Art Influences of the 1950s

           The 1950s was a time of new artistic trends in photography, graphics, music and fashion all changing and inspiring many to day. Artists such as Richard Avedon, Saul bass, Elvis Presley and Christian Dior all changed art in their own unique way.
             Richard Avedon changed both the fashion world and photograph with his unique style and bold choices. Avedon’s unique way of capturing his subject’s personality and using strong in front of white backdrops creating dark outlines on his subjects bringing great contrast to his images. He also showed sophistication and control in his portraits by brought in unusual elements to his images given a more sophisticated feel toward them, such as bringing in exotic animals in fashion shots. The unique qualities of Avedon’s portraits in which many graced Vogue magazine changing its out look in photography ever since.
            Saul Bass has been considered to be one of the most famous graphic designers of his time. Bass’s unique designs consisted of many graphic shapes and colors. He designed logos like the famous AT&T logo and the movie poster of The Man with the Golden Arm. Bass’s designs have influenced many modern designs of today both influencing art and inspiring new designers.
             Elvis Presley was a big influence on the start of rock-n-roll. His inspiration for his music was brought upon due to combination of country, R&B, to Gospel. As a young child he was very aware of different genres of music and was the start of a new genre changing both the pop culture and the music of the time. Not only was he a huge music star but also was an iconic figure of the 1950’s both as a music maker and trendsetter.
             After WWII Christian Dior became the fashion designer of the time. He changes in the fashion world with his unique, classy, but yet sassy designs. His designs were famous for showing women’s hourglass like silhouettes and were even the start of that new trend. He believed women had gorgeous figures with their curved shapes, which could be shown off with the proper clothes. As his fame grew and became popular many Hollywood actresses became interested in his designs, which came to be later know as the Old Hollywood Glam look. Dior not only changed fashion but also has brought upon a wave of classical, but yet sassy beauty to the fashion world.
             Artists like Richard Avedon; Saul bass, Elvis Presley and Christian Dior not only changed art and even pop culture of the 50s but also has became the inspiration of many to day. With out their contributions we wouldn’t have rock-n-roll or fashion with such class and elegance, all these contributions were brought upon us thanks to theses great artists of the 50s.

Bibliography

Epstein, Dan. 20th Century Pop Culture: The 50s. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. 1999/2000

Feinstein, Stephen. The 1950s from the Korean War to Elvis. Berkely Heights: Enslow. 2000

Kallen, Stuart A. A Culture History of the United States: The 1950s.San Diego: Lucent Books. 1999

“Richard Avedon”. Wikipedia. 14 Mar. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Avedonl.