It is usually questioned as to why artists such as Damien Hirst are claimed to be pioneers ‘of the British art movement’ as quoted by Virginia Bottomley (en.wikipedia. org/wiki/ Damien_ Hirst, 2006). Hirst’s art sells for thousands and the Sunday Times rich list claims his wealth is valued at around £215 million (entertainment .timesonline .co.uk/tol/arts_and_e ntertainment/visual_arts /article7078850.ece, 2010). How does his work actually contribute to society? It is interesting to note that it is Graphic Designers who are always providing design that is a part of every day life influencing the way in which we make decisions, yet they are given little recognition for their work. It could be argued that Graphic Designers should have the same status as artists; as well as their work having more credible value. I will be looking into some of the most expensive paintings ever sold and delving deeper into why it is some pieces of art can be valued in their millions.
Jackson Pollock’s painting ‘No 5’ is at the top of the ‘Top ten most expensive paintings’ (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive _paintings) along with paintings by Gustav Klimt, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol with prices ranging from $60 - $140 million (telegraph.co.uk/ news/worldnews /1533200/Pollock-worlds-most-expensive-painting.html, 2006). During 2007 when the art market was at it peak It was estimated that auction sales of Andy Warhol’s work totaled $428 million (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol), this was said to be the highest turnover for any artist. His most expensive painting titled “Eight Elvises” sold for an estimated £60.5 million, it is said that one of the reasons the paintings is so expensive is due to the fact that Warhol only ever make one copy. Warhol’s art collection was made up of around 10,000 individual pieces of work that he created during an art career, which spanned 40 years.
In November 2006 Jackson Pollock’s painting ‘No 5’ sold to a private buyer for an estimated 140 million dollars (around 73 million pounds) – 62 years after it was painted, at the time it was said to be one of the most expensive paintings ever sold. It raises the question why does art hold so much value? Many people have argued that Pollock was branded as a rebel earning him a reputation that made him infamous, this is what is said to have bought him great publicity and there for made his ‘Drip Series’ so well known. Mathematicians have claimed that Pollock’s ‘Drip Series’ is made of a mathematical concept called ‘Fractal’ which is a ‘rough, geometric object that can be subdivided into parts each of which looks like a reduced size copy of the whole (discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock, 2001). Mathematicians believe that this mathematical theory is what attracts many people to the painting. Physicist Richard Taylor was working towards his masters in Art History when he decided to study Pollock’s paintings, using high resolution photographs Taylor scanned these photographs in then compared around five million drip patterns at different in paintings, he concluded that the later the painting the richer the ‘Fractals’ within the paintings (physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/01/facts-on-pollocks-fractals.html). Pollock was undoubtedly one of the first American painters to receive mass recognition for his abstract paintings but does this really justify the 140 million dollar price tag for his painting?
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Damien Hirst is Britain’s wealthiest living artist with his wealth valued at around £215 million. But not everyone can agree that his work is worth so much; in 2008 art critic Robert Hughes claimed Hirst “was responsible for the decline of contemporary art” branding his work as “tacky” and “absurd” (guardian.co.uk/ artanddesign/2008/sep/07/ damienhirst. Art, 2008). One of Hirst’s works titled “For The Love of God” which was based on a human skull and included over 8000 diamonds at a cost of £15,000,000 was said to have had an asking price of £50,000,000 million (en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ For_the _Love_of_God).
As well as financial value it could be argued that art has an ongoing social value, which impacts today’s society. Art can easily influence other aspects of design such as architecture, fashion and photography. The architect Antoni Gaudi worked during the Modernist art movement, in which he was to be leading the Spanish Modernist movement, which impacted hugely on his work although his style remained mainly gothic. Gaudi took inspiration from many artists during this time. (architecture.about.com/ od /architectsaz /p/gaudi.htm). Art can inspire people in many ways as well as allowing people to express themselves in a creative manner, it has been said that by teaching young children to paint or take part in other creative activities has a impact on the way in which they develop as individuals, allowing them to become more independent and allows them to create an identity for themselves.
According to Malcolm Barnard art has always been perceived as being more culturally significant as they ‘possess a sense of permanence’ unlike graphic design where production isn’t considered to be long lasting but according to Heller and Pomeroy (Design Literacy – 1997);
‘Graphic production has been ‘undervalued’ .. graphic production is not as ‘ephemeral as the paper it is printed on’
Suggesting that Graphic Design can in some ways be considered as art as it does ‘endure’ and can possess a sense of permanence. Heller and Pomeroy also argued that Graphic Design could often said to be more ‘artistic than art’ as certain items can be considered more ‘expressive of an age or a culture rather than art itself. (Graphic Design as Communication – Malcolm Barnard, page 166)
Graphic Design, like art can have a social and cultural value, Josef Muller Brockman was one of the first designers to begin using the ‘grid’ within his work. Brockman was the pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design, he was most well known for his use of typographic posters, which were made up of clean and simple lines. It was Brockman who first began to apply a grid to his work ‘as an instrument for ordering typography and pictorial conception’ (Josef Muller Brockman – Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design). Today the grid system is widely used by graphic designers. The Guardian newspaper recently had a new ‘grid’ designed, which is now made up 5 columns, this had a major affect on how the newspaper is perceived and valued by the audience. The ‘grid’ not only allows the page layout to be strategically presented it also sets a tone of voice for the newspaper. Brockman’s grid system has had a major impact on how Graphic Design is produced and will continue to change the way in which designers work.
In 2007 Guinness launched a £10 million advertising campaign, part off the campaign was to create a television advert using 6,000 dominoes, created by AMV BBDO and directed by Nicolai Fusil in Argentina (guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/08/advertising, 2007). The advert went on to be broadcast on television as well as in cinemas being viewed by thousands of people. Over time Guinness will be able to remake the £10 million through sales making the advertising campaign evidently worthwhile. A campaign like this engages with society with the advert getting thousands of views on Youtube (youtube.com/watch?v=ZMzoWqnTb5I& playnext =1&list =PL30B97135873 ED315&index=7). The campaign is designed to engage with a wider audience ultimately increasing sales and profit for the company, on the other hand Art that is worth millions usually ends up in the hands of a private Art collector.
The social impact of Graphic Design is ongoing, everyday people are openly influenced; the decisions people make on a daily basis can be determined by design, from the food they eat to the clothes they wear. Barnard claimed that ‘society and culture exists as a backdrop, a backdrop or a setting for graphic design’, relating this to advertising in 1970’s the way in which women were stereotyped was considered ‘sexist’ this ultimately affected how society perceived women during this time (Graphic Design as Communication – Malcolm Barnard). Graphic design has the power to influence people both in a positive and some cases negative way.
Overall it could be said that Art will always have more of a financial value than Graphic Design due to the fact that only one off pieces are created whereas Graphic Design is commonly mass produced; however this does not take away from the fact that both Art and Graphic Design have a ongoing social and cultural value. Art allows people to be creative and express their individuality where as Graphic Design is created for the sole purpose of influencing, informing and persuading an individual it is for this reason that graphic designers should be given more recognition for the work that they produce.
Word Count 1442.
Bibliography.
Lewison, J. (1991) Interpreting Pollock. London, Tate Publishing
Hyland, A, Bell, R (2003) Hand to Eye contemporary illustration, London, Laurence King Publishing
Muller, J, (1994) Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design, Switzerland, Lars Muller Publishers
Barnard, M (2005) Graphic Design as Communication, London, Routeledge
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