Dan Friedman was an extraordinary designer. His work is currently on display at the American Institute of Graphic Arts National Design Center in New York City through January 9, 2015. Dan Friedman: Radical Modernist explores his range of skills as an educator, designer, artist, and writer.
Friedman worked comfortably between these disciplines—from teaching (Yale and Cooper Union) to straight-up corporate design (one-time partner at Pentagram) to his experimental work in the East Village art scene (with the likes of Basquiat, Haring, and Koons).
Before he died in 1995, Friedman offered up a 12-point “radical modernist” agenda, among which are (1) engage in self-restraint; accept the challenge of working with reduced expectations and diminished resources, (2) bridge the boundaries that separate us from other creative professions and unexpected possibilities, and (3) be radical.
