Carl Regehr grew up in a German Mennonite community in Colorado, where, he later told an interviewer, “no ornament was allowed.” The interviewer asked him if he’d craved it. “No,” Regehr said,” I craved information.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
As a graphic designer in Chicago, Regehr’s job was to synthesize ornament and information. He came east in 1953; by 1960 he was able to start his own design shop, which turned out witty, sophisticated work for corporations and nonprofits. Regehr had a fruitful relationship with theater director Shozo Sato, for whom he designed posters. In one striking example, touting the 1981 Wisdom Bridge Theatre production of Sato’s Kabuki Macbeth, a bloodred arm rises upward out of a gold kimono, its hand where the wearer’s head should be. From 1972 until his death in 1983, Regehr taught design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Book release Fri 10/26, 6-9 PM, Wright, 1440 W. Hubbard, sta-chicago.org, $10-$20.
