Works of War: Binghamton University Art Museum, Binghamton University, Binghamton, (March 28–May 18, 2019) Curated by Blazo Kovacevic, exhibit and catalog designed by Blazo Kovacevic (Exhibition Review)

Steven Brower

“Most wars are stupid and don’t deserve the loss of a single human being.

All I can do about it is to express my concern in work.” Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-pdf/36/3/97/1893978/desi_r_00606.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Seymour Chwast

In spring 2017, Binghamton University hosted “: Modulated Patterns,” an exhibit of the design master’s then-recent work. The exhibit, curated and designed by university professor Blazo Kovacevic, featured wall-to-ceiling reproductions alongside original works, submersing the viewer in the visual environment. Two years later, the curators have followed with “Works of War: Seymour Chwast”—a second in their Masters series. Chwast was a co-founder of in 1954 in , along with Glaser, Ed Sorel, and . The group set the tone for the 1960s with their “Push Pin Style” of psychedelic-tinged, brightly colored, Art Nouvea–inspired for advertise- ments and major publications. Through their liberal use of histori- cal reference, Push Pin helped set post-modernism in motion, and their affect influences our visual language to this day. Chwast has remained at the forefront of graphic design for more than 60 years. His work appearing regularly in books, magazines, products, and posters. Born in 1931 in New York City, during the Great Depression, Chwast came of age during World War 2. One of his passions, his pacifism, is evident from his earli- est contributions, including in works on show in this significant exhibition. In 1957 he produced his “A Book of Battles,” featuring clashes from the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE through World War 1. The work was the first in a line of tomes dedicated to the subject of the insanity of war throughout history. During the Vietnam War, two of his posters—“End Bad Breath” and “War is Good Busi- ness (Invest Your Son)”—set the tone for the anti-war movement. When a young Bob Dylan and Joan Baez were photographed in front of it, the latter’s messaging was further reinforced, producing an iconic counter-culture image. Chwast continued to create peace

© 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_r_00606 DesignIssues: Volume 36, Number 3 Summer 2020 97 posters through the subsequent decades. Another example of his commitment to pacifism, included in this timely selection, is the multi-authored 1994 book, Art Against War: 400 Years of Protest in Art, by D.J.R. Bruckner, Steven Heller, and Chwast. In 2017 Chwast authored yet another book, At War with War, comprising stark woodcuts depicting the horrors of battles through the cen- turies. One would think that might be his last word on the subject. It is not. “Works of War: Seymour Chwast” features many large paintings and other works of art created in 2018, as well as earlier works—44 in all. Curated by Kovacevic, Associate Professor of Art and Design, the exhibit surrounds the viewer through the sheer volume and scale of the works. The experience is similar to the Glaser exhibit: total submersion in the work. Here, Chwast’s anti- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-pdf/36/3/97/1893978/desi_r_00606.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 war message is loud and clear. In some cases, Chwast’s decorative approach confronts any preconceptions of what war looks like. In many ways, it renders the subject mundane: War is so commonplace that patterns of sol- diers, bombs, and planes could easily replace Charlie Harper’s birds and trees in our visual lexicon.1 And perhaps this usurpation is the point. These works stand in contrast to the smaller black and white woodcuts, and the pen and ink and marker works, whose grittiness and hard-hitting subject matter of skulls, gas masks, sol- diers in gear, and parachutes hit the message home in a more direct manner. Included is a single painted tin sculpture, “The General,” created in 2018; the general is isolated behind an exaggerated podium, no doubt delivering his latest message of conflict. Often the medium is the message. As Kovacevic notes in the catalog, “pencil, charcoal, ink, marker, brush, chisel, paper, canvas, wood, and metal are brought to bear like weapons in a perso- nal arsenal.” The installation reinforces the impact of the work throughout. Presented on two floors of the main gallery, you can head up the stairs and you are confronted by an armed soldier ready to block your entry (see Figure 1). Turn a corner to discovery a cacophony of bombs and planes. Behind a wall lurks more death and destruction, yet presented in a way you cannot be drawn into. “The Official Guide to Chemical Warfare” renders the information at once horrific and routine. In the end, there is no escaping what has been a constant since the beginnings of recorded history. One of the most evocative images, “African Conflict,” woodcut, 2015 depicts a soldier standing behind a wall of skulls. It is reministant viscerally to Goya’s later black paintings period

1 See https://www.charleyharperprints. and thematically to Frank Frazetta’s iconic “Conan the Barbarian” com/ (accessed October 7, 2019); and painting. It stands in contrast to the disarmingly cheerfully https://www.charleyharperprints.com/ colored “Invasion” series of three large map paintings. Upon closer charley-harper-art/?gclid=EAIaIQobCh MIpvHq57iF5QIVCK_ICh1u_wGxEAAYAS- AAEgIyZvD_BwE (accessed October 7, 2019).

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Figure 1 inspection one realizes that small silhouetted tanks are approach- Art Museum Seymour Chwast Installation. ing. Likewise, “Overcast” acrylic on canvas, 89 ¼” x 99” appears to Binghamton University Art Museum, be abstract at first until it reveals itself as overlapping bomber Binghamton University, Binghamton, New planes, parachutes and explosions. I believe this to be Chwast’s York (March 28–May 18, 2019). Photography ultimate message: war has become so routine that we barely notice by Marc Newton. it from afar. The exhibit is accompanied by a handsomely produced catalog designed by Kovacevic, replete with a gatefold featuring the largest work, “The Battle” from 1992, ink on paper, 45 X 260 inches. The catalog includes an introduction by the curator and an essay by long time Chwast friend and associate Steven Heller. It is 10” X 8,” cloth bound with stamping, and using the same format it sits comfortably alongside the Museum’s previous catalog for Milton Glaser. With reproductions of over 30 pieces of art in four- color and gritty black and white, Chwast certainly inspires the viewer to stop and consider the world around us today.

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