Course title:

metamorphoses. reinventing value: collages against everything stuck in a rut

Course description:

are we really all just turbo-capitalist predators with closed minds and their victims? does ideology or fanaticism help to solve any problems? what are the values that could help us live in a just and peaceful world?
is monetary superiority a wise category of power?
is enforcing a doctrine more helpful than listening and understanding those who think or feel differently?
are listening, respect and compassion a utopia?
is caring for the weak a weakness and a waste of time?
is our world really just a collection of raw materials that need to be cleverly exploited?
is change possible? let us dream or accuse...
  in this workshop, we invite participants to use their imagination to ask questions, find utopian answers or simply draw attention to social and political injustices in a powerful way. the topics can be based on the small private world or thought of globally.
  using collage techniques and typography, participants will develop a visual language that can then be applied according to their preferences, e.g. posters and programme flyers for an event (concert, dance, lecture series, etc.), cds with booklets, newspapers, magazines, illustrated books or illustrated poetry collections.
as this year's summer school focuses on typographical bilingualism, the workshop will seek appropriate solutions for the above-mentioned applications.
  possible preliminary work and inspiration for collage techniques:
starting with the european collage pioneers hannah höch and john heartfield in the 1920s, the photo collage technique offers endless possibilities for expression. to assert or question something. brutally direct or poetically open.
some representatives (artists and designers) who have worked with photo collage: martha rosler, tadanori yokoo, luis dourado, cur3es, max-o-matic, beni bischof, matthieu bourel, walid raad, wangechi mutu. and there are many more positions to discover.
  we ask all participants to bring visual material to share. newspapers, magazines, photo books (anything from flea markets is also welcome) or even printouts.
this can be done analogously (scissors, glue) or digitally (photoshop, indesign, etc.).

Bio:

Cyan Studio, a design group founded in the former East Germany, has received widespread acclaim in the European design world in recent years. Their innate confidence, pride, and tenacity translate into a sharp, rigorous, precise, and ingenious graphic style, as well as a poetic typography reminiscent of European architecture and music. Cyan's ability to skillfully manage the relationship between materials, processes, and design allows them to maximize the appeal of two-color and spot-color printing in low-cost projects, earning them the reputation as masters of print design. They are also among the most dedicated and hardworking design groups in Europe, hailed by authoritative professional media as "neo-modernists" and "the most radical design group".
daniela haufe [*1966, east berlin] and detlef fiedler [*1955, schönebeck-upon-elbe] have been working together since 1990. in 1992 they founded the graphic design studio cyan in berlin. their work focuses on visual identities for cultural institutions (campaigns, posters, books, catalogues, flyers, websites etc.), visual staging for exhibitions and performances (exhibition design, film, video, stage design, multimedia works) and photography.