FREMD das fremde

I wanted to create a visual identity through typography that has its origin from my current practice and research with the brush and the pen. Since I work alone I am happy with just making drawings – with no purpose or context needed in the first place. But with that starting point of „just drawing around“ I discovered for myself new ways of imagebuilding but also a lot of déjà-vus of my life as a typographer and graphic designer.

So for the exhibition by Miriam Cahn in the Palazzo Castelmur in switzerland near the italian border I decided to develop a typeface that is not using the effect of my current practice in just writing letters in the way I am doing my „free“ drawings: Taking advantage from the handwriting effect that I did use often already. I did want to build a stronger distance to that well-known capacity of me. Or develop it further:

What I made was to just use the inked brush and putting it hard or soft on the paper. And moving it a little bit or not. These forms that did appear I did collect and in a second step I did try to compose these parts of forms into readable letterforms. So the alphabet „fremd“ was made. I did use it for the posters that did announce the several events in that mountain village. Or for the quotes of the participants of the discussions that were shown in the publication „Fremd“.

This publication was finished when the exhibition and the talks were done. The idea was to let the reader (or looker) experience in an immersive way the visit in these particular rooms of the palazzo castelmur, filled in a splendid way with the powerful paintings of Miriam Cahn, But also having access in the mindset of the participants : authors, philosophers, architects, activists, curators. As everyone of these participants seemed to me very particular I felt the obligation to treat that content also in a very particular and individual way : my way. I am glad if you feel that too.

Achim Reichert [France]

Curious about the word. About the form of the letter, the curve and the line. And why does it function ? And what about the context ? Why is it readable here ? And what is the interaction between content and form ?

Images are great. They show to you surrondings where you want to live, too. They show you people you want to meet.

And then there is that combination of text and image: two things that do not fit together in the first place. A flat twodimensional fog of representation put together with a irregular collection of lines and circles with a strange rhythm.

As a graphic designer I have to cope with that absurdity that these two elements are incompatible. And nonetheless developping stuff that people want to relate to. And their reaction to my work is that what interests me.

My professional path is : Studying Visual Communication in Offenbach, germany. 20 years ago I did cofound with Marco Fiedler the office of Vier5, starting to work in different disciplines from Paris, France. Several projects were developped like orientation systems for documenta 12 and documenta 14. Or influental poster designs for the CAC Brétigny.
Since 2020 and my abandon of Vier5 I am enriching my practice in work that needs less context to be valid. And trying to integrate these experiences in the contextualized projects. And since last year teaching and researching as associated professor in the arts & philosophy department of Paris 8 university.