Tibor Kalman
Encyclopedia
Tibor Kalman was an influential American graphic design
er of Hungarian origin, well-known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine.
Kalman was born in Budapest
and became a U.S.
resident in 1956, after he and his family fled Hungary
to escape the Soviet invasion, settling in Poughkeepsie, New York. He later attended NYU
, dropping out after one year of Journalism classes. In the 1970s Kalman worked at a small New York City
bookstore that eventually became Barnes & Noble
. He later became the supervisor of their in-house design department. In 1979 Kalman, Carol Bokuniewicz, and Liz Trovato started the design firm M&Co, which did corporate work for such diverse clients as the Limited Corporation
, the New Wave music
group Talking Heads
, and Restaurant Florent in New York City's Meatpacking District. Kalman also worked as creative director of Interview
magazine in the early 1990s.
Kalman became founding editor-in-chief of the Benetton
-sponsored Colors magazine in 1990. In 1993, Kalman closed M&Co and moved to Rome
, to work exclusively on the magazine. Billed as 'a magazine about the rest of the world', Colors focused on multiculturalism
and global awareness. This perspective was communicated through bold graphic design, typography
, and juxtaposition of photographs and doctored images, including a series in which highly recognizable figures such as the Pope
and Queen Elizabeth
were depicted as racial minorities. Kalman remained the main creative force behind Colors, until the onset of non-Hodgkins lymphoma forced him to leave in 1995, and return to New York.
In 1997, Kalman re-opened M&Co and continued to work until his death in 1999 in Puerto Rico
, shortly before a retrospective of his graphic design work entitled Tiborocity opened its U.S. tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
. A book about Kalman and M&Co's work, Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 1999.
Today the influence of M&Co is still strong, both as a result of its work and that of the many designers, like Stefan Sagmeister
, Stephen Doyle, Alexander Isley
, Scott Stowell, and Emily Oberman, who worked there and went on to start their own design studios in New York City. Howard Milton
and Jay Smith who worked with Kalman in 1979 went on to found Smith & Milton in London.
Tibor Kálmán was a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale
(AGI). Kalman was one of the 33 signers of the First Things First 2000 manifesto
. Until his death (1999), Mr. Kalman was married to the illustrator and author Maira Kalman
.
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
er of Hungarian origin, well-known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine.
Kalman was born in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and became a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
resident in 1956, after he and his family fled Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to escape the Soviet invasion, settling in Poughkeepsie, New York. He later attended NYU
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, dropping out after one year of Journalism classes. In the 1970s Kalman worked at a small New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
bookstore that eventually became Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
. He later became the supervisor of their in-house design department. In 1979 Kalman, Carol Bokuniewicz, and Liz Trovato started the design firm M&Co, which did corporate work for such diverse clients as the Limited Corporation
Limited Brands
Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...
, the New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
group Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, and Restaurant Florent in New York City's Meatpacking District. Kalman also worked as creative director of Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
magazine in the early 1990s.
Kalman became founding editor-in-chief of the Benetton
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....
-sponsored Colors magazine in 1990. In 1993, Kalman closed M&Co and moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, to work exclusively on the magazine. Billed as 'a magazine about the rest of the world', Colors focused on multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and global awareness. This perspective was communicated through bold graphic design, typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, and juxtaposition of photographs and doctored images, including a series in which highly recognizable figures such as the Pope
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
were depicted as racial minorities. Kalman remained the main creative force behind Colors, until the onset of non-Hodgkins lymphoma forced him to leave in 1995, and return to New York.
In 1997, Kalman re-opened M&Co and continued to work until his death in 1999 in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, shortly before a retrospective of his graphic design work entitled Tiborocity opened its U.S. tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
. A book about Kalman and M&Co's work, Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 1999.
Today the influence of M&Co is still strong, both as a result of its work and that of the many designers, like Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer. He has his own design firm—Sagmeister Inc.—in New York City. He has designed album covers for Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith and Pat Metheny.-Biography:Sagmeister studied graphic design at the...
, Stephen Doyle, Alexander Isley
Alexander Isley
Alexander Isley is a graphic designer and educator.Isley was born in Durham, North Carolina and studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Cooper Union School of Art in New York....
, Scott Stowell, and Emily Oberman, who worked there and went on to start their own design studios in New York City. Howard Milton
Howard Milton
Howard Milton is a British designer who came to prominence during the 1980s UK design boom.Milton first studied Art at Emanuel School then Hammersmith College of Art under Ruskin Spear and under Tom Eckersley at the London College of Printing, graduating in 1974.He joined Michael Peters and...
and Jay Smith who worked with Kalman in 1979 went on to found Smith & Milton in London.
Tibor Kálmán was a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale
Alliance Graphique Internationale
Alliance Graphique Internationale is a club of the world’s leading graphic artists and designers. There are about 350 members from 27 countries.- History :...
(AGI). Kalman was one of the 33 signers of the First Things First 2000 manifesto
First things first 2000 Manifesto
The First Things First 2000 manifesto, launched by Adbusters magazine in 1999, was an updated version of the earlier First Things First manifesto written and published in 1964 by Ken Garland, a British designer....
. Until his death (1999), Mr. Kalman was married to the illustrator and author Maira Kalman
Maira Kalman
Maira Kalman, born in 1949, is an American illustrator, author, artist, and designer. Born in Tel Aviv, Kalman came to New York City with her family at age 4. She attended the High School of Music and Art, now LaGuardia High School....
.
See also
- First Things First 2000 manifestoFirst things first 2000 ManifestoThe First Things First 2000 manifesto, launched by Adbusters magazine in 1999, was an updated version of the earlier First Things First manifesto written and published in 1964 by Ken Garland, a British designer....
- List of AIGA medalists
- Colors (magazine)
- Naked (Talking Heads album)
- Remain in Light (Talking Heads album)Remain in LightRemain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 8 October 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator...