U N I T 1 A NEW STYLE FOR A NEW CULTURE In this Unit you will be introduced to the design arts of the century that witnessed the development of the profession of graphic design. The Unit traces the history of classical typography introducing key concepts and examines contemporary developments both in graphic design and typography. A. ART NOUVEAU STYLE Art is used to record events, make statements, create beauty, tell a story or convey emotion. Aristotle believed art represents the significance of a thing, not its appearance. It is exactly that significance or meaning that makes art a powerful tool of persuasion. When used effectively in radio and television ads, art can relate to a person s attitudes, feelings and beliefs and persuade them to buy a product or service. As far as art posters are concerned, the first of the great modern poster artists is Jules Chéret, who created vivid poster ads for cabarets, music halls and theatres. His works were influenced by the scenes of frivolity depicted in the works of Rococo artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. He was so much in demand that he expanded his business into providing advertisements for the plays of touring troupes, municipal festivals and then for beverages and liquors, perfumes, soaps, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. He is considered to be one of the fathers of modern graphics. In 1895, Chéret created the Ma tres de l Affiche collection, a significant art publication of smaller sized reproductions featuring the best works of ninety-seven Parisian artists. His success inspired an industry that saw the emergence of a new generation of poster designers and painters, such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. His posters are characterized by bold, dramatic designs. He captured the decadent nightlife of Paris in the 1890s with its noise and energy typical of the cabarets and clubs for which he produced advertisements and posters. Each night at the Moulin Rouge he breathed in this atmosphere and then transferred it to posters such as La Goulue, showing the dancer and performer Louise Weber, who called herself La Goulue ( the Glutton ) because of her enormous alcohol intake. Weber was one of the early cancan performers, 50