VISUAL DESIGN IN ACTION
Exhibition Catalogue
Ladislav Sutnar

Ladislav Sutnar: VISUAL DESIGN IN ACTION EXHIBITION CATALOGUE. Cincinnati: Contemporary Arts Center in association with Champion Papers, (n.d.) 1961. First edition. A fine, uncirculated exhibition catalogue in stiff printed wrappers. Very uncommon. Catalogue design and typography by the author.

6 x 12 saddle-stitched exhibition catalogue with 16 pages printed on both matte and glossy paper. Statements by Sutnar printed in red on the matte paper. Photographic illustrations of Sutnar's work and exhibition design printed in black on the glossy stock.

From the catalogue: ³The lack of discipline in our present day urban industrial environment has produced a visual condition, characterised by clutter, confusion and chaos,¹ wrote Allon Schoener, the curator of the ŒLadislav Sutnar; Visual design in Action¹ exhibition originated at the Contemporary Arts Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1961. ŒAs a result the average man of today must struggle to accomplish such basic objectives as being able to read signs, to identify products, to digest advertisements, or to locate information in newspapers... There is an urgent need for communication based upon precision and clarity. This is the area in which Ladislav Sutnar excels.²

Mildred Constantine wrote: " There is a force and meaningful consistency in Sutnar's entire body of work, which permits him to express himself with a rich diversity in exhibition design and the broad variations of graphic design. Sutnar has the assured stature of th integrated designer."

Steven Heller provides this background history: "Sutnar's client base was eroding by the early 1960s. He lost his job with Sweet's because the systems in place obviated the need for a full-time art director and information research department. At a particularly difficult time, Sutnar's friends banded together to inform the business community about his work. The result was the traveling exhibition Ladislav Sutnar: Visual Design in Action, which was curated by Allon Schoener but meticulously designed by Sutnar himself.

"The exhibition was the basis for the book of the same name, which, because he could not find a publisher who would pay the high production costs, Sutnar financed out of his own pocket and sold for the hefty price of $15. Sutnar had previously edited Design for Point of Sale (1952) and Package Design (1953), which showcased exemplary work by others, but Visual Design in Action featured his own work as a model on which to base contemporary design. Sales were not very brisk, although today the book is a rare treasure."

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