abeceda

Abeceda
written by Vitĕzslav Nezval
Karel Teige (1900-51)
Czechoslovakia 1923
Letterpress on paper 30.5 x 47cm
Abeceda Antiquariat, Munich

The book Abeceda (Alphabet) is a composite of experimental 
poetry, modern dance, graphic design and photomontaged typography.
Based on a poem by Vitĕzslav Nezval in the order of the letters of the 
Latin alphabet. Each double page features a set of quatrains facing a 
sometimes abstracted letter composed of typographic elements and a 
photograph of the dancer Milca Mayerova.  He was not trying to 
illustrate the words through images or typography, but instead to foster 
a similarly poetic dialogue between text and images. The entire project
explored the relationships between verbal and visual art, industrial 
technology and mass media in a new way.