began to experiment. Working
The typography shared Basel’s visual complex-
profound
from a Modernist “Swiss” foun-
ity and was mainly expressive of itself with little
ernism has emerged as a body
dation, they began to dissect,
semantically-encoded symbolic meaning. The use
of self-conscious critical theory
multiply or ignore the grid and
of American vernaculars was also mainly a formal,
and expression. In fact, in much
to explore new spacial compo-
a borrowing of pop forms with little of Venturi’s
PostModern art, photography and
sitions, introducing complexity
understanding of context or intention.
music the central expression is a
and pattern, and frankly nonfunc-
aspect
of
PostMod-
But it was a lot more fun than classical Swiss,
critique of our accumulated body
tional design elements. Hand-
and
“New Wave quickly” spread across
of culture and symbol. Appropri-
drawn gestures and vernacular
the U.S. to become an accepted graphic style.
ation and pastiche recycle our
bad taste were artfully introduced
Just as Modernism’s classic Swiss was accepted,
experience in highly referen-
in highly aestheticized layered
this too became accepted in the business arena
tial work that owes everything
compositions. This phase could
and persists today in a wide variety of corporate
to what has gone before. All
easily be labeled a baroque or
applications. In fact it is so accepted, one design
this has its roots in structuralist
decadent American Modernism
historian, Philip Meggs, calls it the New Academy,
semiotics of the 1960s, as well as
rather than PostModernism. The
as prescribed a method as the Beaux Arts school
Venturi’s ideas. Although semi-
expression
of 19th century French architecture.
otics never became a practical
was
still
strongly
linked with Modernism’s interest
New Wave’s type of graphic PostModernism is
design method, it and Struc-
in syntax and structural expres-
essentially formalist with a rather minor involve-
turalism’s successor, post-Struc-
sionism, although by now it
ment with content–content being more a jumping
turalism, have recently provided
had become personal hedonistic
off point for graphic celebrations of style than
a real method and expression
formal celebrations rather than
the core of the matter. Certainly the “big idea”
in the visual arts and graphic
impersonal disciplined presen-
school of earlier years was far more dedicated to
design. Coming out of literary
tations of functional information.
the communication of content. In fine art, a more
theory, visual phenomena are
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