By Ashley-Anna Aboreden
Exhibits brought together the art of graphic designing by exploring two leading designers to add a taste for a modern age.
On Oct. 5, 2017, The Wolfsonian-FIU located in Miami Beach, opened two new shows: “Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age” and “Double Vision.”
Each show is focused on the works of Julius Klinger, a renowned Austrian graphic artist active during the early 1900s. Julius Klinger is known for being an influencer in the advertising industry, using graphics as an effective advertising tool.
“Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age” is a diverse collection of Klinger’s poster works. It is currently the largest collection of Klinger’s works in the United States.
“Double Vision” was created by the design firm, Seite Zwei. It is an installation inspired by the works of Klinger.
To help put these exhibitions together, the University hired guest curator, Jeremy Aynsley. Aynsley is an author and professor at the University of Brighton.
“I was approached about two years ago with the idea that this show might be something I’d be interested in working with,” said Aynsley. “I’m very interested in the way in which graphic design is used to communicate and to change people’s way of thinking, debating and living.”
Graphic design, since Klinger’s time, has increased and is seen nearly everywhere. From television commercials, to newspaper ads, graphic art is used to portray a message.
“Art can reflect what’s happening and what’s important in popular culture at the time and so in order to appeal to the masses, sometimes art can capture what the people are interested in at the moment and for advertising purposes that’s what any kind of company or promoter is looking to do. It has to reflect what is relevant at the time,” said Brian Rocky, an attendee of the opening reception.
“Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age” portrays the use of graphics in advertising and uses Klinger’s work as a testament to its effectiveness.
“I think it’s to show the contribution posters, graphic ephemera illustrations linked to modern urban life in the cities of berlin and Vienna. Klinger had the view that international communication works visually rather than through the written form because there’s something inherently immediate about signs symbols, simplified geometry color line qualities of the visual that people can respond to,” said Aynsley.
Both exhibitions will be available at The Wolfsonian-FIU until April. 29.