작품 상세

EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (1890-1954) MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 1923. 38x23 1/4 inches, 96 1/2x59 cm. Vincent Brooks, Day & Son Ltd, London. Condition B+: repaired tears, creases and abrasions in margins and image; restored losses along right edge. "Kauffer often argued that non-representational and geometrical pattern designs 'can effect a sledge hammer blow if handled by a sensitive designer possessing a knowledge of the action of color on the average man or woman'" (www.aiga.org). Here, the rainbow color sequence and the undulating, rhythmic background patterns serve to transfix the viewer. "It was Kauffer's mastery of synthesis-wedding abstract, dynamic form to everyday products that made him invaluable in the promotion of commercial enterprise . . . he wanted to encourage people to simply be aware of a product or message by piquing their aesthetic sensitivities. Kauffer's strategy was consistent with the Modern ideal that art and industry were not mutually exclusive" (ibid). Kauffer 24, Weill 394, Underground p. 48.