New Delhi, Feb 15 It will be a display of changing artistic concepts when an international exhibition of advertising art, typography and graphic design meets fine print — essays on politics, philosophy, freedom and lifestyles from 50 years of Seminar magazine.

Typographica, a new blend of art genres, will open at the Triveni Complex in Sheikh Sarai here on February 17.

The exhibition curated by Alice Cicolini, a designer and a creative producer and presented by the British advertising agency Weiden + Kennedy (W+K), "will bring popular art stripped of aesthetic frills to young people and at the same time celebrate 50 years of the free-thinking journal Seminar exhibiting select writings in such a way that graphic art and the printed word complement each other," V. Sunil, creative executive director of W+K-Delhi, said.

Typography is an art form from the medieval age but is unfamiliar to many today. "Very few young graphic designers know about typography. The whole idea behind this exhibition is to set up a gallery where young people can appreciate popular art," Sunil said.

The decision to exhibit essays from Seminar is to "celebrate 50 years of the magazine which opened several debates over the years and add another layer to Typographica", he added.

According to him, typography, graphic design and the printed word together constitute "modern magazine and newspaper formats".

"When people read newspapers and magazines, they rarely wonder about the typefaces and infographics, which are so central to the print medium now. We want lay people to wake up to the relevance of advertising, typography and graphic art in everyday life."

Typography and graphic art are changing, Sunil said. "The exhibition will document this changing world of typography, art and graphic design and its relation to the printed text."