14 Viewpoints : PCA Illustration 1970-1980

14 VIEWPOINTS PCA Illustration 1970—1980 T/^i"niTi2T* ifiSfeS »»5ffi jiS^T *iaRaa**cw.*<«it'»ST ^-'-r^.^-* Copyright 1985 Philadelphia College of Art Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 85-60435 14 VIEWPOINTS PCA Illustration 1970 — 1980 March 29— April 27, 1985 Philadelphia College of Art Howard A. Wolf Gallery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania This exhibition has been made pos- sible in part with contributions from The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Strathmore Press. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/14viewpointspcai00phil ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 14 Viewpoints presents approximately 100 Broom, Director of Communications Jake recently commissioned illustrations, in Weiner, and The Philadelphia Newspapers original and published formats, produced Job Printing Shop for their splendid by 14 artists who studied illustration at the cooperation and quality productions. The Philadelphia College of Art from 1970 to college also appreciates the generous con- 1980. tribution of the color poster produced for 14 Viewpoints by The Strathmore Press of Along with a common educational back- Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Phil Kelly and ground, all of the artists in this exhibition William Moreton are thanked for the care practice illustration on a free-lance basis. they applied to the production of this piece. Many work with the same clients. They are contemporaries, and most live and work on Important contributions to these publica- the east coast. But it is here that their tions were also made by Steven Heller, similarities begin to end. The biographies Robert Stein and Stephen Tarantal. Stein, of the 14 in this catalog hint at professional an associate professor in PCA's Illustration varieties and differences developed since Department, designed all of the fine the group's PCA experience. Finally, the ex- publications which accompany this exhibi- hibited works lead away from their corre- tion. Heller and Tarantal wrote the two in- spondences and reveal 14 very distinguished sightful essays which appear on the follow- illustrators and distinct approaches to il- ing pages. lustration. Stein, Tarantal, their fellow faculty in the Il- An examination of pluralism in contem- lustration Department, Bruce Beans, direc- porary illustration was, in fact, the basic tor of communications and Josephine concept developed for 14 Viewpoints by Stamm, special assistant to the president Stephen Tarantal, professor in the college's at Philadelphia College of Art, deserve Illustration Department. PCA Illustration special recognition for the assistance and Department alumni from the targeted expertise they lent to all aspects of this period were chosen as a control group for project. Art directors, agencies and the this survey. A mass call for entries to the lenders named in the catalog checklist exhibition was made last summer, and have also been of significant help in pro- responses to this solicitation were juried viding information, copies of printed il- last fall at the Society of Illustrators in New lustrations and original artworks. York City by Vivienne Flesher, illustrator, Finally, we praise the 14 alumni included in Steven Heller, art director for The New York 14 Viewpoints. Each actively participated in Times Book Review and Doug Johnson, il- the organization of this show. Each ac- lustrator. We gratefully acknowledge the cepted yet another exercise (and deadline) interest, time and efforts that both our from their alma mater with the special "Not alumni and the jurors invested in this for Publication" assignment. The outstan- critical component of the project. ding work they have accomplished in their This catalog and the announcement card field has resulted in a provocative exhibi- for 14 Viewpoints were produced by The tion and, above all, brought great honor to Philadelphia Inquirer. PCA extends grat- the Philadelphia College of Art. itude to the Inquirer for its very generous support and, in particular, cites Vice Presi- Eleni J. Cocordas dent and Director of Public Affairs William Director of Exhibitions INTRODUCTION Since the mid-'50s, when Norman Rockwell reigned as king, the Famous Artists of Westport served as knights and the Cooper Studios ruled the domain called American illustration, assumptions about the form have been radically altered. While no single Magna Carta freed illustrators from the strictures of impersonal, storybook realism, individual crusaders— both artists and art directors— markedly changed the look and content. Robert Weaver and Robert Andrew Parker pioneered a painterly expressionism. Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast wed design to illustration. Later, other pro- ponents of the expressionistic line, such as Alan Cober, imbued assignments with view- point. At the same time, cartoonists in- spired a stylistic revolution. Saul Steinberg, Robert Osborn and Joseph Low brought satire and wit back to illustration and, most importantly, acceptance of their minimalist drawings changed the definition of finish. As the Impressionists proffered an alter- native to 19th-century academic and roman- tic strictures— hence opening the door to modernism— the young illustrators and cartoonists of the mid-'50s opened the door to the infinite. The subsequent generation of artists and art directors further built upon those ad- vances. By the Sixties, personalized illustration was virtually matter-of-fact. Tomi Lingerer's passionate brushwork, which conveyed acerbic ironies, took the field by storm. A Surrealist and Symbolist vocabulary, borrowed from mid century, gave a poetic veneer to illustration. Political and social crises of the Sixties further advanced the personalization of applied art. Many illustrators came forth with indignant and polemical, self-initiated com- mentaries. Robert Grossman, Edward Sorel and David Levine, among others, contributed to magazines such as Ramparts and Evergreen which encouraged statement over style. Next in the continuum, the once- grey New York Times initiated the Op-Ed The common thread binding all the Page, a journalistic milestone whose effect disparate artists mentioned above is a per- was a boon for personal graphic art. French sonal involvement in their work regardless Surrealism, German Expressionism and of purpose. A Holland picture for an adver- Dada were revived by J.C. Suares, the tisement seems as charged as one for an page's art director, who brought Roland editorial assignment. Even those artists Topor, Ralph Steadman, Eugene Mihaesco, such as Sorel— who employ varying ap- Marshal Arisman and Brad Holland proaches because the variety of tasks they together. No artist could draw more from undertake require different levels of graphic the gut than Steadman, or more from the and emotional involvement — imbue heart than Holland. The Op-Ed artists en- everything with personality. Of course, couraged the next generation to take a some jobs are just jobs, even for the most graphic stand. Sue Coe, perhaps the major committed— that is the nature of the proponent of the new Expressionism, had business. Seen as challenges, though, here first outlet in the Times. many jobs transcend their ephemeral state. So in the end, the best illustration must Regrettably, the style of personal illustra- reveal something about the artist. Without tion too quickly became commonplace. A that, illustrators will just be pairs of hands. wave of imitators mimicked the surface without any of the depth. Discouraging as Steven Heller any co-optation is, this was for the best, New York City, January 1985 since many Of the original artists changed approach as much to break away from stylistic cliches as to respond to their inter- nal needs for growth. Arisman, for example, Steven Heller is art director of The New developed a unique and powerful pallete York Times Book Review. His recent book and brushstroke. By mid-decade political is "Art Against War" (Abbeville Press) and motivations gave way in some quarters to he is currently editing "Innovations of aesthetic concerns and personal obses- American Illustration" (to be published in sions, some based on historical explora- Fall, 1985). He served as a juror for tions. John Collier sparked a pastel revival. 14 Viewpoints . Ellwood H. Smith continued a venerable comic art tradition. James Grashow took Durer to his logical contemporary exten- sion. Now illustration is on a precipice. Ecclec- ticism abounds, but at the expense of content. While catholicity is indeed present, we live in a curiously conservative time. The so-called new-wave pointed out a few in- teresting, stylistic directions, but nothing really new emerged. Most notable is The Gut Spilling school, which in the extreme, isn't any better than the saccharine impersonal art of the Fifties. Balance is the real virtue. ESSAY CONVERGE V. 1. To move toward one point; 14 Viewpoints features the published work come together by gradual approach. 2. To of 14 illustrators whose personal visions tend toward the same conclusion or result. were shaped, in part, as a result of being DIVERGE V. 1. To move or extend outward students in the Illustration Department at in different directions from a common point the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA) be- or from each other. 2. To deviate as from a tween 1970 and 1980. This exhibition is a norm. natural consequence of the continuing pro- cess of evaluation, inquiry and reflection Converging and diverging are processes that characterizes the evolution of PCA's that the Illustrator employs as he/she Illustration Departnnent. navigates between personal expression, the clients' expectations, and the The Department started during the late audience's perceptions. PCA has a long 1800's when, in an expanding and pros- tradition of educating illustrators who con- perous economy, the publishing and adver- nect their individual artistic viewpoints with tising industries of Philadelphia were the social, economic and political ebb and beginning to flourish. A period of great flow of our society. popularity and support for illustration in these market places continued through the mid-20th Century. Other important events contributed to the general development of illustration.

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