Art has changed over the years. It has evolved and new doctrines arrive with the changes in design. I will compare and contrast between art and design. The legend of graphic design, Milton Glaser says that the role of art is to transform the viewer; when you experience a work of art, you become a different person. Art is what humans use to understand what is real. Design doesn’t have such intention. It isn’t transforming the viewer. Design is created to accomplish a task, but at the same time a design is apart of a piece of art.
Design can reach out to a bigger purpose. I will compare the work of the artist, Marcel Duchamp, with the work of designer, Karim Rashid. Though their subject matter is very different, there some striking similarities. Marcel Duchamp was one of the pioneers of the dada movement, that lead the art world to graphic design and printing art works. For example let’s compare “Inventing Abstraction,” 1910–1925 by Marcel Duchamp and “Info Rug, Limited Edition,” 2013, “Inventing Abstraction,” 1910–1925 by Marcel Duchamp is a sculpture instructional piece.
It shows how the aesthetics of art began to change. This work is very abstract, but it has a concept engraved on it. The piece tells the viewer exactly how to look at it. Peering through the convex lens implanted in the work’s glass, “for almost an hour,” would have a hallucinatory effect. Duchamp describes his piece like a window to a new world. The transparency and the shapes used, gives you the illusion of space and depth. In this piece, composition of the lines and forms evoke a 3-dimensional effect. They are created by the use of the shapes, color, and the lens.
This was something that was very innovative for the time. “Info Rug, Limited Edition,” 2013, by Karim Rashid is something from everyday life, that we never imagine could have so much meaning. This abstract piece originates from Rashid’s vision to engage the modern principles of design. These are all about colors, visuals, and textures; the accents of vibrant glowing colors are a metaphor for a new global energy. The weight and length of the lines, create depth and dynamism. The piece creates a kinetic effect that gives you the sensation that you are watching an optical illusion.
This experience is like watching the sculpture, but in a two dimensional way. The most important part of this piece it’s purpose. It was made to be a carpet, and it needs to accomplish that functionality even if it fulfills an aesthetic void. Karim’s colors and shapes, show how art has merged with technology; how we have been able to create new things. The beauty of design is that you have the best of both words. To conclude, both pieces focus on innovation with the shape and colors. The pieces help the viewer see how far technology has come.
In the end, the art world keeps on using the same concepts. Stylistically, they both show elements of harmony, balance, rhythm. With the diferenciation that one piece concentrates on beauty, and the transformation of the viewer’s vision, while the other on accomplishes a function but is also aesthetically pleasing. The amaziging designer Milton Glase says art is love, and design is like sex; your love making is something but it accomplishes a task. In the end, everything comes from the same origins.
