Christopher Hoot
Associate Professor
The exhibition, type ± foto + grafik = swiss posters, spans close to 80 years (1934-2001) and includes 150 works of over 50 Swiss educated graphic designers.
The extreme size of the Swiss World format (Weltformatt) poster measures 90.5 cm x 128 cm (approx. 35.5" x 50.25") and is a proportion of 1: 1.414 (square root of 2). These human-scaled posters demand attention and draw passersby into the realm of graphic abstraction through formal reduction on the one hand, and richly-textured, multi-layered photomontages on the other. The communicative power of these visual statements lies in the inventive integration of type, image and graphic elements into appropriate yet compelling form.
Posters in this exhibition are organized into groups according to subject matter: cinema, photography and video, architecture, theatre and performance, politics, public service, art, applied art, classical music and jazz. This arrangement allows viewers to visually compare various approaches to similar subjects through different styles, eras and processes.
This exhibition represents only a portion of the collection of Swiss graphic design procured by Tom Strong of New Haven, Connecticut, who is a graduate of the Yale Graphic Design Program (MFA 1962) and a partner of Strong Cohen Graphic Design. The exhibtion was curated by Associate Professor Chistopher Hoot. type ± foto + grafik = swiss posters will run in The University of Akron's Emily Davis Gallery from January 12 through February 7. A closing reception will be held February 2 at 7 p.m., following Bruno Monguzzi's lecture.