Prepare yourselves for the cinematic typography of a realm reborn

14 Sep / 2015 / Inspiration /

They were born in Germany yet the American architectural landscape was mesmerizing enough for the young creative duo Geebird & Bamby to reintroduce us the American Dream. “The New World” is a series of freely designed buildings that is shaped by an original set of rules, metrics and processes. The seemingly familiar reality of this project is inspired by the magnificent body of work showcased during the post war era and the later 20th century in the fields of Photography, Architecture, Film and Design. To name just a few in no particular order: Paul Rudolph and the Sarasota School Of Architecture, Saul Bass, Minoru Yamasaki, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Charles and Ray Eames, Ed Ruscha, Paul Thomas Anderson, Paul Rand and Wim Wenders.

Robert Achtel’s and Jens Bambauer’s partnership was initiated in 2009 with the primary objective to create, manufacture and distribute “The New World” as an original visual design product straight from their studio in Wiesbaden, Germany. Based on the partnership’s architectural photography from California, Nevada and Florida this universe manipulates existing modernist and brutalist elements of the American Dream in a stunning, haunting way. Capturing and altering the signage of architectural elements they produce art. The letterforms and the meaning of the words they choose bring their spirit alive. The aesthetic look of their digital artwork is “defined by the interrelation between minimalist graphic shapes and a photo-realistic visualization”.

“Through a lively crossover of artistic disciplines, the artists pursue an intensive dialogue with modernity, both in form and design. The buildings appear as if they came from a parallel world. And yet, with their timeless elegance, they somehow seem familiar to us. This mixture of amazement and recognition, of wonder and reflection, produces a remarkable effect” says Stephan Reisner. “Fantasy penetrates the images and changes our view of the past and the present into a spectacular dream for the future. It is part of the artistic concept of Geebird & Bamby to leave the functions of the buildings deliberately vague and ambiguous. A cinema named “Fox” is showing a film with the thought-provoking title “The Man Who Lived Forever”, a building resembling a supermarket has the rather appropriate logo “The Good Life”, and there is also building for “The Modern Gentleman”. We are pulled into a thrilling game of allusion, recognition, and idealisation. As we look upon these utopian buildings we long for their existence.”

Set in a time characterized by the conflict of Modernist and Postmodernist convictions, its influence on later 20th century history, and ultimately, the world we live in today, “The New World” is manufactured in cooperation with Oschatz GmbH & CO KG, one of Germany’s leading image production firms, founded as a photo laboratory in 1922. Each print is available in a limited edition of 100 pieces as PLEXIGLAS® sealed Kodak exposures, laminated on DIBOND®. This is a utopia you can own. For more information on this project click here

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