wiedler.ch

book (design) story #603

franz meyer:
hans arp / kurt schwitters

kunsthalle bern, 1956
printer: fr. graf-lehmann, bern
size: 21 x 17 cm
designer: adolf flückiger (cover)

a striking typographic catalogue cover designed by adolf flückiger (1917-1998). the overprinted letters "a" and "s" stand for the artists featured in this kunsthalle bern exhibition – hans arp and kurt schwitters. flückiger chose an "organic" art nouveau poster typeface, maybe to emulate arp's "organic" abstract art, and the unconventional overprinted arrangement may have been inspired by schwitters' dada montages.

flückiger had been a student at the kunstgewerbeschule zürich and later became a teacher for graphic design at the gewerbeschule bern. see story 603 for another one of his kunsthalle bern catalogue designs.

kunsthalle director franz meyer (1919-2007) contributed the text.

the typography is "swiss," ...

... with asymmetric titles ...

... and sansserif type throughout.

among some more conventional ads the modernist example for bern-based photographer kurt blum (lower left) stands out.

on the back the ubiquitous ad for the gygi+co. company on the back, this one designed by kurt wirth (see also story 485).