FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Far more to it than A, B, C

Far more to it than A, B, C

Typography connoisseurs have assembled in Bangkok to swoon over Cyrillic

“We care about typography!” insists tgm –Typographic Society Munich, which prefers lower case in this instance. It initiated GRANSHAN – all upper case here – a competition aimed at promoting non-Latin typefaces.
Hopefully the Germans can explain such reversals in the usual order of capitalisation at the first symposium in Southeast Asia, taking place in Bangkok through August 18.
Saying typographical design and scripts have immense influence on the quality of life, tgm wants more people to understand that there’s more to printing than Latin typefaces – most notably Armenian, Cyrillic and Greek.
“The History of the GRANSHAN 2008 to 2011” and the winners of the 2012 contest are on view at the Goethe Institut on Sathorn Soi 1 and illustrate how the beauty of language can flourish in script. Armenia’s Culture Ministry is the co-presenter.
Drop by any weekday from 9 to 6, on Saturday until 4 or on Sunday until noon. Find out more at (02) 287 0942-4 and www.Goethe.de/bangkok.
Meanwhile “Lars Harmsen/slanted/Mr.Amrit Chusuwan” is demonstrating the interplay and connection between music and printed type in “TypoLyrics” at the popular restaurant Brown Sugar on Prasumen Road. Open daily from 10 to 10, it’s billed as “a feast for eyes and ears alike”. Viewers get a headset and listen to the typefaces “rock, swing and pogo”. Amrit Chusuwan is with Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts. Call (02) 250 1826 or check www.BrownSugarBangkok.com.
The Institute for Typography at Britain’s University of Reading shares its archive of non-Latin typefaces in the exhibition “From hot metal to open type” at Chulalongkorn University’s Education Faculty weekdays from 8 to 7 and weekends from 9 to 6. It’s a rare chance for the general public to see a collection normally reserved for students and researchers.
The same facility has “Letter.2 of AtypI”, “a wide-angle snapshot” of current typeface design aimed at promoting “best professional practices” and awareness about how typography encourages and maintains cultural diversity.
Get the details at http://Lib.edu.chula.ac.th.
 

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