Semantic Typography

7/23/2019 Semantic Typography

1/21

Semantic

tYPograPhY

The re at on

between

the connsuratlon

or v

sualform

g

ven to a

iext and

ihe mean

ng

.lthosewords

sadom

nal

ngiheme

olAnthonv

Froshaug

swork'

lihasieaiured

:ready,nlhisinlroductor,wllbetreatednrorespecincall\,inthispostscriptand

i lrecurihroughouttheiwovo

umes

Froshaugsinvesl

qationshavelwoaspecls:

ihey

vJere

carr

e.l

oui

n a

parl

cular

set ot

h

slorical

circumsiances

and seem

to be

.

part

mpel

ed

byan.lto

reflectthosec

rcumsiancesi

butthenthevdea

withtheer

dLrr

nq a

nrostah storical

ssueof

sett

nq

down

words

inavisualle

d,ior

readrng

The histor cal

moment

n wh

ch Froshauq's

exp

oral ons

crvstal

ized

was

that

of

EuroDe ai

the

end

oi the Second

Wor

dWar,

through

to

about

1951

(lhe

ef{ect

ve

eid

o{

h

s

pr

niing

at Lud ,van).dr

lf 1944

he encouilered

two

fsures

who

encourased

the flourish

nq oJ

whai must

have

been

deep{ooted

aitiitdes

and

ncl

nations:

JanTsch

cho d

(ihrouqh

books and

wrll

nss)

and

StelanThemerson

(

n

person)

Frosha q

s

relatio.

ioTschichold

has

been oullined

alreadv

in

ihe

ntrod ction'

His reiation

toThenrerson

was drftereni

in

k ndr

il

was a re

ation

between

friends

who worked

loqether

n

ihe marqins

of

English

liic

Ln

1937

ihe wr

ter

a.d

exoerimental

flm-maker

Ste{anThemersof

had

iogether

wrihhswfe,thepanterFranciszkaThernerson,fttheirnalveWarsawlorParis6':

As art

sls

and

FrancoDhi

e

Po

es,

Par s

was a cilv

oi

naturalalllniiv

tor

them'

ln 1940

ththe{alolFrance.therivesweredisrupted.StelaiThernersonwhohadloned

the Po

ish army

i France

camee entua

lv'

n

1942,

to

join

his wile

rn

Londo'

Th s

,tinerary ofex

le

provi.ledlhe insuisiic

road thatThemerson

nowworked

on

_

Polish

French,

Eng

ish somel

mes in dialogue

with

Froshaug

As Anthonv

Froshaug

oice

recounted lo

me ihey

would chase

mean

ngs

throtgh

d

cl onar es

wrii

n ' allerna'

r

ves above

one

anolher

ln a closing

note to

h s novel

Card''al

Pol;lno,

irst

pub

shed

in I

g6r.Thenrerson

(

n ihe

ponderous voi.e ol the

farraior

or'blographef

of

h

s nra

n

characler

s

story)

reco nted

ihe

process

bv

which

that

book had

been

wrilienl

l

wrote lhe

first

pa ,e

in

French,and

discarded

t Thef

hewrotetheflrstport

on

in

Pol sh.

and ihis

was

p bl

shed

rn 1945,

in

the London_based

maqaz

ne

Nowa

Polsla

'Then

however,

my lriend

Anlhofv

Froshaug

persuaded meto

renderthatlrslver

s onollheflrstparl

nioEngl sh,co_operatedwiih

nretoihatend,and

bvsodolnq

became

perhaps

Lrnconscious

v

responsib

efornrvsubseqire'1fin

shins

ofthe

who

e

book

I

ihat

language...6r

n

his

nove Eayarxls,flrsip bl

shed

in

1949b lslarted

alreadvin

the

m d 1940s

Themerson

ntroil ced'semaniic

poetrv't7l.The book'eaturesexamp

es

olsemantic

poelryandsomeexpanationoftherdeaThushequotesaconventionalvrhvnredset

ol

q atra,ns,

and ihen

explains

(puli

nq h s owf

words

in

quotaiion

marks):

Yao

nay rca.J

hartzantallv

lhe

neladv

al

this

paem,

but

vau

nav alsa

takeeach ol

its

||otds

an.l scate

lvenicallv

far

vour

whole

tnlellectt)a]

ot

c hesta,

vau

mav

giveeachaf

then

lhe

flesh

ote\act

definitiont

nsteatl

of alb|9nry

them

to evo|e

thecltch's

stoted

tD

pot

dtnd.

Pu

may

ty

tolind the

true rcatitv

to

which

eT ery

word

parnts'

and

that is

hal I call

Sema.tic

PaettY

tl


2/21

9

,

lo

6

u

l

s

r

p

5e

a

.

,


3/21

ln ihe rev sed

e.l t on

of lhe

book

(1965),Themerson

added ih

s

parenthet

cal

exp

aiation

ofthedifnct

ties entai

ed:

(This,

ofcaurce,

crcates atyposraphicat

probtet,:

the

nelhott

itself was

stmpte:

ta rcplace some

of lhe

key

||atdsofapoenbvthetdefinllians

Bul

haw

ta do n

lvpa'

graphicatty?

How

ta

rcplace ane

atonic

elemenl bv the

long rtbban

al tts speclrun?

ln

shon:

How

ta

print

fit/e,len, filteen

words n

ptace

afone, and

so

thal lhev

woutd

hatd

Iosether as

ane enltty? Well,

yes,

hutTvpographicalTopagtaphv

afa

Printed

page

ts lwo'

dtmensianat. E

it nat?Yau scan

n nolantv

lrom

tetl

lo

risht butatsa

from

lap

to

battan'

fherefarc,I haveanunberafwotdsthatfa,oneentitv,abauquelalnamesbvwhich

a

rose

nay be catled,

why shauldn't

lwrne them

as I would

write lhe

nates ofa muscal

chard:ane

undetanathet,

tnsteadotone

after another?

lntematVerticat

JDsttficatian

is

the

answet

taour

Noblen:Haw

ta set Semantrc

PaelrvTtanslatrcns-

l-V'J

far

S P'T

Yes

l knou

prnterc

wlt not

like it But'leamihg

halh

gatDed

mastbv

lhose

baats

bv

which

p

nters have

tast')."'

ln this rev sed

edit on ot

1965Themerson

a so suqgested

a

historical reason

for

iakins

up 'semant

c

poei.y'tust

then. 'l

had been

fed'up

with

pol

i cal

oratorv

and

with ezrapoundafskinian

tazz p

us

ioyce

plus dada_merz p

us

som

homespui

rach_

manifof{glossiiis.Avan garde,

ilhought

gotlo

go

backio

D

derot'ves,

Den

s,

ol

aLl

peop

e,

to the

lime whei

nren and

women lried to

th

nk,

l/es,

think, and t should

start

lrom there

aga n.66

And, ten

years

Laler,

introducing

his

co leciion

ol writ nss O/r

seDarl,cpoelrl,Themersonreflected:'ltwasarefusatobeiakenawavfromreaiiv'a

refusaltobetakenloraride,ihatmademe'devise"(noiiosav'burst

nlo-")sema,_

,cpoety,

some

30

years

ago

... al a

time

when

pol

t

cal demagogues

of a

I

sorts

were

usinq oratory

dev ces

slolen

from

poels

...'''

Th

s,

then,

is

ihe

context

ollhese

experiments

with semanl

c

Poetrv

and semantic

lypography

more

general

y:a

disastrous

world

war, and an

allerrnath

in whi'h sur

vivors

reso ed to

clearawaylhe Ialsities

ol rhetor

c,

io

search

loralruerand

unta

nted

meaning,andtoreconstruciiheircu

lures

onthoseierrns

Themersonwas

aliracted,aswasFroshaug-each

i h sownid

osvncraticwav-toscieni

ficreason

ln as

a srpporl

i hls endeavours

One.anunderstandtheThemersof

an'lnternalVeriica

Justficaiion'asaspecia

case oiwhatdes

gners

knowasalqnmeii,wherebv

e

ementswiih

n avisua fieldare

qiven

orderby

ettinglhem

run

Irom ortothesamevert

calaxis

(tospeakjustof

typography).The

idea is associaied

espec

a lv with twentielh_centurv

modenrism,

which

relectedihe

principleofcentring

(associaled

w th

ihe

old

class calorder, and

nresponsiveto particular

rnean

ngs-apartlromthe

one biq

nreaning ofclassica

fornralty)

niavo rofasyrnmeir

calconnguratlon

(denotinq

inlornralitvand

ableio

arl

culatemeaninoswthinawhole)

U.itsl

fledtexi,wh chbegarloemergeasa

recogn

zed

praciice in typographyatlustthis

momenloliheend

ofthewar'

became

a

pervasive

and

now almost

nnoiiced

instance

ol

the

a

isnment

princ

p

e. But'

more

ob

ous

y,

a

i ,nmenl

may be

used

in

manv

precise

wavsrfor

example,lo

relate a

head

n ,tothetextthatro

lows, orapaqenumberiotheedgofa

picture(fors

mple

t d

ness

morethanloranysemant

c relation)

46


4/21

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^

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q

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ns

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op

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ee

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d

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4

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p

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5/21

bolh

inlerferencelormean

rq

a.d self

cr

iica

rel

ceice. l. 1970.

q arrel,nq

w

lh

ihe

deathatmode

r

lypographymeartdis

ocatio. olre.iangu

ar ty

hewrote:

Modern

typo raphy is noi a

n)odei ii cons sts I a reasoned assessnre.l ol

what

s needed.and ofwhal sonrehowthen

ls do.e, nderceria

i.onstra

nts

When typo

raph

c a.d

soc

a constra nls change,the

importantthirs s.ol

to sprayara.do..

paiternonthepaqebuttoassessihenew.withtlreod,req renrentsof atext'

(See1ext34.

p.

202

below.)

To

return

to

semaft

c

poetry

and

StelaiThenrerson:Aniho.y

Frosha r

va

ued

Thenrerson as

a

rea

ive

poei

iv

f nearby r

west

London

who was mak

ig ii

.ew n

tlre spir

t olW

I am Blake Chr

st a.

[4orgensienr or Gu I a meApoL naire

(menrbers

of

a ifeaoetrat Frosha q

l

ked

to.

te).Asthe

oiesof

'l953su est

he

wasawareoithe da.gersofexcessivetab

at on olinformation

and olihe ssue

ol

'type

)ici res

These

concerns

helped lo denne the

sround

1e

etp ored

48


6/21

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t@

'4

r

o

ahe

T

Moa

B

5


7/21

4

L

o

i

+


8/21

"

'

i.i:i

Hoch

-,1.;

II


9/21

la

;

)

p

o

G

p

d

c

6

n

a

zn

un

"

z

un


10/21

n

Ho.hsch

elii,Gasia

trns u

mt530r.

vsua

rulriodo

o0

lr,q1

'

4

pp

r15

5

be

oN)

Asadas

qnlob.

I nrcthedr,a

m

nrhe afi

paqeabove.rroh

(/r,,o,

I


11/21

9


12/21

6

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ia

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13/21

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III

tl

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14/21

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D. ,

,

tt

0r

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(rDi{i 1[bn:,-)oi

i].rr1f:+,

i

78


15/21

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16/21

-:12

(w

rh somee

eme s

norc r edourto

h s

deson) oneoiiheserntrhed sheet E

awa

(

e borh Y

ia

yand

n*o,kpro

.edue)rharwasrh.n

qu

1e r amil'ar

82


17/21

=

=

:

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g

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,

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.


18/21

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LridHrmphres

i

rhe a1srs30s

(repro

Le

be

^'rd

We

t

t.tes

ry

p.s

ta

p

hen

lan

.s.hrhdd D,esdei vEB

reir

raie33)

mo ,nGa]

1930)

rh Gborosqor


19/21

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Semantic Typography

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