Blog assignment 11 ( Modernism: standardisation, rationalisation, and the search for the universal)

Design of coca-cola bottle aimed at mass-production. Retrieved September  24 from:  http://asianmalerevolutions.com/remember/i-propaganda-consumerism--origins-of-mass-media/

Hannes Meyer, the Swiss-born architect appointed director of the Bauhaus in 1928, argued that design is a product of “function x economy”, aligning design with a scientific model driven by new technologies and manufacturing potential. I agree with opinion that design nowadays becomes more and more scientific and less artistic. Today design is aimed more at mass production and collective needs rather than individual taste and preferences. This tendency was reinforced with the advent of first and then Second World War when social goals and needs were set higher than private. Modernism simplified design but made it more complicated at the same time. Even though appearance of things became less complex the process of making started to involve new machine technologies which requires special scientific engineering knowledge. Lissitsky states that “The new art is formed, not on a subjective, but on an objective basis.” (Lissitsky as stated in Raizman, 1918-44, p. 74) Which means that artists apply less personal attitude to their work. Personally, I do not think that this is what design should be like. I believe that design is all about self-expression of an artist. It is obvious that in 21^st century design for mass production is an essential part of design. But there still has to be place for pure art in our life.

References:
1.Raizman, D. (2004). The First Machine Age in Europe, in History of Modern Design, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.