A(R)Talk 08: Stefan Sagmeister – Now is Better
Image: Henry Leutwyler
MAY 6 | 6.30 PM
PLEASE RSVP HERE
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is pleased to host a panel discussion with the acclaimed Austrian-born US based contemporary graphic designer and typographer Stefan Sagmeister. The focus of the talk will be Sagmeister’s latest publication, “Now is Better,” which was released in 2023 by Phaidon Press.
Initially conceived in 2020 as the world entered pandemic lockdown, “Now is Better” looks at the state of the world today, illuminating, through collected data, how far we have come and encouraging us to think about where we can go from here. In Sagmeister’s hands, statistics are vividly brought to life, as numbers are transformed into exciting graphics, inlaid into nineteenth-century paintings, or hand-painted onto water glasses. Overall, “Now is Better” encourages long-term thinking and reminds us that many things in the world are improving.
A slide presentation by Stefan Sagmeister will be followed by a conversation moderated by Dr. Stephanie Buhmann, Head of Visual Arts, Art, and Architecture at the ACFNY, as well as a Q&A segment with the audience. Books will be available for sale during the reception.
About the Speakers:
Stefan Sagmeister has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. He’s a two time Grammies winner and also earned practically every important international design award. Stefan talks about the large subjects of our lives like happiness or beauty, how they connect to design and what that actually means to our everyday lives. He spoke 5 times at the official TED, making him one of the three most frequently invited TED speakers. His books sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in museums around the world. His exhibit ’The Happy Show’ attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York. Image Credits: James Braund
Dr. Stephanie Buhmann (Moderator): Head of Visual Art, Architecture & Design at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York is a historian of art, architecture and design. She has written extensively on visual art and her essays have appeared in a variety of books, international art magazines, and newspapers. Besides curating dozens of exhibitions, she has conducted over ninety published interviews with contemporary artists. In 2013 she conceived of an ongoing Studio Conversations series, focused on women of different generations working in diverse media. Her latest monograph Frederick Kiesler: Galaxies was published in 2023 (The Green Box, Berlin). She was a contributing author and co-editor of Roma Artist Ceija Stojka: What Should I Be Afraid of?, a publication released by Hirmer Publishers and the Austrian Cultural Forum New York in January 2024. Image Credits: Marcin Muchalski & Sabrina Vertzman, New York