Robert Heinecken: Object Matter, MoMA
Displayed in 2014, Object Matter was the first retrospective of the work of American artist Robert Heinecken since his death in 2006. The exhibition emphasized “early experiments that investigated technique and materiality and sought to destabilize the very definition of photography”.
For the typographic identity, Elle Kim, currently Senior Art Director at The Museum of Modern Art, played with opacity, layers, and mirrored type, subtly referencing the work of Heinecken who, according to the MoMA, “always celebrated photography’s limitless permutations and possibilities.”
The font in use appears to be Matthew Carter’s MoMA Gothic. Commercial Type identified it as “a flawless digital recreation of Morris Fuller Benton’s 1902 Franklin Gothic, digitized from a tray of lead type in MoMA’s permanent collection”. It served as MoMA’s primary typeface from 2003 until 2017, when it was replaced by MoMA Sans, a custom typeface “drawn by Christian Schwartz under the direction of the MoMA in-house design team and London design consultancy Made Thought, with input from Matthew Carter.”
On June 14, Elle Kim will talk about “Physical, Intellectual and Emotional: The complete type experience at MoMA” at Typographics. Fonts In Use is proud to be a media partner of the conference. See more work by speakers of the 2019 edition.
