The Modernist art movement began with the ideology of moving away from the

traditions of the past and producing work which had an emphasis on the

reduction of decoration, the embracing of new technologies and a futurist

aesthetic. This search for new styles within the Modernist work later became

challenged as the movement of Postmodernism reacted in opposition to this

mode of practice. Emphases on a return to decoration and an encouragement of

emotional qualities, as well as observing and working with past styles were

beliefs of the artist and designers of the postmodern era.1 During the early 1980s

the search for new aesthetical qualities changed, with more of a focus placed on

the quoting or borrowing of styles from history; described by design critic Rick

Poynor as the introduction of a cultural obsession with the past.2 This approach

was coined ‘pastiche’ and ‘appropriation’ and adopted a pluralistic methodology

in which a variety of different styles is combined together creating a new

language within the piece. This placed an emphasis on all styles being of equal

importance and the Modernist notions of stylistic progression within art and

design practices was challenged.3

Critic Fredric Jameson saw the act of appropriation as a result of the search for

original styles had been exhausted. Innovation no longer existed; all that was left

is to imitate the dead styles from history emphasising the failure of previous art

trends and encouraging an imprisonment to these past styles.4 Jameson’s

pessimistic view on the state of cultural development of the time and his doubts

on the worth of the practice of pastiche are views shared by Hal Foster in his

essay, ‘Against Pluralism’. Foster refers to the mode of appropriation as being ‘in a

state of pluralism’, insofar as there is a reduction of cultural criticism and a lack

of prominent styles within art.5 Foster takes a strongly adamant position in the

essay with his views towards post-modern pastiche and refuses to acknowledge

that this approach to art and design could be of any significant worth.

Foster begins his argument by providing a background to his thoughts on the

historical development of appropriation. He claims that the demise of Modernist

practices lead to conceptual art modes such as, site-specific, ephemeral and

1 Llewellyn Negrin, The Legacy of Postmodernism, FST 202/303 Postmodernism and Visual Culture Lecture (School of Art,

University of Tasmania, Hobart, 28.05.07). 2 Rick Poynor, No More Rules – Graphic Design and Postmodernism (London: Lawrence King Ltd, 2003), 71. 3 FST 202/303 Postmodernism and Visual Culture Lecture (School of Art, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 28.05.07). 4 No More Rules – Graphic Design and Postmodernism (London: Lawrence King Ltd, 2003), 71. 5 Hal Foster, ‘Against Pluralism’, in Recodings, (Washington: Bay Press, 1985) 13.

textural pieces, which posed problems for art as a commodity and therefore the

art market encouraged a return to traditional approaches. This, Foster exclaims,

is one of two ‘important indices’ that encouraged the practice of pluralism. Foster

also sees the lack of collective art criticism within schools and institutions as the

other index which emphasised the growth of pastiche.6 This lack of criticism of

conceptual ideas and aesthetic motives within pluralistic works is a point that

Foster incessantly returns to throughout the essay, claiming that appropriation of

art only brings a decreased emphasis on a dialectic dialogue.7 His apathetic tone

continues, referring to the mode of appropriation as indication of a loss of

creative direction within the art practice as a whole. Foster sees the introduction

of pluralist approaches to art as encouraging a lack of engagement to pieces and

voices strong feelings against the idea that an abundance of freedom is gained

through appropriation. He is adamant that this methodology is void of producing

anything which has a significant meaning and only see this approach as the death

of all styles.8

Foster’s main thrust of his argument revolves around the notion that through the

act of appropriation the original meaning of the style is lost and the context is

disregarded. He claims that this mode of practice merely contextualises the work

in a manner which creates conflict and delivers a loss of meaning. This seems to

be a common position on this matter with other critics, such as Suzi Gablik in

‘Pluralism – The Tyranny of Freedom’, adding weight to Foster’s argument with

the claims that appropriation can trigger an internal collapse to art, resulting in

not only a loss of meaning, but also and a lack of quality to art works.9 Though

most of Foster’s statements are perhaps negatively over-sensitive, I do however

agree with his claims about a disregard for context within pluralised work. By

reusing a style or work, the original intent is lost and replaced with a new

contextual arrangement that could both enhance the work, but also servery

diminish it. In cases such as an improper reference to styles and meanings of an

indigenous or ethnic nature, the reuse of style could be quite inappropriate.

A poster designed by Paula Scher for the Swatch watch company reuses the

aesthetical concept of a 1938 Swiss tourism poster by Herbert Matter in a

grotesque manner that degrades the original work with the contextual

displacement. Matter’s poster celebrates a typical clean use of diagonally placed

Swiss-style typography, complimented by a traditional motif of Swiss

iconography, again displayed on a diagonal axis. Scher’s work could be seen as an

appropriated parody, using the same structured composition and imagery as the

Swiss tourism poster, though comprising of a clinical computerised aesthetic.10

Whether it is the intent of Scher to add a humorous twist to her design or pay a

6 Ibid, 14. 7 Ibid, 15. 8 Ibid. 9 Suzi Gablik, ‘Pluralism – The Tyranny of Freedom’, in Has Modernism Failed?, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1984) 73. 10

Steven Heller, Julie Lasky, Borrowed Design – The Use and Abuse of Historical Form (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold,

1993) 65.

type of homage to Matter is unknown. The success however, of this

transformation from Swiss tourism to a Swiss-made product is unconvincing

because of the disconnection between the aesthetics of the work and the original

context.

Left: Poster for Swiss Tourist Bureau by Herbert Matter, 1938.

Right: Poster for Swatch Watch Company by Paula Scher, 1985.

A record cover for the 1978 album, The Man-Machine, by German electronic act

Kraftwerk is another example of a poor use of appropriating a style, which can be

of detriment to the original context, and in this case the concept of the album

design as well. The record cover stylistically borrows a Russian Constructivist

aesthetic, referencing in particular work by El Lissitzky. The dynamic

constructions of typography and imagery, along with the strong use of colours on

The Man-Machine cover can be seen as a quote from Lissitzky 1924 publication,

For The Voice.11 The designer of the Kraftwerk album, Karl Klefisch, confirms this

connection by crediting

Lissitzky in the liner notes, as well as featuring a quotation from the Russian

designer’s book on the back cover.12 The electronic artists adapted a futuristic

mode to their music, creating synthetic, rhythmic beats, void of any sense of

traditional musical structure and composition. The Russian Constructivist had

similar approaches to their work, which perhaps was Klefisch’s influence behind

this 1920s inspired design. This stylistic reuse is rather ironic in the sense that

referencing the work of Lissitzky is providing a glance back into history, opposing

the progressive nature of the music and therefore creating a contextual conflict.

11 Ibid, 45. 12 No More Rules – Graphic Design and Postmodernism, 70.

Left: Pages from For The Voice by El Lissitzky, 1924. Right: Kraftwerk Album Cover by Karl Klefisch, 1978.

Another Russian Constructivist work, a 1925 poster by Alexander Rodchenko

advertising a publishing house, is again a point of history in which designers have

quoted in manners that can be seen as indiscriminate to the original piece. The

Rodchenko design uses a strong visual motif of clean geometric typography

projecting from the mouth of a girl in a triangular form, which collides with the

circular frame surrounding the girl. This imagery has been heavily quoted in the

cover design of a 1987 journal publication, Reklama. This work by an unknown

designer has reuse the exact image of the girl, whom is now surrounded by a

combination of haphazardly placed floating shapes, blocks of colour and sunlight

rays. The impact and dynamism of the triangle form and typography is

aesthetically weakened and does not provide that strong collision between the

circle and triangle. Rodchenko’s use of colliding shapes is such a strong political

gesture with a comparable reference to El Lissitzky’s 1920 poster, Beat the

Whites with the Red Wedge. The cover design for the magazine looses that

emphasis and perhaps meaning with the weakened size and composition of the

forms. Rodkenko’s image has again been appropriated on the cover design of a

2005 album by musicians, Franz Ferdinand. The girl is arranged in a similar

manner as the original image, shouting the name of the band in the same

triangular projection as Rodchenko’s poster. The imagery has been constructed

with the use of a computer, yet applies techniques to achieve a fake newspaper

collaged aesthetic, which perhaps derives a lack of honesty and understanding

with this pastiche approach. Both appropriations seem to be to the detriment of

Rodchenko’s design. By re-contextualising the imagery, a loss of meaning to the

original work has occurred. There is also a sense of a void of authenticity to the

1925 poster with the unsympathetic reproductions. This loss to the piece, of

what has been coined ‘aura’ by Walter Benjamin in his essay, ‘The Work of Art in

the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’, is a viewed shared by Foster.13 If a work or

style is appropriated in a manner that is inconsiderate to the original source, not 13 ‘Against Pluralism’, in Recodings, (Washington: Bay Press, 1985) 17.

only is the contextual relationship strained, the uniqueness of the primary piece

can be lost in the process.

Left: Poster for Publishing House by Alexander Rodchenko, 1925. Centre: Cover for Magazine, Reklama, Unknown Designer, 1987. Right: Franz Ferdinand Album Cover, Unknown Designer, 2005.

In ‘Against Pluralism’, Foster sees the practice as a participant in the loss of aura

and meaning of works, as well as encouraging a lack of critical values, promoting

a falseness within the works and practice and recycling previous styles in a

manner which limits creative progression. He continues his criticism of pluralism

with the idea that national and international art and high and low art is merely

diminish to a homogenous state, which also has a reduced gestural impact as a

result of appropriation.14 I am unconvinced by this statement of Fosters and am

of the belief that the mode of pastiche had a more positive impact on these

modes of art work. Indeed there was a reduction of distance between the forms

of high and low art through the use of appropriation, but this need for a

distinction to remain clear, as is the view expressed by Foster, is perhaps

unnecessary. With the diminishing boundaries and detachment between these

forms of art, a reduction in the levels of elitism and an increasing expression of

the vernacular was celebrated. A poster designed by Charles S. Anderson

advertising the last episode of the American television show, Seinfeld, is an

example of the successful expression of pastiche practice of vernacular culture

into high art. This piece has a strong collage aesthetic of imagery and text from a

variety of advertisements, while overlaying a print of a 1950’s styled television,

which adds a degree of depth to the work. This use of images from vernacular

culture, comments on the role of the television in the portrayal of mass imagery

and highlights a sense of nostalgia.15

14 Ibid, 31. 15 No More Rules – Graphic Design and Postmodernism, 89.

Poster for Seinfeld by Charles S. Anderson, 1998.

Pluralistic work does have some points and examples, as articulated by Foster, in

which the process acts as a detriment to art and design practices. But on a whole

the advent of pastiche can be seen as a chance to re-evaluate the creative process

and redefine the rules of art and design, as well as finding new relationships

within the pluralisation of imagery and methodology. The manner in which one

appropriates styles or images can enhance and add to works. The practice also

allows a chance to learn from the past styles, as graphic designer Neville Brody

describes, ‘I look at it and try to evaluate the core of what is being done, and

why… Once you looked at that, you could then pursue your own response’.16

When this approach is taken the pluralistic process becomes an area of self

exportation. With this idea of an abundance of freedom within appropriation,

one does have an opportunity to explore and form new relationships, contrary to

Foster’s idea that the practice only displays a false sense of freedom. And this

boundless freedom does not result in a lack of critical values in art and design;

the values may have changed, but as Brody claims, the act of questioning and

asking why does continue.

This idea of re-evaluating previous style within pastiche practice and learning

from them is a method which graphic designer Peter Saville applies to works

such as, the album cover design for the Joy Division 1980 record Closer. The front

of the album sleave has a stark off-white background in which a haunting black

and white photograph of robed figures weeping over the death of another person

is centrally placed and complimented by a single-line border and text. Saville

16 Ibid, 76.

claims that he has made a choice to borrow a neo-classical aesthetic style for the

record design and in doing gives him the opportunity to reference, but yet

progress within his own creative process.17 This neo-classical design is

emphasised by the purity within the positioning of the imagery, text and use of

borders, as well as the choice of displaying a distinguished san serif font for the

whole of the sleave design. Saville has taken the approach of an aesthetical

reduction for the work. This notion of reduction creates a visually strong piece,

which also has a subtle, yet powerful quality to the work. This appropriation of a

neo-classical style provides an atmosphere that contextually compliments the

stark, perhaps slightly restrained, yet emotional powerful music of Joy Division. If

applied in the right manner, borrowing from the past can result in works that

contextually enhance the choice of reuse.

Joy Division Album Cover by Peter Saville, 1980.

The design of a selection of Penguin Book classics, re-published under the banner

of Great Ideas books in 2004 is another example in which pluralism can play a

benefiting role to the aesthetic and contextual relationships of a work. The books

in the series are designed with a formula of each cover using expressive display

typography in a theme that reflects the time and style in which the works were

first published. The colours of red, white and black are used throughout the

series to create a unified presence within the designs.18 With each book

responding to this brief, the original essence from a variety of typographic

periods and styles are use in a manner which accentuates the flavour of the

writings, creating a contextual link that is enhanced by the appropriation of

aesthetics.

17 Rick Poynor, Design Without Boundaries – Visual Communication in Transition (London: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1998), 121. 18 Phil Baines, Penguin By Design – A Cover Story 1935-2005 (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2005), 244.

Penguin Book Covers by David Pearson, 2004.

The designs of typography itself can be seen as an act of appropriation with fonts

always having to reference what has gone before to understand and provide any

form of development.19 With the realisation of such a prominent and important

element of design in our society (typography) as having always appropriated in

order to progress, perhaps this is an indication that Foster’s claims are

unconvincing and the practice of pastiche has always existed and needs to, in

order for progression. Appropriation therefore could be a necessity, with

returning to the past becoming a chance to review options, which then

contributes to the process of invention and reinvention.20 Influences can be seen

as creative nourishment, therefore Foster’s statements about pluralism not

contributing to artistic development and a lack of thoughtful criticism within the

process could be viewed as nothing but a personal attack lacking in substance.

Indeed Foster points about a loss of meaning through the

re-contextualisation of past styles can be true in certain circumstances and is

worthy of acknowledgment. Appropriation on the whole, is not the creative

demise of the future of art and design and the reusing of styles can enhance the

piece and contribute to the process of self development and a furthering of

artistic merit. The art of typography, the Arts and Craft movement returning to a

medieval aesthetic, present day musicians reusing 1960s rock melodies,

contemporary architecture still referencing the 1930s modernist aesthetic, is an

indication that perhaps appropriation has always existed. The practice should

not be seen as merely reusing styles in an indiscriminate manner, but is an

integral part to all creative aspects of culture and through all periods in the

development of present day society. Appropriation could be viewed as a

necessary ingredient to art and design practices.

19 Borrowed Design – The Use and Abuse of Historical Form (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993), 9. 20 Ibid, 35.

Baines, Phil, Penguin By Design – A Cover Story 1935-2005, London: Penguin

Books Ltd, 2005.

Benjamin, Walter, ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’, in Art

in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, edited C. Harrison and P.

Wood, 520-527. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.

Crimp, D. ‘Appropriating Appropriation’, in On the Museum Ruin’s, 126-147,

Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1995.

Designed by Peter Saville, ed. Emily King, London: Frieze, 2003.

Foster, Hal, ‘Against Pluralism’, in Recodings, 12-32, Washington: Bay Press, 1985.

Gablik, Suzi, ‘Pluralism – The Tyranny of Freedom’, in Has Modernism Failed?, 73-

87. London: Thames and Hudson, 1984.

Heartney, E., ‘Appropriation and the Loss of Authenticity’ in Critical Condition, 11-

24, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Heller, Steven, Lasky, Julie, Borrowed Design – The Use and Abuse of Historical

Form, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.

Hollis, Richard, Graphic Design – A Concise History, London: Thames and Hudson

Ltd, 2001.

Negrin, Llewellyn, The Legacy of Postmodernism, FST 202/303 Postmodernism

and Visual Culture Lecture, School of Art, University of Tasmania, Hobart,

28.05.07.

Poynor, Rick, Design Without Boundaries – Visual Communication in Transition,

London: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1998.

Poynor, Rick, No More Rules – Graphic Design and Postmodernism, London:

Lawrence King Ltd, 2003.