Daniel G.
Graphic Designer
- September 1, 2008 • 12:37 am PDT
- + responses
American designer and author, Jessica Helfand wrote, "graphic design is a visual language, uniting harmony and balance, color and light, scale and tension, form and content. But it is also an idiomatic language, a language of cues and puns and symbols and allusions, of cultural references and perceptual inferences that challenge both intellect and the eye." Graphic Design is a fairly new form of art, and evidently it had not been labeled as such during the modernist philosophy period. It wasn't until the middle of the 1970's that there were three graphic design publications in circulation worldwide. Now, there are over a hundred different periodicals that deal with this movement.
I will argue, with support from Jean-Paul Sartre and Merleau-Ponty, that graphic design is not art for art's sake, but it is further submersed in Heidegger's concept of Dasein. The concept of Graphic Dasein deals with what it means to be in this world here and now via practical concerns and not its epistemic relationships, and graphic design is art because it is a form of committed literature, not its aesthetic value in the sense of Walter Benjamin.
This means, graphic dasein alludes to design's expressive power and higher intent, which is to solve a problem through visual semantics of communication. Art for art's sake claims a self-regarded, self-instituted aura because it was created singularly, and only a production, not a reproduction can possess such aura. Graphic dasein's essence lies in its socially pervasive infiltration and if there is such a thing as an art object's aura, graphic dasein's aura is able to be maintained through mechanical reproduction because of its altruistic nature.
Walter Benjamin believed, "that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art." Much of Benjamin's Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction expresses nostalgia of what is lost in the process of reproducing art. Though a modernist philosopher, this notion seems rather romantic in nature- Aura refers to a soul, and how when a painter picks up a brush, dabs it on the palette, mixes the oils carefully to create that perfect tint of cerulean, and paints this work of art, and here is where the object possesses an aura. An aura, or soul, of uniqueness in the world, that is absent and vanished completely when a work of art is mass-reproduced mechanically. Benjamin states, "the uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being embedded in the fabric of tradition."
But graphic dasein has a greater intent for art and its art objects. Art, from the standpoint of graphic dasein, doesn't lose its aura when mass-produced because its original intention is to be in the here and now serving a practical function. Mass production is a vehicle of communication, not a tool of communism to politicize art. The pervasive nature of graphic dasein as part of its grander purpose serves a deeper meaning of cultural infiltration and subsistence by substantiating its presence in this world. The concept of an art object having an aura requests that we subscribe to the belief in a soul. A soul, in general terms is an eternal spirit, which if it has no ending, it has no beginning.
Benjamin says, "even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence." How can something possess an aura, which is ubiquitous, when it was created only once, at one unique point in time? How can something that was spawned by our hand have a unique presence in time, starting from the time we conceived it? If a singular art object has a soul, it only exemplifies how selfish its quintessential nature is, demanding that only the production, and not the reproduction possesses such aura.
I will venture to claim that Jean-Paul Sartre is a graphic designer at heart. Paul Ricoeur said when dealing with the question of What is a text?, "...each text is in the same position as speech with respect to language...writing as an institution is subsequent to speech." Writing is a form of acting in the world for Sartre, and graphic dasein is a form of writing from my perspective. Sartre points out a difference between the prose writer and the poet. The poet creates a myth of language, where the prose writer draws its portrait. The painter is a visual poet that creates myths on the canvas and ultimately strives for an immortal presence in this world through its unique existence.
Graphic dasein is not poetry, it is prose urging the observer, the user rather, to raise questions and read the material like a work of literature, engaging him in the cultural relevance, puns, and allusions, not just visual content. Graphic dasein raises moral questions and reveals man's inventive daily value, because we daily interact with the pervasiveness of it. Committed literature such as graphic dasein has a special power- "that of communicating among freedoms without alienating or objectification." Graphic dasein is an altruistic communication where priorities lie in understanding and being understood.
When spoken language's purpose implodes due to the fact that communication cannot be reached because there is no mutual agreement on dialect, symbols become our language and assume political significance because the consumer of graphic dasein becomes the reader, and responds by recreating. Graphic design enables us to communicate through visual semantics- it is signage, emblems, logos, legible and intelligible typography- which when properly executed, we are able to understand even if it was written in a different tongue. Graphic design is altruistic because it acknowledges and addresses an audience as its pragmatic function. It knows it is useless if it is illegible and unidentifiable. This is where graphic dasein's aura lies- in its selfless regard to communicate. This is why reproduction does not disallow the art object's aura. It's mere intention is to express communication in a functional way.
Merleau-Ponty says, "it is impossible to say that nature ends here and that man or expression starts there." The graphic daseiner articulates through visual expression his immersion in being in the world. Graphic design is all around us, we live in it, we all speak it, we all read it. One can reject a song and never listen to music, but being in a graphic dasein world, both through aesthetic images and text combined, that epitomize the way we relate to our
concrete lived experience really emphasizes the disappearance of the separation of nature and expression.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty continues to say, "because depth, color , form, line, movement, contour, physiognomy are all branches of Being" There are irretrievable options. There's an immersion of the artist in the very being of the world, and he is trying to bring to visible expression. For Merleau-Ponty there is almost a mystical vision of things when it comes to art, but I don't think this is about the aura- communication that breaks our understanding of language, through visual semantics and creates a language of its own is mystifying.
In conclusion, Graphic Dasein is selflessly all around us, and we are built around it-its aura is structured in the function that places it within our grasp and understanding because we interact within its pragmatic nature. Graphic dasein exists due to the mechanical reproducibility, not in spite of. By taking no part in the world around you - your community, you do not truly exist for there is no one to witness your existence, or the existence of your aura as an art object, using Benjamin's perspective. The highest degree that graphic dasein aspires is its constant interaction and accessibility by mass reproduction, and its altruistic nature in keeping anonymity in a distant prerogative. Painters demand recognition, because that is the essence of their art object's aura and it is kept this way by the nature of their unique singularity -Graphic dasein's pragmatic function is in the here and now, and being able to communicate with us, and literally moving us from here to there.
I will argue, with support from Jean-Paul Sartre and Merleau-Ponty, that graphic design is not art for art's sake, but it is further submersed in Heidegger's concept of Dasein. The concept of Graphic Dasein deals with what it means to be in this world here and now via practical concerns and not its epistemic relationships, and graphic design is art because it is a form of committed literature, not its aesthetic value in the sense of Walter Benjamin.
This means, graphic dasein alludes to design's expressive power and higher intent, which is to solve a problem through visual semantics of communication. Art for art's sake claims a self-regarded, self-instituted aura because it was created singularly, and only a production, not a reproduction can possess such aura. Graphic dasein's essence lies in its socially pervasive infiltration and if there is such a thing as an art object's aura, graphic dasein's aura is able to be maintained through mechanical reproduction because of its altruistic nature.
Walter Benjamin believed, "that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art." Much of Benjamin's Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction expresses nostalgia of what is lost in the process of reproducing art. Though a modernist philosopher, this notion seems rather romantic in nature- Aura refers to a soul, and how when a painter picks up a brush, dabs it on the palette, mixes the oils carefully to create that perfect tint of cerulean, and paints this work of art, and here is where the object possesses an aura. An aura, or soul, of uniqueness in the world, that is absent and vanished completely when a work of art is mass-reproduced mechanically. Benjamin states, "the uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being embedded in the fabric of tradition."
But graphic dasein has a greater intent for art and its art objects. Art, from the standpoint of graphic dasein, doesn't lose its aura when mass-produced because its original intention is to be in the here and now serving a practical function. Mass production is a vehicle of communication, not a tool of communism to politicize art. The pervasive nature of graphic dasein as part of its grander purpose serves a deeper meaning of cultural infiltration and subsistence by substantiating its presence in this world. The concept of an art object having an aura requests that we subscribe to the belief in a soul. A soul, in general terms is an eternal spirit, which if it has no ending, it has no beginning.
Benjamin says, "even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence." How can something possess an aura, which is ubiquitous, when it was created only once, at one unique point in time? How can something that was spawned by our hand have a unique presence in time, starting from the time we conceived it? If a singular art object has a soul, it only exemplifies how selfish its quintessential nature is, demanding that only the production, and not the reproduction possesses such aura.
I will venture to claim that Jean-Paul Sartre is a graphic designer at heart. Paul Ricoeur said when dealing with the question of What is a text?, "...each text is in the same position as speech with respect to language...writing as an institution is subsequent to speech." Writing is a form of acting in the world for Sartre, and graphic dasein is a form of writing from my perspective. Sartre points out a difference between the prose writer and the poet. The poet creates a myth of language, where the prose writer draws its portrait. The painter is a visual poet that creates myths on the canvas and ultimately strives for an immortal presence in this world through its unique existence.
Graphic dasein is not poetry, it is prose urging the observer, the user rather, to raise questions and read the material like a work of literature, engaging him in the cultural relevance, puns, and allusions, not just visual content. Graphic dasein raises moral questions and reveals man's inventive daily value, because we daily interact with the pervasiveness of it. Committed literature such as graphic dasein has a special power- "that of communicating among freedoms without alienating or objectification." Graphic dasein is an altruistic communication where priorities lie in understanding and being understood.
When spoken language's purpose implodes due to the fact that communication cannot be reached because there is no mutual agreement on dialect, symbols become our language and assume political significance because the consumer of graphic dasein becomes the reader, and responds by recreating. Graphic design enables us to communicate through visual semantics- it is signage, emblems, logos, legible and intelligible typography- which when properly executed, we are able to understand even if it was written in a different tongue. Graphic design is altruistic because it acknowledges and addresses an audience as its pragmatic function. It knows it is useless if it is illegible and unidentifiable. This is where graphic dasein's aura lies- in its selfless regard to communicate. This is why reproduction does not disallow the art object's aura. It's mere intention is to express communication in a functional way.
Merleau-Ponty says, "it is impossible to say that nature ends here and that man or expression starts there." The graphic daseiner articulates through visual expression his immersion in being in the world. Graphic design is all around us, we live in it, we all speak it, we all read it. One can reject a song and never listen to music, but being in a graphic dasein world, both through aesthetic images and text combined, that epitomize the way we relate to our
concrete lived experience really emphasizes the disappearance of the separation of nature and expression.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty continues to say, "because depth, color , form, line, movement, contour, physiognomy are all branches of Being" There are irretrievable options. There's an immersion of the artist in the very being of the world, and he is trying to bring to visible expression. For Merleau-Ponty there is almost a mystical vision of things when it comes to art, but I don't think this is about the aura- communication that breaks our understanding of language, through visual semantics and creates a language of its own is mystifying.
In conclusion, Graphic Dasein is selflessly all around us, and we are built around it-its aura is structured in the function that places it within our grasp and understanding because we interact within its pragmatic nature. Graphic dasein exists due to the mechanical reproducibility, not in spite of. By taking no part in the world around you - your community, you do not truly exist for there is no one to witness your existence, or the existence of your aura as an art object, using Benjamin's perspective. The highest degree that graphic dasein aspires is its constant interaction and accessibility by mass reproduction, and its altruistic nature in keeping anonymity in a distant prerogative. Painters demand recognition, because that is the essence of their art object's aura and it is kept this way by the nature of their unique singularity -Graphic dasein's pragmatic function is in the here and now, and being able to communicate with us, and literally moving us from here to there.
