Helmut Lortz

Helmut Lortz (born April 25, 1920 in Darmstadt ; † January 4, 2007 there ) was a German graphic artist and draftsman .

life and work

Postage stamp for the 350th anniversary of the University of Giessen by Helmut Lortz

From 1935 to 1938 he did an apprenticeship at the technical school for ivory and wood carving in Erbach . Before he passed his journeyman's examination in 1938, he won the Reichsprufsettkampf twice in Germany. He then received a scholarship to study sculpture at the "United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts" in Berlin, which in 1939 was renamed the "State University for Fine Arts". He finished his studies with a master's degree in 1940 because he was called up for military service in World War II .

In 1948 he became a member of the New Darmstadt Secession . From 1952 to 1959 Lortz was a lecturer at the Werkkunstschule Darmstadt, who directed the commercial graphics class. In 1954 Lortz was the first German to be accepted into the "Alliance Graphique International". In 1957 he was a founding member of the NOVUM group, to which prominent representatives such as Karl Oskar Blase , Hans Hillmann and Günther Kieser belonged and for whom he designed the logo. In 1959 he was appointed professor at the Berlin University of Fine Arts , where he taught experimental graphics until 1986.

Helmut Lortz designed book covers, posters, signets, postage stamps, calendars and illustrated books. The world-famous symbol of the International Radio Exhibition Berlin comes from him. In addition, numerous books of his playful, analytical sketches and free drawings have been published.

Awards

• City of Darmstadt Art Prize (1955)
• Johann Heinrich Merck Award of the City of Darmstadt (1970)

Publications

• 36 photos from the USA. Roetherdruck, Darmstadt 1967
• 36 photos from the Far East. Roetherdruck, Darmstadt 1968
• 36 photos from the USSR . Roetherdruck, Darmstadt 1972
• Lortz ranks. 1958-1972. Eduard Roether Verlag, Darmstadt 1972
• Lortz series 2. 1972–1973, picture protocols. Eduard Roether Verlag, Darmstadt 1973
• Lortz series 3. 1973–1974. Eduard Roether Verlag, Darmstadt 1974
• Image logs. Abakonverlag Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-924206-04-X
• Remembered views. Darmstadt art edition Merck 8, Darmstadt 1983
• Right in the middle and on the side. Eduard Roether Verlag, Darmstadt 1990, ISBN 3-7929-0177-3
• Finger exercises. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 1995, ISBN 3-87390-111-0
• Drawn. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 1997, ISBN 3-87390-122-6
• Sketches for Darmstadt Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-87390-133-1
• Pictures in Mirabel / photos in the studio. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 1999, ISBN 3-87390-138-2
• Life = waiting. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2000, ISBN 3-87390-146-3
• Arheilgen - Berlin and back, an illustrated résumé. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2001, ISBN 3-87390-155-2
• Nullities Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2001, ISBN 3-87390-154-4
• Out and about with friends Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2001, ISBN 3-87390-162-5
• Arheilgen - 50 drawings. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-87390-155-2
• 50 women drawings. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-87390-170-6
• Image notes 1950 - 2002. Justus Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt 2004, ISBN 3-87390-187-0

literature

• University of the Arts Berlin (ed.): Helmut Lortz - the teacher. Volume 1, 1990, ISBN 3-924206-04-X .
• Helmut Lortz - the draftsman, the photographer. Volume 2, University of the Arts, Berlin, 1990, ISBN 3-924206-05-8 .
• Armin Lindauer : Helmut Lortz | Memorandum. Verlag Hermann Schmidt, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-87439-623-1 .
• Armin Lindauer : Helmut Lortz - slightly sensible. Verlag Hermann Schmidt, Mainz 2005, ISBN 3-87439-677-0 .
• Helmut Lortz: the commercial artist. Christof Gassner, Katrin Holst, Ute Schauer (eds.), Institute for New Technical Form eV, Darmstadt 2020, ISBN 978-3-87390-436-1 .

Web links

Commons : Helmut Lortz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Helmut Lortz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Bernd Krimmel: Helmut Lortz lived on this earth. ( Memento of February 18, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Obituary in the catalog Darmstädter Sezession 2007.