Themes
We are encouraging you to reconsider the work of Heorhii Narbut from
perspective of a 21st-century
designer, to speak about continuity
in design, the visual language
of the past, and its aesthetic,
and to raise the issues of today’s
language of the poster.
Theme 1:
Between teachers and students
We stand on the shoulders of giants when we learn something new. The prominent works of our predecessors become such an integral part of our experience that it seems they have always been/existed. The modernists of the early 20th century laid such a strong foundation that it can be called the antiquity of the 21st century. Sometimes the new is just the old that we have forgotten.
Some designs from the past look attractive still today; others provoke little more than a smile. Yet if we take a close look at how our teachers worked, thought, and lived, a new side of things that would seem boring and outmoded can be revealed.
Here we invite you to examine Narbut’s oeuvre from the point of view of a 21st-century designer and interpret the master’s motifs, graphic techniques, and themes in a new way.
Moreover: let’s reflect on a history of design, as swiftrapid as it is short. Where does imitation turn into inheritance? Can stylization become a new form of expression? How can the student surpass the teacher? What would our work look like if we were limited to the technologies of the early 20th century? What about our predecessor’ work if they had the instruments we use today? Or perhaps we should reject any sort of heritage and reinvent the wheel?
Погляньте на нарбутівський доробок з точки зору
дизайнера у 21 столітті
та по-новому інтерпретуйте
мотиви, графічні
прийоми або теми майстра.
Theme 2:
Between the personal
and the political
The contemporary world could probably not be imagined by even the boldest visionaries from Narbut’s time. Yet, one look at a person in society will show you, that not all that much has changed.
The agenda is set by the struggle for territory and human minds. The struggle for human rights is not only not over, but only just beginning. Free individuals and a strong state are still in opposition. We are likewise sometimes forced to resort to riots, civil disobedience, and revolutions. And, ultimately, we’re still not sure that machines won’t replace people.
In this section, we suggest talking about what bothers us today just as it did before, what we’re ready to fight, and what we will stand up for. Look at design as an instrument of influence, the accumulation of experience, and forming an identity. Or can we still talk about aesthetics apart from politics?
Погляньте на дизайн як
на інструмент впливу, набуття досвіду та формування ідентичності. Що непокоїть нас сьогодні, за що ми ладні боротись і що прагнемо відстояти.
Theme 3:
Between redesign
and innovation
The search for new, fresh, and original solutions is an integral part of a designer’s work. The new version of a product differs from the previous one, artists look for their own style, users seek a new experience—even two black t-shirts don’t look alike. This is natural since design responds to changes just like language does with new words appearing daily.
In this section, we suggest exploring the aesthetics of tomorrow, reflecting on the daily changes around us and how they are reflected in visual language. New times call for new solutions, instruments, and approaches. Designers today face challenges that could not have been imagined yesterday. Now, like never before, the design workshop has become a space for experimentation, searching, successes, and failures.
Or perhaps conversely take a look at the new aesthetics from the perspective of visual ecology: reject the constant meaningless searching and approach design like we approach reusing and recycling raw materials?
Дослідіть естетику завтрашнього дня, поміркуйте
про щоденні зміни навколо
нас і те, як вони
відображаються у візуальній мові.
