Typography in the futurists' hands. Printing as used in programming modern art in the mid-war period 1918-1939

Abstract

The author recalls first that futurism started in Poland in 1918, along with the establishment of the "Katarynka" club by young poets Tytus Czyżewski, Bruno Jasieński, and Stanisław Młodożeniec. Other futurism centers had been established in the following years, and the avant-garde typography emerged, visible in the first prints of the works of Anatol Stern of 1919, published e.g. in the Warsaw "Wszechczas" printing house. not only the content of works and manifestos of the Polish futurists were controversial and awakened indignation and protests, but also unconventional typography, the editorial realization of these works, their chaotic composition, atypical formats, or substitution of classic ornaments with topographic-only means aroused anxiety of traditional literary audience and the critiques. Self-advertisement of individual authors and their community as a whole was an important function of these printings, as the author states.