Sachgebiete

Beschreibung:

IX, 182 S. Mit zahlr. auch farb. Abb. Gebundene Ausgabe mit Schutzumschlag.

Bemerkung:

Umschlag leicht berieben, sonst gutes Exemplar. - Early in the twentieth century, a new icon of modernism appeared-a humorous, miniaturized representation of the human figure, which Virginia Smith calls "The Funny Little Man." It emerged in different international centers of artistic activity, popping up in posters, newspapers, and other printed pieces. The Funny Little Man's evolution is traced from his lively youth, which reflected the brisk confidence of early Modernism, to his eventual "death," which coincided with Modernism's decline. In this narrative of the Funny Little Man, his various stopping points-German commercial art, French posters, "production art" of the Russian Constructivist movement, and American advertising of the 1940s- introduce the reader to the lives, work, and theories of many individual designers and artists as they formulated what was to become the graphic design profession. Along with examples by well-known artists such as Leger, Kandinsky, Hohlwein, and Cassandre, the book offers a rare look at the work of neglected moderns such as Zietara, Stepanova, Rodchenko, Corty, Carlu, and Schlemmer. Quotations from personal diaries and letters, design magazines, political statements, and literature provide insight into the historical context of early graphic design-the personal stories as well as the political forces that affected the creation of graphic images like the Funny Little Man. Pursuing the life of the Funny Little Man as a biographer would, Professor Smith expertly examines the phenomenon of this unique figure. She shows that, although the Funny Little Man was carelessly invented, his adaptation for various purposes (some innocent, some calculated) mirrors deep-seated human preferences and tendencies. As part of her analysis, she briefly and effectively recaps influential theories of proportion of the designed human figure, from the Egyptian late canon to Le Corbusier's modular man. The Funny Little Man introduces the reader to: The founding of the Bauhaus during the Weimar period -- His opposite, preferred by Nazi "art officials" -- The wartime ideals of American commercial art -- His cinematic double in the figure of Charlie Chaplin -- His rejection in the Cold War climate and other events and characters from our tumultuous century. ISBN 9780442011772