Van Buren & Wells

Rob Funderburk is a fellow Chicagoan. Originally from Indiana, Rob has spent the last 10+ years translating the city’s rhythm and color into drawings, paintings, and environments. Rob has worked through various styles over the years, from heavily layered abstraction to representational line drawings, all with a spark of energy and craft that Nadine and I both really admire. Most recently, he’s been documenting the downtown area in loose yet accurate sketches, elegantly capturing the spirit of his subjects in burst of activity.
A few months back, Rob approached us about helping him translate some of the ideas found in his most recent work into a screen printed edition. After an epic meeting (Rob’s got no shortage of great ideas) we settled on a printed improvisation based on Rob’s documentation of the Rookery building, in Chicago’s financial district. Rather than making a print based on completed drawing, Rob brought in photographs and studies from different angles and views of the building. Based on the references, he created the positives for the print by drawing directly onto film with opaque markers. Having never worked this way ourselves, we were totally blown away by Rob’s command of the medium and this technique in particular. He’d made a few prints over the years, but his attention to detail and overall thinking process for achieving colors, shadows, and hierarchy was a real treat to see in person. Starting with a peach base, Rob built the additional 5 layers by drawing directly on top of the previous printed color. Taking note of his various reference materials along the way to achieve a level of accuracy and energy that is really hard to achieve.

Creating a positive

Nadine and I talk about the “fluidity” of an image quite a bit when creating our posters, prints and paintings. In general, this is the number one criteria for creating a successful image. Fluid, in this case referring to the line work and the overall composition and rhythm, is probably the best way to describe this print. By reacting directly to the printed piece, direct to film, Rob created an image with certainty, purpose, and stature. The almost liquid line work really brings the image to life. Nadine and I were both really inspired by Rob’s working method and hope to incorporate it into our prints as soon as we get a chance.
Rob is hoping to make series of these prints, so be on the lookout. Until then you can keep up with him over at his site and his blog. The Rookery print is available here.

The Rookery Print

Think this is trendy? This typeface, Etruscan No.4, was first shown by William H. Page in 1872.

Recently, we had the amazing opportunity to print at the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College in conjunction with the commissioned Printers’ Ball poster we were completing. While we were there, we met David Shields, who was doing some research at the Center. David is a great designer, wood type scholar, and chair of The University of Texas at Austin’s design department. While here, David gave a great lecture on the Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection. Part of David’s scholarly activity was to set up a classification system for the Wood Type that could be accessible to the public while placing the collection into a historical context. In doing so, he has been able to piece together an impressive time line of American wood type production and its manufacturers. Many will say, what’s the big deal? For me, the big deal is that it’s a great example of how type classification is a real tool and not just a name dropping game for graphic designers. Type classification can open up an anthropological discussion that touches on many facets of cultural life and evaluates aspects of design through this lens.
While I was teaching typography, many students would challenge me, asking why this subject should be important to them. And I can’t deny that this question has it’s relevance. But when I saw this recent story about Lebron James and the scathing open letter by his former team’s owner, which was unfortunately set in the font Comic Sans, it was clear that, again, type classification could be of help for many beyond the realm of mere designers.
Type classification is controversial and ever-changing. An array of classification systems have emerged over the last 300 hundred years. It’s hard to pin point when the most typical classifications (serif, san-serif, etc) started to take shape. However, it’s clear that while the demand for printing was increasing in Western Europe, classification systems that aimed to cultivate certain type faces while condemning others (for example, Renaissance type versus Blackletter) was a reality. Some of this ever-changing classification was driven by the type foundries themselves, in order to keep control over how their typefaces were presented and sold.
However, there was another factor. No matter what new classification system was established, it had to have the capacity to absorb growth. After all, the creation of new typefaces and the development of new technology that influenced it, was a constant factor. In this dualism of necessity and nature of the beast, systematic models for type classification have yet to push through on an international level. There have been several attempts, however. In Germany in 1964, a type classification system called DIN 16518 (Deutsche Industrie Norm patent #16518) was established to regulate and categorize all typefaces used in German industry. This system failed to catch on internationally, as most people continued to use a system called ATypi-Vox established by The Association of Typographique Internationale in 1624.
For the most part, type classification systems are highly subjective. Some seek to categorize typefaces historically while other classification systems use strict formal criteria. The two popular systems mentioned above use a mixture of both criteria (historical and formal) yet fail to satisfy the needs of every typeface in use today. Currently, there is talk about the establishment of a Type-Expertise Universal Font Classification System. This model is based on an emotional search, filtering out fonts based on key words that would be established by international standards. (The thesis by Nick Sherman really opened that debate, what a great contribution!) But, as mentioned, establishing a new standard is still pending.
I assembled a downloadable overview >>> sz.handout , combining a couple of different systems taken from The Typographic Desk Reference, which embodies ATypI-Vox and mentions other related terminology and from Matrix by Hans Peter Willberg, which differentiates typefaces by form and style. No matter what new classification system evolves, it’s extremely valuable to learn the criteria of categorization. This knowledge aids in creating a keen sensitivity to judge key elements in a typeface. And if that sensitivity is established, it’s not too hard to navigate through new classification systems and again understand one’s own type habits.

References: Theodore Rosendorf, pages 99–166, The Typographic Desk Reference, Oak Knoll Press; Hans Peter Willberg, pages 78 – 79, Wegweiser der Schrift, Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz; Robin Kinross, page 29, Modern Typography, an Essay in Critical History, Hypen Press

Drawing by Emma Kunz

As an artists and musician I’m in debt to repetition. In the visual arts it’s a way to bounce the eye in a measured clip, engaging the viewer at your selected pace. In music it creates a strange static motion, propelling the listener’s attention to both submit and tune in. In each, a meditative physical response can be achieved. One that puts us face to face with our ourselves and our surroundings and sometimes eliminating the boundary between the two. Examples can be found everywhere, in works as aesthetically divided as European visionary art  from the turn of century to Detroit techno.

Painting by Agnes Martin

The picture above is by Swiss artist and healer, Emma Kunz (1892-1963). Kunz’s artwork was not meant for simple visual enjoyment, but used as a tool for her healing practice. Along with healing, she was also well known for telepathy and use of the divining rod. Her drawings have a charming and transcendent quality. One steeped in the esoteric beliefs that captivated many artists and thinkers in the early 20th century, but still clear in their directness. A similarly direct, yet detached touch can been seen in the artwork of Agnes Martin (1912 – 2004). A slightly more modern visionary, Martin lived a solitary life in the New Mexican desert, where she created beautiful earth toned paintings and drawings. Martin’s work is simple, which is what makes it so powerful. Each painting can be reduced to a single idea, which is then repeated, achieving a brand of minimalism that was utterly human, bypassing the sometimes cold and clinical aesthetic of much of the genre’s heroes . A master of form and composition, ironically, Martin viewed music as the highest form of art.

Basic Channel 12"

Music is an important part of my life, both playing and listening.  I’m always digging through different genres and subgenres looking for something exciting. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of dance music from the 90’s. The deeper I get into uncovering techno’s hazy past, the more parallels I find with the visual artists that have inspired me over the years. While I doubt Agnes Martin was listening to say, Basic Channel. I do feel a definite connection between their work. Not to say, Martins paintings look like Basic Channel sound. Far from it. But, my emotional response to the two is almost identical. The repetitive gestures, the slight variations signifying the humanity of it all. It puts me in a place more there than here. Work by musicians like Pole, Monolake, and current day practitioners like the Hamburg’s Smallville Records roster, all have similar touchstones. Music striped of much of the extraneous clutter and reduced to a single idea, then repeated.

Palestinian Folklore Group, August 1985 by Marc Rudin (This was all done by hand!)

The 2nd Chicago Poster Biennial just took place this last month in Chicago. It’s an exciting event for us at Sonnenzimmer that we always look forward to. This is an international competition that really explores the vast range of poster culture and what the medium can do and instigate in terms of social commentary. We were ecstatic to see that many of the finalists this year were from the Windy city. It was also good to be shaken up by the skill set of our international colleagues and get a taste for the different styles of poster making. Although the visual culture of the internet has flattened the regionalism in many ways, it’s always cool to experience that a poster maker from Poland will have a very different way of distilling an idea then an American poster artist. It’s a good reminder that even visual culture can be local and not global.

Nick and I have always looked at poster making as a unique discipline. A discipline that combines image making with type, communication and design, and ultimately craft and art. A medium where you create images in a public sphere and in which your work will be evaluated by lay eyes as well as the opinions of cultural critics. Images created and crafted for posters get field tested by enduring street life and ultimately having to forge their interaction in context with popular culture. Failure or success is sometimes interchangeable, but this space allows for constant experimentation and immediate feedback that is both freeing and frustrating at times.

In America posting bills has become largely prohibited by strict city ordinances without creating officiated spaces to do so. And thus, in America, many posters serve as decor in a restaurant or at your friend’s pad. If you think graffiti challenges the idea of property, then poster culture is not far off from challenging the space for democratic messaging. However, your average viewer won’t think of this medium as a tool for social dialogue. In contrary, the closest encounter that he/she/z will probably come close too in terms of poster culture are corporate product posters at a local dry cleaner or maybe even billboards. In many parts of the world, however, the majority of people can still enjoy a rich poster culture advertising for referendums, theater, shows, city festivals etc. In my opinion, it’s the purest form of self-publishing.

When I still was in school in Zurich, I was so lucky to have had a hand full of teachers that were immersed in this school of thought. An amazing source book for this argument is this collected poster anthology from my former teacher, Richard Frick, called The Tricontinental Solidarity Poster. It is a strong testament to the idea that posting bills is a democratic means of disseminating information. The content has such strong visuals to attest to that idea.

Another amazing visual mentor I enjoyed working with was Marc Rudin. While his commercial work sits in many collections in Switzerland, he forged an amazing unconditional body of work during his time in Syria. If you research his bio, you will be really blown away by his commitment to his work and his activism. You will clearly understand the difference between the work of current players such as Shepard Fairy and the depth of this kind of work.  Rudin’s work is documented in a rare catalog titled Marc Rudin/Jihad Mansour: Katalog zur Ausstellung. Zürich: Kasama, 1993.

The work above makes for a stark contrast to the current tide of poster production, many of which being produced as merchandise. And like in any production line, that outcome has a different intent – perhaps to match your couch color?

I would like to end this post with tying posters back to visual art. Mark Bradford, an amazing visual artist from Los Angeles that will be showing at the MCA here in Chicago later this Summer, talked about his piece Market Place in which he uses posters that he gathered from his neighborhood for an installation piece: “…The posters are always merchant posters. I don’t collect all posters, I generally collect merchant posters because they talk about a service, and the service talks about a body and that body talks about a community, and that community talks about many different conversations.”

Some resources for poster culture:
Revolution by the Book, Design History, Rene Wanner’s Poster Page

If you are familiar with our work here at Sonnenzimmer, you probably know that we do a lot of music related work. However, you might not know that I make music too. Back in 2005 I released a book/cd called The Complicated Bicycle with the fantasticHometapes label. This project marked the culmination of my experiments in art and music from 2002-2004. Having just moved to Chicago from Murfreesboro,Tennessee, I was processing tons of new input; fragmented urban sound scapes, bold city shapes, and an amazingly vibrant art and music community. Working out of The Bird Machine, I was surrounded by a truly fantastic group of artists; Jay Ryan, Mat Daly, Dan Sinker, Dan Grzeca, and Nadine Nakanishi. The amount of creative actively going on here completely blew me away. I had never been around such hard working artists before… The energy was amazing…and the environment proved to be a perfect place for big ideas.

I had been making pictures and music for as long as I can remember, but never really thought to combine them. This all changed when I got to Chicago. The images I was making at this time were influence by my recent move. Physically processing these images became part of their creation. Crudely drawn airplanes, bicycles, and houses where pushed through countless photocopiers. Copies were cut up, rearranged, and copied again, creating unplanned structures and line work that pushed the pictures into a completely new realm. The culmination of these experiments would become the foundation for the book portion of The Complicated Bicycle.

When I wasn’t at The Bird Machine, I was at home recording music. Writing songs had never come easy to me, but for the first time I was discovering ways around my limitations. Influenced by the amazing music I was hearing in the city, mostly free jazz and improvised music, I was discovering a something totally new to me, a music that relied just as heavily on intuition as musical prowess. I was hooked. Rough improvisations were pecked out on dying keyboards, air organ, and guitar. These automatic compositions were captured on cassette tape loops and primitive samplers, forming hazy accidental structures. It sounds weird, but it was almost as if the music already existed somewhere in the machines. I just had to find it.

With the support of Sara and Adam from Hometapes, I was able to merge these experiments into something tangible, The Complicated Bicycle a 24-page hand-bound screen printed book with an accompanying 8 song cd . It was printed in an edition of 500 and has enjoyed a slow and steady reception since its release in 2005. 2010 marks 5 years since its release, and to celebrate, Hometapes will be issuing a limited number of The Complicated Bicycle Anniversary Edition.  This special edition will include a bonus disc entitled “Automatic Music”, featuring 45 minutes of unreleased songs, sketches, textural experiments and source material from The Complicated Bicycle and Bee Removal recording sessions, and a screen print culled from the The Complicated Bicycle days. The anniversary edition is limited to the 183 remaining copies of the original release.

For the occasion, I’ll be performing a special set at the Empty Bottle here in Chicago on July 30th with fellow Hometapers, The Caribbean and All Tiny Creatures.

The Complicated Bicycle Anniversary Edition will go on sale July 29th and will be available at the concert and through Hometapes.

Press
Chicago Reader Blog
Newcity

Video by Stanzi Vaubel

Printers’ Ball: PRINT <3 DIGITAL
The Ludington Building | 1104 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago
Friday, July 30th, 2010 | 6 – 11 PM

Our text: If you love small presses, print culture, publishing, poetry and institutions that support such cultural activity and want to have a night to celebrate this, this is for you. Don’t know what this event is about? Even more reason to jump on the horse and get out to there. You won’t regret it. This event is one of our favorite events of the year. We always meet new people, we always discover new publications, we get a bunch of free publications that we dwell on for the rest of the year. This year is super special for us personally, because the Chicago Printers Guild is involved. Many printers will be working on broadsheets with poets to produce exclusive broadsheets. There will be so much awesomeness going on, you can’t grasp it. Outer town folks will be here. There will be many digital fringe projects and thrills. What are you waiting for? Grab a friend and enjoy this free amazing evening in a this great city.

Their text: In its sixth annual celebration of print culture, the Printers’ Ball hosts over 250 literary organizations from around the world. The most comprehensive free literary showcase in the nation, the Printers’ Ball yearly attracts more than 2,000 publishers, editors, writers, designers, and readers.
Marking the opening of the event’s doors to electronic publications, websites, and blogs, and demonstrating how print and digital media can complement one another, the theme for Printers’ Ball 2010 is PRINT <3 DIGITAL.
Print media, including “little magazines,” weeklies, glossies, zines, small presses, and specialty print and design houses, will offer a diverse array of ink on paper, with many items available for free. The evening’s activities will also include screenprinting, letterpress, and offset demonstrations; papermaking; digital installations; screenings; readings; and live music.

Press: Printeresting

Co-sponsored by the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College and the Student Affairs Offices at Columbia College.

Squeegee model selection from the manufacturer Pfleiger Kunststoff

For peeps screen printing frequently, it’s common knowledge that adequate screen tension, proper mesh count, suitable ink viscosity, minimal off contact, appropriate pressure help for good printing results. But how much do you appreciate your squeegee’s contribution to a successful result? Cousin squeegee is very much undervalued most of the time. This little guy is the player in the play-offs to get your print rolling the right way. Sometimes trouble shooting could be as easy as understanding how to pick the right squeegee for your game and how to keep cousin squeegee happy through proper maintenance.

What is a squeegee made of?
I usually refer to the word rubber when I talk about squeegees, but that is not the whole picture. There are a couple of different synthetic materials involved. Roughly, you can differ between three basic types: rubber, neoprene, and polyurethane. The least expensive is natural rubber. But as all natural materials, this is more sensitive to solvents and abrasion. The trade off is that it’s cheaper, but it has a shorter shelf life. Neoprene, a synthetic rubber compound made from a chroline derivative of acetylene, is pretty popular and more cost effective. It offers better resistance against chemical abrasion. Polyurethane, a synthetic plastic material, has the longest shelf-life and is intended for extended use on automatic and semi-automatic equipment. It is more costly due to higher endurance.

Stress test in durometer: Run squeegee run!
Before we get into endurance, be sure you know the length of your squeegee’s marathon. Your squeegee needs to be at least 1–2 inches larger on both sides than the image to be printed. Not having sufficient overage on the sides, can result in distortion of the image, or registration problems in the following colors.
But back to durometer. When I go, for example, to Chicago Silkscreen Supplies to get replacement squeegee blades, I am asked for the durometer range I am looking for. This number indicates the materials ability to resist bending. It is measured by a durometer gauge, and is based on standards established by American Standard Testing Materials procedures. The higher the number, the harder the material. It’s unit is Shore A scale, with the index of 1-100. The instrument used to measure this is called a durometer. But there’s also other criteria, like the color coding of the squeegee materials from manufacturers. This can, of course, vary, but from my experience and observation these color codes have been pretty standard across the board.

Choosing a squeegee durometer depends also on your substrate, mesh count, and screen tension. For example: 55 durometer is very soft, soft enough to conform to varying garment thicknesses or uneven platen surfaces. However, this range can bend under high squeegee pressure. 80 durometer is a range for harder squeegees. This range is far less forgiving and will not print an even layer of ink on an uneven surface, such as a textured weave. It can stand up to the high pressure needed to print at high speed or with high-opacity, high-viscosity thick plastisol inks.
The high tech age has gone blade runner with this technology (see the pictured models above from the Pleiger Kunstoffe). Industrial screen printing takes advantage of the multi- and triple-core durometer blades that have mixed combinations of rigidness. These are like sandwiched rubber layers.

What’s your squeegee’s profile?
The profile of the squeegee does matter. It determines the thickness of the ink deposit laid down and the effectiveness of the squeegee with different substrates. For example, for puff or glitter ink, or a white primer, mesh counts coarser than 96 threads/in. you might need to use of a bullnose profile. The common profile in graphics printing is the square blade and is usually 9 mm thick and 50 mm tall. These are common, and mainly used on cylinder, textile, or manual presses. Rounded Squeegees are generally limited to the textile industry, and are used when a very heavy deposit is required. Beveled blades are used for printing rounded surfaces where fine definition is required. The single beveled blades are great when printing heavy solids. While double sided beveled blades are more efficient on high-speed automatic machines. I highly recommend downloading this spec sheet from pleiger-kunststoff target=”blank” where the different profiles of the squeegees is declared in depth. It also offers specifics for angles the squeegee needs to be held at or mounted to function best. It’s a great learning chart to get a feel for the vast range of squeegee profiles that industrial screen printing has developped.

Don’t let your squeegee be a free agent!
Squeegees need care, from storage to the knowledge on how to use them most effectively. If you buy squeegee rubber in a role, unroll it immediately! Always store the blade hanging or store it horizontally. The materials of a squeegee will react to temperature changes and solvents. So don’t store them next to a heater, be aware what squeegee you use for what kind of printing. Most of all, though, be aware that these materials change over time. For example, as the print run evolves the squeegee will get softer. This can explain why your ink is being layed down thicker towards the end of a longer print run. By rotating your squeegees you can prolong the squeegee’s life by up to 40%. At $1 per inch, you might just save up for a first-time trip to Bermuda?

References:
Pfleiger Kunstoff, Printersedge, Siebdruck und Serigraphie by Andreas Rombold, E.A. Seeman Verlag

grayDUCK is pleased to present Objectivity, an exploration of all things object: object memories, objectification and the deconstruction of objects. The exhibition features mixed media and photography by Annie Feldmeier Adams, Jennifer Leigh Jones, Nadine Y. Nakanishi and Scott Wright.

grayduck Gallery also carries my book, Formal Additive Programs, and Nick’s Topics in their gallery store.

Opening reception: Thursday, June 24, 7–10pm
Exhibition dates: June 24 – July 25, 2010

grayduckgallery | 608 w. monroe st. | suite c | austin tx 78704
Gallery hours: Wed.-Sat. 11-6pm & Sun. 12-5pm

Adagio by Leo Maranz, 30x30" Screen Print, 1980

Chicagoan, Leo Maranz (1900-1988), must have been an interesting guy. Originally trained as an mechanical engineer, Maranz was the inventor of a soft serve ice cream machine called the Freez King and founder of the Tastee-Freez Corporation. Yep, Tastee Freez. Later in life, in his sixties or seventies, from what I can put together, he turned towards the graphic arts as a hobby. From then until his eighties, he produced some really amazing screen prints on plexiglas, polystyrene, and hand made paper, all in this hyper-modern, highly technical style. Prints were made in editions as large as 300. Isn’t it amazing how contemporary Maranz’s work feels: the bright colors, geometric shapes, almost visionary or spiritual qualities.

Counterpart by Leo Maranz, 30x30" Screen Print, 1979

Overture by Leo Maranz, 30x30" Screen Print, 1978

For me, the one thing that sets Maranz’s work apart from the current batch of artists that are referencing this style, is the element of craft behind these pieces. I haven’t seen one in person yet, but these things look insanely precise. The sheer attention to detail is incredible. His career as an artists is also really surprising. I really couldn’t dig up much about Maranz online, other than a handful of his prints on weird anonymous auction sites. It appears that he did have some notoriety, showing in a Smithsonian exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum (His winter home). I love the idea of this retired entrepreneur and inventor working on the separations of these screen prints with an exacto blade and some rubylith in his studio.

Still there. One of the original Tastee Freezes opened by Leo Maranz in 1950, 2815 W. Armitage, Chicago

Typeforce Exhibit Catalog, February / March 2010. Published by Firebelly Design and Public Media Institue.

Chicago just celebrated it’s first showcase for typographic work under the name, Typeforce: The Annual Chicago Show of Emerging Typographic Allstars. It was a spectacular event that enjoyed a big audience. The catalog of the exhibit just got released. And we can’t wait for it to happen again. During this exhibit, I enjoyed numerous discussions and debates on typography. This is what propelled this post.

When people ask me on my professional background and I answer that I studied typography, often times the follow up is immediately, which font did I design. I usually disappoint the questioner because I haven’t designed one – while closing an eye on the misused terminology that the questioner just used. Font refers to a set of types at one size only. Sometimes, I jokingly answer I designed Frutiger. (Adrian Frutiger a world-renowned type designer created this universal typeface that is named after him). And when people say “really?” the discussion is officially over.

These encounters are a constant reminder that typographic discourse is always filtered through a cultural lens. I certainly don’t associate the command of typographic competence through the mere factor if someone has designed a typeface or not. I also don’t consider designing a dingbat typeface (symbols or decorative elements) as a design accolade. The Midwest of America can enjoy a rich typographic legacy with historic contributors such as Oswald Bruce Cooper, Frederic Goudy to contemporary player such as Christian Schwartz. Historically there were many established type foundries located here in the greater region of which we still feel their presence in letterpress studios.

And yet, I feel like there is a different understanding in terms of typographic means and illustrative lettering with my fellow type collegues back home in Switzerland. It might be because there’s a huge historical presence of the arts and crafts movement up to the current D.I.Y culture or perhaps modernism could never really ground itself in a largely agriculture driven region.

My teacher Marco Ganz, who designed the font Veto, had pointed out to me numerous times and emphasized the fact that there is writing, lettering (meaning drawn letters), and the mechanical arrangement of characters thus typography. Fred Smeijers, author of Counter Punch, nails it precisely and mentions the same points. Summoned, I write it up this way.

1. When writing you can’t really correct your letter. There is a very linear movement forward. In most cases, there is only on stroke necessary to complete the form of a character.
2. Lettering is the opposite of writing. You can reconsider sought-after possibilities and re-render and correct at any time. When drawing a letter, you can use as many strokes you need to get the right form.
3. In typography, you make the composition of the word through prefabricated characters. You can only change size, spacing, and position. This notion extends from word to line, from line to paragraph, from paragraph to page.

Understanding this – these three pillars and these divisions – was vital to me to grasp how typography comes into play. My conclusion:

1. While writing you practice rhythm, harmony. Through this you establish an idiosyncratic line language for your design.
2. When lettering you test out your idea and the spatial relations for your idea. What doesn’t hold up functionally, won’t hold up conceptually.
3. When using typographic means you use technical methods to develop a two-dimensional composition that takes rhythm, space, harmony, time, style and economics into consideration.

It is no wonder to me that currently the most advance typographic discussion is happening in the web realm of programming and design (see www.webtypography; www.thegridsystem.org). And if you follow these pillars, you might concur with me, that talking type and talking typography are in a way two different discussions.

Jost Hochuli, a Swiss typographer and teacher, quoted in his preface, Designing Books, the philosopher Immanuel Kant. He quoted Kant for how people should use typography and think about it. Sapere aude! Dare to discern! When I came across this essay, Jazz Messenger (published July 8, 2007, New York Times) by one of my favorite writers, Haruki Murakami. I had come full circle with being comfortable with my type skills. This essay – was for me in some way an anology for the usage of typography – and nailed the other part of the type discourse that was not about typography, but about type, as in lettering, drawing, writing and craftsmanship.

… “I had practiced the piano as a kid, and I could read enough music to pick out a simple melody, but I didn’t have the kind of technique it takes to become a professional musician. Inside my head, though, I did often feel as though something like my own music was swirling around in a rich, strong surge. I wondered if it might be possible for me to transfer that music into writing. That was how my style got started.
Whether in music or in fiction, the most basic thing is rhythm. Your style needs to have good, natural, steady rhythm, or people won’t keep reading your work. I learned the importance of rhythm from music — and mainly from jazz. Next comes melody — which, in literature, means the appropriate arrangement of the words to match the rhythm. If the way the words fit the rhythm is smooth and beautiful, you can’t ask for anything more. Next is harmony — the internal mental sounds that support the words. Then comes the part I like best: free improvisation. Through some special channel, the story comes welling out freely from inside. All I have to do is get into the flow. Finally comes what may be the most important thing: that high you experience upon completing a work — upon ending your “performance” and feeling you have succeeded in reaching a place that is new and meaningful. And if all goes well, you get to share that sense of elevation with your readers (your audience). That is a marvelous culmination that can be achieved in no other way.”

In this context, Sonnenzimmer is announcing a typesetting workshop, planned for the month of October/ November. The workshop will be limited to 5 people and will run 4 times at 2hr, for $225, materials included. If you are interested in this, please e-mail me at nadine@sonnenzimmer.com. More information to follow.