'hans neumann. pioneer of advertising agencies' exhibition at MAK vienna

muki.erstklassige terpentin edelwachs schuhcreme hans neumann, 1915 © tibor rauch / MAK

opening today at MAK vienna is ‘hans neumann. pioneer of advertising agencies’ exhibition. the MAK with its holdings of almost 100 posters possesses one of the largest collections from neumann’s studio, whose history and range of work are documented in the exhibition.

in several respects, hans neumann’s mode of work is comparable to the practices of an advertising agency of today. in his studio he produced graphic designs for posters, advertisements, and brochures, but also title pages for sheet music. from 1920, by using, a studio stamp, he secured brand recognition for his works in the sense of a corporate design. hans neumann (1888–1960) exerted a visual influence on the vienna cityscape of the 1920s and ’30s with his posters.

the rise of the austrian film industry in the 1920s and the emergence of a modern consumer society made the poster a medium of mass communication. in the wake of this development, the studio of hans neumann created poster designs with a high recognition value. for hans steinhoff’s silent movie ‘Kleider machen Leute’ (fine feathers make fine birds) for example, neumann was not only responsible for the intertitle design, but also did the entire set decoration; a ten-minute sequence from this movie will be screened in the exhibition for the first time again after almost 90 years.

in addition, the atelier hans neumann did advertising for convenience goods, festivities, balls, fairs, exhibitions, etc. the studio successively expanded its range of production to address plate design, book decoration, forms and printed matter, shop fittings, sample portfolios, illustrations, interior decoration, advertisements, calendars, caricatures, catalogues, movie-theater, illuminated, sports and trackside advertising, small graphic designs, packagings, shop-window design, signboards, logos and trademarks.

on view in the show will be 35 posters and 20 advertisements. the exhibition will be held until may 10, 2009.

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kabarett nixe.wien II. lilienbrunngasse 2, an der marienbrückeatelier hans neumann around 1924 vienna: gesellschaft für graphische industrie wien © tibor rauch / MAK