About the Author
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Steven Heller is the cofounder and the cochair of the MFA Designer as
Author program at the School of Visual Arts. He writes the Visuals
column for the New York Times Book Review and the Graphic Content
blog for T-Style; is editor of AIGA Voice; and is a contributor to Design Observer. He is the author, coauthor, and/or editor of more
than 120 books on design and popular culture, including the forthcoming
New Ornamental Type (Thames and Hudson). More information can be found at his homepage.
See all Daily Heller posts here.
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You Say You Want a Manifesto
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by Steven Heller
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Manifestos--some smart, others not--are all the rage in art and design circles. An exhibition in Treviso, Italy, from Sept 12 to Oct 31, is about 13 of them that were created on varying themes by the likes of Mike Mills, Stefan Sagmeister, Massimo Vignelli (below, second from bottom), Bob Norda, Enzo Mari, Daniel Eatock, Edenspiekermann, KeselsKramer (above), Bre Pettis and Kio Stark, Bob Gill (below bottom), and Ellen Lupton (below second from top), and includes Ken Garland's classic "First Things First" (below top).
It is simply called “Manifesto,” and was organized by the Venice design studio Tankboys and the copywriter Cosimo Bizzarri. I asked Tommaso Speretta, the publicist for the show, to tell me more: "Manifesto” is a show that leaves the final result aside, and focuses instead on the creative process: Thirteen posters comprising the 13 personal manifestos of 13 acclaimed international designers are all brought together under one roof. Some of these statements are very well known, others have been made exclusively for the exhibition; some are programmatic pieces of writing, some are detailed work manuals. All are passionate tributes to graphic design, creativity, and the design culture.
What do you hope to achieve?
Walking through the works of “Manifesto” will be like wandering around the most influential designers' desks, peeking in their drawers, rummaging through their computer desktops and pencil boxes.
It will be like having a coffee with the design gurus, asking them to explain the basic principles and the ultimate goals that they strive for.
Where is it?
It will take place at XYZ Gallery, a new exhibition space in Venice, started in 2008 as a nonprofit and independent alternative to the traditional galleries and art spaces. Graphics (X), design (Y), and photography (Z) are the three Cartesian axes, which XYZ develops its activities around.
What's your personal manifesto, and what would it look like in graphic form? Here's your chance to declare it.
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Reader Comments
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Hey, Print and the Daily Heller are getting a little too far out lately, with today's "a**hole" poster prominently displayed in the mass email, and the latest Print magazine cover featuring the creepy guy getting a tattoo. Not all graphic design subscribers work where this is considered acceptable. Push the envelope with creativity, not vulgarity, please!
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By
wRIGHT Brother
September 10, 2009
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Not everyone likes profanity, it's true, and we try to use it judiciously in our editorial copy, since the language affords so many ways to pack a verbal punch without it.
I think images containing profanity can be justified, thought, when they're graphically interesting. In this case, it's a striking image and also an excellent illustration of the theme Steve is covering. Not all personal manifestos are clean-cut, much as we might like them to be.
As for the tattooed man on our October cover, although he may be smarting from his new body art (of course, in real life, it's a Photoshop effect), we've heard only positive comments about the image. Tattoos may not be to everyone's taste, but I think the shirtless man himself is harmless enough.
Thanks for commenting and following the Daily Heller!
Emily Gordon
Editor, Print
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By
Emily Gordon
September 10, 2009
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