Dutch Modern
Randal
>Would anyone care to rise to the bait and discuss the underlying
>causes of this continued Dutch dedication to typographic excellence?
>
>Discussion in the broadest terms is sought.
I, too, have been fascinated with the Dutch sensibilities in art and design
(and other things as well). There is an interesting book of essays by
Zbigniew Herbert called "Still Life With a Bridle : Essays and Apocryphas,"
which is mainly a set of economiums of praise for the Dutch.
One aspect of this, before one gets into any sort of mystical discussion of
"nationspirits," is that in most societies there are significant factors
acting AGAINST development of artisanship. In cultures which were dominated
by the church, there were traditionally feelings that any work not of a
spiritual nature was inherently profane and of lesser stature. In
Protestant cultures, the spirit of the iconoclasts generally lingered,
creating suspicions of any artistic endeavor at all. In my own society, the
USA, there is a very strong strain of anti-intellectualism, and, in
addition, the current "art establishment" dictates that design and craft is
to be almost completely disdained. Germany, as we all know, had a thriving
design community which was almost completely blasted by the war.
In my opinion, the spirits which the Dutch seem to have cultivated to help
create a strong and dynamic design community are those of a profound regard
for skill, learning and excellence, combined with a moderation and
reasonableness which never lets theory dominate or come before praxis.
There is too much a tendency to view the development of design as a simple
story of progress toward modernism and beyond. This simplistic view
generally leads us from the Art Nouveau period, through the Russian
constructivists, through the Bauhaus, to "International Style" modernism,
and then beyond to the multitude of reactions against modernism. This story
of design doesn't take into account the many parallel versions of design
which coexisted at any point of this century.
The Dutch "school" (or can we say "Dutch story of design") seems to have
found what I like to think of as a "modernism with a human face."
--Randal
Lola Lee
>The Dutch "school" (or can we say "Dutch story of design") seems to have
>found what I like to think of as a "modernism with a human face."
There's a very good book that may offer some insight into the Dutch
psyche. It is called "An Embarrassment of Riches"; I can't remember
the author. It's about 500 pages long, but very well written, with
lots of illustration. The time period this book covers is from the
mid 16th century to the end of 17th century or thereabouts, with a
little background on the early part of the 16th century. This was
the most most important period for the Dutch - their national
identity was forged by the years of religious war that approached the
brutality of Kosovo - some of the illustrations are sketches of
massacres committed by the mainly Spanish force, who occupied what is
now The Netherlands. There may be some typography info in the book;
I'm not certain as it is at home (naturally). It's available in
paperback and can usually be found at Borders or Barnes & Nobles, or
special ordered.
Lola J. Lee
Quantum Research Corporation
work - ll...@qrc.com http://www.qrc.com/
home - lo...@his.com http://www.his.com/~lola/ljl.html