Asked+Answered
11.11.08
Is Graphic Design Art?
Another Tuesday, another chance to change the world with your vote. Is graphic design art? Vote here, and leave your thoughts in the exit poll (ok, comments)...
I like to think there are no stupid questions but this one comes close. Surely Art is Art and Graphic Design is Graphic Design. There certainly is 'an art' to it but they are separate disciplines. If you want to see what happen when people get the two confused have a look at this horror show... http://www.flickr.com/groups/graphicdesign/
ART
noun
1 the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
To some people Graphic Design may just be combining photos with text. But don't tell me that certain layouts and designs don't invoke emotional power... John Korpics' work with InStyle, Esquire, EW is art... Dirk Barnett's Blender re-design is art... Greg & Pat Samata work with companies across the globe is art...
This type of work IS appreciated for its beauty and emotional power.
God do i hate the word art.
One of many words in our language i would love to see burned, run over or chewed up by something ferocious.
I think it has confused the hell out of people for far too long.
Too many people think paint, canvas and museum when they hear "art".
Too many people think the term art implies quality.
Art is simply another word for communication or the expression of creative thought.
List anything that you naturally think of as "art": writing, music, film, painting, sculpture, dance, fashion and you will see they are all mediums being used to try to communicate something.
As far as the expression of creative thought, hell, there are accountants, lawyers, biologists, scientists, carpenters, etc who are using far more innovative and creative thinking than a lot of painters or sculptors.
One of my favorite quotes from Andy Warhol:
"Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art"
That sounds so ........... Gorden Gekko.
Brandon, I could not have said that better myself.
It's not so black and white. Up until the mid-80s, design was a response to a problem. The relationship between pop culture (art) and commercialism (design) has changed; Outside of the fringe partyers like Warhol, it used to be taboo to associate the two, and now it's status quo (see Hirst or Murakami). This is all in the name of authenticity, and the spectrum exists between "the client is always right," and "the big shot designer does what they want." In a traditional sense, designers who negotiate craft and history to create form and get everyone on the proverbial train are exercising the opposite of autonomy, a kind of anti-Art.
So for all this, I'd say that art and design are apples 'n' oranges, you can't compare the two. But the idea of "Art" being eschewed to the innovation of accountants and carpenters is a bit naive, no?