Designs for public interested was already a well established category of visual communication by the 1930s. Promotion of public safety and personal hygiene was a feature of the early 20th century, spreading the middle class assumption and values. Moral virtue was aligned with physical hygiene and cleanliness in the domestic and work environments in order to control the spread of disease. The presentation of this information rode a fine line between informing the public and prescribing conformity.
From 1936-1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Project Administration (WPA) with brought graphic deign into a new relation with the public. Over 2000 posters were created across the country. Several thousand artists, designers, photographers, and writers earned weekly salary for working for the WPA. Although this was a new program in America, Soviet Union artists had been state workers since the revolution in 1917. The two countries had two very different styles: American imagery still featured the heroic individual while Soviet graphics drew attention to the importance of the designer's place in the larger social system. Education and literacy was important for Soviet designers to cultivate a trained labor force therefore newly formed clubs encouraged participation in reading and discussions.
Photojournalism and Documentary
By the 1930s documentary photography had become an important and powerful instrument of political and social commentary. The WPA established the Farm Security Administration which commissioned photographers to document the lives of America's rural poor. Perhaps one of the most famous photos from this period is Dorothea Lange's photo "Migrant Mother". Other photographs of this time included Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, and Margaret Bourke-White. Other images from the FSA can be seen here.
1. Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother".
As photographic printing technologies improved, reproduction became more affordable and more efficient for use in magazines and other publications. The integration of documentary photography was brought into the mainstream by major modern photographers during this time. Many photographers with established careers as fine artists or journalists also had successful careers in fashion photography.
2. Life magazine built its reputation and audience based on photographic work.
Wartime Propaganda and Information
As World War II broke out in Europe, graphic media were used to mobilize sentiment and action on all sides of the conflict. Government agencies and programs utilized graphic strategies to raise awareness and support. Women were also encouraged to volunteer and enlist for military service and other war related work. These designs often included more realistic imagery to leave strong and lasting impressions on the viewers. However, flat and bold imagery were equally strong with clear and symbolic messages. The directness of these images implied that action was required and could not be delayed.
During the war, official diagrams and charts were used to deliver important information. Both the British Ministry of Information and the US Office of War Information hired designers of stature and skill to create educational posters and develop signage. It was imperative that the dense amounts of information was displayed in a well organized fashion while maintaining a high level of aesthetics.
3. War time propaganda using bold shapes and colors to convey a sense of urgency.
Glossary
American Regionalism - an artistic movement that focused on rural or local imagery and often expressed agrarian cultural values as an answer to the modern world of industrial and urban development.
Informatics - the study of data or knowledge represented in a form that can be stored or manipulated by digital or computational means.
New objectivity - an approach to photography and other arts of the 1920s that valued (an emulated) the rationalism afforded by new technologies capable of replacing subjective rendering and that rejected the mystical, pseudo-primitive, and emotional aspects of Expressionism.
Works Cited
"Dorothea Lange." Wikipedia. 23 Nov. 2008
"Photographers of the FSA: Selected Portraits." Portrait Sampler -- FSA Photographer. 23 Nov. 2008
"WWII Propaganda Posters." WWII Propaganda Posters. 23 Nov. 2008
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