February 21, 2008

>>Futurists at the Spencer Museum: El Lissitzky: Futurist Portfolios & Reframing Society: Russian Constructivist Photography

"The influential Russian abstract painter, designer, teacher and graphic artist, El (Lazar) Morduchovitch Lissitzky (1890-1941) was the first of his generation to visualize a new radical geometry of space and movement that blurred the boundaries of architecture, painting, and typography."

"This exhibition features two complete sets of El Lissitzky’s futuristic portfolios commissioned by the Kestner Society in 1923, 20 prints in all. His Proun (the Latin acronym for “design for the confirmation of the new”) portfolio was intended as a prototype for future mechanical and architectural designs while Victory over the Sun commemorates Kasimir Malevich’s 1913 futurist opera of the same name. Among the greatest achievements in the graphic arts of the 20th century, these portfolios served to establish Lissitzky’s reputation as a master of modern design."

-I really enjoyed this exhibit, I liked the setup and the shapes painted on the walls in the style of his work as a background for his framed work. These interesting shapes reflected the work and created an El Lessitsky atmosphere for the work, making it feel like a whole rather than framed images on a solid white wall. This atmosphere emphasized the work and excited my interest in the actual framed images and encouraged me to look closer. I enjoyed looking at El Lissitzky’s work because I had not seen many of his pieces in the past, but I have heard his name in several classes.

Lissitzky’s use of thin lines mixed with bold color fields and shapes create a lot of movement in his work. My favorite piece was his typography solution for his title page of his first portfolio. I am really interested in typography and I think his use of bold lines and a bold numeral are very successful and memorable.

After reading the booklet provided at the exhibit I discovered interesting information about his work. The booklet explains that Lissitzky created a new word for his radical style. He called his work “Proun.” Lissitzky never fully defined the word but scholars believe it means, “architectonic design of Unovis” and “design for the confirmation of the new.”

"...the lens of the camera is the pupil of the eye of the cultured man in socialist society." -Alexander Rodchenko
The images from the exhibit were very interesting, I liked the use of repition.

#1-graphic design is conveying a concept/message through images and typography
#2-typography is the use of type to help convey a message in a unique way
#3-my responsibilities as a design student are to help others, ask questions, take advantage or resources and class crits.
#4-to get the most out of my viscom classes, it is important for me to do research about other designers and learn from their work, learn from my mistakes, and learn from other students