Artist cards: from impressionism to modern times

This medium has been used by artists since the start of the postcard Due to the influence of modern technology, the map was less, but the creative component has gained significantly influence. The exciting thing is that today everyone can play a card artist.

The history of the postcard

To date, it is controversial who invented the postcard.

While the probably first correspondence card was abandoned in Austria-Hungary in 1869, the Germans played a major role in the invention of the postcard. Correspondence cards were actually only used for this, for which their name was-for correspondence. They showed themselves unadorned. One page was used for the message, the back for the address.

But the design should change a year later. Images and drawings have been added. The first postcard was probably sent in Germany by the bookseller August Schwarz . In 1870 he sent a so-called correspondence card that was printed with an picture.

The popularity of postcards increased rapidly. As early as 1879, around 120 million copies were delivered annually in Germany. Among them were also some models that were particularly complex.

On June 11, 1880, the German Reichpost forwarded the first so -called artist card . seen by a watercolor drawing by the artist Philipp Franck

At the beginning of the 20th century there were more and more painters who were designing the design of postal and view cards. The artist group is particularly well -known with the name “Die Brücke” . Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Max Pechstein and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, among others The creatives drew, painted or printed small works of art on the documents. To date, some works have been preserved, which were exhibited in the Brücke Museum in Berlin, for example in 2012.

Computer and social media: the death of the postcard?

While in 1900 the postcard was the medium of the time, this fact has changed drastically in the past 120 years. Cards used to be fast and reliable. However, you cannot keep up with a modern SMS or WhatsApp message. Even if the postcards were delivered within only 2 hours in the city area of ​​Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. An electronic message arrives today within a few seconds.

Are the cards died out? In fact, only two out of ten Germans sent a postcard from vacation in 2019. The rest sends a digital greeting to his loved ones.

Fortunately, the digital age of the map did not move the death blow. Because many Germans still choose the medium of the postal or folding card- namely when there is an important occasion in the house. In the case of weddings , baptisms and birthdays, invitation cards are sent. To this day, people are also happy to use cards to deliver congratulations and condolences.

Modern technology: everyone becomes a card artist

The fact that the card still has its right to exist is due to various factors. On the one hand, it looks much more personal than an electronic greeting. On important occasions, it is therefore a good tone to hand over a stationery. Imagine that the family condolences via Messenger. Such a message does not provide consolation or confidence. In contrast, older people in particular quickly pushes her head.

On the other hand, it is important to stand out from the crowd when designing the card. Invitation, greeting and greeting cards are only sent to selected people on certain occasions. They no longer serve daily communication. Cards from the bar often appear unimaginative. That is why many people use customizable models.

Blank cards for painting or gluing are to be found in the stationery trade or the Internet. However, if you do not care for a professional handling of glue and scissors, the result of which often looks like the handicraft work of a preschool child. As a rule, this does not achieve the desired impression.

Thanks to modern technology, this can be avoided. Various card printering offer your customers the opportunity to design cards themselves. To do this, provide you with a user interface and card templates. The basic designs are transformed into a single piece with your own pictures, desired colors and favorite motifs. The risk that two people send cards with the same motifs is banned.

The job of the card artist does not seem to be extinct, as a look at the marketplace of my-karten-Manufaktur.de shows. There creative people offer their card designs for sale. The modern models are not painted, but they are created using the latest technologies.

Artificial intelligence to design the postcard

Speaking of the latest technologies. artificial intelligence (AI) must not go unmentioned. Because in fact it can be used to create breathtaking artist cards.

In this context, the keyword Midjourney fall. The text-to-image tool is on everyone's lips for graphics designers and creative people around the world. Midjourney is an artificial intelligence that specializes in creating pictures from text. To create a picture, the users must feed the AI ​​with commands. The more mature the instruction is, the more breathtaking the results fail. Fascinating works of art such as Théâtre D'Opéra Spatial by Jason M. All have already been created.

Users can guide artificial intelligence and have the results printed on postcards later.

AI can be used for the text of the stationery. For this purpose, for example, Chatgpt fed promptly with a prompt that describes the desired content content. The AI ​​then creates a funny, thoughtful or profound content for the map on instructions. This ensures that there are no more boring postcards with reports about the holiday weather and food from the 4-star hotel .

The time cannot be stopped - but use

Life on our planet is all about constant change. This applies to nature as well as for art. While some mourn the past, others make them a partner. Because old artist postcards may be a valuable rarity. The painted postcard “Green and White Horse” by Franz Marc hands for 781,000 euros at an auction. It is therefore considered one of the most expensive postcards in the world .

Nobody knows what things of the present will achieve a lucrative increase in value in 50 or 100 years. But artist cards from the beginnings of the AI ​​time may be part of it. Therefore, it can be worthwhile not to banish the new technologies from their own perception, but to use wisely.