Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Bettina Richter (eds.)

Otto Baumberger

Poster Collection 18

Otto Baumberger (1889–1961) was one of the first Swiss graphic artists to have a career that responds to the occupational title of “poster designer”. However, his desire to be recognized as an artist as well went unfulfilled. Early on, as an employee of Wolfensberger AG in Zurich, he acquired a thorough knowledge of lithographic technique. He designed more than two hundred posters, which helped to modernize the medium. Baumberger was far ahead of his time in recognizing fundamental aspects of consumer goods advertising. Although he did not create an actual style, he always sought the most adequate approach to conveying the message at hand. His original graphic creations led to a reduction bordering on abstraction, in which graphic and textual elements underwent an increasingly potent synthesis. Thus, in its variety, Baumberger’s work embodies and exemplifies the history of Swiss poster art in the first half of the twentieth century, as the painterly artist poster gradually evolved toward graphically oriented corporate design.

Otto Baumberger (1889–1961) was one of the first Swiss graphic artists to have a career that responds to the occupational title of “poster designer”. However, his desire to be recognized as an artist as well went unfulfilled. Early on, as an employee of Wolfensberger AG in Zurich, he acquired a thorough knowledge of lithographic technique. He designed more than two hundred posters, which helped to modernize the medium. Baumberger was far ahead of his time in recognizing fundamental aspects of consumer goods advertising. Although he did not create an actual style, he always sought the most adequate approach to conveying the message at hand. His original graphic creations led to a reduction bordering on abstraction, in which graphic and textual elements underwent an increasingly potent synthesis. Thus, in its variety, Baumberger’s work embodies and exemplifies the history of Swiss poster art in the first half of the twentieth century, as the painterly artist poster gradually evolved toward graphically oriented corporate design.

This book is part of the Poster Collection series. Get the complete series here

Edited by Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Bettina Richter

With an essay by Martin Heller

Design: Integral Lars Müller

16,5 x 24,0 cm, 6 ½ x 9 ½ in

96 pages, 120 illustrations

paperback

2008, 978-3-03778-129-6, German
English
CHF 34.00

Bettina Richter

Bettina Richter studied art history in Heidelberg, Paris and Zurich and obtained her doctorate in 1996 with a thesis on the antiwar graphics of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen. From 1997 to 2006, she served as a research associate at the Poster Collection of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, and in 2006 became its curator. Bettina Richter lectures at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste and works as a freelance writer. She is the editor of the publication series "Poster Collection" and has published articles and essays on art history, literature, and the subject of posters.

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