User talk:Zara Anvari

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Lewitt-Him

A photograph of the creative partnership Lewitt-Him, London, c.1937–1945.

The Lewitt-Him partnership (1933–54) was founded by two Polish artists, Jan Le Witt (3 April 1907 – 21 January 1991) and George Him (4 August 1900 – 4 April 1982). The pair first met in Café Ziemianska in Warsaw in 1933. Their designs and illustrations attracted international attention and today form part of major institutions’ collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Jan Le Witt: Early Life

Born into a Jewish family, Jan Le Witt (1907–91) was a self-taught designer, illustrator, painter, writer and poet. After finishing school in Częstochowa, he travelled for three years through Europe and the Middle East. During this time (1925–8) he tried his hand at no less than 13 different professions, including: engineer, soap manufacturer, distiller, bricklayer, composer, architect, and art director.

Before embarking on his career with Him, Le Witt initially belonged to small group of avant-garde artists in Poland, and worked as a freelance graphic artist in 1927 with Emil Lindeman’s ‘Grafik’ Agency. He became particularly interested in photomontage techniques and the language of modern typography.

Le Witt designed the modern Hebrew typeface ''Chaim'' (‘Life’) in 1929 and had his first one-man exhibition of graphic work in Warsaw in 1931. The exhibition’s success motivated his move to Paris where he pursued his painting career. However, due to work permit complications and a lack of funds, he returned to Warsaw within the year.

George Him: Early Life

George Him (1900–82) was a designer, illustrator, draftsman and teacher. Born in Łódź, Poland, to Russian-Jewish parents, he left for Moscow in 1917 to study Law. There he witnessed the Russian Revolution and the eventual closure of the law faculty by Russian authorities. He moved to Bonn in where he graduated with a PhD in comparative history of religions before turning to graphic art. He enrolled himself in the Leipzig Academy for the Graphic Arts and Book Industry (Staatliche Akademie für Graphische Künste und Buchgewerbe).

While studying at the Academy, he designed stage sets and produced illustrations for magazines. His style at the time has been described as ‘technically advanced figurative work full of expression in its form and a sense of surprising narrative.’

In 1931, Him had his first exhibition at the Winter Salon in Warsaw, however he remained in Germany as a freelancer until meeting Le Witt in 1933.

The Partnership in Poland

During the early years of the partnership in Poland, Lewitt–Him attracted attention from various companies. They created designs, covers and illustrations for clients such as the publishers Przeworski, Gebethner & Wolff; various state-owned enterprises; pharmaceutical companies Roche, Galen and Asmidar; the journal Wiadomości Literackie (Literary News); the Jabłkowski Brothers Department Store; and the magazine of the Skamander experimental poetry group, which included Polish poet and satirist Julian Tuwim. The single-colour ads placed in Przeglad Terapeutyczny (Therapeutic Review) in particular, published between 1931-1935 by Asmidar, are described as opening a new chapter in Polish advertising of drugs and medications.

Le Witt and Him produced illustrations for three verses by Tuwim; Lokomotywa (The Locomotive), Rzepka (The Little Turnip) and Ptasie Radio (The Birds’ Broadcast) which were grouped together to make a single publication, Locomotive (1937). The book was translated into English, German and French.

During this period, Lewitt-Him’s characteristic style had begun to evolve from ‘blending surrealist and cubist tendencies with whimsical humour’. Lewitt-Him stood apart from other Polish designers. Their highly original and imaginative work responded to the world around them, a ‘sharp sense of observation’ tying them closely to Modernism. Decades later, Him wrote:

‘When I met Lewitt… we discovered that we had almost identical views on graphic design. We were both perfectionists. We also discovered that instead of showering each other with compliments, we could together achieve a much higher level. Although over the years we never quit arguing, the results seem to suggest that ultimately, in this we were not mistaken.'

The pair freely juggled techniques: they combined photography with typography and illustration, and made use of collage. Their work has been described as ideologically similar to László Moholy-Nagy’s typophoto concept, and – in terms of innovation of form – might be likened to Herbert Bayer.

Best known posters from this period include: Meals for Your Wheels (Posilek dla auta) advertising Galkar automotive lubricants (1936), and ‘A crooked nail – a ruined wall / ugly printing – ineffectual advertising’ which featured in Polish Graphic Advertising Yearbook (1937).

Another side to the partnership’s design creativity in exhibition graphics was seen in a 1935 Road Exhibition held at the Warsaw University of Technology. ‘For one of its stands, the partners designed an installation presenting an approximately ten-foot long nail piercing a model airplane, a car and a heavy tractor, illustrating the slogan “Lack of fuel pins a vehicle to the road”.’

The Partnership during the Second World War

Lewitt-Him’s work, reproduced in foreign editions of Gebrauchsgraphik and Arts et Métiers Graphiques, had caught the attention of those in London. Sponsored by Philip James of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the directors of the Lund Humphries printing company, the partners moved to London in 1937 and had much success as designers and illustrators. During the Second World War, they produced posters for the UK’s General Post Office, Ministry of War Transport, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Ministry of Information and Ministry of Food and, later, for American Overseas Airlines.

They also designed murals for the Education Pavilion and war factory canteens, and posters and books for the Polish and Dutch governments in exile. Among these books was Polish Panorama (1941) which includes a very personal account of their homeland in words and pictures, with glimpses into its history, culture, architecture and landscapes.

Their Guinness Clock was created for the Festival of Britain in Battersea Park (1951). The whole construction was 25ft high and was said to have the most complex mechanisms of any clock built for over three hundred years. In 1948, they were awarded a diploma at the International Poster Exhibition for their work with London Transport.

Illustrated Children’s Books

They illustrated several books for children: The Football’s Revolt (1939), Polish Panorama (1941), Blue Peter (1943) and Five Silly Cats (1944), both written by Alina Le Witt, and Diana Ross’s The Little Red Engine Gets a Name (Faber and Faber, 1942). The collaboration with Ross was said to have earned them ‘a permanent place in the history of British book illustration.’

The Football’s Revolt

The Football’s Revolt (1939) sees the citizens of Kickford and Goalbridge turn out for their annual soccer match only to have it cut short. After a particularly violent kick, the ball decides it has had enough and remains in the air, in spite of the townspeople's attempts to get it to come down. It is left to the children of the town to save the day.

Previously out of print, The Football’s Revolt was reprinted by V&A Publishing, London, in 2015.

Separation

After 21 years of collaborative work, the partners went their separate ways in 1954. This was largely a consequence of Le Witt’s divided interests. Years later, Him recalled being asked why the partners had split up to which his reply had been, ‘When they asked us why we split up, we said, why doesn’t anyone ask why we worked together for so long?’ Jan Lewitt retained a substantive amount of the Lewitt-Him design archive, while George Him’s – dating from the period after 1954 – is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Writing in Graphis, in 1946, Manuel Gasser gave this evaluation of the partnership:

There are few painters and graphic artists who are mentally more alert and fertile in ideas and ways of formulating them than Lewitt-Him, and there is no doubt that this freshness, versatility and originality is the outcome of their mutual stimulation and above all their mutual criticism [...] Lewitt-Him have made this creative criticism an integral part of their artistic work. In this, as I see it, lies the point and explanation of their more than twelve years of exemplary team-work.

Jan Le Witt: Later Works

Le Witt became a British citizen in 1947. The following year he abandoned graphic design to work with Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company, designing decor and costumes. He designed tapestries in Aubusson, and created glass sculptures in Murano, Venice. A number of his poems and aphorisms appeared in various publications (Malahat Review, Temenos). He also wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled The Vegetabull (Collins, 1956), based on their poster creation in 1941.

During the Second World War, civilians were involved in a war effort to a greater extent than ever before. The health of the nation was therefore considered directly pertinent to victory. ‘The Vegetabull’ poster gives advice about diet and rationing in the context of dwindling supplies of meat and other produce. The graphic metaphor makes the message memorable and is in tune with the positive wartime ethos of 'making do.'

Over the period 1947 to 1989, Le Witt had one-man exhibitions of his paintings in London (1947, 1951, 1953, 1961), Rome (1952), New York (1954), Milan(1957), Paris (1960, 1963), Antibes (1965), Warsaw (1967), Venice (1970) and Cambridge (1989).

His works were also exhibited in the CAS exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, London (1950 and 1952), the National Museum, Stockholm (1952), the Premio Lissone (1955), the Salon d’Automne, Paris (1963), the Salon de Mai, Paris (1964) as well as in exhibitions in Leeds (1965) and Miami (1966).

George Him: Later Works

Him remained focused on graphic design and was involved in many advertising campaigns: ‘Top People take The Times’, and ‘The County of Schweppshire’ (with humorist Stephen Potter), a campaign which ran for 15 years in British periodicals during the 1950s and ’60s, achieving cult status. His illustrated children's books include Squawky by Stephen Potter (1964), Folk Tales by Leila Berg (1966), and The Giant Alexander by Frank Herrmann (1964) which appeared on the BBC’s Jackanory (March 1969). Him’s graphics for Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories and Jim Rogerson’s King Wilbur series were serialized on ITV.

Him conceived and designed The Observer Masada Exhibition and the Warsaw Ghetto Exhibition. The Warsaw Ghetto Exhibition was shown twice in London and in Frankfurt, and the Masada Exhibition toured the United States, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. Its final journey was to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and was visited by 750,000 people.

Him was the chief graphic designer for the Israeli airline El Al having responsibility for its corporate identity and logo. Between 1960 and 1970, he designed a number of covers of a political nature for the monthly ‘The New Middle East’.

Him both practiced and taught graphic design. He was appointed Senior Lecturer of Graphic Design by the Leicester Polytechnic and, in 1977, was elected Royal Designer for Industry for achieving sustained design excellence and work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society.

External Links

•National Archive link (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/artists/lewitt_him.htm)

•Samples of Lewit-Him posters from the 1930s (http://www.georgehim.co.uk/1930s.html)

•Samples of Lewit-Him posters from the 1940s (http://www.georgehim.co.uk/1940s.html)

•Samples of Lewitt-Him work (https://www.fulltable.com/VTS/aoi/h/him/menun.htm)

•TV Graphics by George Him (http://www.georgehim.co.uk/tv.html)

Further Reading

Amstutz, W. Who’s Who in Graphic Art. Zurich, Graphis Press. 1962.

Elvin, René. Art and Industry. October 1956, p. 120.

Darracott, J. and Loftus, B. Second World War Posters. London, Imperial War Museum, 1972 (reprinted 1981).

‘Gebrauchs Grafik.’ July, 1936

‘Gebrauchs Grafik.’ No. 5, 1953.

Hollis, R. Graphic Design: A Concise History. London, 2001. pp 176-177.

Hölscher, E. ‘Lewitt-Him, Warschau.’ International Advertising Art. No. 7, 1936.

Lewitt-Him. The Football’s Revolt. London, V&A Publishing. 2015.

Ostrowski, H. L. ‘Reklama firm chemiczno-farmaceutycznych.’ Reklama, No. 6. 1931.

Read, Sir Herbert, Cassou, J., Smith, J. Jan Le Witt: a selection of poems and aphorisms from the artist’s notebooks. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1971.

Read, Sir Herbert, et al. Le Witt [a monograph]. Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1971.

Tomrley, C.G. ‘Lewit-Him’. Graphis, No. 48. 1953. pp 268-275.

Your submission at Articles for creation: Lewitt-Him (February 15)

Your recent article submission to Articles for Creation has been reviewed! Unfortunately, it has not been accepted at this time. The reason left by Onel5969 was: Please check the submission for any additional comments left by the reviewer. You are encouraged to edit the submission to address the issues raised and resubmit when they have been resolved.

• If you would like to continue working on the submission, go to Draft:Lewitt-Him and click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window.
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Onel5969 ^{TT me} 15:10, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Hello! Zara Anvari, I noticed your article was declined at Articles for Creation, and that can be disappointing. If you are wondering why your article submission was declined, please post a question at the Articles for creation help desk. If you have any other questions about your editing experience, we'd love to help you at the Teahouse, a friendly space on Wikipedia where experienced editors lend a hand to help new editors like yourself! See you there! Onel5969 TT me 15:10, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Jan Le Witt and George Him, London, c.1937–1945..jpg

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Your submission at Articles for creation: Lewitt-Him (April 28)

Your recent article submission to Articles for Creation has been reviewed! Unfortunately, it has not been accepted at this time. The reason left by Primefac was:  The comment the reviewer left was: Please check the submission for any additional comments left by the reviewer. You are encouraged to edit the submission to address the issues raised and resubmit when they have been resolved.

• If you would like to continue working on the submission, go to Draft:Lewitt-Him and click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window.
• If you need any assistance, you can ask for help at the Articles for creation help desk or on the reviewer's talk page.
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Primefac (talk) 16:12, 28 April 2016 (UTC)

Your draft article, Draft:Lewitt-Him

Hello, Zara Anvari. It has been over six months since you last edited your Articles for Creation draft article submission, "Lewitt-Him".

In accordance with our policy that Articles for Creation is not for the indefinite hosting of material deemed unsuitable for the encyclopedia mainspace, the draft has been nominated for deletion. If you plan on working on it further, or editing it to address the issues raised if it was declined, simply and remove the {{db-afc}} or {{db-g13}} code.

If your submission has already been deleted by the time you get there, and you wish to retrieve it, you can request its undeletion by following the instructions at this link. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the submission so you can continue to work on it.

Thanks for your submission to Wikipedia, and happy editing. TopCipher (talk) 14:23, 3 April 2017 (UTC)