News: Rudi Meyer and his hidden treasures in Paris
February 11, 2007

2001, Centenaire de la mort de Verdi, Otello, Falstaff, Requiem

When I visited Paris to see Bi Xuefeng's exhibition in May 2005, somebody mentioned a talk at the Palais de Tokyo by Rudi Meyer, from whom I had never heard before. The big conference hall was packed with people however, but I was surprised how this elderly, softspoken gentleman could attract such a large audience, even in Paris, with a talk on typography. The surprise turned to increasing excitement when Rudi Meyer started to show his poster work which in my opinion is in the same class of posters that win gold medals at the current international competitions. I particularly admire the combination of a childlike curiosity to explore new territory on one side and on the other side the absolute mastery and discipline of an experienced professional who's training by great teachers (Armin Hofmann and Emil Ruder in his case) is still shining through. And how easily and elegantly he handles the large amount of text that his clients throw at him. Rudi Meyer grew up in Switzerland and left for Paris in 1964 where he is still working. He has guided a whole generation of students, from 1967 to 2004, as teacher at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. During the last few years, he has done many posters for the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. And the best thing: Rudi Meyer now has a web site so the hidden treasures can now be enjoyed worldwide: www.rudi-meyer.com . The website itself is a masterpiece in esthetics, functionality and programming.

Some examples from www.rudi-meyer.com :

1992, Ecole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs	2001, Nouveau festival international de danse de Paris	2002, Lucie de Lammermoor, Opéra de Gaetano Donizetti	2004, Le Fou, Opéra de Marcel Landowski
2004, Angels in America, Opéra de Peter Eötvös	2005, 1000 places pour les jeunes	2005, Boris Godounov, Opéra de Modeste Moussorgski	2006, Jazz, Bleu sur scène