Mendell book revised

Pierre Mendell Posters

Pierre Mendell Posters

V I G N E L L I

VIGN E LLI

C E N TE R

ROC H E STE R

FOR

IN STITU TE

D E S IGN

STU D IE S

OF TE C H N OLOGY

C E N T E R F O R D E S I G N S T U D I E S R I T

Pierre Mendell Posters V I GN E LLI

C E N TE R

ROC H E STE R

FOR

IN STITU TE

D E S IGN

STU D IE S

OF TE C H N OLOGY

Contents

Pierre Mendell Posters Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester Institute of Technology

v 1 31 53 67 74

2nd Edition

Copyright Š 2015 All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any mechanical or electronic means without permission of the publisher and/or the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations.

Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester Institute of Technology 73 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, New York 14623-5604 vignellicenter.rit.edu

2nd Edition designed by Bruce Ian Meader

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Pierre Mendell’s Passion Opera Museum Cultural Insitutions Social Themes Colophon

Pierre Mendell

Pierre Mendell’s Passion

Pierre Mendell was one of the world’s leading graphic designers. For almost 30 years he played a role in creating the visual identity of the Neue Sammlung– the International Design Museum in Munich. Over a period spanning more than 40 years, Mendell’s posters became a prominent feature in advertising columns and billboards around Munich; these included posters for museums such as the Neue Sammlung and advertisements for the Bavarian State Opera. For many years, Mendell’s posters were a prominent feature in advertising columns and billboards around Munich. Mendell died in Germany on December 19, 2008 at the age of 79.

Poster, as defined by the German Duden: A large thick piece of paper bearing text (and images) that is mounted in easily visible places for the purpose of conveying information, advertising messages, and/or political propaganda.

One of my first impressions of Pierre Mendell was of him sitting at his desk, totally concentrated, cutting coloured paper with small scissors. After an hour or more a beautifully small design, a paper collage, lay on his desk under a piece of glass. It stayed there for up to a week. This was the first step in the process of an idea taking on a concrete form.

Pierre Mendell and the studio worked on poster assignments for several cultural institutions, museums, theatres, the Munich Volkshochschule Community College, the Opera House, and many other companies.

The beginning of the working process was a discussion with the client about the assignment and the theme.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” This phrase was often quoted by Pierre Mendell, meaning that the problem is an ingredient of the solution.

Once a year, at the start of the new opera season, Pierre Mendell received a list of five to six operas. Most operas deal with the themes of love, power, passion and death, so it was important to read the libretto carefully to find the particular message and select some striking symbols. One assignment on this list was the poster for the opera Ulysses. Pierre Mendell had made several designs with torn paper, colored pencils and chalk.

They were no bigger than a playing card. The design for Ulysses involved the idea of a tiny little island made of torn paper. They created a place of longing, situated on the horizon where the sky touches the ocean, visualized by two colour gradients. Already, the small design invited the eyes to look, and the mind to imagine the story.

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The second step, which Pierre Mendell always worked on together with one of his assistants, was to enlarge the little design. I remember tearing paper for hours to create the perfectly shaped island full of life. Several kinds of gradients were created at the computer and some colours were tested for the sky and the ocean. From time to time, Pierre Mendell gave his advice. This work in progress lasted days, sometimes weeks. At that time, we worked parallel on three or four posters. The result of this process was a collage in the format DIN A4 (8,27 x 11,7 inches).

Over a period of 13 years, new ideas were found for the Bavarian State Opera. Over more than 25 years new posters were made for Die Neue Sammlung, the International Design Museum in Munich. Sometimes, it was difficult to find a big idea or the perfect form, and Pierre Mendell would say: “Es ist nicht jeden Tag Sonntag.”

In English, this means that, “Christmas comes but once a year. You can only make 8 to 10 outstanding posters in your life-time and that’s a lot.” I think he did more.

There were some other difficulties to overcome before the poster was able to start its life on the advertising column.

The collage had to be scanned and digitally enlarged to the A0 format, for example. Pierre Mendell feared this would mean the death of the lively lines. Every detail had to be carefully reproduced. He always claimed that: “The printed poster is what people will see, and we are responsible for the result.” And it was not always easy to get the perfect result printed. I remember one time when it was not just right, and the whole edition had to be printed a second time.

Pierre Mendell was a masterful designer and he worked with great passion. He once mentioned that all the posters were his children. It was always a great moment when the first printed poster came off the printing press – came to life; one more beautiful child.

Annette Kröger Pierre Mendell Design Studio

Opera

1

Venus and Adonis 1996 The Bavarian State Opera

Katja Kabanova 1999 The Bavarian State Opera

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3

L’Orfeo 1999 The Bavarian State Opera

Falstaff 2000 The Bavarian State Opera

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5

Don Carlo 1999 The Bavarian State Opera

Ulisse 2001 The Bavarian State Opera

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7

Tristan and Isolde 1998 The Bavarian State Opera

Aida 1995 The Bavarian State Opera

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9

Slaughterhouse 5 1996 The Bavarian State Opera

Don Giovanni 1994 The Bavarian State Opera

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The Threatened Murderer 1994 The Bavarian State Ballet

Macbeth 1997 The Bavarian State Opera

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Der FreischĂźtz 1998 The Bavarian State Opera

L’incoronazione di Poppea 1996 The Bavarian State Opera

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The Castle 1995 The Bavarian State Opera

The Flying Dutchman 2006 The Bavarian State Opera

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Le Nozze di Figaro 1993 The Bavarian State Opera

La Traviata 1993 The Bavarian State Opera

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Parsifal 1994 The Bavarian State Opera

Cosi fan tutte 1993 The Bavarian State Opera

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Otello 1998 The Bavarian State Opera

The Rape of Lucretia 2004 The Bavarian State Opera

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Saul 2003 The Bavarian State Opera

Giselle-Mats Ek 2000 The Bavarian State Ballet

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Les Troyens 2001 The Bavarian State Opera

Rigoletto 2005 The Bavarian State Opera

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Lulu 2003 The Bavarian State Opera

Gades 1987

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Museum

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Design Process Auto 1986 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Hans Gugelot, System Design 1984 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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Marcello Morandini 1993 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Design is Art that Makes Itself Useful 1984 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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Amish Quilts 1991 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Japanese Posters 1989 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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New 1982 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Armin Hofmann 1989 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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39

Polish Posters 1985 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

I Love Design 1991 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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41

Swiss Book Design 1994 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Horst Sch채fer, Architectural Photography 1997 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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The Church and The Arts 1995 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Arne Jacobsen 1994 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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Klaus Kinold, Architectural Photography 1982 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Design: Vignelli New York 1997 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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Japanese Packaging 1993 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Closed 1984 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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M채nner Kleider Japan 1998 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

Museum of Tomorrow 1996 Die Neue Sammlung, Museum for Applied Art, Munich

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Cultural Institutions

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Kieler Woche 1986 The Sailing Regatta

Mendell & Oberer Graphic Design 1990 Stuttgard Design Center

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Art Opens the Eyes 1989 Bavarian State Art Museum

Danilo Silvestrin 1992 Museum Villa Stuck, Munich

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Deutsches Museum 1980 German Museum, Munich

M체nchner R채ume 1991 Munich City Museum

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Thought 2001 Munich Academy of Adult Education

National Museum of Munich 1989 Bavarian National Museum, Munich

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Mendell & Oberer Graphic Design 1980 Initiative of the Studio

Der Neuen Pinakothek 1990 Stuttgard Design Center

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Mendell & Oberer Graphic Design 1980 Goethe Institute

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Social Themes

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All Men Are Created Equal 1995 Initiative of the Studio

Unicef 1993

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Drugs!

1993 Initiative of the Studio

In English: Love 2008

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Share 2004 Initiative of the Studio

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Colophon

Pierre Mendell at RIT Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester Institute of Technology

Pierre Mendell Posters Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester Institute of Technology

1st Edition

2nd Edition

The original edition of this book was produced in Professor Nitin Sampat’s Workflow course in RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences by the following students:

Thanks to the follwing people whose contributions made this book possible: Annette Kröger Pierre Mendell Design Studio

Jace Artichoker Chrissy Connors Evan Darling Courtney DiStasio Karie Eng Colleen Mann

R. Roger Remington Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design, RIT

Thanks to the follwing people whose contribution made this book possible:

Bruce Ian Meader Professor of Graphic Design, RIT

Annette Kröger Pierre Mendell Design Studio

Craig Smith Associate Vice President for Development, RIT

Nitin Sampat Professor of Photography, RIT

ColorCentric Printer

R. Roger Remington Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design, RIT Bruce Ian Meader Professor of Graphic Design, RIT Merlin Digital Printing Solutions Printer

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Nitin Sampat Professor of Photography, RIT