The visual language of Herbert Matter

Streaming video - 2012

Herbert Matter designed a series of cutting-edge Swiss travel posters that won international acclaim for the pioneering use of photo-montage combined with type. Always striking a balance between fine art projects and commercial work, the taciturn designer found his own unique language. He was inspired by Russian constructivists and taught by artists in Paris in the late 20s. With his photography he was adept in documenting the early furniture of Charles and Ray Eames, creating covers for Vogue, as well as documenting his artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Alberto Giacometti. As a filmmaker, he directed a critically acclaimed film "Works of Calder" about his good friend Alexander Calder, with music composed by John... Cage. Later in life he was a professor for photography and graphic design at Yale University. In today's commercialized and oversaturated world, this documentary lets luminaries such as Robert Frank, Massimo Vignelli, Alvin Eisenman, Steven Heller, Elaine Lustig Cohen and others explain why Matter still matters. Through never-before-seen footage, personal photography and stunning graphic design work, the film explores the social and cultural impact of his personal visual language that influenced a whole generation of designer and artists. more