With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Herbert Matter
Architecture/Design, Photography
1907 – 1984
According to Rachel Carley: “A design consultant to Knoll International and former student of Fernand Leger, Herbert Matter, who had an equally distinguished career in photography, photomontage and filmmaking, introduced the first photography classes at Yale. In 1950 Matter directed Works of Calder, the first color film to showcase the artist’s sculptures, for the Museum of Modern Art. In 1954, as corporate design director for the New Haven Railroad, he also designed the railroad’s “NH” logo with its distinctive elongated serifs. One of the most identifiable graphic design motifs in America, the logo is still in use today.”
- Biography/Description of Work
Matter was born in the Swiss Mountains, and in 1925, he began attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Geneva, but left two years later, intrigued by Modernism. He moved to Paris and attended the Academie Moderne. In 1936, in exchange for work he had done for a ballet troupe, he was offered a roundtrip passage to the U. S. He traveled throughout the country and decided to remain in New York instead of returning home. Matter soon became photographer for Harper’s Bazaar and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1944, he became design consultant for Knoll International and in 1952, he joined the faculty at Yale University as professor of photography and graphic design. From 1958-1968, he worked as a design consultant for the Guggenheim Museum. His first major art exhibit was in 1978 at the Yale University School of Art, and in 1980 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship for photography.
- Sources view
- Helfand, Jessica; The Design Observer Group; Annals of Small Town Life: The Logo Stops Here; 9/4/2006, accessed 7/30/2014 at http://designobserver.com/feature/annals-of-small-town-life-the-logo-stops-here/4697/; Carley, Rachel. Creative Places: Modern Arts and Letters in Connecticut. Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation & State Historic Preservation Office, 2014; Palmer, Barbara; Exhibit celebrates photographer and graphic designer Herbert Matter; Stanford University News Service, October 19, 2005; accessed 1/14/2015 at http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2005/pr-matter-101905.html; Ransom, David F.; Falls Village District; National Register Historic District Nomination No. 79002622,
National Park Services, 1979; The New York Times (1851-2010) accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers on 7/30/2014
Herbert Matter, 77, A Graphic Designer And Photographer – May 9, 1984
The Graphic Designs of Herbert Matter: Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street Through Dec. 3 – July 26, - Associated Resource(s)