Chapter 14 Summary

Chapter 14: Pictorial Modernism
Pictorial modernism was a movement that occurred in the late 18th century-early 19th century. The movement was influenced by cubism, constructivism and futurism, as well as many other cultural influences. Pictorial modernists focused on using a main pictorial reference, particularly on posters, to communicate an effective and bold message to viewers. These posters also used small amounts of to-the-point text, bold and flat imagery, and bold primary colors like red, blue and yellow. Pryde and Nicholson influenced the style with poster collages in the later 1800s, using flat planes of cut-out colors and imagery. In Germany, the Plakatstil “poster style” movement was greatly influenced by young Bernhart, who brought the simplification of pictorial modernism into full force. These poster styles made a large influence during WWI, using stark colors, imagery and text to convey political propaganda to the public to get people to sign up for the war or contribute money and efforts to help.

I really liked and could appreciate the simplicity of the pictorial modernist posters. Things designed today tend to be so complex and say a lot, that these posters are refreshing to look at. I like that even when they are so simplistic, they still effectively communicate—perhaps even better than the more complex posters do.

I am confused about the real beginning artist of pictorial modernism. If Pryde and Nicholson began poster collages with the same characteristics as typical pictorial modernism, aren’t they technically the forerunners of the style?