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The Cyclical Politics of Graphic Design Essay

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The history of graphic art and the cycle of politicization, depoliticization and then repoliticization span the late 19th century through and into the 21st century. Evolving from humble beginnings into the commercial behemoth it’s become to today this essay will explore graphic design’s evolution and the politics that affected this growing art movement during this influential timeline.
Graphic design set its first roots in Germany in 1455 with the introduction of the Blackletter typeface and Johannes Gutenberg’s Gutenberg Bible. Coined as the godfather of printing Gutenberg helped to spread Blackletter in popularity. With the advent of Martin Luther’s New Testament, however, a schism was created between those that chose to use …show more content…

Tremendous technological advance and tremendous slaughter leave an artistic waste land of atrocity, emasculation and pointing posters used to manipulate the public into recruiting men to join the military around the globe. Skilled illustrators in America, less inventive but artistic allegory’s in Canada and France and plain typography in Britain leave many artists busy with supporting the war effort. On the outskirts of war were a contingency of international peoples with little means and a negative view of European culture and war that chose to defect to Switzerland where they created the art movement known as Dada.
Dada, known for it’s chaotic nature, indirect protesting and iconoclasm also evolved into a political movement. Rejection of artistic mastery, defying authority, overprinting, and purposeful mistakes, where all a part of what Tristain Tzara and his contemporaries were trying to succeed. Cubism, Vorticism, Orphism, Purism, and Futurism also came about because of World War I. Heavily influenced by Cubism and it’s shattered glass appearance Futurism was the most politically mind of these five movements. Somewhat akin to Dada in it’s chaotic nature Futurist’s, however, were staunchly pro war and were looking for ways to bring Italy into the present times. Purism, on the other hand, took the collage look of synthetic Cubism and modern abstract style and made

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