Dennis Dutton said “a first good question to ask is Authentic as opposed to what?” what do you define to
be truly authentic in a world where people are not only evolving the ideas of others but struggle to pin point where an original idea came from?
In the Oxford Dictionary, authenticity is described as to be “made or done in the traditional or original way, or in a way that faithfully resembles an original.” This could describe a style of art in which an artist paints; to faithfully follow an art movement or continue to follow faithfully within it’s footsteps would to be authentic to an art wave or a style.
To be authentic within the twenty-first century could be seen as a struggle. Within graphic design, artists who stick true to their style but add their own twist, show true authenticity; for example, Matthew Laznicka. His illustrations are heavily influenced by vintage illustrations, and are true to that form illustration, yet Laznicka found a way in which his art is authentic to himself, by giving the designs a very contemporary feel to them.
I would say the principles of modernism are definitely do hold value within modern design, because they do still influence some designs; take how Apple designs their packaging for their iPhones. The simplicity of the packaging is a pivotal part of Apple’s unique selling point, due to the fact that it gives the customer a ‘sensory experience’ when they open their product. The audience also appreciates the minimalist branding that apple has within their products and packaging, be it the clean white that is used consistently throughout their branding or the adhesive tags and
arrows, printed on clear plastic so the eye isn’t fighting to concentrate on how to open the product, but can easily understand because of the influence that modernism has had on the branding.
Levinson,J (2003), The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics, New York, Oxford University Press, Oxford Handbooks
Oxford English Dictionary
Matthew Laznicka, http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/MatthewLaznicka/view
http://bgr.com/2017/10/02/iphone-x-packaging-box-revealed-apple/