The Palace of Typographic Masonry in Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt
| The Palace of Typographic Masonry in Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Palace of Typographic Masonry in Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt |
| Location | Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt |
| Date | 2025/05/11 |
| Time | [[]] |
| PeopleOrganisations | The Palace of Typographic Masonry in Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt |
| Type | [[]] |
| Web | Yes |
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Hackers & Designers was invited to join the collection of The Palace of Typographic Masonry for an exhbition at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt taking place from 22 February to 11 May 2025.
Seamfulness
This textile poster embraces "seamfulness," a counter proposition to the impersonal techno-slick aesthetics that trick you in believing that software is neutral and 'just works'. The hand-sewn patchwork highlights the 'seams' of technology, using repurposed fabrics, charming mistakes, slight imperfections and quirky glitches sourced from H&D's self-published zines and books. H&D's designs its publications with self-built design tools, shared under free software licenses, allowing anyone to access, manipulate and redistribute their source code. Free/libre open source design software enables users to design, study, customize, and reshape the tools themselves.
Visitors are invited to share their thoughts on "seamful design" by connecting to the WiFi modules sewn into the fabric. Scanning a QR code grants access to one of three local WiFi networks, leading to a pop-up website with a prompt. Submitted messages will appear on the e-ink screens.
The Palace of Typographic Masonry
The Palace of Typographic Masonry in Museum Angewandte Kunst provides a multi-layered insight into the creative discipline of graphic design: From the fundamentals of the trade and their interplay in compositions and designs to tools, techniques, and conceptual approaches to the professional practice in the shifting sphere of space, time, clients and audiences.
This travelling exhibition by the Dutch graphic designer Richard Niessen showcases graphic design as a poetic and visual force with the ability to shape culture and channel political messages to convey social values and ideals. Niessen reflects on his professional practice by collecting and describing visual artefacts from a wide range of cultures and times. The resulting thematic constellations produce surprisingly new layers of meaning. He also regurlarly invites designers to expand his collection with visual comments.
The exhibition, which covers the entire second floor of the museum, shows specific contributions by Juan Luis Blanco, Benjamin Mc Millan, Edgar Walthert, Victoria Hoogstoël, Bart de Baets, Team Thursday, Rietlanden Women’s Office, rndr, Alex Walker, Cleo Tsw, Lukas Engelhart, Jan Egbers & Justus Gelberg, Richard Niessen, Esther de Vries, Meeus ontwerpt, Harmen Liemburg, Studio Moniker, Rudy Guedj, Joost Grootens, Hackers & Designers, Farah Fayyad, Ott Metusula, William Jacobson, Metahaven, Maureen Mooren and fanfare.
Intelligent minimalism and playfulness characterise the scenography Richard Niessen designed for the exhibition, thus making it the epitome of Dutch graphic design. The Palace of Typographic Masonry is an infinite, imaginary structure he built to represent the variety of visual cultures. Its ever-evolving rooms, wings, corridors, and chambers produce a discursive space which disrupts linear chronologies and opens new perspectives.
Photo by Guenzel Rademacher
Curator: Jonas Deuter