New York School

The New York School was an informal group of American abstract painters and other artists active in the 1950s and 1960s. These artists valued spontaneity and improvisation, and they accorded the highest importance to process. They were influenced by artists such as Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning.

Breaking away from accepted conventions in both technique and subject matter, the artists made monumentally scaled works that stood as reflections of their individual psyches—and in doing so, attempted to tap into universal inner sources. Their work resists stylistic categorisation, but it can be clustered around two basic inclinations: an emphasis on dynamic, energetic gesture, in contrast to a reflective, cerebral focus on more open fields of colour. In either case, the imagery was primarily abstract. American design was pragmatic, intuitive and less formal in its approach to organising space. Emphasis was placed on the expression of ideas and an open, direct presentation of information.

Paul Rand was an editorial designer in 20's, and worked with AIGA for a number of years. He reduced design to symbol without being boring. He used collage and montage to bring elements together, and included a variety of textures, pattern and objects in his designs. Rand uses logotype, photography, drawing, and type to create a very dynamic composition. Was one of the first to use semiotics to create memorable works.

Alvin Lustig started his career in design at 21 years of age, when he used to work at a printing press at an LA Drugstore. He studied at Yale University.In his works he implied abstract geometric designs through type and ornament. He combined form and content as one. His style included a block background and concrete abstraction. He is mostly known for his book cover designs.

Bradbury Thompson was known for using new printing techniques. Throughout the years he obtained a vast knowledge of printing and typesetting, and he included these a lot in his works. He used a technique called the four colour printing technique.

Soul Bass was the designer who took NY school to California. He was influenced a lot by Paul Rand, and he was also known mainly for his title sequences. In fact, he was the creator of the title sequences we have today. In his designs he incorporated one central image as the whole design. He used simplified forms to represent his ideas, and executed them in a casual way to keep form from being rigid. He too, used phototypesetting. He also used cut out text and film to create collage.

Herb Lulabin created both verbal and visual concepts. He was mostly known for his editorial design. He believed that space and surface was important for more flexibility.
He made ligatures and extreme scale prints, and worked with overlapping and phototype settings. In his line of work he was also required to work with typograms. He designed various fonts, including Avant Garde and Avant Garde Gothic.

links:

http://quizlet.com/11548032/the-new-yorl-school-movement-flash-cards/

http://anm102pm.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/chapter-19-pdf-2.pdf

https://www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/europe-and-america-1900-1950-36/abstract-expressionism-230/the-new-york-school-823-1926/