Renata Bomtempo Art Critic/ Greenwich Village Gazette
Tibor Kalman
Revealed
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go back about a year or two, where in Times Square as one walked to their
destination, one was confronted with a whole block of portraits of
ordinary people. At that time I wasn't familiar with the name Tibor Kalman,
and as I walked past those portraits and stared at those portraits I
realized only now what Tibor's intention was.
One of the most notorious spots in the world, here in Times Square we
find a vast diversity of cultures. And that was what the late Tibor
(1949-1999) was aiming at, an examination of what reality is. That reality
is diversity. But, I am not going to lecture on racial harmony and instead
I am only going to implore New Yorkers to go see Tiborocity: Design and
Undesign 1979-1999. This exhibition is a collection of 200 pieces of works
by Tibor and his design firm, M&Co, which is now being shown at The
New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City.
Tibor uses graphic design to convey a message in his art. One of his
most famous works was his design in "Colors", a Benetton-sponsored
magazine. He used fashion as a vehicle for his personal manifestations.
Many of the ads in the magazine include people of many races in unity.
These portraits, as I well remember, performed an ironic collaboration
between the fashion world and humanity. Usually, I find these two mediums
are always in conflict. The fashion world always had a prestige about them
that included the perfect body, glamour etc.But, in the pages of
"Colors", Tibor uses a variety of beauty to establish equality
between the sexes and races.
And underlining all of this, a major fashion line, Benetton, is
sponsoring the magazine. An interesting ironic humor evolves, one that
makes the everyday person learn without being taught. Ones environment is
surrounded by variety, and thus it becomes the norm. The exhibition itself
contains a number of pages from "Colors" that one may look at.
One of the most interesting ones are those of the white Spike Lee or the
black Queen Elizabeth. Tibor was also very concerned with the vernacular.
He was interested in everyday objects like watches, cereal boxes, and
food. One of his pieces that really struck me was a box that contained a
sandwich, cake and a drink.
On top of the box there was a statement saying: "Imagine if you
were standing in line for two hours in the cold and when it came your turn
you received this box." This work is an in depth haunting realization
of poverty in the US portrayed by a simple box of food. But, it is the
typography of the work that demonstrates a message. With out the
statement, it would be a box with snacks. But, not all of his works
concentrated in political genre. He also embraced humor in his pieces. A
great work was a piece that included a lit floor lamp in a dark blue room.
On the shade was written: " Not so sure." I giggled when I saw
it. Intelligent humor!
There were other pieces that embodied humor that I am not going to say,
because I want people to go see this show. Along with his famous ads, the
show also contains his famous Talkinghead album covers, along with other
bands. There is also a video installation of the music videos that he
formed with the band. These videos also used his love for typography. He
placed messages and words about political matters in the video. Messages
that are about the environment and other social matters. If it were not
for Tibor's imaginative use of graphic design in his art, graphic design
would only be concentrated in aesthetics.
But, as Tibor has shown, this medium can be used as a tool of
knowledge. As a future graphic designer, I appreciate the late Tibor as a
mentor for my creative perception. And I take his love for the vernacular
and typography to heart. Along with Tibor's exhibition, the New Museum is
also exhibiting a show of the "New Amazon Women". Compared to
conventional beauty, these muscular women go beyond boundaries to express
their beauty through muscle definition.
ets
go back about a year or two, where in Times Square as one walked to their
destination, one was confronted with a whole block of portraits of
ordinary people. At that time I wasn't familiar with the name Tibor Kalman,
and as I walked past those portraits and stared at those portraits I
realized only now what Tibor's intention was.
