Die 100 Wörter des Jahrhunderts, 1999
Grosshansdorf: Officina Ludi
One of 100 copies.
1597
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Oblong quarto. (103)ff. 'Die 100 Wörter des Jahrhunderts' was a media campaign led by DeutschlandRadio Berlin and other television and radio organizations, which polled the public on words considered to...
Oblong quarto. (103)ff. "Die 100 Wörter des Jahrhunderts" was a media campaign led by DeutschlandRadio Berlin and other television and radio organizations, which polled the public on words considered to be significant to the 20th century. The final count of words were selected by a jury, with support from the Society for German Language. The result, presented here, is an alphabet of Western culture, and it is startling to see so many that relate to social and political crises. Among them are AIDS, atomic bomb, deportation, Iron Curtain, energy crisis, fascism, holocaust, genocide, League of Nations, terrorism, October Revolution, show trial, and inflation. Others highlight key moments of cultural and technological change, including radar, TV, Rock and Roll, and Moon Landing. Though pale against the terrific, and perhaps terrifying, ubiquity of the 20th century emergency, these other, gentler terms suggest the persistence of hope. Officina Ludi recruited a selection of artists to design the sheets without additional graphics; innovative typography makes the point, and does so with considerable aplomb. The designs themselves gesture toward the 20th century's revolution in the visual appeal of letterforms, whether among Russian Constructivists or advertisers for newsstand magazines. Sheets held in wooden box with polished brass clasps. Fine.
