A Masterful Spirit
HOMI J BHABHA. 1909 – 1966
Modernist movements such as Bauhaus have had a deep impact on the world.
A Masterful Spirit, Homi Bhabha was a man truly in tune with the times. His outlook and style reflect a modernity that was contemporary and Europeon in essence. This book on his life grew out of an intimate dialogue between the archival content and principles of ‘modern’ design as it evolved in the mid 20th century.
We found to our delight, traces of the conceptual language that began in Bauhaus not only in the paintings that Bhabha acquired but also in the architecture and landscape of the institute.
Modernist principles of economy of expression have been followed in the typographical usage and the book uses bold colours – reds, black and steel grey. These provide a rhythm and a system for the sometimes overwhelming assemblage of archival content that illustrates the richness and diversity of talents of this ‘scientist humanist’.
Concepts about art and design that were nurtured by the modern movement travelled to India and metamorphosed into different forms.
Our role involved structuring the content into a narrative rhythm: creating strong section and chapter dividers, graphic and type hierarchies to provide continuity and having occasional interludes to provide breaks. On occasion linearity has been sacrificed in favour of the unexpected and the coincidental in this graphic overture that weaves together letters and reminiscences, photos, sketches and diary excerpts, quotes from speeches and articles.
Scope
Creating a Narrative Atructure for the Archival Content | Design and layout of book
Team
Sarita Sundar, Sybil D’Souza