Mid-Century Type is a fascinating visual exploration of how, during the middle decades of the last century, the typographer became an independent, influential contributor to a fast-developing technological world of communications.
The years after the Second World War were a time of great economic, social, and cultural change as consumerism erupted across industrialized countries, fuelled by the growth of mass communication. The same period was also one of exceptional creativity, including in the fields of typography and graphic design.
During the war, governments came to appreciate the skill of designers in communicating public information effectively. Once the conflict was over, designers were recognized for the first time as having an essential role to play in the rebuilding of economies, infrastructure, and public morale. The typographer, however, was still something of a 'Cinderella': type was crucial to communication in almost any medium, yet typography remained a vague and largely unacknowledged profession.
This perception changed dramatically between 1945 and 1965. The range of media expanded, and the influence of time-based media such as television and film was profound, providing information 'as it happens' and transforming the turning of a page into the equivalent of the film editor's cut. 'Speed' was the elixir of growth and prosperity. The specific needs of highway and airport signage were recognized as requiring the expertise of a typographer. Phototypesetting and offset lithographic printing coalesced to provide a full-color reproduction, which in turn vastly increased the sale of all printed material, but especially books and magazines. All of this drew typographers into what became established as specialist fields of printed and screen media. Finally, the cultural value of the typographer's work could be equated with that of the artist, poet, author, and film director.
Mid-Century Type charts the meteoric rise of the typographer and graphic designer (often one and the same person) during the early post-war decades. Each chapter is devoted to a specialist field of design activity in which typography played a significant role, from type design and corporate identity to advertising, film, and television.
David Jury's text offers a fresh insight into the work of a wide array of American and European typographers and is accompanied by some 350 illustrations, many from the author's own extensive collection.
This magnificent publication presents surveys the vital role of women in the development of Abstract Expressionism by looking at more than 50 paintings, collages, and sculptures all accompanied by carefully selected quotes from the artists themselves.
The dominant movement of the New York and San Francisco art scenes of the mid-20th century, Abstract Expressionism is celebrated as the first development in American art to gain international status. The movement is synonymous with the work of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, but also belonging to this generation who changed the course of modern art were numerous female artists; only in recent years have their contributions received the recognition they deserve. The remarkable women in this exciting new book - among them Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gechtoff, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell - studied at the same art schools as the men, exhibited at the same galleries, and were part of the same social scene. But their work was not shown and reviewed as widely or considered as valuable as that of the men.
This beautiful book presents the works of the Levett Collection, an unparalleled private collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by women Abstract Expressionists. Richly illustrated essays by the scholars Ellen G. Landau and Joan M. Marter, leading authorities on the subject, consider, respectively, the vital role of women in the development of Abstract Expressionism and the work of women sculptors of the movement. Full of exuberant, explosive color and densely layered expression, the main part of the book is devoted to more than 50 paintings, collages, and sculptures, all accompanied by pertinent quotes from the women about their artistic practice and concerns.
An illustrated timeline and 35 artist biographies provide further insight, making this volume an essential addition to the study of Abstract Expressionist women, innovators in their own right, whose time in the art-historical spotlight has finally come.
Japandi is the newest and hottest trend in interiors: a harmonious combination of functionality, comfort, and the minimalist look that characterizes Scandinavian design, with the purest elegance of traditional Japanese craftsmanship.
Japandi harmoniously blends Scandinavian hygge with wabi-sabi, a concept derived from Zen Buddhism that advocates peaceful sobriety and invites us to admire the beauty hidden in slight imperfections in nature. This first major survey of Japandi style will introduce the reader to the fundamentals, and to iconic objects that will transform an interior into a Japandi-inspired retreat.
Chapter one of the book examines the converging principles that have contributed to the emergence of Japandi Style such as functionality, neutral colors, the importance of organic materials, and the thoughtful simplicity of shapes. Chapter two presents some of the most emblematic works of Japandi Style, and the design studios behind them. Chapter three gives examples of how to decorate and furnish rooms - the living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, winter garden, or home office - in Japandi Style.
