HKDI Gallery

Typography in a New Context

At the end of the 1960s, Weingart applied his unconventional use of type material to the appearance of the text. His series of eleven typographical text interpretations, which was conceived in 1969 as a manifesto for an exhibition in Stuttgart at Kurt Weidemann’s gallery, was an excellent example of this approach. The key text sheet “My Criteria for Typographical Experiments” presented a concise summary of his concept. The text and the graphical act criticised the established rules of modern Swiss typography: the letters varied in thickness and size. They were penetrated by symbols and the spacing between them was increased, making the words more difficult to read. Parts of the typesetting were out of line and the leading was exaggerated. A curved line held the dynamic system together. These contraventions of the rules were aimed at Emil Ruder and the principle of good legibility. However, Weingart’s manifesto was also directed against the gridded typography of the Zurich Concrete Artists.

Film Techniques, Layerings as Collage

By the mid-1970s, Weingart had exhausted the possibilities of lead typesetting and the letterpress. Although he experimented with photo-optical processes, he found that phototypesetting, which was a topical theme at the time, was not a viable alternative for him. He preferred to work by hand and see the marks left by the different materials during the printing process. By getting physically involved in the design and implementation processes, Weingart was better able to control them and react to unexpected circumstances. The unusual technique of overlaying lithographic film opened up a new area of experimentation for him. The material’s transparency made it possible to overlay letters and images.

Xerox and MacPaint Collages

By the 1970s, the black-and-white photocopier formed a fixed part of Weingart’s workshop. He and his students used the Xerox appliance with its special sfumato aesthetic as a design tool. The colour photocopier was not added to Weingart’s workshop until the 1990s. By changing the colour toner cassettes, Weingart was able to produce patterns in various colours and layer different colours. These were cut out and, in combination with other pieces produced by analogue or digital methods, were pasted to create collages. Weingart used the computer in a similar way. He employed it exclusively to produce patterns and illustrations, which he then combined with other techniques. Even in the 1990s he did not use it as a layout instrument.