Eight Documentaries For Art Designers

What are the good documentaries for art designers

NO.1 Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century

It is a German documentary. Bauhaus once was the most famous and influential architecture and design school. Currently Bauhaus not only represents the school, but also the architecture sect and style of Bauhaus, which has great impact on art, industrial design, graphic design, interior design, modern drama, and modern art, etc. The documentary shows works of art, records, and interviews of Bauhaus to explore the stories behind the school.

NO.2 Design is One: Lella and Massimo Vignelli

Design is One reveals the stories of Lella and Massimo,one of the most great cooperation of design industry. And the most famous design of the couple is New York Tube Map. They are not only working partners, but also a loving couple for more than 50 years. They develops design into career together, supplementing each other to work as a team understanding each other. In the film, it reviews their whole career as designers, through which we know how they develop, accumulate customers, and accomplish, bringing style of modern art into ravishing works. Massimo is a dreamer, and I am more realistic, as Lella said. It is the combination of dream and ration that makes the design outstanding. From graphic design and interior design to product and corporate image, the documentary takes us to their world, shared work and daily life, showing their wisdom and creativity, along with their humanity, warmth, and humor.

NO.3 Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight

The documentary is about the great designer of twenty century, Milton Glaser. In the form of interview, the film shows the life of Milton Glaser, from high school life in New York, to Cooper Union, to Italy and met his true love, and to their marriage and partners. It looks regular, but all the things added together make his career and path of art, which shows in between the movie.

NO.4 Press Pause Play

Press Pause Play definitely works as a perfect and thought-provoking documentary. In content, it explores how digital art has brought extensive opportunities and challenges to artists. It also has invited a couple of famous artists to share their views on digital art. There is a stimulating question on the documentary, through digital technology, does it improves creativity to produce better art, or just make us lose in the mire of internet? The questions it focused are the problems of contemporary artists have to meet and solve.

NO.5 Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a crazy art documentary, which directed by street artist in 2010, Banksy, who is known as a dark British Graffiti Street artist. The film is mainly about various underground arts he has made with L.A. artist Thierry Guetta, and his obsession with street art. Besides, the film also includes sorts of Graffiti artists and their works. In 2011, it was nominated as the best documentary in 83th Oscar. Although it is a highly controversial documentary, through which shows the reality of art industry.

NO.6 A128

Through illustration, the documentary scans the life of art students and artists, listening the meaning of illustration to them, and how they achieve their goals, and the challenges they have met as a visual designer. A128 tries to make people understand the work of illustrator. Most of the illustration shown in the documentary are works of artists so that we can directly see the excellent works of art. The film shows arts in a relaxing and funny way as well.

NO.7 Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

As an American documentary in 2013, the film is mainly about the career of film poster artist Drew Struzan. Most of the classic film posters you have seen are from Drew, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Stranger Things.

He is not only an artist, but also an illustrator and graphic designer. Like most artist, his early art life is not well paid and is hard to make ends meet. By chance, he starts working for the album arts of Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper, etc., which wins some chances for film posters and starts the path. In modern times, film posters are replaced by photoshop, which is different from traditional hand painting, more convenient but less vivid. His posters have high sales volume than digital ones. All the works from him obtains higher box-office, and helps to cultivate more passionate film poster artists and illustrators.

NO.8 Sign Painters

This is a documentary that makes you reflect science and tradition. The history of hand-painted logo lasts for 150 years, whether it is some shots in films or TV series, it is indispensable elements of films. In the documentary, there are various artists invited from different regions, including Ira Coyne, Bob Dewhurst, Keith Knecht, Norma Jeane Maloney and Stephen Powers. All the pioneers with sharp creativity are leading a revolutionary path and appreciate the balance between art and business. It makes more designers and illustrators to confront their work, between tradition and technology. We do not need to pursue technology too much or reply on technology, keeping tradition is the development tendency of the future of art as well.

Source: https://www.sunmory.com/blogs/career/eight-documentaries-for-art-designers