Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight

USA, 2008, 90 Minute Running Time
Program: Documentary Films
Language: English

Producer: Wendy Keys, (executive) Edgar B. Howard
Principal Cast: Milton Glaser, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Peter Mayer, Shirley Kenny
US Distributor: Arthouse Films

If there is such a thing as a superstar in the world of graphic design, Milton Glaser is surely it. Best known as the creator of the I LOVE NY logo and the cofounder of New York Magazine, Glaser possesses an astonishing stylistic range that’s evidenced by an oeuvre spanning countless book and magazine covers, posters, and ad campaigns of all stripes over the course of several decades.

Yet director Wendy Keys has astutely crafted a profile that, while rife with examples of his talent, goes far beyond merely chronicling Glaser’s career highs. It also shines a light on the intelligent, compassionate man behind the portfolio—a man whose love of life, food, art, and New York City resonates with a profound sense of warmth. Upon naming him the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum described Glaser as “a profoundly influential master of communication, as well as a charismatic mentor and humanistic force for social change.” As this impressive documentary makes clear, in both his life and his work, Glaser joyfully obeys the mantra he adopted from Horace regarding the purpose of art—to inform and delight.

Though Milton Glaser marks her feature filmmaking debut, Keys is a true personage in the world of cinema, long serving as an executive producer for the Film Society of Lincoln Center until her retirement this year (she’s currently on the board of directors).

Sponsors:

MATTER,
In cooperation with AIGA Colorado / The Professional Association for Design, Art & Anthropology Inc., and The Documentary Cinema Institute