Poster, Unfinished Modern

In April of 1984, when postmodernism was becoming an established movement in popular discourse, the Architecture League of New York organized two lectures debating the future of architecture. The two-part series delivered by Arthur Drexler, the director of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art at the time, disagreed with the widely held sentiment that modernism was dead. He instead saw it as a period “that ...merit[ed] investigation and analysis.” This poster designed by Michael Bierut and Massimo Vignelli announced the talks —“The Devaluation of Architecture” and “Architecture in the Millenium” were the official titles— and uses typography to visualize the breakdown of a traditional, rational modernism. Solid white bars create the letters and progressively become thinner, suggesting what the title of the piece itself alludes to: unfinished modern. Bierut spent the first decade of his career working for the late and legendary designer Massimo Vingnelli before becoming a partner at the prominent graphic design studio Pentagram, a position he continues to hold today.

Poster, Unfinished Modern; Designed by Michael Bierut (American, b. 1957); Published by Architectural League of New York (United States), Formica Corporation; Firm: Vignelli Designs, Inc.; USA; screenprint on paper; 50.7 x 50.7 cm (19 15/16 x 19 15/16 in.); Gift of Michael Bierut; 1996-86-1