THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF HERBERT MATTER

THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF HERBERT MATTER
DIRECTOR: RETO CADUFF
SWITZERLAND, 2010

VISITING ARTIST—Herbert Matter was a man who seemingly fit many lives into one by excelling in the creative disciplines of design, photography, and film. One of the quintessential “Mad Men,” Matter was design director at Knoll Furniture, designed the identity for the New Haven Railroad, did Vogue covers, was a teacher at Yale, collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames, made a film on Alexander Calder, and even influenced the drip paintings by Jackson Pollock. Matter’s trail to fame was a series of photo-montage posters he designed in the early ’30s for the Swiss Tourism Office. Once in New York, he was hired by Alexey Brodovitch to work for Harper’s Bazaar and from there embarked on a dizzying creative journey. Caduff traces Matter’s incredible career in Europe and the US and the influence he had on a whole generation of influential designers. With: Robert Frank, Massimo Vignelli, Jessica Helfand, Lorraine Wild, Alvin Eisenman, and many others. (78 mins.)

Director Reto Caduff will introduce the film.

With community support from AIGA Portland.