Artist A.M.Cassandre

My Life and Early Career

My name is Jean-Marie Mouron Adolphe, and I’m popularly known as A.M. All Cassandre. I was born on January 24th, 1901, in Kharkov, Ukraine. I went on to live my early life in Kharkov until Russia’s First Invasion. I attended the Academy Julian with Lucien Simon in the years up to 1919. I focused on paintings at the academy in Cezanne’s flair, La Grande Chaumiere’s Academy. Different conditions, including the violent political climate, forced our family to move and forced me to make a living on my own. I wanted to design posters, and I went to Harchad’s printing office to work. In 1923, I had a jump ahead, and I finished my first work which was characterized by my synthetic style, Au Bucheron (Arty Factory, 2017). I had worked on the poster passionately, producing it in a substantial large format on various locations throughout Paris. Honestly, I never knew what was in store for me, the work created a sensation and brought me to instant fame.

Inspiration and Influences

I believe that all works I have developed are important considering the motivations behind them. However, some of my works received international acclaim due to their various features. Some of these works include; Étoile du Nord, 1927, Air-Orient’, 1932, Nord Express, 1927 as well as Dubonnet, 1932. Remarkably, the art many modern and Avant-Garde movements had a big impact on me. The simple but strong geometric shapes and the modern approach had a significant impact on me. Additionally, the achievements of the 20th century also inspired me, the invention of the petrol engine, and technological advances (Macmillan, 2006). Further, regarding visual arts, I was inspired by the German design movement known as the Bauhaus, mainly because of their simplicity as well as functionality in their works. Most of my designs are primarily attributed to the influence of advertising art in the first half of the century (Mouron, 2017). I deeply believe that designing a poster is core to solving a technical as well as a commercial difficulty, in the language that can be comprehended by the common men.

Influence and Legacy

In all my artistic life, I have strived to influence others around me through my style of designing. I have influenced others through my style, using only capitals in all my designs as well as skillfully linking my typography with the images. I also strive to influence other artists through the idea of the serial poster which is to be seen in quick succession to deliver a complete idea (Jobling & Crowley, 1996). I was also part of the art deco typefaces, Bifur, Acier Noir as well as Piegnot. I had a dream of developing an international art institute and building my house. However, my time in Bugey in the 1960s was marred with uncertainty, I was discouraged, and I moved to Paris in 1965. It is in Paris that I designed my last work, 24 Heures, and prepared my other works for a series of retrospective poster exhibitions in Geneva, Paris, and Amsterdam respectively. It is evident that the final years of my life were distinguished by the development of my last typeface. After the first suicide attempt which occurred in 1967, I decided to take my life in my apartment on the Avenue Rene-Coty in Paris. The fateful day of my death was June 17, 1968. I hope to be remembered and cherished through my art and ideas.

References

Arty Factory,. (2017). Cassandre - Classic Art Deco Posters. Artyfactory.com. Retrieved 8 February 2017, from http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/graphic_designers/cassandre.htm

Jobling, P. & Crowley, D. (1996). Graphic design (1st ed.). Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Macmillan, N. (2006). An A-Z of type designers (1st ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Mouron, R. (2017). Cassandre - Official web site of AM.Cassandre by Roland Mouron Estate of AM.Cassandre. Cassandre-france.com. Retrieved 8 February 2017, from http://www.cassandre-france.com/