But Is It Art?: The Significance of Graphic Design in the Modern Era

Author

Johnny Franklin Miles III

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Art and Art History

First Advisor

Paula Temple

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is graphic design: specifically, the history of graphic design from the Victorian Period in the late nineteenth century until the end of the Modernist Era around the mid-twentieth century. This time period encompasses perhaps the most important developments in the brief history of graphic design, therefore it is a good place to start when considering the central question this thesis process of whether graphic design is art. The terminology used to disucss the hsitory of graphic design in this thesis--the Romantic Era, the Modernist Era, the Postmoderinist Era--is the same terminology used to describe the history of fine art and literature. This undercores the views of the author that graphic design is interconnected with the arts, is shaped by many of the same figures and movements as the arts, and should be considered in a similar light. This theisis begins by analyzing popular conceptions about graphic design and considering how these relate to common views about art. It then offers an overview of the history of graphic design during the aforementioned period, with a special focus on how designers viewed theri craft in relation to art and why the modern observer might view the work of various design movements as art. Also included are original works by the author intended to capture the look and spirit of historical graphic design works. Graphic design has a complex and fascinating history during this period, from the neoclassicism and nature motifs of the Romantic Era to the abstract, minimalist design of High Modernism. This thesis attempts to examin this unique history and promote a view that graphic design should be respected as art.

Recommended Citation

Miles, Johnny Franklin III, "But Is It Art?: The Significance of Graphic Design in the Modern Era" (2011). Honors Theses. 2068.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2068

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