newspapers, for their mastheads) and as a fetish for those loyal to neo-Nazi
ideologies. Since German federal law forbids any display of the swastika,
blackletter continues to serve a ritualistic and symbolic role for extremists.
At the same time, not all blackletter revivals are the property of skins or
neo-fascists. Contemporary typographers from Jonathan Barnbrook, to
Zuzana Licko, to Michael Worthington have reinterpreted blackletter in a
variety of ways, and their quirky alphabets adorn gothic novels, heavy-
metal CDs, and countless magazine and television advertisements for hip
products. Probably most young designers have not even considered the
ramifications of blackletter. Despite its ancient history, does blackletter’s
short stint as the face of evil shroud or inhibit its continued application?
Indeed, this type, and type in general, is not just a vessel but a catalyst of
meaning, message, and ideology, and as such, it poses questions still
unanswered.
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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