mp's graphic art history blog: Homework #11

The New York School

During the 1940’s in America, there was a new wave of designers from Europe leaving their mark in graphic design. Many of these designs were more modern and allowed a sense of freedom that previous graphics did not have. During this time in New York City, artists feed off of each other’s ideas and designs. New York City became a meeting place that allowed ideas and new designs to flow. This phase of design lasted from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, yet continued until the late 90’s. Graphic design changed drastically over the course of the New York School’s 60-year reign.

Leo Lionni was born May 5, 1910 in Amsterdam. Growing up he was surrounded by art. His mother was an Opera singer and his father worked in the diamond district. At a young age he had a passion for art. In his younger years he focused on painting and was best known for the futuristic style he worked in. As a young adult he left his degree in economics to begin studying and working in advertising design, realizing he would much rather pursue his art. So he moved to America to reach his goals of becoming a successful artist. In 1939 he was working full-time in advertising and worked for Ford and Chrysler Plymouth. By 1949 he was the art director for Fortune magazine. Lionni stood out with his contemporary use of photography in his designs. In his later years, he began to work with collage and used it to create illustration for children’s books. Lionni used many types of design in his art and was never confined by one particular medium.

Otto Storch was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1913. He studied art at New York University and worked as a photographic retoucher for Dell Publishing out of college. Yet, he realized that he was not keen of the subject matter; he began taking night classes during the 1950’s with Alexy Brodovitch, the art director of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Storch began to focus on photography, fashion and illustration. Soon he quit his job at Dell to become a freelance designer. In later years, he joined the McCall’s Corporation as an art director for Better Living magazine. Storch worked mainly with photography in many of his designs. He had an amazing knack for merging text and photography. Some of his graphic designs even include warping or bending of the text to better incorporate it into his photographs. He worked with advertisement along with editorial pieces. Storch’s design style was unmatched by other artists, and he broke the mold for designs that were created during the time period.

Both Otto Storch and Leo Lionni created iconic advertisements and designs. Each artist had a skill of working behind the camera and using their photographs to conceive an image that grabbed the viewer’s attention. These New York School artists altered American design by creating images that expressed modern and freedom. The works of each of the artists has gone down in history of some of the most important graphics today.