SIMPLICITY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL LIVING by Nick Dewar
More from the
Dec/Jan issue of
ReadyMade: The magazine asked five designers to use The Great Depression's populist poster art as inspiration for depicting our current economic and cultural times. Link to the posters online to download PDFs for free. Below, the artists share their thoughts:
Read the article's introduction by Steven Heller here.
SIMPLICITY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL LIVING
by Nick Dewar:
“I hope that America is entering a post-’greed is good’ period. I can’t think of a single step that would change the nature of our society more than everyone abandoning their automobiles and cycling instead. There would be less dependence on oil, obesity levels would drop dramatically, and reflective bike clips would replace fancy ladies’ purses as the current must-have fashion accessory.”
{see more of Nick’s work at nickdewar.com}
LET THEM GROW
by Mike Perry
“I really responded to the original WPA phrase ‘let it grow’—it seemed much bigger. I wanted to make something that lifted spirits. It seems like the program should have never stopped. I know so many brilliant artists who could have used some government funding even while the economy was booming.”
{see more of Mike’s work at
midwestisbest.com}
EAT LOCAL, BUY LOCAL, GROW LOCAL!
by Christopher Silas Neal
“Solving the world’s energy and food problems would do a great deal to strengthen the global economy, prevent disease, and reverse the effects of climate change. The original Victory Garden program was designed to ease pressure on the public agricultural supply and support the war effort by encouraging families to grow their own food. I wanted to expand this idea to the broader concept of buying and eating local food.”
{see more Christopher’s work at
redsilas.com}
KNOW OTHER PEOPLE
by Open
“Since the WPA was about helping people understand concepts that can help make life better, we took a different approach to war and defense. Communicating with an open mind is the first step toward understanding and avoiding conflict. The ‘know other people’ caption refers to the ‘know other lands’ phrase on some of the original posters.”
{see more work by Open at
notclosed.com}
IT’S WHAT MAKES AMERICA SO SPECIAL!
by Christoph Niemann
“Even though you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, a good cover makes a good book more interesting. I think art in a society often works similarly. I like all of the original posters, but one of them—’Fantastic and Abstract Art’—I find remarkably weird.”
{see more of Christoph’s work at
christophniemann.com}
I love the first one. It reminds me of a quote from Gabrielle Chanel: "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance".
view fade on violet's profile
I really like the message and graphic (especially the bicycle! swoon!) of 'Simplicity is the key to successful living,' but I'm over posters like these (if I see another 'keep calm' poster, I'm going to barf). It's a great philosophy, but it doesn't mean you have to put it on your walls. And then see it on a million design blogs.
/rant
view lostinprojection's profile
Great post - I'll have to pick up Readymade. I love these and am a big fan of WPA art generally. In addition to these posters, the WPA produced a number of notable artists. I've written a few of posts about the WPA-period art.
Posters:
http://www.strangeclosets.com/2008/10/list-wpa-art-courtesy-ebay.html
Fine art:
http://www.strangeclosets.com/2008/09/this-week-at-richard-norton-gallery.html
One of my home tour's featured the owner of Michigan's excellent antique shop Ipso Facto. Brandon and Lisa collect are and have both WPA and WPA-inspired pieces:
http://www.strangeclosets.com/2008/09/open-house-brandon-and-lisas-sawyer.html
T8
www.strangeclosets.com
When design takes priority, the result is often strange closets.
view t8's profile
these are lovely, i would totally frame the eat and grow locally one and put it in my kitchen.
view Mand@'s profile
Mand@ I was thinking the same thing. I need one. I've been looking for something to frame and put above my stove for six months! I need a print ASAP.
view allijean's profile
Where is the one that reads "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
view Seaside's profile
WWII had similar ideas. The Victory Garden and a fascinating mail system called V-Mail. I think you can still request seed packs from civil defense or your agricultural board and they will supply them free.
view spoiler's profile
I like the "know people" one. And it's true.
view Griffin's profile
You can download (and I presume print) these posters for free from the ReadyMade website.
http://readymade.com/article/poster_children/P2/
view Dana V's profile