Great Ideas of Western Man

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You On a cold winter's morning the kind of morning that people everywhere hate to go out and work in People in certain special places are most happy to come out and play in But some work does get done even during the playing season Herbert Bayer artist and designer as well as architect is host here to a meeting on the great ideas of western man campaign He has been a consultant and also a contributor to this campaign for many years This is one of a continuing series of twice yearly meetings among principles of the appropriate departments of Container Corporation of America and its advertising agency John Massey director of design advertising and public relations represents Container Corporation in this discussion The basic routine of these meetings has been the same across the nearly two decades that the campaign has been in progress First to be considered are the ideas to be used in the campaign The ideas set down in verbal form as originally written or spoken become the basis for the series Criteria for these have been well established and many very good ideas submitted and discussed at each meeting don't quite measure up for one reason or another Possible selections are compiled through research by the agency and by others who consult on the program Writer Boris Todron has been a longtime contributor Ideas presented for each meetings consideration represent a broad range of sources which may extend in time span from Plato to Gandhi After final agreement is reached on ideas to use for the next six months The selection of artists to provide the visual counterpoint becomes the next order of business Each contemporary artist selected here adds a visual interpretation to an idea that achieved its initial eminence as a verbal expression Ideally the latter -day visual interpretation assigned here will not only reinforce the essential idea But will related by style and approach to our time Naturally much pre -screening of artists and their work precedes these final meetings But with the ideas finally chosen Assessment of artist styles becomes more to the point Once artist and idea pairings have been determined the artist will be given the idea quotation with full freedom to make his own interpretation One of the selections made in this meeting is from the words of Johan Wolfgang von Goethe Whatever liberates our spirit without giving us self -control is disastrous Many of Goethe's ideas have appeared in the series The artist chosen to interpret this one is st.

Louis sculptor Ernest T.

Trova After submission and approval of Trova's preliminary sketches the finished sculpture arrives some months later at the studio of a Chicago photographer Selected to photograph the piece for publication On hand to witness the unveiling so to speak are John Massey and design representatives from the agency The responsibility here is not only to examine the finished sculpture, but to make recommendations regarding its photography for magazine reproduction Sculpture generally presents some lighting complications, but the multiplicity of reflective surfaces on Trova's piece is pretty much the same Particularly challenging Such other considerations as page layout type selection and final assembly for plate making Will follow the photographing of Trova's highly individual interpretation The kinetic feature of this work Literally illustrating Trova's falling man theme will not be captured in still photography However, it will be an interesting adjunct to the sculptures display in later exhibitions In due course the collaboration of Goethe and Trova will come together on the magazine page To date these procedures have produced some 200 full -page advertisements for Container Corporation's institutional campaign All They have also produced a sizeable collection of highly esteemed original art in a variety of media Selections from the collection are continuously on exhibition in museums and galleries in both hemispheres.

We have been asked many times why we support a campaign of this extremely uncommercial character.

We endorse the widely held opinion that the great ideas of Western man have a timeless value, with much to say to each succeeding generation.

We believe therefore that these ideas deserve re -expression in our time.

This is why the great ideas series has long been considered the most important element in the advertising and public relations program of Container Corporation of America.

Thank you for watching.

Identifier

F.2010-02-0152

Abstract

Short promotional film made by Container Corporation of America explaining their "Great Ideas of Western Man" campaign.

Description

The film begins in Aspen, Colorado at the offices of artist and architect, Herbert Bayer, who is also a consultant on the campaign. Here, Bayer meets with principals of CCA, including John Massey, CCA's Director of Design, Advertising and Public Relations. Together they sift through potential ideas or verbal forms of the campaign that act as a basis for the series. The film goes onto explain how these selected ideas or phrases are matched up with contemporary artists hand picked by CCA. These artists then visually interpret the verbal expression assigned to them. The film illustrates this process with St. Louis based sculptor, Ernest Trova, who is paired up with a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Once Trova's sculpture is complete it is shipped to a studio in Chicago where it is photographed under the supervision of CCA. These photographs are then used as advertisements for CCA in magazine publications and various institutional campaigns. The film ends with a slideshow sampling of the campaign as well as a justification of the campaign as a "timeless value with much to say to each succeeding generation."

Run Time

0:07:28

Format

16mm

Extent

250 feet

Color

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Genre