those concerning child labor. In 1908, after a year of freelance work with the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Hine was given the daunting task of photographing child labor practices in the U.S. "...Hine traveled extensively, photographing children in mines, factories, canneries, textile mills, street trades and assorted agricultural industries. Hine’s photographs alerted the public to the fact that child labor deprived children of childhood, health, education and a chance of a future. His work on this project was the driving force behind changing the publics attitude and was instrumental in the fight for stricter child labor laws," (photocollect.com). Hine's powerful photography and dedication to his beliefs helped bring about change, and proved that the the ordinary person can change the world.

* I did not include any of Hine's images here because there is a specific copyright notice on the best website I found. I have included that link below, it's The History Place. There are many photos, all of which include the original captions written by Hine. *

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/biography.html

http://www.photocollect.com/bios/hine.html

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/lewishine.html

JH

THe Imperial Hotel

Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect who was involved with the Arts & Crafts movement. In 1916, he was hired to design the Imperial Hotel in Japan. It would take six year before it was completed and during that time Frank Lloyd Wright would spend the majority of it in Japan., which would have an influence on his later work. The Japanese though the hotel would be something American, where as the Americans thought it would be something Japanese; but in fact it was actually Mayan in looks. Unfortunately, the hotel was not structurally sound and it had to be demolished in 1968. According to Peter Blake, "Wright achieved something almost unheard of in hotel design: in this most standardized of all fields of cubicle architecture he succeeded in making almost every guest-room different from every other."

The Imperial Hotel had many decorative elements

done by skilled carvers who work in Oya stone. Wright used to the ornamentation to Emphasize the hotel's geometric look.

RG

http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/imperial/imperial_drawings.html

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Imperial_Hotel.html

Trade cards were very popular in the Victorian era from 1880-1900. They typically were used for advertising and would sometimes include company logos. On average, the size of the cards were about the size of an index card. They would be handed out for free as a “cheap and effective way to advertise products and services.” They also became collectors items for many people who would paste them into scrapbooks. After the trade cards became printed in color, the number of collectors increased.

The pictures on the front include the stylistic features of the Victorian era such as rosy cheeks along with having a cute and sweet feel to them while the back side include more advertising information. “Ironically, they portray happy children with their pets and at play, at a time when many children were working long hours

in the unsuitable and dangerous environment of the mills. The cards also present peaceful-looking landscapes and waterscapes.”

I think its interesting that the reason why there are still many of these trade cards around is because they were kept safe in the scrapbooks of the collectors at the time.

DH

Sources:

http://www.antiquebottles.com/tradecards/

http://www.quiltersmuse.com

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

The Victorian era was a time of prosperity. The social classes of England were changing. The middle class was growing. The upper class was becoming an emerging wealthy commercial class. However, the large, lower working class was becoming unhappy with the working conditions, and wanted reform and change. Child labor continued through the era.

Charles Dickens, a 19^th century author, depicted the social classes in many of his writings during this era. Some people considered him to be the spokesperson for the poor. He brought awareness to the awful working conditions of the lower class.

Oliver Twist, written between 1837 and 1839, is about a boy born and raised in a workhouse in England. A Christmas Carol (1843) is probably one of Dickens’ most famous books. This is another novel that represents how the lower class lived.

Charles Dickens’ father, John, was put in prison for debt when Charles was only twelve. Everyone went with his father except Charles because he was sent to work at Warren’s Shoe Blacking Factory to help support his family. His childhood was over. He had become a part of child labor and the working poor workforce. Some of the characters in his books are based on his own experiences (i.e.: Oliver Twist and David Copperfield).

The way the lower class was treated during the Victorian era was inhumane. Lower class children didn’t even get to experience a real childhood. There was such a drastic difference between the upper and lower classes. If it wasn’t for Charles Dickens, not as many people would have become aware of how bad things were for the lower class.

EV

http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/

http://www.victoriaspast.com/FrontPorch/victorianera.htm

Darwin and Victorian Society

In 1859, Charles Darwin published the famous book, On the Origin of Species, and shocked Victorian society. England had become extremely conservative at this time. Religion and propriety were of the utmost importance. "Established elites, slow to accept radical changes, were wary of new ideas that challenged traditional views of the 'natural order' and mankind's place within it," says James Moore, who wrote a biography of Darwin, in an article on pbs.org.

Darwin kept his research and findings on the subject of evolution secret, and even delayed publishing the book a number of times in fear that it would ruin him. He was part of the upper class, and did not want to harm his reputation. He had good reason to be afraid. Darwin's theory of evolution excluded the existence of a god, and therefore went against every prevailing belief of the day. His book was deemed highly controversial, and only those in some scientific circles took him seriously. He even experienced difficulties with his own family, including his wife Emma, who was very religious. He endured heavy ridicule. Cartoons were drawn of him, depicting him with the body of an ape.

Today, the theory of evolution is widely accepted as fact by those in the scientific community. The decision whether or not to believe or teach evolution is a personal choice, but it is a much less controversial issue today than it was in 1859.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/2/l_022_05.html

http://courses.wcupa.edu/fletcher/britlitweb/cklinb.htm

http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science&religion.html

JH