Herbert Matter Critical Analysis

Herbert Matter was born in 1907 in Engelberg, a Swiss mountain village, where exposure to the treasure of one of the two finest medieval graphic art collections in Europe was unavoidable. In 1925, he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Genva, but after two years, the allure of modernism beckoned him to Paris. There, the artist attended the Academie Moderne under the tutelage of Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant. While the former became a close lifelong friend, both encouraged Matter to expand his artistic horizons.

In 1929, his entry into graphic design was completed when he was hired as a designer and photographer for the legendary Deberny and Peignot concern. There he learned the nuances of fine typography, while he assisted A.M. Cassandre and Le Corbusier. In 1932, abruptly expelled from France for not having the proper papers, he returned from Switzerland to follow his own destiny.”Herbert’s background is fascinating and enviable,” says another design-legend Paul Rand. “He was surrounded by good graphics and learned from the best.” Therefore, it is no wonder that the famed posters designed for the Swiss Tourist Office soon after his return had the beauty and intensity of Cassandre and the geometric perfection of Corbusier, wed to a very distinctive personal vision.

During World War II, Matter made striking posters for Container Corporation of America. In 1944, he became the design consultant at Knoll, molding its graphic identity for over 12 years. As Alvin Eisenman, head of the Design Department at Yale and long-time friend, points out: “Herbert had a strong feeling for minute details and this was exemplified by the distinguished typography he did for the Knoll catalogues.”

In 1932, Matter returned to Zurich, Switzerland and began to design a celebrated series of tourism advertising posters. The posters were for the Swiss Tourism Office. A few years later he relocated to United States where he was appointed photographer by legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch. He worked for several leading magazines including Harper’s Baazar, Town and Country and Vogue. He also worked with the California practice of Charles and Ray Eames. Soon after, he began to serve at Knoll Associates International. He designed the logo with the big K for Knoll Associates as well as numerous advertisements and catalogues. Moreover, Matter also took up teaching position at Yale University where he was a professor of photography during 1950s to 1970s.

Herbert Matter worked with a number of famous designers and artists during his career including Fernand Léger, Le Courbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, Derberny & Peignot, A.M. Cassandre and Alexey Brodovitch. Matter was a master of using photomontage, color and typography in an expressive manner, transcending the boundaries between art and design. His design work often favored a heavy use of photography. His most recognizable works are the posters he created for the Swiss Tourist Office, but his photography work for Harper's Bazaar, under the direction of Brodovitch, is equally impressive.

THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF HERBERT MATTER is a revealing look at the fascinating life story of the highly influential mid-century modern design master. Known as a quintessential designer's designer, Swiss born Herbert Matter is largely credited with expanding the use of photography as a design tool and bringing the semantics of fine art into the realm of applied arts. https://vimeo.com/7853833 In today's commercialized and oversaturated world, the documentary directed by Reto Caduff ("Charlie Haden - Rambling Boy", "A Crude Awakening") 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 langauge that influenced a whole generation of designer and artists. An early 1950s photograph of Herbert Matter, Hans Knoll, Florence Knoll and Harry Bertoia.

“If you love something the work will be just fine.” – Herbert Matter Herbert matter mastered photomontage in commercial art. Few of his works in photomontage have won critical acclaim worldwide. Some of his famous works we could see the usage typography along with logo’s and photomontage combined together which made it unique during those time. For the art students in particular these are really helpful in creating unique photomontages and posters. Most of the graphic design work of herbert matter has a unique shape blended to that particular work such as rectangle and curves. Following images are an example of such detailing, In these art works we can see the blend of typography and different shapes.He found particular interest in using abstract shapes. “If you love something the work will be just fine.” – Herbert Matter

Matter’s advertisement for Knoll Associates, Inc Matter’s advertisement for Knoll Associates, Inc., 1965, featuring an assortment of Knoll Textiles. Matter’s advertisement for Harry Bertoia's Large Diamond Chair.

Matter’s work is recognized for its innovative visual approach Matter’s work is recognized for its innovative visual approach. His graphic work ingeniously fused the stringency of Swiss style with American pop culture. Matter exploited every method available to meticulously achieve his vision of texture, light and form. His techniques included manipulation of the negative, cropping, retouching, light drawing and enlarging. The fresh form he sought in his still lifes, portraits, nudes and landscapes were the result of his unique methods. In 1952, for the Museum of Modern Art, Matter directed a film on his friend Alexander Calder. His wife Mercedes was the chief founder of the New York Studio School and her father was a modernist painter Arthur Beecher Carles. He was lauded by another noted designer Paul Rand as he called Matter the least pompous and pretentious artist of all. One of the aims of his creative life was his aspiration to close the gap between what is categorized as fine arts and applied art these days. He had close association with the notable painters and photographers such as Willem de Kooning, Alberto Giacometti, Jackson Pollock and Robert Frank. In fact, he paid visit to Alberto Giacometti at his studio in Paris which was followed by his taking multiple photographs on Giacometti’s work and personal life. Later he transformed his research on Giacometti into a book. Herbert Matter passed away in the spring of 1984 in Southampton, New York.

Reference list: http://www.herbertmatter.net/matter.html https://vimeo.com/7853833 http://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/herbert-matter http://www.designishistory.com/1940/herbert-matter/ https://www.knoll.com/knollnewsdetail/happy-birthday-herbert-matter