Letters from the Avant-garde: Modern Graphic Design (Kiosk Books) - Softcover

Lupton, Ellen; Cohen, Elaine Lustig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568980523 ISBN 13: 9781568980522

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996

Synopsis

"Letters from the Avant-Garde" presents designs for businessephemera -- including stationery, envelopes, postcards, andbusiness cards -- created by F.T. Marinetti, AndreBreton, Herbert Bayer, Kurt Schwitters, El Lissitzky, Mies van der Rohe, Jan Tschichold, Ladislav Sutnar, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and many others.Working in Europe and the U.S. between 1909 and 1950, these designers usedprinted stationery to project the public identities of avant-gardemovements to an international community, disseminating modernist theoryand practice around the globe via the postal service. "Letters from theAvant-Garde" features over 150 illustrations, in color and black andwhite, of printed ephemera from the collections of Elaine Lustig Cohen andother sources. Letters from the Avant-Garde is an invaluableresource for all those interested in graphic design, typography, and thehistory of modernism.Critical essays show how artists and designers mobilized the techniques ofcommercial communication to promote their ideals and ambitions. Gatheredtogether for the first time, the materials presented in this book aretypographic self-portraits of the most influential people and institutionsin the development of modern design."

About this title

Review

A wonderful collection of letterhead designs...the reader is the beneficiary of [Cohen's] perserverance....Cohen and Lupton present a visual treat for lovers of the avant garde and design in general. Ellen Lupton, a gifted writer on deisgn issues, manages to present the chronology of the various movements along with their major players in a way that encourages comparison across the usual temporar and geographic boundaries. Angelynn Grant "Communication Arts" The book makes a marvelous anthology, reproducing not only the most celebrated designs, but many not seen before. Richard Hollis, "Eye"

Synopsis

An unusual book which looks at the period between 1915 and 1950, and documents the history of modern design and typography through the medium of printed stationery. Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, De Stijl, Constructivism, the Bauhaus, and other movements and institutions used letterheads to promote their ideas about form, function, and technology. The

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1568980523
• ISBN 13: 9781568980522
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128