This project is a set of three posters designed to advertise a (fictional) art exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The exhibit will focus on Mondrian’s journey from Cubism to Neo-Plasticism. This exhibit showcases Mondrian’s work during and after his “transitional” period beginning in 1911. It follows his journey through Cubism and as he developed his unique abstract style, Neo-Plasticism. My posters are designed to reflect the style of this transitory period.

This assignment required three different styles of poster: One collage-style poster using the artist's portraits and/or artwork, one typographic-based poster, and one photographic poster using elements manipulated in physical space.

This composition draws on the most famous of Mondrian’s art styles, Neo-Plasticism, with subtle nods to his character and other explored styles. The photograph shows the clear-eyed idealism of his youth, while the self-portrait sketch shows his exploration into simplifying the world around him.

The portraits are framed by a portion of Mondrian’s famous Composition C: an iconic, primary-colored painting. The overall impression is of the artist looking through the “windows” of his own soul to view reality in its most simplified essence.

The typography of this painting is carefully placed to not distract from the simple quality of the composition, with plenty of uncluttered space.

The objective of this painting is to give an impression of one of Mondrian’s “lozenge” style framing efforts hanging against a gallery. The typography plays with his name and shows off the color and texture of his Composition with Checkerboard, from an early part of his
artistic transition phase. The body copy is carefully arranged in a tidy “block” with just a bit of contrast for key information. Finally, a background texture adds to the visual interest without distracting from the contrast of the colors.

This poster exemplifies the theme of the exhibit. With small cubes of layered paper, it draws on the depth and overlapping feel of the Cubism featured at the beginning of Mondrian’s transition period. The vivid primary colors shout of the style he aimed for
in the end, the harmony of pure color, against plenty of white space. The black frame is a nod to his signature black lines, with a diamond-shaped placement similar to his “lozenge”
compositions. Finally, small pieces drifting away from the frame imply a “distilling” effect on the artwork.

The title and pieces of the photo run off the edge of the paper, in the same way that Mondrian would often leave open edges and unfinished lines in his compositions. The diagonal placement of frame and title, with the “falling” text blocks, add to the dynamic movement of the composition.