Are magazines the best testing ground for the art world?

Are magazines the best testing ground for the art world?

Eisen Bernardo "Bloomberg Businessweek", March-April 2012 issue cover, this work "mix and match" the magazine cover with classic famous paintings. As an "alternative space" for art display, magazines provide artists with more diverse and free creative opportunities. In addition to the relationship between Party A and Party B, what sparks will the two collide? Today, Harper's Bazaar Art takes you to understand. 01 Advocating for yourself As an important promoter of the continuous development of art, art magazines have contributed greatly. Especially in the last century, different cultural confrontations and schools of thought have been staged, and heroes have emerged in large numbers. From Cubism to Fauvism to Dadaism, all of them explore the future of human culture in their own unique ways. And "how to speak for oneself" has become the first question for artists to think about. Klimt's cover for the magazine "Sacred Spring", 1898 for the magazine "Sacred Spring" by the Secession artist Adolf Böhm, 1899 for the magazine "Sacred Spring" by Koloman Moser, 1899 late 19th century 20 At the beginning of the century, a group of young artists decided to set up their own businesses because they were dissatisfied with the conservative academics. They founded the magazine "Ver Sacrum" as a platform to promote their artistic propositions, and they used their work as a standpoint to challenge tradition and question the world. A promotional ad before the launch of Holy Spring magazine, the cover designed by Alfred Roller for the first issue of Holy Spring in 1898, but can a magazine still be a battleground for debate? In 1967, the British conceptual artist group founded ART-LANGUAGE. Artists of different genres have engaged in fierce battles around the "essence of art", which not only promotes the combination of theoretical knowledge and artistic practice, but also explores more ways to express conceptual art, which is very experimental and pioneering. ART-LANGUAGE In addition, the magazine Dada promotes irrational and anti-conventional aesthetics, which artists use to express protests against the barbaric world war; "Blue Knight" is a place for discussion and balance of ideas; "Style", a magazine with the same name as the Deign school that pursues calm and harmonious geometric structure, promotes its paradigm to the fields of painting, sculpture and architecture... Issue 1 The cover of the magazine "Dada", the cover designed by Kandinsky for the first issue of the magazine "The Blue Rider" in 1917, the cover of the magazine "Style" in 1912 Therefore, the magazine, as a powerful publicity platform, naturally became an artist They are an important medium for carrying ideas and promoting art to the public. 02 Climbing the "staircase" of social class But not all artists were born in "Rome", and most of them still need opportunity and hard work to become the "sweet pastry" in the art world. When he was in his 20s and just graduated from college, Andy Warhol came to New York in search of a chance to make a fortune, huddled in a cold and damp basement with 17 strangers every night, and even came to "Harper's BAZAAR" in Warhol During the interview, a cockroach appeared in the portfolio. Andy Warhol's illustration work in "Harper's BAZAAR" is such an embarrassed and unknown person, taking the opportunity given by the platform to participate in the design of greeting cards, window displays and commercial advertisements, and these experiences also determine his works have. Commercially inclined style and make it a budding commercial designer. Coincidentally, German-American artist Lyonel Feininger, a singer-turned-painter, first made his debut as an illustrator of "commercial illustrations and comic stories for magazines". Leonie Feininger, The Kin-der-Kids, lithographic cartoon, 59.4 × 45.3 cm, 1906, published in the magazine Chicago Sunday Forum Leonie Feininger "Little Willie" ·Winkie's World", lithographic cartoon, 59.7×45.2cm, 1906, published in the magazine "Chicago Sunday Forum" Because of his childlike and romantic illustrations and loved by people, he was also commented by the art media as: "In the The history of the media has created unparalleled and amazing festivals.” It can be seen that magazines, as a kind of social media for the public, can not only help budding artists gain experience and gain a foothold, but also bring them to the audience. Increase visibility both inside and outside the industry. But what else can magazines do to accomplished artists? 03 The transparent packaging designed by Paul Boudens, a circle of friends who share personal life, can the artists of the magazine "A Magazine Curated By" also be the editor-in-chief of the magazine and design it by themselves? Founded in 2001, "A Magazine Curated By" broke with the traditional magazine editing method, and by inviting different artists to be guest editors, each issue is full of personal aesthetics and cultural concepts. Each "editor-in-chief" treats the magazine as a free-flowing exhibition space. For example, in issue 19, Kim Jones introduced his "circle of friends" using the English alphabet as a framework. The list includes not only KAWS, Sorayama Ki and Ramond Pettibon who have worked with him, but also well-known artists such as Takashi Murakami and Stephen Jones. Magazine "A Magazine Curated By Kim Jones", 2019 At the same time, with the continuous development of new media, print media began to turn to focus on areas that were difficult to achieve in order to seek new breakthroughs. In 2011, artist Maurizio Cattelan announced his retirement after completing a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. But he did not stop the business, but founded a magazine called "Toilet Paper" (TOILETPAPER) with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. Maurizio Cattelan's avant-garde and interesting surreal creative images, colorful colors and unconventional typography... Bound by the rules and pressures of his previous career, Cattelan's creations mostly conform to a certain industry standard. In magazines, he boldly tries new creative styles, expressing his innermost attitudes and ideas through experimental artistic creation. Therefore, in the new communication environment, as a medium for expressing attitudes, the function of magazines is further demonstrated. TOILETPAPER is essentially a diverse space for exhibition, critique, documentation and archives. As a more professional art platform in addition to galleries and auction houses, magazines provide artists with a creative field with a wider audience and more in line with the real society. Whether it is a battlefield to promote artistic theoretical ideas, a means to enhance self-esteem, or a "circle of friends" to show "true self", artists and magazines have formed a tacit understanding of "mutual fulfillment". Today, the development of digital media has led to the evolution of the operating model of print media, but there are always some eternal pursuits that will remain unchanged, such as attitude and art. What other artist and magazine stories do you know? Welcome to share in the comment area. Editor, Wen Zhu Hongyu This article was originally created by the art department of "Bazaar" and may not be reproduced without permission

(Responsible editor：Photography art)