Upcoming Exhibits in the Star Tribune Foundation Gallery

FACE THE NATION
July 12–September 21, 2008
Opening reception Saturday, July 12, 6-9pm

This historical exhibition investigates how the desire to reinforce, redefine or transcend national identities shaped the design of typography between 1900 and 1960. The same era that encompassed two World Wars also saw many new designs of type, in part demanded by the new printing technology of the Monotype and Linotype casting machines. The exhibition will include a number of case studies, showing original printed examples and objects from the printing trade.

Face The Nation is presented by MCBA and the University of St. Thomas, curated by art history professor Dr. Craig Eliason.

 

COORDINATED EXHIBITIONS:

Swiss Impressions: Romano Hänni and the Art of Metal Type
July 12 through September 21; Open Book Lobby
View the stunning technique and design mastery of Basel designer/printer Romano Hänni in this exhibition of hand-printed books and publication design. Educated at the Basel School of Design under such teachers as Wolfgang Weingart, Hänni tends to avoid the fashionable excesses of ‘deep impression’ letterpress effects, returning instead to the core values of traditional printing technique and modernist European design. Hänni and partner Martin Sommer have also forged a reputation as designers of magazines and newspapers, most prominently the Basler Zeitung (1983–2003). The exhibition also features examples of their computer-aided publication design.

Tÿpøgrafika: The Work of Erik Brandt
June 20 through August 3; Open Book Cowles Literary Commons
Brandt’s interests focus on issues of globalization that affect and drive the complexities of intercultural visual communication systems. Brandt began his career as a magazine editor in Japan; taught typography and visual communication in Doha, Qatar; and is currently an assistant professor of design at MCAD.

 

COORDINATED PROGRAMMING:

Opening Reception
Saturday, July 12; 6-9pm
Join designers, artists and fellow book arts enthusiasts to view the exhibitions, enjoy refreshments, and print a commemorative letterpress broadside to take home. Free and open to the public.

Dialogue: The Place of Letters
Tuesday, July 15; 7pm
Face the Nation curator Craig Eliason will lead a conversation about how type designs acquire associations with national identities. We will consider competing ideas about how a typeface can express the values or outlook of its country of origin. Seen historically, what motivated commentators to draw those associations? Evaluated now, how persuasively can those associations be substantiated? In our web-enabled world, in which digital fonts can originate anywhere and be accessed everywhere, what has become of national cultures of design? Craig Eliason is a type-design historian and professor of art history at the University of St. Thomas.

Family Workshop: Design Your Own Font
Saturday, July 19; 1-4pm
Pre-registration required

Dialogue: Geotÿpøgrafika Nuovo: Global Issues in Graphic Design and Typography
Tuesday, July 29; 7pm
Designer Erik Brandt provides context and projections to stage a discussion on contemporary issues and challenges facing designers in rapidly changing globalized market. How to practice or teach graphic design and typography in a truly massive global market where competition is as fierce as never before? While highly intimidating in some respects, the new global market offers new and exciting problems for designers to solve.

Screening: HELVETICA
Thursday, Aug. 14; 7pm
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day.

Dialogue: About Face: Deeper into Type Design and National Identity
Tuesday, Sept. 16; 7pm
Four panelists, contributors to the Face the Nation exhibition, will offer presentations on some of the most interesting intersections of national identity and type design, expanding on the displays in the gallery. Natalie Stanton will discuss Colm O Lochlainn’s Colum Cille type and its relation to his efforts to establish and support the Irish Free State. Caroline Baum will talk about Rudolf Koch’s interest in updating the German blackletter alphabets while they competed with roman types of foreign origin. Lisa Melander will trace the career of Vojtech Preissig, whose designs satisfied the emergent demand among Czechs for a type of their own. And Traci Olinger will explore the modernist milieu of Weimar Germany, within which pared-down sans serifs were proclaimed to transcend national interests. All four panelists are enrolled in the Master of Arts in Art History program at the University of St. Thomas.

All exhibits and associated events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

 

Minnesota Center for Book Arts is open to the public: Monday: 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday: 10 am to 9 pm Wednesday - Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm Sunday: 12 to 4 pm Minnesota Center for Book Arts is located in the Open Book Building in downtown Minneapolis 1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100 Minneapolis, MN 55415 Phone: 612.215.2520 Fax: 612.215.2545 Email: mcba@mnbookarts.org © 2008 Minnesota Center for Book Arts