The visionary design work of Dan Friedman.
During the short history of design, only a handful of designers have dared to walk the tricky line between art and commerce. And even fewer have handled this unnatural balancing act with the humor and integrity of The visionary design work of Dan Friedman.
From his legendary apartment-cum-design-laboratory in Manhattan, Friedman has devoted an entire career to breaking down separations: between art and design, teaching and practice, high and popular culture. In the process, he influenced a generation of designers -including the makers of this magazine. (Dan and I first met when we worked together at Pentagram New York in the late 70's.)
Friedman created the poster shown here [print magazine only] in 1990, for an exhibition entitled Artificial Nature. Both the poster and the book accompanying the exhibition were seminal works - early warning signals for the eerie confluence of technology, design, and culture that the rest of us are only just beginning to experience.
Friedman's work has now become available to a wider audience with the publication of a 223-page retrospective. Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism (US$65) is published by Yale University Press: +1 (203) 432 0947.
