Screening Notes for Milton Glaser

Oh I already like this guy, he drew and copied comics as a kid, which is an artistic start I identify with a lot.

I really love this guy's easy-going philosophies and his simple artistic genius, and how humble he is about everything. We're talking about the guy who came up with the "I heart NY" design - something that I would argue was one of the world's biggest pre-internet memes. It's something that's still relevant and altered and used in the present day. I especially liked the examples that popped up from his time working for grocers. It reminded me of the graphic design I am surrounded with every day I go to work at my retail job, and how much of it pains me. If some of these artists went back to the graphic design roots like what Milton does, stocking would be filled with a lot more interest for me. I am struck by how awful some of the designs are these days and I really wish the people working for these modern companies had the kind of work ethic Milton has, or that they had teachers like Milton when they were studying this profession.

Screening Notes for Herbert Matter

Herbert Matter is a name I'd never heard before starting this documentary. I got to discover Herbert's life as it unfolded. And it seemed like he could never stop surprising me with how he embraced each new form of art as it came along. He went from drawing with his hands to photography (inventing photographic collage along the way) to video art. Matter had personal relationships with famous artists like Eames and Pollock. His close relationship with Pollock greatly influenced both of their work.

I have probably seen tons of Matter's work throughout my life and my career as an art student, and never realized it. He created so much and such varied types of art throughout his lifetime, yet all of it has a very consistant feel to it. Everything he's done is incredibly genuine. He was a prominent artist who was extremely active during the actual birth of the graphic design field.

Oh now I'm at the sad part where his family is sad about how he didn't really pay them much attention, in favor of his work. He may have been a genius, a graphic designer ahead of his time at all times, but what does that all matter if you've never taken a photo of your own son? It brings up interesting questions, such as is the massive body of work he left behind worth the gaps he left in his family? Balancing passion with family, or having equal passion for people as you do for art, I think is something a lot of people still struggle with.

But I don't think I would enjoy being a genius artist if I had no one to share it with. I found his relationship with Pollock very inspirational, since that kind of artist to artist friendship is critical. But the end of Herbert's life just seems... sad.

Screening Notes for Eames

Wait a second, before I say anything I just gotta get something off my chest.

CHARLES EAMES IS A CHEATER MC-CHEATER PANTS

Now... with that out of the way.

I was amazed during this entire program how the studio spaces and furniture and interior design could have easily been pictures of modern interiors that I would reblog on my tumblr. In fact the only indications I had of the time period in which the Eames did their greatest work was in the narration and advertisements presented on the screen.

That being said, the natural conclusion is that the Eames ended up shaping a new form of design that became the new classic. The designs not only inform modern designs, but also still exist in the world as what we may call retro or throwback designs. Their appeal continues to be relevant because what the Eames studio created is based on universal aesthetic ideals and on ideas of efficiency of form, affordable manufacturing practices, and practicality.

Their lives and work support my belief that the best artists are well-rounded ones that are informed by many different areas of work, which is the main reason why I try to experiment and learn as many different art forms as I can. If I'm not a natural at it, I will at least try it. It was Ray's painting and design background combined with Charles' disposition for architecture and natural creativity that created that perfect marriage of art and industry to create some of the most well-designed household pieces of the century in America.

The breadth of their interests meant they were also active in other art forms such as video, home design and construction, and overall communication arts. They shaped a large portion of the modern art world.

Midterm Project