Preliminary Research & Inspiration
- Suprematism, a new style of Russian painting developed by Kazimir Malevich during the early 1900s. The movement abandoned all references to the outside world by implementing geometrical abstractions in oil painting for the first time in history.
Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge
(El Lissitzky 1919) | “The political piece shows the red wedge (a symbol of the Bolshevik Army) slashing through the "white" forces that were in power. The text dynamically floats around the image, reinforcing movement of the cause. A student of Malevich, Lissitsky was perhaps the most prolific Constructivist. His work transformed Supremacism into the political statements Constructivism became known for. He believed that the Russian Revolution would create a new world order in which technology, art, social engineering and communism would provide for society and its needs.”
- Constructivism, borrowed aesthetics from Suprematism, cubism and futurism but also was fundamentally opposed to the post revolutionary philosophy of Constructivism. The distinction and tensions between the two is primarily ideological. Constructivism rejected decorative stylization and favored industrial assemblage of materials. Art was for propaganda and social purposes rather than for our artistic feeling previously established in Suprematism.
Typesetting Initial Composition
I begin by typesetting a simple block. This established a base mark on the white page but quickly transformed directions that aligned closer to my previous research. I wanted to emphasis the negative space form by a block of text while also symbolizing the interwoven political tensions that each quote carried within the composition.
Simulation Exploration
Under normal circumstances, this assignment was designed for the students to transform the final composition into a physical form, whether that be with cut letters, stencils, screen printing, etc. UnderCOVID restrictions, this class was completed online. Adjusting to the format of the class delivery, our final poster submission would also contain a digital version that simulated a real world material or process.
Color Treatment
It was important to apply color with a strong sensitivity for how it could break up the text. It needed to provide greater distention and legibility between the elements.
