Fifty years of illustration —
Revolver record sleeve (for EMI Records) by Klaus Voorman, 1965"Illustration is the people's art," says Lawrence Zeegen, dean of the London College of Communication's School of Design. It's with this in mind that he's written Fifty Years of Illustration, a book looking at the dawn of contemporary illustration and the most memorable images produced since then. Featuring over 225 artists, the tome explores just how much of an impact illustrators have had, and why their work continues to resonate.
By Allyssia Alleyne, for CNN
Zeegen starts his retrospective during the swinging sixties, when bold new forms of illustration were flourishing in San Francisco's Haight-Asbury community, New York and London. It was also the time when Zeegen had one of his most memorable run-ins with illustration.
"I grew up as a four or five-year-old with (The Beatles' Revolver) record on the turntable the whole time, and that kind of vividness of how Klaus Voormann portrayed The Beatles -- the sort of photomontage, the drawing of the hair -- is one of my earliest memories. The music made sense because of the sleeve and vice versa."
Fifty years of illustration —
Dylan by Milton Glaser, 1967 The sixties, according to Zeegen, was when illustration was popularized as an opportunity for self-expression, rather than a tool for advertising.
"Most illustration in the 1950's was a response to coming out of the Second World War," he explains. "If you look at the graphic art and illustration that was produced, primarily in the U.S., it was all about selling consumerism. You saw great illustrations of cars, of refrigerators, of mum cooking apple pie etc, but it was all about shifting product."
This revolutionary way of looking at illustration led to creation of images that reflected the zeitgeist, and shaped its future. The now-famous fold-out poster of Bob Dylan by Milton Glaser (who himself preferred Elvis) is often credited with helping establish the folk singer's fame early on.
"There was no telling that (Dylan) was going to be the artist he became. But how, as an illustrator, (Glaser) captured that essence through that profile, that hair, is of a moment and it has a resonance."
Fifty years of illustration —
Clockwork Orange poster (for Stanley Kubrick & Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.) by Philip Castle, 1971It's quite easy to define a certain time in one's life based on the illustrations that were popular, much like with music.
"You can be from any walk of life and somewhere illustration has touched you ... Whether you know it as an illustration, whether you know it as art, whether you know it as graphic design -- that's less important. More important is the 'Wow, I had that book, and what a great feeling it is to think about the time I had that book and the time it was read to me."
Fifty years of illustration —
Richard Nixon by Gerald Scarfe, 1974But the very elements that made illustration such a powerful tool for hope and vitality also made it a useful way to voice dissatisfaction, starting with the anti-Vietnam war sentiment of the sixties, and continuing into the politically disenchanting seventies, and neo-liberal eighties.
"There were plenty of people that had a belief that their involvement in shaping and changing opinions was important," Zeegen says. "Whether it's a poster denouncing the Vietnam War, or Sue Coe's work on How to Commit Suicide in South Africa (a 1984 book dealing with apartheid), these were important moments in illustration's history, when illustrators had a strong point of view, had a message, and found a medium to get that message out there."
Fifty years of illustration —
Long Distance Kiss poster (for Athena) by Syd Brak, 1982But not all illustration is meant to promote a message, musician or cause. Long Distance Kiss by South African illustrator Syd Brak was the world's best selling poster in 1982, even though there was no real story behind it. During this so-called "design-decade," the public gravitated towards images that reflected the flashy, colorful fashions of the time, whether they stood for anything or not.
Fifty years of illustration —
The Black Sheep of the Family by Joost Swarte, 1990 The rise of the computer in the nineties sparked what Zeegen calls the "digitization" of illustration, which would revolutionize the way work was does from then on. "I refer to it rather cheesily as BC -- before computers -- and AD -- after digital," he says.
Because most illustrators worked as contractors as opposed to with studios (unlike animators, filmmakers and graphic designers, for example), illustration was among the last disciplines to make the leap from analog to digital.
"Illustrators were seen by the rest of the design community as Luddites," Zeegen explains.
In-house graphic designers without formal illustration training were among the first to experiment with computer-generated art.
"Everything had the look of the digital upon it. It had to look super digital because they wanted people to know that that's how it was made ... It was an important visual aesthetic for probably five years whilst the illustration community caught up and worked out how to make sure a real aesthetic came through."
Fifty years of illustration —
Flamma Flamma -- The Fire Requiem CD artwork (for Sony Music) by Amy Guip, 1994And when they did catch up, illustrators also focused on showcasing all the possibilities that computers presented, until computers went from novelty to the norm. "(The technology) could move into the background a bit, and we could come back to an aesthetic that was broader; we could come back to storytelling and ideas and creativity in a different way."
The rise of computers also allowed for the growth of the illustration community. Digital storage tore down the geographic restrictions that limited who could thrive professionally. Gone are the days when illustrators would have to live in and around big cities to serve clients. Dropping off proofs is just a click away.
Fifty years of illustration —
Going Green (for Deliver magazine & United States Postal Service) by Charles Wilkin, 2007Today, it would seem that the digital revolution is complete. But while it's not possible to create a fully realized image with nothing more than a drawing tablet and Photoshop, illustration has maintained much of the same spirit.
"What illustration hasn't left behind when it made that jump was the connection it had with the analog and the traditional, hands-on techniques, and we've seen a resurgence of interest in hand-crafted techniques that contemporary illustrators merge brilliantly with digital."
Fifty years of illustration —
A New Hope by Mr Bingo, 2007Illustrators have also profited from that fact that, in general, society has become much more interested in design. When Zeegan first had the idea to write a book about illustration for the general public, he faced push-back from those who didn't think that the public was interested. Much has changed since then.
"There's been a recognition because of the breadth of practice out there, and a greater awareness as to what illustrators do," he says. "There are now so many more platforms for contemporary illustrators to be seen on. So it's not just a poster-size, not just a book jacket or album sleeve, but mobile apps, iPads, screens. There are just numerous outlets that weren't there 15 years ago."
Fifty years of illustration —
Deco Muse by Stina Persson, 2010But Zeegen worries that the same ubiquity that has made illustration a large part of today's design conversations, has also made it more difficult for young illustrators to really have impact. Many artists strive to create something that catches your eye instead of making a statement, which ultimately makes their work forgettable.
"The idea of Warhol's 15 minutes of fame? You're lucky if you've got 15 seconds these days because it's just: boom, okay, eye candy, gone, next thing," he says. "Scratch the surface and too much of it doesn't have any substance, so it's not going to withstand the test of time."
![However, he cites one illustration in particular as a sign that, yes, there are still artists making seminal work. <br /><br />"The most iconic is the 2008 Shepard Fairey <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.obeygiant.com%2Fheadlines%2Fobama-hope" target="_blank" target="_blank">Obama [Hope poster]</a>. That, for me, was the great hope," he says. "Before that poster, Americans didn't know who the hell Obama was. So the impact is how that poster created a different view of what a president could be. Yes, the first black candidate, the first black president. But at the same time, that it's come from a street art philosophy and that it's an illustrated rather than photographic image is hugely important."](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/141014141749-shepard-fairey-obama-poster.jpg?q=w_4200,h_2806,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Fifty years of illustration —
However, he cites one illustration in particular as a sign that, yes, there are still artists making seminal work. "The most iconic is the 2008 Shepard Fairey Obama [Hope poster]. That, for me, was the great hope," he says. "Before that poster, Americans didn't know who the hell Obama was. So the impact is how that poster created a different view of what a president could be. Yes, the first black candidate, the first black president. But at the same time, that it's come from a street art philosophy and that it's an illustrated rather than photographic image is hugely important."
