Skip to content

Who Sets the Standard?

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Who Sets the Standard?
Graphic Design Museum Breda, NL
Februari 28 – Juni 7, 2009

Statement: «In Who Sets the Standard?, the Graphic Design Museum shows how the influence of the emerging industrialisation in the previous century and the technological development have become decisive for the image in the design.

Jan Tschichold, Guiding a New Tradition
Jan Tschichold (Leipzig 1902-Locarno 1974) can be seen as a protagonist of modernistic design. His publication Die Neue Typographie (1928) is the manifesto for modernistic typography and is still read and imitated. The influence of Tschichold is evident in current design in the use of fixed paper sizes such as DIN-A4.

What drove this exceptional designer, typographer and essayist?
The exhibition Jan Tschichold, Guiding a New Tradition shows how like-minded people from various expressive disciplines inspired Jan Tschichold in his modernistic views. One can also see how the classically-trained Tschichold never completely discarded traditional ideas. The impression that Tschichold radically distanced himself from his modernistic principles in 1933 is put into perspective in this exhibition. There is no doubt, however, that Tschichold has had a considerable influence on several generations of graphic designers.
The exhibitions shows, in addition to work by Jan Tschichold, work by people such as El Lissitzky, Laszlo Moholy Nagy, Piet Zwart, Herbert Bayer, Willem Sandberg, Otto Treuman, Joseph Müller-Brockmann, Max Bill, Benno Wissing and Wim Crouwel.

Template Culture: Form Follows Format
At the invitation of the Graphic Design Museum, designer Hendrik Jan Grievink has supplied a visual commentary to the exhibition Jan Tschichold, Guiding a New Tradition. According to him, the legacy of Tschichold can mainly be seen in the current template culture, where technical standards, recognition and reproducibility determine to a large degree the visual character of the information.

Famous and less-famous websites are stripped by him of their content and reduced to aesthetic objects. The result is an alienating view on the design of the worldwide web of today. How standard are today’s standards? What is the aesthetic legacy of modernism in current web design?»

Filed in Collection, Contemporary | | Comments Off on Who Sets the Standard?

Wim Crouwel 80
Van Abbemuseum (library), Eindhoven

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Wim Crouwel 80
Van Abbemuseum (Library), Eindhoven, NL
November 18, 2008 – January 9, 2009

Statement: «To celebrate Wim Crouwel’s 80th birthday (November 21, 2008), the Van Abbemuseum and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam are looking back on the period during which, in his capacity as graphic designer, he designed catalogues, posters, invitations and the letterhead for both museums. In 1956, the then director of the Van Abbemuseum Edy de Wilde gave Crouwel an initial commission that resulted in a successful partnership that was continued at the Stedelijk Museum in 1964. Crouwel’s designs became legendary and remain a source of inspiration for young designers to this day.
As an ode to graphic designer, museum director and professor Wim Crouwel, the organisers have put together an intimate exhibition with posters and catalogues from the early years of his oeuvre. In addition to this printed matter, the exhibition also comprises a selection of correspondence and work plans, offering a glimpse behind the scenes of museum practices in the 1950s and 60s.»

Filed in Europe, Exhibition, Museums, Netherlands, Retrospective, Solo show | | Comments Off on Wim Crouwel 80
Van Abbemuseum (library), Eindhoven

80 | 20 | 100 (Wim Crouwel)
Galerie Vivid, Rotterdam

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

80 | 20 | 100 (Wim Crouwel)
Galerie Vivid, Rotterdam, NL
October 11 – November 23, 2008

Statement: «To celebrate the 80th birthday of Wim Crouwel and 20 years Nijhof & Lee VIVID organises the exhibition 80 | 20 | 100. 100 works by Crouwel will be on display. For this VIVID gallery made a selection out of the superb Crouwel collection of Frank Nijhof and Warren Lee. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue designed by David Quay.»

Filed in Europe, Exhibition, Galleries, Netherlands, Retrospective, Solo show | | Comments Off on 80 | 20 | 100 (Wim Crouwel)
Galerie Vivid, Rotterdam

On Purpose: Design Concepts
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

Saturday, September 13, 2008

On Purpose: Design Concepts
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK
September 13 – November 9, 2008

Statement: «On Purpose: Design Concepts looks at conceptual design practices, the emergence of ‘meta design’, and the question of who or what can define something as design. The exhibition will present interventions and work by a selection of the most interesting and ‘speculative’ designers today. In recent years, the field of design has evolved significantly having embraced conceptualism and technology, and is now offering advanced parallel theoretical practices to contemporary art. Yet the renowned principle that has been given to design in order to differentiate it from contemporary art is still a point of contention – that it should have specific purpose. On Purpose looks to investigate this tension around the definition of design, questioning whether ‘purpose’ is actually its ultimate constraint.
Focussing predominantly on interventions within Arnolfini, some of which may become semi-permanent, On Purpose will also be used as an opportunity for designers to offer proposals to reshape the existing infrastructure of Arnolfini. It will look at every public facet of the institution – physical and virtual – and will aim to rethink it afresh.» (More info in the Exhibition’s Guide).

Participants: Åbäke, Droog Design, Daniel Eatock, Electronest, Ann-Sofie Back, Will Holder, Peter Jensen, Onkar Kular & Noam Toran, Metahaven, Alex Rich, Savage, Yuri Suzuki.

Filed in Art and Design, Collective exhibitions, Contemporary, Europe, Exhibition, Galleries, UK | | Comments Off on On Purpose: Design Concepts
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

Place It
Bolzano

Friday, July 18, 2008

Place It. Thirteen Story Settings in Bolzano Public Space
Lungomare Gallery, Bolzano, IT
Manifesta 7
July 18 – October 13, 2008

Curator: Angelika Burtscher

Statement: «The exhibition project Place it invite graphic designers to come to Bolzano and reflect on context-related geopolitical and sociocultural issues through four graphic art interventions in the public space. The project will transform vertical wall surfaces in the city of Bozen into exhibition venues. “Place it” aims in addition to draw attention to the relevance and the impact of visual communication in our contemporary culture.
The project
Place it makes use of instruments of visual communication. The project intervenes in four public places in the city in order to creatively explore its history, present state and future prospects. The interventions take as their point of departure already existing surfaces and buildings in four selected city areas. These characterize and encapsulate the architectural and social structure of the city of Bolzano: the historic center, the expansion zone of the 1930s, the residential area developed in the 1960s and 70s, and the industrial zone.
Graphic designers were deliberately chosen as those shaping the exhibition. Graphic design and advertising serve clearly defined functions, such as recognizability, functionality, legibility and expressiveness. The exact means chosen however depend on the designer’s own subjective imagination as he tries to find the right visual communication solutions for his customers. Graphic design stands for even more than this, though. In the current century it has increasingly developed into an independent visual language that has become part of our culture and a conveyer of social, political and cultural beliefs. place it connects this sociopolitical relevance of graphic design with its fundamental functions, and at the same time experiments with its power to express and visualize themes relevant to the geopolitical and sociocultural concerns of a city.
At the center of the project is the concept of “visual learning”. Place it involves communication interventions without a sender and with strong communicative potential for opening up room for discussion and reflection.
The project focuses attention on the message, tying it to very concrete location-related concerns in the city of Bolzano and communicating the stories told to a wide audience. Four international graphic designers or teams will be invited to stage a graphic intervention in four different urban areas. These interventions may be two- or three-dimensional, and may entail active communication or passively encourage reflection on their context-related content.» (more info on the single projects available at the Lungomare Gallery’s website)

Participants: Alexander Egger, Kasia Korczak, Luna Maurer, Manuel Raeder, Slavs & Tatars, Roel Wouters.

Filed in Art and Design, Collective exhibitions, Context, Curating, Europe, Exhibition, Galleries, Italy, Public space | | Comments Off on Place It
Bolzano

European Championship of Graphic Design

Thursday, June 26, 2008

European Championship of Graphic Design
Graphic Design Museum Breda, NL
June 11 – September 2008

«The opening of the new Graphic Design Museum in Breda (the Netherlands) coincides with the European Championship Football in Austria and Switzerland. So the idea of letting 11 European graphic designers ‘play’ at this time sounds logical. Their ‘game’ will take place inside and outside the museum. Inside the museum 11 designers collaborate and work together in one large room. Outside the museum every designer creates a poster that will be posted throughout the Netherlands in the weeks around the opening. The intention is that Graphic Designers from different parts of Europe meet and communicate with each other – something that designers during their daily work tend to forget.
The result will be a selection and overview of Graphic Design in Europe at this moment. The exhibition is curated by Erik Kessels of the Amsterdam and London based communication agency KesselsKramer. He picked competitors from well-known designers back in their home country to young talent, all relatively new for the Dutch audience. The exhibition will be a crossover between idea, illustration and typography based designers.
The players in the European Championship of Graphic Design are: Browns (UK), Cum*(Belgium), Antoine+Manuel (France), Anthony Burrill (UK), Anna Szilit (Austria), Dennis Eriksson (Sweden), Fons Hickmann (Germany), HappyPets (Switzerland), Pixelgarten (Germany), Scott King (UK) and KesselsKramer (NL).»

Filed in Art and Design, Collective exhibitions, Contemporary, Europe, Exhibit design, Exhibition, Museums, Netherlands | | Comments Off on European Championship of Graphic Design

Reflet
Espace GHP, Toulouse

Friday, June 20, 2008

Reflet: Exposition de Graphisme Contemporain
Espace GHP, Toulouse, FR
June 20 – August 2, 2008

Curator: Charlotte Cheetham (Manystuff)

Statements: «[…] Manystuff étend son activité de promotion de la nouvelle scène graphique avec une exposition, Reflet, mais également avec la parution d’un magazine. Pour ce premier numéro, il s’agit d’approcher autrement la création graphique contemporaine. Ceci en s’intéressant tout particulièrement au réinvestissement de l’espace réel, de ses objets, de ses caractéristiques, dont les designers tirent aujourd’hui des créations contingentes qui revendiquent une réalité forte et mettent en exergue la genèse de leurs formes. Pour tenter de comprendre l’origine et l’avenir de ce phénomène, designers, professeurs et artistes exposent leur point de vue : en leur demandant des créations et textes originaux, il y là la volonté, à terme, que Manystuff devienne un laboratoire d’expérimentations graphiques libre de tous préjugés formels. Non plus un énième portfolio, mais le reflet d’une dynamique
en marche à l’image de mon blog,l’action en plus. Rester devant l’écran c’est bien, mais le plus agréable reste de construire des projets et de rencontrer leurs acteurs, Manystuff regorge d’idées!» (extract from the leaflet)

Participants: Le Club des Chevreuils, Yoann Dovier, Hey Ho, Jean Jullien, Benoit Lemoine, Damien Poulain, Superscript and Pierre Vanni
The designers present their work here.

—

Foto of the exhibition are available via flickr.

Filed in Collective exhibitions, Contemporary, Curating, Europe, Event, Exhibition, France, Galleries | | Comments Off on Reflet
Espace GHP, Toulouse

Dot Dot Dot #15
Wouldn’t It Be Nice…

Thursday, October 25, 2007

dotdotdot_15_

Dot Dot Dot #15
produced on location
within the framework of the exhibition Wouldn’t It Be Nice… Wishful Thinking
curated by Emily King and Katya García-Antón
Centre d’Art Contemporain
Geneva, Switzerland
October 25 – November 7 2007

Read the interview with Dexter Sinister made by Emily King on the occasion of the exhibition.

Filed in Uncategorized | | Comments Off on Dot Dot Dot #15
Wouldn’t It Be Nice…

Interaphics

Friday, October 19, 2007

aram-gallery_interaphics

Interaphics
The Aram Gallery, London
October 19 – November 3, 2007

Curator: Daniel Charny
Statement: «In October 2007, The ‘Also’ space at the Aram Gallery presented the launch of brand new interactive displays that challenge the notion of multimedia and print as we know it.
A collaboration between design consultancy Osmotronic and graphic designers Build and Danny Sangra, these posters explore the concept of interactive print at a time when there is a seemingly unstoppable advance of online media, and many people are questioning the relevance and longevity of the medium.
Interaphics is a system that connects printed material to a computer using special inks and electronics; to create an entirely printed, touch responsive surface. The technology opens up applications which could revolutionise the worlds of publishing and packaging, seeing a shift from multimedia to “merged-media”.
Danny Sangra presents the world’s first poster EP – combining limited edition artwork and music downloads that can only be accessed by touching the poster’s surface. Michael C Place / Build shows a poster uses layers of conductive ink and varnish to create a tactile surface that invites the viewer to touch it, rewarding them with delicate and sophisticated, responsive animations.
Interaphics addresses a burning issue in media and graphic design and delivers innovations that will change the way we interact with information and brands communicate with consumers.
The exhibition was curated by Daniel Charny as part of an ongoing research group activity, exploring the relationship of printed matter and digital media.»

Filed in Curating, Exhibit design, Exhibition, Galleries, Installation, Interactive, Thematic, UK | | Comments Off on Interaphics

Forms of Inquiry
Architectural Association, London

Monday, October 8, 2007

Forms of Inquiry
Architectural Association, London, UK
October 8-31 2007
Traveling exhibition

Curator: Zak Kyes

Statements: «Forms of Inquiry presents architecture as seen through the practice of graphic design. The exhibition features works that have originated as self-propelled inquiry, either professional or personal, and have been developed into a myriad of media and forms. The works exhibited share a common desire to reframe the circumstances surrounding graphic design practice at the start of the 21st century. The exhibition highlights the work of 20 contemporary international graphic designers who were asked to contribute ‘inquiries’ into architectural subjects, in the form of an influential reference. These inquiries are the foundation for a series of specially commissioned A0 prints, which will be interspersed with existing projects. Exhibited works include Paul Elliman’s Whispering Walls, a short radio programme to be broadcast from the AA, Jürg Lehni’s Hektor, a computer-controlled graffiti writer and Radim Pesko’s Sol Lewitt Typeface. Other participants are: Åbäke (UK), Cornel Windlin (CH), Devalence (FR), Dexter Sinister (US), Experimental Jetset (NL), Hudson Powell (UK/JP), James Goggin (UK), John Morgan (UK), Julia Born (CH), Karel Martens & David Bennewith (NL), Manuel Raeder (DE), Meta Haven (NL), Mevis en van Dursen (NL), Michael Worthington (US), Project Projects (US), TASK Newsletter/Emmet Byrne, Alex DeArmond and Jon Sueda (US) and Will Holder (UK).
A Reading Room situated in the AA’s Front Members’ Room will make visible the process of debate and exchange. This open library is guest-curated by eight publishers/designers who will contribute a selection of independent scholarly
publications, books and zines, both new and historical, exemplifying graphically
driven modes of inquiry from around the world. [see the Forms of Inquiry Annex]
The exhibition is curated by Zak Kyes, a Swiss-American graphic designer. Kyes is Art Director of the Architectural Association and faculty member at LCC and the AA.
The publication accompanying the exhibition is co-edited by Kyes and Mark Owens, a graphic designer and writer working between Los Angeles and New York and a regular contributor to the design journal Dot Dot Dot.»

—

Another publication was released in 2009 following the Forms of Inquiry exhibition in Stockholm. Iaspis Forum On Design and Critical Practice: The Reader, edited by Magnus Ericson, Martin Frostner, Zak Kyes, Sara Teleman and Jonas Williamsson, and co-published by Sternberg Press and Iaspis, is «based on four conversations between graphic designers about various aspects of design relating to their practices. It also contains a number of interviews and other texts linked to these conversations, and a broader discussion about design and transboundary practice.»

Filed in Architecture, Collective exhibitions, Contemporary, Curating, Europe, Event, Exhibit design, Exhibition, Publication, Travelling exhibitions, UK | | Comments Off on Forms of Inquiry
Architectural Association, London