imminent.

A typographic journal based on Meggs’ History of Graphic Design.

Eggi Media.

Autumn 2021 issue 16 Wobby Jar A photography Exhibition, March - July 2021 Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Image courtesy of Issy Golding.

The Polish Editors Address. 4 Bob Cactus The following pages, were designed with love by Issy Golding for the purpose of Graphics One: Type & Language Image & Type. The body copy is respectfully used 8 Emily House from Megg’s History of Design for the purpose of this university assessment.

The idea behind this design is to explore the global The American Experence. Sakura Mushroom. nuances of through the global edition 10 of imminent, a fictional publication.

Creating a Nation 12 Elanora Button

Japanese Type 14 Erin Kofe Published biannually by Eggi, Sydney. This publication was created on Darkingjung land and the creators pay their respects to Aboriginal leaders. Imminent is circulated to subscribers Chilean Type Membership is available at Tayla Crane www.eggi.media.com/subscribe 16 @eggi www.eggi.media.com

2 imminent The Polish Poster. The poster became a source of great national pride in Poland; its role in the cultural life of the nation is unique. Words by Bob Cactus Opposite Winter PJs by Sheila Squiggly.

orld War II began in Europe on 1 Electronic broadcasting lacked the frequency September 1939 with Hitler’s lightning and diversity of Western media, and the din of Winvasion of Poland from the north, economic competition was less pronounced south, and west without a declaration of war. in a communist country. Therefore, for Seventeen days later, Soviet troops invaded cultural events, the circus, movies, and politics Poland from the east, and six years of devas- served as important communications. In 1964 tation followed. Poland emerged from the war the Warsaw International Poster Biennial be- with enormous population losses, its industry gan, and Muzeum Plakatu— a museum devot- devastated, and its agriculture in ruins. ed exclusively to the art of the poster— was established in Wilanów, near Warsaw. The capital city of Warsaw was almost com- pletely destroyed. Printing and graphic design, The Polish poster began to receive interna- like so many aspects of Polish society and cul- tional attention during the 1950s. Tomaszewski ture, virtually ceased to exist. It is a monumental led the trend toward developing an aesthet- tribute to the resilience of the human spirit that ically pleasing approach, escaping from the an internationally renowned Polish school of somber world of tragedy and remembrance poster art emerged from this devastation. In the into a bright, decorative world of color and communist society established in Poland after shape. the war, the clients were state-controlled insti- tutions and industry. Graphic designers joined In an almost casual approach, de- filmmakers, writers, and fine artists in the Polish signs were created from torn and cut pieces Union of Artists, which established standards. of colored paper and then printed by the silkscreen process. Typical of this style is the film Entry into the union came after completion of poster for Rzeczpospolita Babska by Jerzy Fli- the educational program at either the Warsaw sak (1930– 2008). The symbolic female figure or the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts. Entry stan- has a pink, doll-like head with round, rouged dards for these schools were rigorous, and the cheeks and a heart-shaped mouth. number of graduates was carefully controlled to equal the need for design. The circus poster has flourished as a light- hearted expression of the magic and charm The first Polish poster artist to emerge after of this traditional entertainment since 1962, the war was Tadeusz Trepkowski. The poster when concern about mediocre circus publicity became a source of great national pride in inspired a juried program to select a dozen Poland; its role in the cultural life of the nation is circus posters per year for publication by the unique. Graphic Arts Publishers in Warsaw. 4 imminent g a lbl Type & bliski Language неизбежный Words Emily House ආසන්නයි Images Claudio Fish.

The creation of conceptual images op hande became a significant design approach in Poland, the United States, Germany, and even Cuba. It also cropped up imminente around the world in the work of indi- viduals whose search for relevant and effective images in the post– World War ar tí tarlú II era led them toward the conceptual image.

yaxındır In the most original work of the Ital- The creation of conceptual images ian graphic designer Armando Testa became a significant design approach okuseduze (1917– 92), for example, metaphysical in Poland, the United States, Germany, combinations were used to convey ele- and even Cuba. It also cropped up yfirvofandi mental truths about the subject. around the world in the work of indi- iminente lata mai In his posters and advertisements, the viduals whose search for relevant and image is the primary means of commu- effective images in the post– World War nication, and he reduces the verbal II era led them toward the conceptual berehalakoa content to a few words or just the prod- image. In the most original work of the uct name. Testa effectively used more Italian graphic designer Armando Testa subtle contradictions, such as images (1917– 92), for example, metaphysical made of artificial materials, as a means combinations were used to convey ele- of injecting unexpected elements into mental truths about the subject. graphic design.

8 imminent Sakura Mushroom. A Graphic icon of the american experience.

“As photography stole illustration’s traditional function, a new approach to illustration emerged.”

uring the 1950s the Glaser’s versatile and singular genius is hard to golden age of American categorize, for over the course of several de- Dillustration was drawing to cades he reinvented himself as a creative force a close. For over fifty years narra- by exploring new graphic techniques and motifs. tive illustration had ruled American During the 1960s he created images using flat shapes formed by thin, black-ink contour lines, add- graphic design, but improvements ing color by applying adhesive color films (Fig. 21– in paper, printing, and photogra- 18 ). This almost schematic drawing style echoed phy caused the illustrator’s edge the simple iconography of comic books, the flow- over the photographer to recede ing curvilinear drawing of Persian and art nouveau rapidly. Traditionally, illustrators arabesques, the flat color of Japanese prints and had exaggerated value con- Matisse cutouts, and the dynamic of contemporary trasts, intensified color, and made . As with other graphic designers whose edges and details sharper than work captured and expressed the sensibilities of life to create more convincing their times, Glaser was widely imitated. images than photography. In 1958 Sorel started freelancing, and he later emerged as one of the major political satirists of Only his ability to maintain a steady stream of inno- But now, improvements in materials and pro- his generation. Glaser and Chwast continued their vative conceptual solutions, along with his restless exploration of different techniques, prevented him cesses enabled photography to expand its partnership for two decades. In 1974 Glaser left to from being consumed by his followers. range of lighting conditions and image fidelity. pursue a wide range of interests, including maga- While the images described above are formed The death of illustration was somberly predict- zine, corporate, and environmental design. Chwast remains as director of the renamed Pushpin Group. by the edge, another approach developed by ed as photography made rapid inroads into Glaser evolved from the mass. Inspired in the late the profession’s traditional market. However, as The Push Pin Almanack became the Push Pin 1950s by oriental calligraphic brush drawing and photography stole illustration’s traditional func- Graphic , and this experimental magazine provid- Picasso aquatints, Glaser began making gestured tion, a new approach to illustration emerged. ed a forum for presenting new ideas, imagery, and silhouette wash drawings that tease by only sug- This more conceptual approach to illustra- techniques. Together with the journalist Clay Felker, gesting the subject, requiring the viewer to fill in the tion began with a group of young New York Glaser founded New York Magazine in 1968 and details from his or her own imagination. graphic artists. worked as its art director for the next nine years. The philosophies and personal visions of Push Pin Glaser’s concert posters and record-album Studio artists had global influence. Graphic design designs manifest a singular ability to combine his Image Modern by April Jar, has often been fragmented into separate tasks of personal vision with the essence of the content. 2019. image making and layout or design. 10 imminent The term Push Pin style became widely used for the studio’s work and influence, which spread around the world. The studio hired other designers and illustrators in addition to Glaser and Chwast, and a number of these younger individuals, who worked for the studio and then moved on to freelance or to other positions, extended the boundaries of the Push Pin aesthetic. The Push Pin approach is less a set of visual conventions or a unity of visual techniques or images than an attitude about visual communications, an openness about trying new forms and techniques as well as reinterpreting work from earlier periods, and an ability to integrate word and image into a conceptual and decorative whole. Barry Zaid (b. 1939), an influential graphic designer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, joined Push Pin for a few years during this period. A Canadian who majored first in architecture and then in English during college before becoming a self-taught graph- ic designer and illustrator, Zaid worked in and then prior to joining Push Pin Studio. As a graphic archaeologist basing his work on a thorough study of the graphic vernacular of bygone eras, Zaid became an important force in the revivalism and historicism that were prevalent in graphic design during this period. He was particularly prominent in the revival of 1920s art deco decorative geometric forms, including the cover of the 1970 book Art Deco by English art historian Bevis Hillier. Zaid’s historicism did not merely mimic nostalgic forms, for his spatial organization, scale, and color was of his own time.w The term Push Pin style became widely used for the studio’s work and influence, which spread around the world. The studio hired other designers and illustrators in addition to Glaser and Chwast, and a number of these younger individuals, who worked for the studio and then moved on to freelance or to other positions, extended the boundaries of the Push Pin aesthetic. The Push Pin approach is less a set of visual conventions or a unity of visual techniques or images than an attitude about visual communications, an openness about trying new forms and techniques as well as reinterpreting work from earlier periods, and an ability to integrate word and image into a conceptual and decorative whole. Barry Zaid (b. 1939), an influential graphic designer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, joined Push Pin for a few years during this period. A Canadian who majored first in architecture and then in English during college before becoming a self-taught graphic designer and illustrator, Zaid worked in Toronto and then London prior to joining Push Pin Studio. As a graphic archae- ologist basing his work on a thorough study of the graphic vernacular of bygone eras, Zaid became an important force in the revivalism and historicism that were prevalent in graphic design during this period. He was particularly prominent in the revival of 1920s art deco decorative geometric forms, including the cover of the 1970 book Art Deco by English art historian Bevis Hillier. Zaid’s historicism did not merely mimic nostal- gic forms, for his spatial organization, scale, and color was of his own time.

Japanese Type Erin Kofe. The term Push Pin style wecame widely used for the studio’s work and influence, which spread around the world. The studio hired other designers and illustrators in addition to Glaser and Chwast, and a number of these younger individuals, who worked for the studio and then moved on to freelance or to other positions, extended the boundaries of the Push Pin aesthetic. The Push Pin approach is less a set of visual conventions or a unity of visual techniques or images than an attitude about visual communications, an openness about trying new forms and techniques as well as reinterpreting work from earlier periods, and an ability to integrate word and image into a conceptual and decorative whole. Barry Zaid (b. 1939), an influential graphic designer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, joined Push Pin for a few years during this period. A Canadian who ma- jored first in architecture and then in English during college before becoming a self-taught graphic designer and illustrator, Zaid worked in Toronto and then London prior to joining Push Pin Studio. As a graphic archaeologist basing his work on a thorough study of the graphic vernacular of bygone eras, Zaid be- came an important force in the revivalism and historicism that were prevalent in graphic design during this period. He was particularly prominent in the revival of 1920s art deco decorative geometric forms, including the cover of the 1970 book Art Deco by English art historian Bevis Hillier. Zaid’s historicism did not merely mimic nostalgic forms, for his spatial organization, scale, and color was of his own time.

12 imminent Creating A NAtion: Conceptual image making is not the exclusive province of the illustrator. Propaganda

arry Zaid (b. 1939), an influen- Btial graphic designer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, joined Push and Type. Pin for a few years during this peri- od. A Canadian who majored first in architecture and then in English At the same time, however, a concern for total Warm, friendly, and accessible, Push Pin designs during college before becoming a design asserted itself, and McMullan began to project vitality with lush color and unashamed self-taught graphic designer and make fluid lettering an important part of his images. allusions to other art. The Push Pin group did not illustrator, Zaid worked in Toronto and In his 1977 poster for Eugene O’Neill’s play Anna maintain a monopoly on the conceptual image in then London prior to joining Push Pin Christie, the intimate portrayal of a figure sitting in America, for a number of autonomous designers Studio. an interior is superimposed on an ocean scene. forged individual approaches to communications problemsolving while combining the traditional As a graphic archaeologist basing The dual image combines conceptualization and layout role of the graphic his work on a thorough study of the designer with the image-making role of the illustra- graphic vernacular of bygone eras, to communicate the locale tor. Zaid became an important force in the revivalism and historicism that were of the play while creating an ne designer, Arnold Varga (1926– 94), prevalent in graphic design during Opractically reinvented the retail newspaper this period. He was particularly prominent in the engaging spatial interplay. advertisement. Varga entered the field in 1946. Image by David Chicene. revival of 1920s art deco decorative geometric Beginning in the mid-1950s, his newspaper ad- forms, including the cover of the 1970 book Art nother Push Pin alumnus who moved toward vertisements for two Pittsburgh department stores, Words by Eleanora Button Deco by English art historian Bevis Hillier. Zaid’s Aa total design approach is Paul Davis (b. Joseph P. Horne & Co. and Cox’s, turned this usually historicism did not merely mimic nostalgic forms, for 1938), who first appeared in the Push Pin Graphic pedestrian form of visual design into memorable his spatial organization, scale, and color was of his with a series of primitive figures painted on rough image-building communications. Many of Varga’s own time. Among the illustrators and designers who wood panels with superimposed targets. From this ads used carefully integrated white space and passed through Push Pin Studio was James McMul- beginning Davis moved toward a painting style headlines with large, simple illustrations to break lan (b. 1934), who revived watercolor, a medium of minute detail that drew inspiration from primitive through the monotonous gray of the newspaper that had declined from a position second only to colonial American art. He evolved into a master of page. A multiple-image picture-and-caption ap- oil paint for fine art and illustration, and restored it meticulous naturalism; the solid shapes of his forms proach, such as the gourmet shop advertisement as a means of graphic expression. project a convincing weight and volume. for Joseph P. Horne (Fig. 21– 31 ), achieved nota- ble public response— people actually offered to A multiple-image picture-and-caption approach, The Push Pin school of graphic illustration and buy this advertisement to hang on their walls! such as the gourmet shop advertisement for Joseph design presented an alternative to the narrative P. Horne, achieved notable public response— peo- illustration of the past, the mathematical and ob- One designer, Arnold Varga (1926– 94), practi- ple actually offered to buy this advertisement to jective typographic and photographic orientation cally reinvented the retail newspaper advertise- hang on their walls! of the International Typographic Style, and the ment. Varga entered the field in 1946. 14 formal concerns of the New York school. imminent Tayla Crane

ChileanType. Opposite Image by Kate Crown

One of the first graphic designers to incorporate Cie ś lewicz’s techniques include enlarging col- this new metaphysical sensitivity into his work was lage, montage, and halftone images to a scale Franciszek Starowieyski (1930– 2009). In his 1962 that turns the dots into texture, setting up an poster for the Warsaw Drama Theater, a serpent interplay between two levels of information: the hovers in space, coiling around two circles that image and the dots that create it. In 1980 short- become shaking hands. This enigmatic image was ages of food, electricity, and housing led to strikes a harbinger of things to come in Starowieyski’s work, and the formation of the illegal Solidarity labor which sometimes tends toward the slime-and-gore union, whose logo, designed by Jerzy Janiszewski (b. school of graphics, and in the work of a number of 1952), became an international symbol of struggle other Polish graphic designers. Jan Lenica (1928– against oppression. 2001) pushed the collage style toward a more menacing and surreal communication in posters and experimental animated films. ‘It expressed solidarity with

Then, during the mid-1960s, he began using flow- the Chilean struggle for ing, stylized contour lines that weave through the space and divide it into colored zones that form democracy and an image. Lenica and Starowieyski were joined in independence American conceptual images During the 1950s On graduation from Cooper Union in 1951, their break from the mainstream by several mem- ’ the golden age of American illustration was Glaser received a Fulbright scholarship to study bers of the emerging generation who realized that drawing to a close. For over fifty years narrative etching under Giorgio Morandi in Italy, and the the Polish poster was in danger of fossilizing into illustration had ruled American graphic design, but other three friends found employment in New York an academic national style. This potential pitfall Powerful images such as this transcend their improvements in paper, printing, and photography and publishing. Freelance assignments was avoided, as designers including Waldemar Ś immediate subject matter to become universal caused the illustrator’s edge over the photogra- were solicited through a joint publication called wierzy (1931– 2013) arrived at unique personal statements about censorship and the suppression pher to recede rapidly. Traditionally, illustrators had the Push Pin Almanack visions. of ideas everywhere. The legalization of Solidar- exaggerated value contrasts, intensified color, ity and its overwhelming victory in the May 1989 and made edges and details sharper than life to Published bimonthly, it featured interesting editorial Approaching graphic design from a painterly elections ended one-party communist rule and create more convincing images than photography. material from old almanacs illustrated by the group. viewpoint, Ś wierzy drew on folk art and twenti- marked the beginning of a new era in Polish history. But now, improvements in materials and processes In 1958 Sorel started freelancing, and he later eth-century fine art for inspiration. A prolific artist, he For half a century, the Polish poster developed enabled photography to expand its range of emerged as one of the major political satirists created more than a thousand posters in a wide as a result of a conscious decision by the gov- lighting conditions and image fidelity. of his generation. Glaser and Chwast continued variety of media. He often incorporated acrylics, ernment to sanction and support poster art as a their partnership for two decades. When Glaser crayon, pencil, and watercolor into designs. In his major form of expression and communication. The death of illustration was somberly predicted as returned from Europe in August 1954, the Push Pin famous poster for the American rock musician Jimi photography made rapid inroads into the pro- Studio was formed. Ruffins left the studio after a Hendrix, Ś wierzy animated the large portrait with The posters were creative statements trafficking in fession’s traditional market. This more conceptual time and became a prominent decorative and swirling energetic gestures. ideas rather than commodities. Despite political approach to illustration began with a group of children’s book illustrator. changes, a tradition of excellence bolstered by young New York graphic artists. Cooper Union art Together with the journalist Clay Felker, Glaser strong design education may ensure a continuing students (b. 1931), The spontaneous quality of much of his work is founded New York Magazine in 1968 and worked poster art form in Poland. Inventiveness is already (b. 1929), Reynolds Ruffins (b. 1930), and Edward deceptive, for Ś wierzy sometimes devoted three as its art director for the next nine years. being demonstrated by younger graphic design- Sorel (b. 1929) banded together and shared a weeks to a poster and executed a poster five or ers entering the profession. loft studio. . more times before being satisfied with the results. 16 imminent e globe th i s s e a

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18 imminent imminent.

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