“The Visual Language of Herbert Matter”
“The Visual Language of Herbert Matter”
swissnex Boston connected the dots in the Graphic Design by screening the Swiss documentary film “The Visual Language of Herbert Matter” by Reto Caduff on May 19, 2011, at swissnex Boston. We were delighted to welcome the filmmaker personally at the screening who talked about the making of this documentary, about the life of the famous Swiss graphic designer Herbert Matter and who answered many questions from the interested audience, most of them members of AIGA (American Institute for Graphic Arts).
Here a recap of the evening by Matt Budelman, AIGA:
Herbert Matter
After arriving at swissnex Boston | Consulate of Switzerland, for the screening of "The Visual Language of Herbert Matter" I was pleasantly greeted by welcoming hosts and a wonderful crowd of people mingling, sipping drinks, and enjoying finger food—a stark contrast to the pouring rain happening just outside the building. There seemed to be a pleasing balance of old & young, familiar faces, as well as some new faces. I made my way to a seat and shortly thereafter the event began. There were short announcements and then a brief introduction to the film by the creator, Reto Caduff.
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The opening title sequence was enticing, well-produced, and created a good lead-in to the opening shots of the director speaking over expansive shots of the Swiss mountains. I loved the analogy comparing the wide open and expansive mountains to Herbert Matter's work. The film was a carefully crafted blend of information and entertainment that seems to always keep pace with your attention; as a designer, I was happy that the work shown was displayed long enough to digest, but not so long that it would bore non-designers. The movie progresses forward as a chronological walk-through following threads of his life, work, friends, family, along with major historical moments in art and culture. |
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There were brief moments of laughter, and sad moments as well, but what impressed me the most was the breadth of Herbert Matters work, as well as the large scope of work that was researched and presented in the film.
Before this film, I had only heard of Herbert Matter through design history books, and it was a passing note, about a poster or photogram. Now, after watching this film, I can easily say he is one of my favorite designers from that generation. A google search for Herbert Matter turns up relatively little compared to the enormous amount of work in the film. But, it's not the amount of work that impressed me, it was the way in which Matter was an ambassador between, and successful in, art, photography, and graphic design.
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Herbert Matter was successful in what seemed like every creative field, and as Jessica Helfand noted in the film, "For someone like Herbert Matter, to have commercial success not just in one but in several professions is truly unique to this day." He was experimenting with photography using a graphic designer's eye. He was making films with Alexander Calder and Phillip Glass. He assisted under A.M. Cassandre and Le Corbusier. He was friends with Jackson Pollock, and Alberto Giacometti. He designed magazine covers for Alexey Brodovich & Alexander Liberman. He photographed and designed catalogues for Charles & Ray Eames. He created a visual language for Knoll and the New Haven Railroad. He designed and created an installation for the 1939 World's Fair. He taught at Yale alongside Paul Rand. |
As the film kept going I was continually amazed by how much work he had done with such a wide range of people. After the film was finished we were able to pick the brain of Reto Caduff about the process of making the film, meeting all of the people interviewed, and the many many hours of working in design archives. It was great to have someone so intimately involved with the film there to give us some background or to add a short story that didn't make it into the film.
Matt Budelman
