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APRIL
GREIMAN:
INTERVIEW
TYPOGRAPHISCHE MONATSBLÄTTER JOURNAL
LOUISE PARADIS, ARIELLA YEDGAR
Why did you go to Basel after
graduating from Kansas City
Art Institute [KCKI]?
I had three teachers from the
Schule für Gestaltung Basel
when I was at Kansas City—Inge
Druckrey, Hans Allemann and
Christa Zelinsky.They were
all from Europe and had to
leave when their visas expired.
Feeling incomplete with my
undergraduate education, I
decided I would do graduate
work in Basel. We didn’t have
a type shop in Kansas City and
we were using Letraset, which
wasn’t professional enough
for me. I also always liked and
used words and their roots in
my design work, making words
“editorial” and narrative in
their own right. So I just knew
I needed to know more about
fine typography to complete my
design education. That is why I
went to Basel, really.
Were you expecting to
encounter a modernist
style there?
I was probably one of the
youngest people in the class,
and I really didn’t have any
expectations. I just needed
to learn typography. We also
had an important exhibition
of Armin Hofmann’s posters at
our school in Kansas City. I just
remember it to be such a pivotal
experience for me. I didn’t know
who he was when I walked
into the gallery. I mean, I heard
his name and we looked at his
published books, but when I saw
the posters in person, I felt like
I needed to go directly to the
source, which is what I did! He
was such an influential force in
my earlier years.
So had most people
worked before?
I was only 21. People were
generally five years or even a
bit older than I. My going there
was a bit of a fluke, because
during Hofmann’s exhibition
at KCAI he made a visit and
gave a lecture at the college.
I talked to the head of our
design program, Rob Kelly,
and said, “Could I speak with
Mr. Hofmann about studying
in Basel?” And he said,“What
for?”, “Because I may want to go
there and study typography.” So
he set up an appointment with
Hofmann and I met with him.
He went through my portfolio in
about two minutes and asked,
“What do you want?” to which
I replied, “What does it take
to go to the Basel School?” He
answered,“Just show up in
September.” And so I did!