wiedler.ch

book (design) story #642

jean arp:
vrij beelden

van munster's uitgeversmaatschappij, amsterdam, 1948
printer: drukkerijen ellerman harms, amsterdam
size: 21 x 15 cm
designer: friedrich vordemberge-gildewart

german constructivist painter and graphic designer friedrich vordemberge-gildewart (1899-1962) had spent the ww2 years in amsterdam where he stayed until he became a professor at the hfg ulm in the 1950s.

v-g compiled and designed this publication about "vrij beelden" (free artworks), a "group of modern dutch artists" he was part of. a nice example of modernist typography with an asymmetric layout, all-lowercase text, and a constructivist cover design based on a circle.

in the netherlands, "vrij" (free) was an essential word in the years after nazi occupation. see also book 271.

hans/jean arp (1886-1966) contributed the foreword which is printed in 4 languages: english, french, german, and dutch.

note the artists' initials lined up above the text!

each artist is featured on a spread, above peter alma, below v-g.