How does critical design emerge, the attempt to counter consumer culture with a social consciousness with the intention not only to serve customers but also to shape visual culture, even the whole of culture and society?

exhibition organized by tranzit. hu and Dorottya Gallery (Kunsthalle Budapest)

Dorottya Gallery (5th distr., Dorottya u. 8.), Labor (5th distr., Képíró u. 6.) 14 October. – 15 November 2009
opening: 13 October 2009
Platán Gallery (Polish Institute, 6th distr., Andrássy út 32.) 22 October – 27 November 2009
opening: 21 October 2009

Artists: Andreas Fogarasi, Lajos Kassák, László Moholy-Nagy, Société Réaliste, Boris Ondreička, Katarina Šević, Mladen Stilinović, Plágium 2000, SZAF (Judit Fischer, Miklós Mécs), other artists and artist publications

14 – 15 October 2009
Seminar on critical design and conceptual typography within the framework of the Free School for Art Theory and Practice (http://www.tranzit.org)

A utopian approach to design first appeared in the modernist movements, questioning the ornamental function of design and lining it up for social and political goals. The sixties and seventies saw the appearance of anti-design; as a means of expressing a critical attitude, more and more artists turned to deliberately amateur DIY solutions. Today, the design elements that were created originally out of political and social commitment have become freely interchangeable stylistic elements, devices of marketing, making the political decoding and conscious use of the diverse visual languages necessary for the critical approach. The exhibition presents the historical and contemporary projects and publications from the boundary of design and the visual arts in three groups: Typographical utopias, Parallel design, Subversive design.

The three-part exhibition will be accompanied by programs, further information can be found at http://www.tranzit.org and http://www.metatron.sh/koztesido.

The exhibition and event series are part of the international project Art Always Has Its Consequences co-financed by the Culture 2007 program of the European Union.

Partners: Kunsthalle Budapest – Dorottya Gallery, Polish Institute, Hungarian Institute for Educational Research and Development

Supported by: National Cultural Fund, Hungary, Budapest Autumn Festival, French Institute – Budapest, Ministry of Education and Culture

tranzit is a contemporary art program supported by Erste Bank Group