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Hans Rudolf BosshardTwelve variations on a dice theme / - The Musical Proportions of the Cube -
About the Item
Hans Rudolf Bosshard (*1929 Balm-Lottstetten), Twelve variations on a dice theme, 1962. Portfolio with inserted cover sheet and twelve woodcuts on thin Japanese paper. Copy no. 2/10, sheet dimensions 61 cm (height) x 47 cm (width). Woodcuts each signed “Hans Bosshard” in lead, dated “[19]62” and numbered.
- Portfolio somewhat dusty and bumped, sheets with very occasional wood inclusions due to production.
- The Musical Proportions of the Cube -
With the musical terminology given in the title, "Variations on a Theme," Hans Rudolf Bossard makes it clear that the twelve images are not to be viewed as a sequence alone, but that they interlock like a sequence of notes. The artist has also materialized the interlocking, which corresponds to a musical theme, through the semi-transparent, thin Japanese paper. When the prints are placed on top of each other, the lower sheets shine through, so that in addition to black and white, shades of gray are also part of the rhythmic spatial structure, creating the impression of a depth structure that is only revealed. The "cube theme" depicted on the title page as a complex and precise interlocking is presented in the graphics - in analogy to the music - as a visual sequence of spatial sounds. In this way, Bossard activates musical principles for the minimalist Op Art of the time, whereby his prints develop a special effect through the intensity of the black, since Bossard did not produce screen prints or lithographs as usual, but woodcuts.
About the artist
In 1944, at the age of fifteen, Hans Rudolf Bosshard began an apprenticeship as a typesetter in Schaffhausen, which he completed in 1948. Since then, typography has been a defining leitmotif in Bosshard's artistic work, both in practice and in theory. For 30 years he taught typography at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich and published his findings in various textbooks: Technical Foundations of Type Production (1980), Mathematical Foundations of Type Production (1985), Typography - Type - Readability (1996), and The Typographic Raster (2000).
As a visual artist, he initially worked in an expressionist style. However, the works of Richard Paul Lohse and Max Bill, which inspired him, made it clear that the geometric-mathematical conciseness already applied in typography held an artistic potential that Bossard began to exploit. Throughout his life, however, he remained faithful to the woodcut.
"Not a single one of his compositions is speculative.”
Hans Jörg Wüger
GERMAN VERSION
Hans Rudolf Bosshard (*1929 Balm-Lottstetten), Zwölf Variationen über ein Würfelthema, 1962. Mappe mit einliegendem Deckblatt und zwölf Holschnitten auf dünnem Japanpapier. Exemplar Nr. 2/10. Blattmaße 61 cm (Höhe) x 47 cm (Breite). Holzschnitte jeweils in Blei mit „Hans Bosshard“ signiert, auf „[19]62“ datiert und nummeriert.
- Mappe etwas angestaubt und bestoßen, Blätter herstellungsbedingt ganz vereinzelt mit Holzeinschlüssen.
- Die musikalischen Proportionen des Würfels -
Mit der in im Titel gegebenen musikalischen Begrifflichkeit, ‚Variationen über ein Thema‘, verdeutlicht Hans Rudolf Bossard, dass die zwölf Darstellungen nicht allein als Abfolge zu betrachten sind, sondern wie eine Tonfolge ineinandergreifen. Das einem musikalischen Thema entsprechende In-einander-gefügt-Sein hat der Künstler durch das semitransparente dünne Japanpapier auch materiell realisiert. Liegen die Grafiken übereinander, scheinen die jeweils unteren Blätter hindurch, so dass neben Schwarz und Weiß auch Grautöne Teil des rhythmisierten Raumgefüges sind und der Eindruck einer sich erst enthüllenden Tiefenstruktur entsteht. Das auf dem Titelblatt als komplexes wie exaktes Ineinander veranschaulichte ‚Würfelthema‘ wird auf den Grafiken – in Analogie zur Musik – als visuelle Raumklangabfolge dargeboten. Damit aktiviert Bossard musikalische Prinzipien für die minimalistisch ausgerichtete Op-Art der Zeit, wobei seine Blätter durch die Intensität des Schwarzes eine besondere Wirkkraft entfalten, da Bossard nicht – wie üblich – Siebdrucke oder Lithographien, sondern Holzschnitte anfertigt hat.
zum Künstler
Mit fünfzehn Jahren nahm Hans Rudolf Bosshard 1944 eine Lehre als Schriftsetzer in Schaffhausen auf, die er 1948 abschloss. Seitdem ist die Typographie in praktischer wie theoretischer Hinsicht ein bestimmendes Leitmotiv in Bossards künstlerischem Schaffen. 30 Jahre unterrichtete er unter anderem an der Kunstgewerbeschule für Gestaltung Zürich Typographie und publizierte seine Erkenntnisse in verschiedenen Lehrwerken: Technische Grundlagen zur Satzherstellung (1980), Mathematische Grundlagen zur Satzherstellung (1985), Typografie - Schrift - Lesbarkeit (1996) und Der typografische Raster (2000).
Als bildender Künstler schuf er zunächst in einem expressionistischen Duktus. Die ihn inspirierenden Werke von Richard Paul Lohse und Max Bill verdeutlichten jedoch, dass gerade die in der Typographie bereits zu Anwendung kommende geometrisch-mathematische Prägnanz ein künstlerisches Potenzial birgt, das Bossard fortan auszuschöpfen begann. Dabei blieb er allerdings Zeit seines Lebens dem bereits praktizierten Holzschnitt treu.
„Keine einzige seiner Kompositionen ist spekulativ.“
Hans Jörg Wüger
- Creator:Hans Rudolf Bosshard (1929, Swiss)
- Dimensions:Height: 24.02 in (61 cm)Width: 18.51 in (47 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2438215863372
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