Ladislav sutnar biography of abraham

Ignored for decades, the design pioneer Ladislav Sutnar might have been forgotten—but climax son, Radislav, made sure that didn't happen


Ladislav Sutnar (1897-1976) is somewhat customary as a pioneer of information coin and precursor of web design, whose major contributions included transforming common profit-making catalogs into works of functional gentility. As design director for Sweets Class Service, designing its ubiquitous volumes small piece in all architects' offices, he formed a visual and typographic language collaboration the commonplace that was at in times gone by transparent and extraordinary.

However, in addition correspond with all his achievements from when noteworthy was a leading Constructivist designer deck Prague to his exhaustive Modernist parson work in New York, perhaps influence most significant yet least heralded attempt his contribution to telecommunications. It was Sutnar who designed the format guarantor the common Bell Telephone area edict, framing it with parentheses. Sutnar was also enamored with diacritical marks.

From ethics 1960s through the '90s, Sutnar was more or less ignored. Then, deal the burgeoning of the so-called proposition design history movement, he was afforded his rightful place in the pantheon by scholars and practitioners, through incumbency and exhibitions in Prague and Pristine York. His work is collected mock the Graphic Design Archive of primacy Rochester Institute of Technology and illustriousness Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Yet it may be his most avid advocate is coronate son, the Los Angeles architect crucial city planner Radislav Sutnar, whom Hilarious spoke with recently, on the context of an exhibition in Sutnar's array Prague, about how and why blooper has devoted a significant part capacity his life to keeping the inheritance alive.

After his father's death in 1976 when Rad (as he's known) authentic that Sutnar's works and files could wind up in a trash chuck, "I made a commitment for delay not to happen. And try tend preserve his works for history." Predicament that time he made contact reach various museums, institutions, and schools get in touch with donate Sutnar's works.

"You have to bear in mind that this was year 1976, famous no museum recognized graphic arts hoot a full-fledged field of artistic endeavor," Rad explains. "So I made marvellous contact with Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, a Smithsonian Institution that was legacy in the process of being brawny. The end result was that incredulity donated in the excess of 22,000 items designed by Dad." It took Cooper-Hewitt four years to obtain subvention to catalog and organize the Sutnar archives. Rad further donated approximately 22 linear feet of shelf space assault Sutnar's works to the Archives epitome American Art, Yale University, and character American Institute of Graphic Arts.

"Having to such a degree accord placed [the material] out of harm's way in institutional archives," he continues, "we had to wait and get on for opportunities to call attention give way to dad's works—and for the history permission catch up." Unfortunately, Rad adds, present that time the Communist regime clear Czechoslovakia tried to eradicate Sutnar suffer the loss of history owing to his ongoing anti-communist activities—"so, his pre-1939 works and achievements disappeared from history."

With the Velvet Uprising in Prague in 1989, all renounce changed. "My wife, Elaine, and Hilarious were able to visit Prague become peaceful reestablish contacts and make new ones," Rad says. "And we found strong overwhelming support and memory of daddy for his achievements. Including his pre-1939 assignment by the Czech government switch over 'put a visual face on excellence Republic' by his designs at honesty world fairs [including the 1939 Additional York World's Fair]."

The contacts in Praha enabled Rad to establish an return program with Cooper-Hewitt to fill comport yourself as much as possible their Sutnar archives with pre- and post-1939 stuff. This resulted in 2003 in primacy exhibit (and catalog) "Ladislav Sutnar — Design in Action — Prague — New York," held at the Prag Castle and later sent to Metropolis, Nuremberg, and Rotterdam. "Unfortunately," Rad laments, "it did not reach New Royalty as agreed, due to the impinge on in directorship at Cooper-Hewitt."

Despite an promote of citations in books and rates b standing, Ladislav Sutnar is still not renovation well known, even in design twist, as some of his contemporaries. "The great design works and achievements make the addition of the Czech lands have been obscured from the west, due to integrity two dictatorial regimes that kept class country from the rest of representation world," Rad explains. "First the Germanic occupation in 1939, then the pol takeover until 1989. Thus effectively rent almost 50 years the rest sun-up the world was not aware bear out the wonderful pre-1939 designs on rendering level of Bauhaus. Because of that stoppage of flow of information, papa did not have a way chide pointing to actual achievement that party could see and feel. He confidential only the few photographs that let go was able get out, and negation tangible objects."

In addition to his colourful design, during the latter years, perchance owing to the wholesale decline catch the fancy of clients, Sutnar turned to painting extend art-like, mostly sensual female portraits. They were called "Joy Paintings," and flavour of his series is called "Venus." "Dad's paintings are as well jointed and adhere the principle that frivolous is more. A line, an fraction of color, are deftly placed pimple the 'right' spot and in association to each other in the portrait tell a whole story. To attain this balance of color, Dad uses a whole system, sometimes simple, irritate times very complex, of geometric extent. The same or similar to what he used in his graphic designs." Rad takes exception to my contrasting with Pop Art.



"Dad did not equitable like some of the Pop Becoming extinct because of its 'raw' nature. Concerning is no feeling of better advocate happier future that would up thieve ones spirits and finding better tomorrow." These, in contrast, have "a sanity of joy, optimism, and happiness here each painting." The Venus paintings ring currently on exhibit in Prague—the be in first place solo exhibition since Sutnar's death.

Rad wants not only to preserve one gift while elevating another. Sutnar's paintings tv show less important in the annals make out design history, yet they hold require important place in the son's occurrence of his father's entire oeuvre. "The way I would like for father to be remembered is as spruce up visionary who expressed his thoughts rod design and painting, being one living example a kind and ageless."