This weeks lecture, we began to look at how the end of World War led to development of a Dutch movement called “De Stijl”.
It was founded by Doesburg and Mondrian, where artists and architects came together to create artworks in this style. I like how abstract their work was during the early 1900’s as it was very different to use primary colours and geometric shapes. I admire how these artists used simplistic ideas and focused on form and composition compared to highly detailed paintings. I find it extraordinary how this movement is still used today because of it’s aesthetic style.
Doesburg & Mondrian work from De Stiji movement
We looked at a number of designers from this movement. Mondrian was influenced by Cubist artists such as Picasso. He took inspiration from this, and created grid-based paintings that became well known. I love the vibrancy and structure of his composition, it’s appealing to the eye.
Mondrain Composition
He was influenced by Van Gogh in his early works, but then Kandinsky. His composition (The Cow) simplified versions of the animals using geometric shapes. I found this fascinating how the drawing’s are just made up of simple shapes, with detail added to make them more complex.
Doesburg work of The Cow
Next, we looked at Russian Constructivism which was a reaction to the design before this. It resembled De Stijl using shapes and colour but for commercial reasons. It took an easier approach to fit into the communist authority.
A key member of this movement was Alexander Rodchenko, who’s work went from fine art to graphics. I like how he includes photos with type and shapes. Also, his style is very distinctive and recognisable from a distance. I really like how he chose bold stand out colours (red and black, with the white outline that enhances and separates the shapes and blocks of colour.
Constructivist Art
She illustrated Jewish books before making abstract images called “Prouns”. I don’t like how disarranged her work is and how scattered the shapes are.
Lissitzky Prouns