Graphic Design Work of Friedrich Wilhelm Kleukens

Illustration: Friedrich Wilhelm Kleukens. Esther, c1910.

Friedrich Wilhelm Kleukens was a German graphic designer and typographer who produced a particularly strong series of graphic pieces during the early part of the twentieth century. Although not obviously textile based, graphic design work does use many of the principles of textile design, particularly within the realm of surface pattern and in this particular period of the early twentieth century, there was a concerted attempt to blur the lines between art, architecture and the applied and decorative arts. Therefore, it was perhaps logical for disciplines that could easily accommodate each other, to do so.

The three pieces of work shown in this article are all by Kleukens and were produced around about 1910. What is particularly interesting about all three pieces is the level of pattern involved in the layout. There is no white or dead space allowed, all border areas being dominated by a repeat motif, so much so that in many respects the figurative illustration itself can be seen to be dwarfed, floating on a sea of repeat pattern.

These immaculately conceived and executed graphic pieces of work show the detailed skill that Kleukens used to illustrate particular ideas and observations concerning the specific work they were to represent. He has no area uncommitted and has produced work that fills the frame with variety, detail and a sense of dynamism, features that keep the observant eye interested in all aspects of the worked area and not just the central theme.

 Illustration: Friedrich Wilhelm Kleukens. Goethe's Hermann und Dorothea, c1910

Although commercial graphics and illustration by its very nature, has a duty to convey the meaning, message or ideal of a company, event or writer, it is interesting how often this remit can be individually and personally interpreted by the graphic artist and illustrator. Some artists followed the line very closely, while others were seemingly so obscure as to make the reference to the intended work seem disassociated, with the work then becoming much more associated with the name of the artist. It is sometimes very hard not to wander from the theme, expanding individual creativity at the expense of the client. However, Kleukens seems to have hit the right balance with a contemporary evaluation that is both individual and therefore addresses his own creative path, the sensibilities and expectations of a contemporary audience, as well as being suitably aware of the intended reference points of the work he was to illustrate.

Interestingly, although the figurative work shown in the three pieces does correspond significantly to the Jugendstil version of the larger Art Nouveau movement, there is also an element that pre-figures the early Art Deco period, particularly the European highly decorative version. This is not to say that artists such as Kleukens were founders of the Art Deco movement as such, but it is important to remember that successive movements often have their predecessors to thank for their initial juvenile phases. We tend to see Art Nouveau and Art Deco as particularly separate decorative periods largely as a result of the First World War being a convenient breaking period between the two. However, if the war had not happened then the shift from Art Nouveau to Art Deco would have appeared to be much more organic in nature and the point where one style ended and other began would have been much more difficult to pinpoint.

Illustration: Friedrich Wilhelm Kleukens. Hohe Lied, c1910.

At any rate, Kleukens three graphic pieces would have been considered by 1910 to be a little late for fully blown Art Nouveau pieces and therefore could be seen, to a certain extent at least, as transition pieces, moving away from the more obvious accoutrements of Art Nouveau or Jugendstil. That these pieces should also be seen as individual to Kleukens and his mastery of the graphic arts should also be accepted. The creativity of the individual artist should always be laid above that of a particular decorative style or movement, and although there is no reason why a particular artist or designer should not be associated with a given period, they should perhaps not be entirely submerged within that decorative period. In the same way, many contemporary artists, designers and crafts people would not wish to be subsumed within a generalised contemporary decorative movement, but would wish for at least a modicum of individual creative freedom and original distinctiveness. That this is clearly the case for Kleukens, seems a forgone conclusion.

Further reading links:

Contemporary Textile Work of Artist Marlene Cohen

Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Healing.

Marlene Cohen is a British textile artist that has taken her own strong and contemporary attitude towards her chosen medium, and created a distinctive style of composition and layering that is entirely her own. Cohen uses both printmaking and fine art disciplines, along with the usual aspects of textile work such as layering and stitching, to produce work that although technically part of the quilt medium, has managed to stretch that medium farther than most.

Although Cohen works in a wide range of colours, tones and textures, I have chosen instead to concentrate on a series of pieces that she has produced in a much lower and much more minimal colour scheme. Shoah is a series of pieces that, although seemingly stark and severe, are in fact full of the most astounding build up of imagery and text that is strong in graphic, illustrative and fine art techniques.

Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Target Zero.

These pieces, to my mind at least, seem to have a number of reference points that lead to the drawing of similarities to some aspects of the leading edge of European graphic design work in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly those artists and designers who dealt with the exciting photomontage medium. However, Cohen's work could never be said to be derivative of that era. What it does share is that same powerful and uncompromising imagery that places it at the forefront of the senses. This work is not meant to be harmonious with its background, but is meant to make an uncompromising statement and in this it shares a position with so much of the fine art and design work that that was at the forefront of the Modernist movement.

This series of textile pieces is extraordinary in it's focused awareness of what is truly achievable through the textile medium, rather than what is expected or delivered. It is uncompromising and skilful, and although dealing with historical issues that are highly personalised, the compositions can also appeal on a much wider level, those dealing with compositional balance, graphic awareness and strident ambience.

Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Cover Up.

It is artists such as Cohen who are both pushing the boundaries of what is expected and accepted as textile art, and also and perhaps more importantly, expanding the parameters of fine art itself, allowing it to ultimately include aspects of textile work on an equal basis. Cohen's work seems to deliberately cross over various discipline boundaries and so her work can well be appreciated by individuals who have a background and interest in general textiles, quilting, printmaking, graphics, illustration and fine art.

The more expansive and uncompromising textile artists become in both their focus and their range of creativity while at the same time retaining the unique aspects of the textile medium, the more seriously textile art will be taken outside of the immediate discipline. Cohen is an artist that is at the forefront of this movement towards fine art acceptability.

Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Mixed Messages.

Marlene Cohen has exhibited widely, she lectures and writes profusely and has her own comprehensive website where much more of her work can be seen, along with the imagery shown in this article. The website link can be found below in the Reference links section.

All images were provided with the kind permission of the artist.

Reference links:

Marlene Cohen website

Wladyslaw Skoczylas and the Polish Identity

Illustration: Wladyslaw Skoczylas. Tapestry design, 1925.

It would probably be wise to term Wladyslaw Skoczylas as a graphic artist or perhaps a fine art illustrator. He is seen as one of the leading, and by some even the principal purveyor of a national Polish cultural and artistic style within Poland during the first three decades of the twentieth century.

Skoczylas did not limit himself to pure graphics and illustration. He also produced fine art painting and design work for a number of textile based disciplines, including tapestry. However, it is Skoczylas graphic work, particularly in the genre of woodcut engraving, which inevitably influenced his work in other disciplines.

Illustration: Wladyslaw Skoczylas. Taniec (Dance) wood engraving, 1921.

The tapestry illustrated in this article was produced and shown at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs held in Paris. Poland was strongly represented in Paris, particularly amongst the textile arts. Skoczylas himself won a gold medal at the Exposition.

Although only one tapestry is shown in this article, it seemed fitting to add some of the artists wood engraving work along side the tapestry to give an indication of how closely the tapestry piece fits into the general work and style of Skoczylas. There is no doubt that for an artist who, though Polish by culture, was born and raised as a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a Polish national style, or at least a personal style that reflected and represented strong elements of the Polish culture and people, was an important factor to take into account when discussing the work of Skoczylas. Across disciplines, a number of Polish cultural aspects kept appearing and reappearing in the artists work.

Illustration: Wladyslaw Skoczylas. Pochod Zbojnikow colour wood engraving, 1916.

After the First World War, a number of nation states either appeared on the map of Europe for the first time such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, or were reintroduced after a long and sustained foreign occupation. Such resurrected states as Ireland, Finland, the Baltic States and Poland had either to reintroduce their national cultures on to the world stage, or in some cases decide what that culture was to represent and reflect within a modern European context.

Poland, which had been split between the German, Austrian and Russian Empires, had never, despite concerted and systematic pressure, relinquished its identity as a nation state. Poles were always aware that the maintenance of a strong and relatively unified national identity would be the only means by which eventually a national state would be able to reappear at some time in the future. National arts and crafts were always seen as an important element in retaining a homogenous identity within a culture. This was particularly acute in the case of the Poles, who had to deal with different identities across three empires. Despite these diverse empires using different forms of force and persuasion to divide Poles and to try to foster an identity that put German, Austrian and Russian affiliation before that of Poland, there was always a consistent attachment towards that of a national Polish identity through both art and craft that was much more than mere romantic sentiment.

Illustration: Wladyslaw Skoczylas. Pochod Zbojnikow colour wood engraving, 1916.

Skoczylas, along with other artists, musicians, writers and critics, saw themselves as part of a national Polish identity. Through the artwork illustrations shown in this article, the artist used Polish themes which could and often did include costume, historical, mythological and geographic locations that, although scattered across three European empires, were all connected to a national consciousness.

Essentially Polish culture survived due to a constant reiteration of what it was to be Polish. This retained the essential quality that separated them from other members of the empires and helped to maintain a unique identity that was to influence and structure a new and revived Polish culture when eventually independence from Germany, Austria and Russia was achieved. By the time of the 1925 Paris Exposition and the public display of Skoczylas tapestry, Poland was a fully formed culture and nation state with a definite identity and history that, despite repeated attempts in the past to erase, had in fact succeeded in remaining largely intact and relatively robust and contemporary in outlook and style.

Illustration: Wladyslaw Skoczylas. Zbojinicy z Kotlikiem (Highwaymen with Cauldron) wood engraving.

Polish history between 1795 when it ceased to exist on the European map and 1918 when it reappeared is a salutary lesson to any contemporary non-represented or non-representative state or people. Culture through national arts and crafts may not in the end succeed in achieving self-representation in its own right. However, keeping a solid identity through culture and craft helps to maintain a distinction between the represented and the non-represented that is difficult to erase.

Further reading links:
National Style and the Nation-State: Design in Poland from the Vernacular Revival to the International Style (Studies in Design & Material Culture)
Grafika Polska: Estampes Polonaises - Polish Prints 1918-1939
Out Looking In: Early Modern Polish Art, 1890-1918
Polish Art and Architecture, 1890-1980: An outline history of Polish 20th century art and architecture
Symbolist Art in Poland
Out Looking In: Early Modern Polish Art, 1890-1918
Early Polish Modern Art: Unity in Multiplicity
The graphic arts in Poland, 1945-1955
Western Amerykanski: Polish Poster Art and the Western
The Law of the Looking Glass: Cinema in Poland, 1896-1939 (Polish and Polish American Studies)