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Simon Mager (ed.)

Words Form Language

On Concrete Poetry, Typography, and the Work of Eugen Gomringer


Book design: Omnigroup, Lausanne

English edition, 2nd edition
220 pages, ca. 120 images,
16 × 24 cm, softcover

Euro [D] 29.–, Euro [A] 29.80

Available
ISBN 978-3-03863-069-2

CHF   29.00


• Eugen Gomringer as a copy-writer in the dynamic field of concrete poetry and art

• Texts are not just a communication channel, they also have a visual expression

• #4 in the Visual Archives series, in cooperation with ECAL

Bolivian-born Swiss poet, writer and publisher Eugen Gomringer (*1925) is often described as the father of concrete poetry. He was an active figure in Switzerland’s post-war design and art scene and was a voice of poetry at the intersection of literature, art and design.

From 1953 onwards, together with Dieter Roth and Marcel Wyss, Gomringer co-published the artist’s magazine spirale, that formed the starting point for his form of poetry.
From an early stage, Gomringer wanted to blur the boundaries of poetry and the language of advertising. Throughout his entire career he remained an advocate of interdisciplinarity, collaborating actively with artists and graphic designers such as Max Bill, Karl Gerstner, Anton Stankowski and above all the Zurich-based design studio E + U Hiestand.

This publication was created following extensive research in archives in Switzerland and Germany. The book combines original images and selected works from Gomringer’s long-standing collaborations as art director and copy-writer for various companies. It also contains the theoretical essay “vom vers zur konstellation” (from verse to constellation), Gomringer’s original manifesto published in 1954.

With a forword by Roland Früh.

About the author:

Simon Mager is a German graphic designer, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. He graduated with a Master in Art Direction from ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, where he continued to work as a teaching assistant and visiting lecturer. Since 2016 he runs the collaborative design practice Omnigroup together with Leonardo Azzolini. The studio works in the field of type and graphic design for international clients and is active in research and education. In 2017 the studio won the Swiss Design Award. In 2019 Simon Mager was awarded the Josef Müller-Brockmann Prize.

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