Pictorial Modernism - Beggarstaff

Pictorial modernism

Poster design was highly influenced by cubism and constructivism, poster designers were aware of the need to maintain pictorial reference in their posters were to communicate effectively with the public, poster designers their posters had to be expressive, symbolic and had to be visually organized. The dialogue between imagery and design generated energy and excitement of pictorial graphics which were influenced by modern art. 

According to Meggs’ History of Graphic design, it is “that one of the most remarkable moments in the history of graphic design is the brief career of Beggarstaffs”

James Pryde and William Nicholson who were both British painters and happened to be brothers-in-law had been close friends since art school. They were respected academic painters; they had decided to open an advertising design studio in 1894. They felt it needed to give it a false name to protect their reputations as artists.

How did they come up with the name beggerstaff brothers? Well, according to this one of them found a sack of corn in a stable labelled “the beggarstaff brothers” and they adopted the name dropping the brothers. During their collaborations they developed the technique collage; cut pieces of paper were moved around, altered and pasted into position on board. The style was basically flat planes of colour which had sensitive edges trimmed shaped by scissors. An incomplete image challenged the viewer to participate and try to solve the subject/image. The beggarstaffs ignored the normal trend of working with a floral art nouveau style and forged this new method into posters of powerful coloured shapes and silhouettes.

Their work influenced plenty, but at the time was an financial disaster, they only attracted a few clients and few designs were actually printed. When it became economically advisable for Nicholson and Pryde to terminate the partnership both of them had returned to painting they received some recognition. Nicholson developed likeliness to woodcut style of illustration that maintained in some of the graphic economy of Beggerstaff posters.  Another British painter and illustrator Dudley Hardy also turned to poster and advertising design, he introduces the graphic pictorial qualities of the French poster to London billboards in the 1890s. Hardy had developed an effective technique for theatrical poster: letting and figures appear against simple flat backgrounds.

The posters seem very flat, as mentioned above, the simplistic design is very interesting, and fascinating to look at, very eye-catching, the shapes are flat, barely any depth to it, the beggerstaff posters do not show much depth either, and certain works have the monochrome effect, the posters seem unfinished, also mentioned above, as if they did not want to finish it, although the work is complete. It is very intriguing to find out that these are one of the major influences to modern day poster design. 

Reference:

Alexis Bach 2013, CH 14 Pictorial Modernism, [video online] available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbeuTeQ2MIk, accessed 8^th of December 2013]

V@RNERDESIGN 2009, Pictorial Modernism [online], available at: http://varnerdesign.blogspot.com/2009/03/pictorial-modernism.html, [accessed 8^th of December 2013]

Meggs P. B. and Purvis A. W. 1998. 5th Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons , Inc.