Essay plan

Essay Plan : How have abstract art movements of the past influenced visual communication in contemporary illustration practices? Discuss.

Introduction This essay evaluates the relationship between contemporary illustration practices and abstract art movements, ranging from impressionism to abstract expressionism. In looking at the work of artists such as Cézanne, Picasso and Jackson Pollock we may identify conceptual and visual traits of the movements they championed in the practices of working illustrators. This is in itself exemplifies a transition within the discipline from traditional realism into more visceral, expressive and conceptual illustration.

Theme 1/: Conceptual Para 1/ Impressionism -> conceptual illustration Similarities not influences.

The invention of the camera – the change this brought in the two different art practices, different times?

More research into the history of illustration* • • • • •

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‘the taking of fixed or still images challenged painters by providing a new medium with which to capture reality’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘different way of seeing’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) Impressionism – characterized by ‘visible brush strokes’, depiction of light, painting ‘en plein air’, ‘painting realistic scenes of modern life’ ‘Impressionism became a precursor seminal to various movements in painting which would follow’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) Photography -> ‘this has presented illustrators with a much more challenging role; to be both interpretative and to convey the ‘texture’ of a topic or idea rather than, like photography, present just the ‘veneer’ or ‘surface’ of the subject’ (Male. 2007) BUT there is a direct link? - ‘one of the first movements to deliberately shirt from pure realistic representation was impressionism’ (Male.

2007)

Para 2/ Surrealism and conceptual illustration Link between Surrealism and conceptual illustration practices e.g. visual metaphors, symbolism.

David Lemm •

‘Recently I’ve been exploring ideas relating to knowledge communication, specifically maps/diagrams, and our assumptions of

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truth based on abstract, symbolic representations of reality’ (Mathias.

2015) ‘In particular, I was interested in exploring the idea that maps fundamentally describe how we navigate the world through graphic abstraction and also how markings in the land can influence graphic notation or vice versa’ (Mathias. 2015)

Conceptual Illustration •

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Issues and themes, were more complex. ‘There seemed a need to present the viewer with much more enigmatic and ambiguous images that invited deeper interpretation’ (Male. 2007) ‘the biggest influence on conceptual illustration : surrealism’ (Male.

2007) e.g. Rene Margritte * ‘symbolic visual language’ (Male. 2007) ‘the visual imagery that is conceptual illustration does not rely on the appearance of being true or the semblance of actuality’ (Male. 2007) conceptual -> ‘this implies a way of depicting content by utilizing a number of ideas and methods of communication, illusion, symbolism and expressionism’ (Male. 2007)

Minimal art • • •

‘using symbol and sign as replacement of imagery’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) Donald Judd * ‘extreme simplicity could capture all of the sublime representation needed in art’ (Gagnon, L. 2012)

Semiotics •

Signs, ‘rely exclusively on the reader’s having learned the connection between the sign and its meaning’ (Crow. 2016)

Theme 2/: Visual Para 3/ Simplification, reduction and composition Cubism – the visual practices of Cezanne, Picasso and Braque Christopher Niemann, Scott McCloud, Atelier Bingo (use as a lead – discuss in both) Christopher Niemann • •

‘Abstraction for me is this idea of getting rid of everything that is not essential to making a point’ (Abstraction: The Art of Design. 2017) ‘making the butterfly just a blue square makes absolutely no sense, unless you know the original’ (Abstraction: The Art of Design. 2017)

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‘for me this style is based on culture, on shared experiences. This is more interesting than coming up with visionary new way of speaking that people then have to decipher’ (Abstraction: The Art of Design.

2017) ‘in the best moments, what happens is that design celebrates the world’ (Abstraction: The Art of Design. 2017)

Post- impressionism (cezanne, Seurat, Van Gogh) • •

‘emphasize geometric forms, to distort form for expressive effect and to use unnatural of arbitrary colour’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) Cézanne, ‘restore a sense of order and structure to painting’, ‘reducing objects to their basic shapes while retaining the bright fresh colours of impressionism’, ‘simplification of natural forms into cylinders, spheres and cones’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) – cubism roots.

Cubism – Picasso & Braque •

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‘Objects are broken up, analysed and re-assembled in an abstracted form – instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘represented all the surfaces of depicted objects in a single picture planes, as if objects had all their faces visible as the same time’ (Gagnon, L. 2012)

Scott, McCloud • According to McCloud the simplification of an image makes the communication of a concept more immediate and direct, because it forces us to ‘focus our attention on an idea (McCloud. 2001). McCloud further argues that ‘by stripping down an image to its essential ‘meaning’, an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t’ (McCloud. 2001).

Para 4/: Colour Matisse, Mondrian, Fauvism, Mark Rothko * Atelier Bingo, Nicolas Burrows Atelier Bingo •

‘Matisse is a big inspiration for his – his colours, compositions, and shapes are incredible and so poetic’ – Picasso and Robert Motherwell* (Khemsurov. 2015)

Fauvism

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‘raw language of colour’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘emphaised painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by imporessionism’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘a high degree of simplification and abstraction’ (Gagnon, L. 2012)

Mondrian •

‘if you made yellow into a circle immediately people start making associations with the sun…so he decides the only way forward is to paint in areas of perpendicular relationships’ (White. 2014)

Matisse • •

Similar to Mondrian -> ‘When I put green, it is not grass. When I put blue, it is not the sky’ (need to find source*) ‘Matisse himself talked of abstraction and the absolute, saying he wanted to distil each image down to its bare essence, and insisting that, however incomprehensible it might seem in its day, his latest work would speak to the future’ (Spurling. 2014)

Para 5/ Counter argument – ‘pure abstraction’, how a far can we go?

Illustration is defined by its need to communicate to an audience and solve design problems*; pure abstraction and no physical forms diminish the opportunity for effective visual communication. ‘illustration practice is not judged purely by visual literacy and technical qualities, but is a discipline that is firmly established as one that engenders the best intellectual engagement with subject matter, problem solving and visual communication’ (Male. 2007) Mondrian – neo-platicism Jackson Pollock – abstract expressionism • • •

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‘pollock realized that the journey toward making a work of art was as important as the work of art itself’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) art ‘can transcend ‘every-day’ experience, reaching a spiritual plane’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘working towards an ‘objectless state’ the universal and timeless shapes found in geometry: the circle, square and triangle become the spacial elements in abstract art; they are, like color, the fundamental systems underlying visible reality’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) ‘portrayal of psychological states of being’ (Gagnon, L. 2012)

Ed Fella – broke conventions*

Can we see a more visceral form of communication within illustration – that is defined by feeling and expression of emotion through immersion in process ‘the expressionist gesture and act of painting itself’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) Atelier Bingo – examples of work in context?

Decorative forms of illustration*, illustration can be many things and for many different purposes.

Immersion in process – alike to work of Matisse (Theme 3/ Media and Process) – maybe cut out?

Para 6/ Links between old media and process and illustration today Examples Matisse’s Cut-Outs – cut paper Collage – cubism Painting* •

synthetic cubism – ‘characterised by the introduction of different textures, surfaces, collage elements, paper collé and a large variety of merged subject matter’ (Gagnon, L. 2012)

Conclusion •

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‘Surrealism, abstract expressionism and cubism have provided illustrators with immeasurable influence regarding the nature of imagery, exemplified by the expressive application of color and form that marries elements of realism and abstraction’ (Male. 2007) ‘Abstraction exists along a continuum’ (Gagnon, L. 2012) When asked about abstract art – matisse said ‘not to use the language of the world, it must have something to say. If you do not get what you have to express you become a criminal. An abstract painter, if he feels the lines, there will be rhythmic lines. If he is a colorist, there will be pretty colors, this does not mean that it be understandable. Does it come out of something human that can communicate?’ (Harrison Levy.

2015)

* - needs supporting evidence Bibliography Male, A (2007). Illustration, A theoretical and contextual perspective .

Switzerland : AVA Publishing . p54-70.

Gagnon, L (2012). An introduction to abstract art and history. Delhi: The English Press.

Michael White. (2014) Piet Mondrian. Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/abstract-art. Last accessed 29th Jan 2017.

McCloud, Scott. (2001).Chapter 2. Understanding Comics. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Crow, D (2016). Visible Sign: An introduction to semiotics in the visual arts.

London, NY: Bloomsbury publishing Plc. Mathias. (2015). Navigating the World through graphic abstraction : David Lemm. Available: https://intoshallowdepths.com/2015/08/05/navigating-theworld-through-graphic-abstraction-david-lemm/. Last accessed 19/04/17.

Khemsurov, M. (2015). French Illustration Duo Atelier Bingo. Available: http://www.sightunseen.com/2015/03/french-illustration-duo-atelier-bingo/.

Last accessed 19/04/15.

Spurling, H. (2014). Henri Matisse : drawing with scissors. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/29/henri-matissecutouts-tate-modern-drawing-scissors. Last accessed 19/04/15.

Abstraction : The Art of Design, Episode 1, Christoph Niemann : Illustration.

2017. Netflix.

Harrison Levy, A. (2015). Henri Matisse: The Lost Interview Available: http://designobserver.com/feature/henri-matisse-the-lost-interview/38738. Last Acessed 19/04/15