ART IS WORK: MILTON GLASER

I recently purchased a great book featuring the work and writings of renowned designer and artist, Milton Glaser, titled "Art is Work". Glaser is known for his posters, illustrations and logos, such as the "I Love New York" logo that has become a recognizable icon for New York, and has been replicated around the world.

In the introduction to "Art is Work", Glaser discusses the defintion of Art:

"If one of the definitions we have concerning art is that it serves its public by reflecting and explaining the world at a particular moment in history, it is hard to believe that design does not serve in a similar way. …There seems to be much confusion about what we mean when we use the word art. I have a recommendation. We eliminate the word art and replace it with work and develop the following descriptions:

1. Work that goes beyond its functional intention and moves us in deep and mysterious ways we call great work.

2. Work that is conceived and executed with elegance and rigor we call good work.

3. Work that meets its intended need honestly and without pretense we call simply work.

4. Everything else, the sad and shoddy stuff of daily life, can come under the heading of bad work.

This simple change could eliminate anxiety for thousands of people who worry about whether they are artists or not, but this would not be its most significant consequence. More important, it could restore art to a central, useful activity in daily life – something for which we have been waiting for a very long while."

Glaser's words, not just within the Intro to the book, but also within the book's interview with Glaser, chapter lead-ins, the Role of the Poster, The Monet Project, and other chapters focusing on specific design and art elements, are well worth reading and offer up more insights into art and design. 

To watch Glaser speak personally about his work, Hillman Curtis has a great video of the designer speaking about Art as Work, in Curtis' Artist Series located on his Web site, hillmancurtis.com. You can also head on over to miltonglaser.com to see more of Glaser's work.

Not having gone through formal training in either art or design, I missed the educational challenges that many artists and designers I've spoken with had to endure; art instructors putting down designers and design programs because design wasn't "art", commercial art instructors forcing students to adhere to strict definitions of design, rather than allowing exploration within the media.

If you have stories to tell about your experiences in either direction, let me know and I'll share them with our readers.

-Daniel