''Gastrotypographicalassemblage'' (compound word: ''Gastro'' , ''typographical'' , ''assemblage'') is a work of art designed by

Lou Dorfsman Louis Dorfsman (April 24, 1918 – October 22, 2008) was an American graphic designer who oversaw almost every aspect of the advertising and corporate identity for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in his 40 years with the network. Biog ...

to decorate the

cafeteria A cafeteria, called canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a scho ...

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

CBS Building The CBS Building, also known as Black Rock and 51W52, is a 38-story, tower at 51 West 52nd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. It is the headquarters of the CBS broadcasting network. The building w ...

on 52nd Street and

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. As the senior vice president and creative director for marketing communications and design for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, Dorfsman was responsible for all aspects of the building's graphics, designating the type, design, and spacing for wall clocks, elevator buttons, and elevator inspection stickers. He designed what he called ''Gastrotypographicalassemblage'' for the building's cafeteria, using varied

typeface A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...

s to list all of the foods offered to patrons in hand-milled

wood type In letterpress printing, wood type is movable type made out of wood. First used in China for printing body text, wood type became popular during the nineteenth century for making large display typefaces for printing posters, because it was lig ...

. The completed work was based on ideas conceived in the mid-1960s. The project was ultimately completed in 1966 with assistance from graphic designer Herb Lubalin, and Tom Carnase, who crafted the

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

from Dorfsman's original design. Dorfsman considered this work to be "his magnum opus, his gift to the world".Anwyl, Richard
"Rebuilding a Legacy: The Gastrotypographicalassemblage"
,

AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity. The ...

, March 5, 2008. Accessed October 26, 2008. ''Gastrotypographicalassemblage'' was discarded in the early 1990s by CBS, but the work's nine panels were retrieved by designer Nick Fasciano. It was in an advanced state of disrepair, aggravated by improper storage. The piece was acquired by the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based Center for Design Study in the mid-2000s, which developed a program to raise the funds needed to support the restoration of the work of art. Funding goals to begin the restoration fell short, and efforts to restore the work did not begin at that time. Following the death of Lou Dorfsman in 2008, it was announced that

the Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

, would serve as the new home for ''Gastrotypographicalassemblage''. The college worked with Nick Fasciano to fund the restoration, and the work was put on public display for the first time starting in March 2014, when it was showcased in the Institute's new Marriott Pavilion and Conference Center in its Hyde Park campus, where it remains to this day.

References

{{Reflist American art Typography 1966 paintings Cultural history of New York City CBS The Culinary Institute of America

See also

References