The following catalog has been produced for the exhibition Mendell & Oberer Simple Forms, staged in the Aula Magna of Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, open to visitors from 8th January 2015 to February 1, 2015. Organized within the cycle The protagonists of the ‘900 is run by students of Graphic’s Degree in Communication and Psychology, with the participation of the Department of Psychology and the patronage of AIAP and ADI. Edition: January 2014 © Milano-Bicocca Edizioni Milano http://www.unimib.it/iprotagonistidel900
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Often I am asked about the philosophy behind my work. And I always answer that I do not have one. I just try to solve the problem in a pragmatic way. Certainly I look for simple communicative solutions as I am aware that our world is flooded by an overabundance of pictures and that a simple direct solution might get the message across better. At first sight, so to speak’. Pierre Mendell
SIMPLE FOR MS.
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Mendell&Oberer
PIERRE MENDELL Pierre Mendell was born in Germany in 1929, in the city of Essen. His early life has been pretty turbulent: he moved across Netherlands, Paris, Marseille, even America since finally returning in his homeland in 1953 like interpeter for the Allied Army. After leaving the army, he worked in the family textiles company in France since 1958.
In this year Mendell enrolled at the School of Design in Basel, where was student of Armin Hofmann and was influenced by the Helvetic School style. During a stage in Michael Engelmann studio in Munich, Mendell met Klaus Oberer. In 1961, the two men founded the Graphic Design Studio Mendell & Oberer. Since January 2000 Pierre Mendell Design Studio. He died in 2008.
Biography
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KLAUS OBERER At the age of eighteen, Klaus Oberer began a graphic apprenticeship at the Basel School of Design. And then, together with Pierre Mendel, founded Mendell & Oberer Graphic Design Studios in Munich. He has won numerous national and international awards. He also works as a photographer and regularly exhibits in museums and galleries.
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Mendell&Oberer
The work of the Graphic Design Studio Mendell & Oberer encompasses all aspects of graphic design and visual communication. They worked for many cultural institutions and social advertising campaigns. In 1980 started a collaboration with the International Museum of Design of Munich, for whom they realized poster for theatre, book covers and invitations. Thanks to it the Studio reached a good international fame, exposing also in New York MOMA.
And from 1993 to 2006 they also worked for the Bavarian State Opera of Munich. During that time they produced over than one hundred works creating a strong opera’s identity and personality caraterized by originality and immediacy. There are also a lot of important brands that asked Mendell and Oberer for their job. For example, they create the corporate identitity of Siemens and Vitra. In 2000 Pierre Mendell and Klaus Oberer broke away, after 39 years of successes.
Biography
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The studio
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Mendell&Oberer
Mendell and Oberer are the most leading graphic designers of 20th century, well-known with their clean, simple and powerful representation with their posters mostly. Metaphor is a magic word for graphic design which is the main feature of their design language. Their works are simple and focused on the idea and reflect the great execution. Their usage of objects metaphorically with simplicity makes them timeless. Timeless yet contemporary. The success of their designs demonstrate that the strength of all graphic work depends on an overarching concept, not on current fads.
The studio
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The posters of Mendell and Oberer are so simple and compelling that will continue to be of great importance in the years to come. Clean style, with minimal preference for rational solutions. Minimalism excited and sometimes outrageous through a formal language and rational. Through the rational language and according to the type and shape, you challenge the usual perception and vision. The message becomes very strong. Simple material of high quality.
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Mendell&Oberer
Simple forms
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Simple forms Mendell and Oberer’s work is characterized by elements which are often missing in much contemporary graphic design: vibrancy, communicative force, and humor. It is able to arrive to everybody thank to his immediacy, created by a very good skill of synthesis.
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Mendell&Oberer
Good quality design distinguishes himself for his mentality: rigor of forms, essentiality and simplicity. Mendell & Oberer follow these instructions ‘till creating a very personal style. Their posters are so simple, persuasive and effective to became a point of reference for the new generations of graphic designers. The style is clean, basic, essential, minimal, and prefers rational and
smart solutions. Their minimalism is fascinating, impressive and sometimes outrageous. In the same image they use collages and mix different styles. Photography is used like a vector object. Pierre Mendell himself says that the reason they prefer to avoid the use of photography is that it represents a reality that can change, while fixing a concept make it persists along time.
Wedding announcement, 1998.
Poster Japanese Posters, Museum for Applied Art Munich, 1989.
Simple forms
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Through a language that is rational and that follows forms, the message became incredibly strong and immediate. It’s very simple, we can say even archaic. The designer uses basic images, with strong colors and universal symbols,
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Mendell&Oberer
always masterly balancing precision, rationality and poetry. Every their work is connoted by big spontaneity, despite the complexity of their themes, like racism, violence or other big ones. They are able to communicate suggestions and messages even using only smart stratagems, and always trying to talk an unconventional, ironic, smart, witty and
funny language. Their messages are very persuasive and direct, but are also always connoted by intelligence, irony and cleaverness. They do mostly works for public posters and are aware that this kind of communication requires a great immediacy: Mendell himself says that a good poster has to be quickly seen, quickly understood and has to encourage a reflection.
Advertisement for a drug against worms, Parke Davis, 1961.
Advertisement for a drug against flatulence, Parke Davis, 1964.
Simple forms
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Complex ideas
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Pierre, I remember as if it had been yesterday, when you said: ‘It was exactly here where I stood in my little thin coat, the yellow star of David sewn to the collar
of my coat.’ For a moment I grabbed your hand and it felt like holding a trembling little boy. I also saw your American passport at one of the border controls. Those two little moments signaled to me that your road to the guaranteed human rights must have been thorny, thin, twisted
Every their work is connoted by immediacy and simplicity, despite the complexity of their themes.
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and full of danger. But then you started as a designer and created your own world. Here you operated successfully and took heed of the message in one of your designs, ‘Everybody is equal before God’. From Eulogy by Prof. Günter Rambow
Poster All men are created equal, Initiative of the studio, 1995.
Complex ideas
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Strong colors Mendell and Oberer’s works present very strong and immediate colors: usually we find three, or almost four per poster.
Color can be full or can simulate texture or brush. Other features that are present in theirs most powerful works are: interlaces and plays of typography and image, and a central disposition of the image in a neutral background, in the same way of Leonetto Cappiello. Poster Palermo, Gallery Heiner Friedrich, Munich,1967.
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Mendell&Oberer
Strong colors
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Universal symbols There’s an exemplar clearness in all Mendell and Oberer’s work. It’s thanks to this directness that they can achieve the goal of transcending every cultural or idiomatic bond.
Their cultural posters are timeless and contemporary. The success of his designs demonstrate that the strength of all graphic work depends on an overarching concept, not on current fads. There’s often a drop of irony in their works. We can feel a criticism against pedantic and old attitudes.
The key of the power of communication is the use of symbols that trascend reality, and that can be comprised by everybody.
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Mendell&Oberer
They want to communicate a lot with little, complex ideas with simple forms, interchanging between obvious and enigmatic symbols, always with a great strong and precision. Behind images so linear, there is a strong meaning immediately recognizable and comprehensible.
Wedding announcement, 1998.
Poster Lulu, Bavarian State Opera, 2004.
Universal symbols
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t i me l i ma g e
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Mendell&Oberer
e s s s
Timeless images
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Mendell&Oberer
JESSICA BOMBELLI Born in 1990, 24 years of enthusiasm and a strong passion for web and new media. She has several interests: music, graphic design and italian cuisine. But her first love is cinema. j.bombelli@campus.unimib.it 781162
GIULIA GALASSO She was born in Cagliari, lived first in Sassari, then in Pavia and now in Milan, where she hopes to improve her studies and find her way. She loves music, cinema, technology and basketball. g.galasso2@campus.unimib.it 779255
MARIA MATARRESE Born in Turin, she studyed Psychology and after a thesis on Psychology of mass media communication decided to move. She’s fashinated by travelling and arts. m.matarrese2@campus.unimib.it 787983
Authors
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