a design exhibition
DE STIJL
january 22 – may 10, 2016
presented by the el paso museum of art
Table of Contents
Above: Composition No. II with Red and Blue, Piet Mondrian,1929.
Introduction
1
Drawing From Destruction
2
Exponents
4
De Stijl: The Legacy
10
Notes
12
10
Introduction
A
mong the disaster and devastation that was World War I, countless new ideas
and different perspectives were generated all over the world in most every branch of study. Among these innovations, De Stijl was founded. De Stijl was a revolutionary, Netherlands-based movement influenced by the destruction of war that embraced the basic elements of aesthetic harmony. Despite the execution of this philosophy primarily
in
painting,
the
movement
would
prove to be highly influential to modern design. Through their passion of unveiling beauty through the purity of their art, the artists of De Stijl developed what would become universal language Piet Mondrian, Composition C (no. III), with Red, Yellow and Blue, 1935.
in graphic design. 1
Drawing From Destruction
D
e Stijl, or “The Style� in Dutch, emerged concurrently with the politically-driven movement Constructivism in
1917 as a response to the war. Many artists, philosophers, and scientists at the time believed that previous practices and principles had become obsolete during the war. Through the havoc of World War I, these artists saw opportunity for new and innovative approaches to art and design. This new approach began with the belief that the beauty of art lies in its purity and the desire to uncover the subjective qualities of that beauty. As a result, De Stijl artists began abstaining from depicting naturalistic forms in their work, and instead embraced a more scientific and objective method to achieve irrefutable balance and beauty in their art. This lead to what would become the signature presence of the De Stijl era: geometric grids consisting of straight vertical and horizontal lines accompanied by the strict use of only primary colors and black and white. Despite the self-imposed limited options, color was carefully considered in their attempts to uncover the essence of aesthetics, rather than being used as a means of aesthetic itself. This could even been seen in their use of typography in their preference of sans-serif typefaces.
2
“The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.� Piet Mondrian
Below: De Stijl journal, 1921.
3
Piet Mondrian
S
ome of the primary examples in De Stijl’s philosophy are Piet Mondrian’s renowned paintings, such
as “Composition in Red Yellow and Blue.” Born in the Netherlands, Mondrian studied painting throughout his lifetime. He was significantly influenced by Vincent van Gogh, and took away the concept of expression as opposed to traditional representation from his works. This would be the beginning of the philosophy
behind De Stijl.
4
Opposite: Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, Piet Mondrian, 1930. Right: Broadway Boogie Woogie, Piet Modrian,1943
of
Though his achievements in developing functional
Mondrian’s work can be attributed to philosopher M.J.H.
asymmetrical grids are seen primarily in his paintings,
Schoenmakers, who assessed that horizontal and
Mondrian also worked with these grids in Theo van
vertical and the primary colors were the most essential
Doesburg’s journal, “De Stijl.” He drew from the
elements to achieve a harmonious aesthetic. This would
compositions he created in his paintings and applied
drive Mondrian’s fascination in discovering the purity of
them to layouts in Doesburg’s journal, further developing
art and aesthetics, and what is essential to create it. He
perfect balance and harmony. These grids and sparing
was also exposed to and inspired by Cubism, from which
use of color were a revelation at the time, and would
he expanded the use of the geometric form to blocks of
go on to create a new, dynamic approach to the use of
color that is now the face of De Stijl.
grids in design.
The
inspiration
behind
the
defining
elements
5
Vilmos Huszรกr
V
ilmos Huszรกr was another designer who had a pivotal role in furthering graphic design in the De Stijl era. Like
Mondrian, he was also an educated painter, but eventually shifted gears and began designing. He was originally from Hungary, but in time moved to the Netherlands; here he met Van Doesburg and went on to co-found De Stijl, for which he would design multiple covers and spreads as well. Cubism and Futurism also heavily influenced Huszar, and aided him in the development of his design.
6
Right: Packaging design for Miss Blanche Virginia Cigarettes, Vilmos Huszรกr, 1926. Opposite: Composition, Vilmos Huszรกr, 1955.
Perhaps one of the most well-known of his works is the
Shortly before it ended, Huszรกr decided to leave
identity design for Miss Blanche Virginia Cigarettes in the
the movement. Despite not identifying as a De Stijl
1920s, complete with both packaging and advertising.
designer, he would go on to create designs that utilized
From the use of primary colors to the simplification of form
the balance and visual purity that were established
featured, the philosophy of De Stijl is beautifully embodied.
using their philosophy.
This identity design, among others of Huszar, continued the search and progression that the De Stijl artists started, and would become a standard for designs to come. 7
Theo van Doesburg
T
here were many who took part in developing De Stijl, but perhaps none as avid as Theo Van Doesburg.
Like Mondrian, he was also from the Netherlands, studied painting, and was greatly influenced by Van Gogh. Through him, Van Doesburg became interested in abstraction as a means of properly communicating ideas as opposed to traditional representation, which of course would greatly contribute to what would be known as the De Stijl.
Below: Composition VII (The Three Graces), Theo van Doesburg, 1917.
8
In addition to his knowledge in regards to the abstraction
with each design and even developed the horizontal
of figures that had been explored before him, Van
format for the journal that would be used for its final ten
Doesburg was also very much aware of Dada and
years until his death in 1931.
Constructivism.
These
two
movements
consisted
of artists who were also interested in furthering the Cubists’ approach in rejecting traditional representation and reducing objects to geometric figures, but with different intentions and execution. He observed the use of typography in Dada works and expanded upon them. Van Doesburg regularly published issues of De Stijl from 1917 until his death in 1931, which spread the movement’s ideas not only through the journals’ content, but exemplified its practice through the design of the journal itself. As the editor, he was very much involved
Above: NB De Stijl, Theo van Doesburg, 1921.
9
De Stijl: The Legacy
W
hile the De Stijl movement was relatively short-lived, it would prove to have a lasting impact not only in
fine arts, but in graphic design. The heart of this movement lied in the artists’ beliefs in stripping the representation of objects and design down to their essentials, resulting in great strides in the history graphic desin. The Bauhaus and Swiss style were heavily influenced by De Stijl,
Below: SchrĂśeder House, Garrit Reitveld, 1924.
especially from development of the asymmetrical grid widely used in their paintings and publications. These simple grids of bold, solid color and lines are not only aesthetically pleasing, but are quite functional even in modern design. Designers to come would end up drawing from their compositional layouts, creating the widely used international typographic style as well as a variety of other innovative grid designs. The modern designer almost certainly begins every successful work of theirs with an interesting yet practical grid, and De Stijl to thank for it. Aside from the development and use of the grid, perhaps the most important contribution and lasting impression that De Stijl made was that of the emphasis and importance they placed on balance and simplification, an element that is the core of effective graphic design. Through their 10
Right: Beethoven poster Josef MĂźeller-Brockman, 1955. Below: Bauhaus exhibition poster Joost Schmidt, 1923.
fixation with the purity of art, the power and impact that reduction can have in design was realized. These artists eliminated all decorative elements and instead only kept what what deemed necessary and functional, a practice that is ubiquitous with graphic design today. The quality of any modern design, despite how radically different it may be from the era of De Stijl, can be determined in the designer’s ability to forge simplicity in their designs. The language and structural concepts used in graphic design today are used so naturally that it is easy to forget that they have not always been there. The way of communicating in terms of design elements can be greatly attributed to to the strides made by the groundbreaking movement that was De Stijl. It can even be assessed that they contributed to putting design in the same light as the fine arts. In their search to find universal balance and harmony in their work, they established what would become the ubiquitous principles of modern graphic design.
11
Notes Reference and Photo Credits: Phillip Meggs and Alston W. Purvis, Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Hoboken New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2012) “Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küpper).” MoMA. Acessed March 12, 2014. http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=6076
“Piet Mondrian.” MoMA. Acessed March 12, 2014. http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=4057
“Vilmos Huszár.” MoMA. Acessed March 17, 2014. http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=2781
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Colophon Written and designed by Lea N. Tellez Printed at the University of Texas at El Paso Headers: Trade Gothic Bold, 26 pt size Body: Akzidenz Grotesk Light, 10 pt size, 16 pt leading
Design: The cover of this catalogue was inspired by the
Designer’s Intent: The concept of the overall design is
asymmetrical grid-work and primary color scheme used
the embodiment the De Stijl philosophy. The contents
by De Stijl painters and designers. Designed in a relatively
of this catalogue have been simplified to what has been
modern fashion, the cover serves as somewhat of an
determined as the essential elements in an attempt to
homage to the grids and designs developed in the De Stijl
reveal the pure, simplistic aesthetics of the design.
movement. The page layouts were also derived from the iconic De Stijl grid-work, particularly Piet Mondrian’s “Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow.” The typefaces used throughout serve as a callback to the prevalence and preference of sans-serif typefaces in De Stijl design.
13