“Everything is in motion. There is no such thing as standing still [...] Stop setting up ‘values’ that are bound to collapse.” (Jean Tinguely, from For Static, 1959)
No artistic spectacle back then, no critical-emancipatory debate today without a manifesto! The manifesto has always been the perfect format for publishing sharp questions, bold declarations, or provocative claims. It always has the finger on the pulse of its time—polarizing, awakening, inspiring, or enticing—and acts as a seismograph for current social tensions and dynamics.
Its language may be short and loud or long and literary, but it is always powerful. And yet, most manifestos rarely break free from the conventions of linear, readable text—or typographic restraint. This is an opportunity to give them the visual radicality they deserve.
This course explores designers and artists who take cultural and political stances. Manifestos and theses by Tinguely, Metahaven, Experimental Jetset, Ken Garland, Moniker, or Anja Kaiser provide both conceptual and formal inspiration.
By combining lab-based practical work, design, and theory the students trace the rebellious poles of design, allow themselves to be inspired by the performative energy of manifestos, and decode their provocative aesthetics to develop new methods of expression.
A poster can become a performance. Typography can shout, stutter, or dance. The aim is to experiment—and produce as a result typographic posters that awaken, engage, and entice by setting them in motion.