{"id":34154,"date":"2017-02-15T10:06:07","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T08:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grapheine.com\/graphic-design-en\/karel-martens-graphiste"},"modified":"2018-06-13T17:04:44","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T15:04:44","slug":"karel-martens-graphic-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grapheine.com\/en\/history-of-graphic-design\/karel-martens-graphic-designer","title":{"rendered":"Karel Martens: the impression that matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Karel Martens: the impression that matters<\/h2>\n

Karel Martens<\/a> is a dutch graphic designer and typographer born in 1939. It is not an easy task to transcribe in a few straight lines the meanders of a man still alive. Wanting to depict the work of a half-designer, half artist either. And when the man in question is both, then you have to choose an angle of attack to make a good impression.<\/p>\n

This article is part of our series of portraits \"the great names of graphic design<\/a>\".<\/p>\n

Preamble<\/h2>\n

I would like, in writing this paper on Karel Martens, to seize not words but forms, on paper.<\/strong> I would like to look at the material of his work, extract some raw elementary symbols at random, and superimpose them in his way by pressing them on a sheet of paper. Each facet of his work would then be arranged, printed then shifted, superimposing the colours in new shades. By ignoring the man, it would be a question of transforming his emotional motives into a general, artistic motive.<\/p>\n

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The paragraphs would be different from one content to another, on a grid always new and always moving. One should write in the margins, wonder about the drying time of a colour or on which paper to use, marvel at the appearance of new shapes. We should search, ask ourselves questions, think about a meaning. Solve a problem. Design.<\/p>\n

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I would like to imagine this article in the way of his work, never really finished, always potentially open.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would therefore approach Karel Martens' work here as a series of motifs, superimposed one on the other to better depict the character.<\/p>\n

Portrait<\/h2>\n

Before going deeper into the motifs that make him this artist-designer, here is a brief portrait to identify the man in question.<\/p>\n

Karel Martens is Dutch, he has been teaching graphic design since 1977. He has worked on various supports such as books, building signs, coins, stamps... (photos below). Not being attached to an agency, he is still freelance today<\/strong>, sometimes working with other designers or his students.<\/p>\n

\"neutelings05_3\"<\/p>\n

\"martens-timbres\"<\/p>\n

\"martens-olive-8\"<\/p>\n

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At the same time, he never stopped his plastic research work. In the manner of a printer, he draws from his collection of abstract shapes hand-pressed printing characters that he mixes with colours. Martens has thus created both a graphic grammar and a colourful vocabulary<\/strong> that is constantly evolving.<\/p>\n

A rare and special thing for a living artist, his work is today recognized as a reference in the world of graphic design and plastic research<\/strong>. When he started his studies, there were no graphic design courses in the program. Fifty years later, it is the emblem of Dutch modernist design.<\/p>\n