Andrea Tinnes — typecuts

Exhibit: Library of Shapes, Texts and Structures

The ‘Library of Shapes, Texts and Structures’ was presented for the first time in April 2019 in an exhibition at ‘A-Z presents’ in Berlin. On display were both the entire library in the form of 45 ring binders as well as a selection of 42 posters. The large-format posters showcase the two typefaces Inventar Collection and Allgemein Grotesk as well as a selection of visual material from the “Library”. The posters were printed in an experimental printing process on the manual offset press at the Burg Giebichenstein print shop by Matthias Schwenke. The starting point for the printing was eleven different poster motifs and a total of eight printing inks. Through the combination of many colors and image motifs and the repeated use of individual printing plates, a total of over 245 different poster variants with many unique pieces were created in multiple overprinting processes, partly according to a printing script, partly freely improvised (format 72 × 102 cm).

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Information

The ‘Library of Shapes, Texts and Structures’ is an ongoing visual research project and a personal archive of graphic elements. The title is programmatically chosen because the “library” encompasses the ongoing collecting, noting, documenting, processing, ordering, cataloging, and archiving of very different visual and text-based materials.

The library consists of a total of three sections: the “Shapes” section contains numerous forms and symbols, from abstract-geometric to figurative-illustrative to organic-distorted. However, this section also includes three extensive typefaces: Inventar Collection, Allgemein Grotesk and Retroskop. The “Structures” section contains a variety of serial structures, including analog and digital textures as well as photographic images of everyday typography and torn down posters. These visual collections are complemented by the “Texts” section. Arranged by date, it captures excerpts of everyday reading from newspapers, magazines, books, or even short messages on social media.

The exhibition at A-Z presented the ‘Library of Shapes, Texts and Structures’ in the form of 45 ring binders and a series of posters that combined a selection of materials from the library with various motifs and color combinations.

A—Z, run by Anja Lutz, is a space in Berlin with the mission of expanding the territory of graphic design by rethinking its limits and challenging traditional perceptions. At the storefront space, located in the heart of the city, renowned graphic designers are invited to unfold their artistic, conceptual or formally experimental projects.

Credits

© 2024 Andrea Tinnes