Jan Tschichold and the New Typography in Weimar Germany
Wednesday 13 November 2019
About this event
Our November event features Professor Paul Stirton who will explore the influence and work of ‘Die Neue Typographie’ movement through the lens of typographer Jan Tschichold’s life and work. Paul’s talk comes hot on the heels of the publication of his book, “Jan Tschihold and the New Typography” (Yale University Press), and the exhibition of the same name that he curated at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery (New York) earlier in the year.
Tschichold and other artist-designers involved in the movement were instrumental in revolutionising visual culture in the inter-war years in Germany and central Europe. Die Neue Typographie style is typified by asymmetrical layouts, san serif letterforms, and the integration of photography with text in a manner that expressed a new and modern sensibility. Their designs, elemental and dynamic in character, were applied to everyday graphics, from film posters to book sleeves.
The period of intense artistic experimentation, spearheaded by this group of innovators, came to the fore in Weimar Germany at a time of economic, political and social unrest and national transformation. Suppressed by the Nazis after 1933, this visionary, art-design movement nonetheless succeeded in creating a revolution in the visual communication vocabulary.
About our speaker
Paul Stirton’s interests are in graphic design, interiors, and print culture. He has masters degrees from the University of Edinburgh and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Since completing a PhD at the University of Glasgow, he has worked as an academic in the UK and USA. Currently he is a senior lecturer in art history at Glasgow University, and also holds an associate professorship of modern European design history at the Bard Graduate Center, where his research is mostly focused on late 19th and early 20th century architecture and design in Britain and Hungary.
Paul has published several books and articles on nineteenth and twentieth century art and design. These include Britain and Hungary: Contacts in Architecture and Design (2000). He is also editor of West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture (University of Chicago Press).
Bard Graduate Center, based in New York is dedicated to exploring the human past through its material traces. Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, the centre focuses on research and offers advanced degrees in the decorative arts, design history and culture.
Register for this event
This talk is free for SDS members and £25 for non-members.
If this is your first SDS talk/event, you can request a special ‘taster ticket’ @£10 (payable by invoice or on the door by prior arrangement with the SDS administrator).
To register and confirm your place, please email our administrator Kate at enquiries@signdesignsociety.co.uk.
All tickets include nibbles, soft drinks and wine.
Doors open for networking, nibbles and drink at 6:00pm with the talk starting at 6.30pm.
Please note: This event will be livestreamed and available to SDS members via our SDS Live Facebook account.
Location
The Gallery, Alan Baxter Ltd, 75 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ
Date/time
13 Nov 2019 18:30
Price : £25.00
Already a member? See details above for booking details.