Chapter 21

Conceptual images were the product of the desire for something new after the second world war and, instead of just telling a story, these images displayed and idea or concept, hence "conceptual images". Poland and America were two big players in the development of conceptual images, but it was an international movement. After the war, Poland basically had a whole lot of nothing left, but a Polish poster art school opened and brought color, hope and happiness back. Henryk Tomaszewski was one of the leading graphic designers at the time and used light-hearted paper cut-out collages to win over Poland and other countries. Franciszek Starowiejski experimented in the opposite spectrum of the poster world, working with surrealism and the metaphysical to show a darker side of Poland. This was mostly a reaction to what was going on with their government and in society at the time. A reccuring trend among poster designers in Poland was the collage and an influence from Art Nouveau. Some designers also used a variety of mediums in their posters, such as crayons and paints, and several colors. Many designs of this time are borderline trippy with the patterns and colors used. In America, narrative illustration was on a decline as photography became more prominant, but it soon found a new function in conceptual imaging. Milton Glaser, one of the Push Pin Studio artists, created his images using thin black lines and flat shapes of color that looks heavily influenced by Art Nouveau. He used bright colors and silhouettes, which echos the style. Glaser and his partner, Seymour Chwast, designed a few typefaces together that were influenced by the Victorian period, art deco and art nouveau. Many other designers who attended Push Pin Studio also became prominant designers of the time with their revivals and new ideas. Push Pin really was the place that illustration was given a new place in graphic design. The conceptual image idea on posters in third world countries soon became important after the war as well as a way to challenge authority and express feelings. Their posters were messangers for addressing social and political problems, motivation and international issues. This type of poster design became popular in Cuba in 1959.
I find it empowering and inspiring to know that after World War 2 left Poland with nothing to work with in agriculture or industry, a school for poster art sort of sprung from the ashes. I think that it was a very good thing for Polish society that it did because the people needed to see that there was some hope at the end of all the destruction that they went through. If the war could bring the end to everything, including the art and graphic design field, and then have poster designs appear when it's all over and flourish, then other things will be able to come back too.
Why were styles like art nouveau being revived at this time?