Amsterdam, Netherlands Art + Design 2007
Well our Art + Design 2007 summer program in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is coming to a close. The students did an excellent job analyzing what they saw here. Here is a sample of some of the best writing so far. Even though Mucha is not Dutch, we had to catch this amazing show at the Jewish Historical Museum.
Post #14
Travis Acker (FSU) wrote on Jul 31, 2007:
The following essay will analyze my reactions to Alphonese Maria Mucha’s posters of Sarah Bernhardt in relation to Dutch design and Sarah Berhardt’s use of merchandising.
Alphonese Maria Mucha’s posters of Sarah Bernhardt are a great example of the use of art and design in advertising. At the seat of France’s lavish materialized culture of the mid to late 1800s these posters set the standard for color poster advertising. The hard dark lines that outline Bernhardt’s hair and face in La Plume creates a flat portrait decorated by flowers, stars, and jewels. The intricate detail of the decoration contrasts the flat color of her hair and skin reiterating the focus on decoration of the body through accessories associated with lavish materialism. The face is very classical, tilted up with very soft features. The eyes are dramatic projecting a stern seriousness. The other posters use a similar in design but involve elaborate wardrobes, intricate borders, and climatic scenes that promote her performances.
Comparing Alphonese Maria Mucha’s posters of Sarah Bernhardt to the basic elements of Dutch design one must ask is Mucha being absurd and ironic or is he deadly serious. Mucha’s posters idealize Bernhardt’s image elongating her body, softening her facial features, and surrounding her with an abundance of decoration. This is not a realistic portrayal of anyone but plays on the fantasy and story tale themes of her performances. To be deadly serious Mucha would have to conceive Sarah Bernhardt’s image separate from her physical self creating a character worthy of celebrity. I see elements of absurdity and irony in Mucha’s posters. His overuse of ornamentation and idealism creates an image larger than life that creates a standard that is unachievable. This mysticism and idealism is part of a tradition that goes back before the Greeks. The use of gods and superhuman beings in mythology plays with our ability to conceive powers beyond ourselves while really exposing our own limitations. Mucha is in dialogue with this tradition as he uses neoclassical elements within his posters. The absurdity is the use of these images to sell products thus legitimizing materialism as a means to elevate your status as a human.
Sarah Bernhardt’s reputation and character played well with the posters perpetuating her celebrity. Her eccentricities further separated her from the average person allowing for more intrigue and mystery surrounding her image. As a woman in the 19th century her lifestyle allowed her to break from the dominant gender roles to be herself no matter how odd. She was able to tour the world in class and receive acclaim everywhere she went. To achieve this status she used her Jewish exoticism and the new technologies of photography and multicolor printing to elevate her image to celebrity status. Once this image was established she used it as a “brand” to sell products and do endorsements. Recognizable around the world, Bernhardt used corporations to promote her image through their advertisements while also receiving company paid advertising for her own performances. These posters ushered in a long line of provocative design that intrigues the audience. The use of art to sell products is part of our capitalistic culture and stems from a tradition directly tied to Alphonese Maria Mucha and Sarah Bernhardt.