In late winter, MAN Roland invited the international trade press to drupa for a little mood-making. In its cultural programme accompanying the fair, the company presented the XXL format of its presses by means of a concert event featuring four pianos which, in terms of acoustic and visual quality, matched that of the XXL format presses. The musical selection focused on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his connection to Augsburg. A CD of the piano concert was also recorded for customers, journalists and other friends.
For the past twenty years the renowned Augsburg photographer Helmut Hien has been photographing world famous artists and personalities of contemporary life. During drupa a fascinating selection of his work will be printed as posters on MAN Roland presses, including celebrities like Carlos Santana, Nina Hagen, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, Bryan Ferry, Tina Turner and David Bowie. These photos, along with the oversized map of the world to be printed on the ROLAND 900, XXL, will make the MAN Roland stand an Eldorado for poster fans.
MAN Roland is also showing that print embodies more than just machines. Four artists have redesigned the exterior of selected printing presses. Their work makes clear the significance of creativity and individuality in industrial print production.
“Despite enormous technical capabilities, printing remains a creative, dynamic process that still involves a great deal of human intervention and labor. The artistic work-over of the presses emphasizes this individuality,” says Thomas Hauser of MAN Roland, who initiated the project. At the invitation of MAN Roland, Mihoko Ogaki took the ROLAND 200, Achmed Ibrahim the ROLAND 700, Bianca Craanen the ROLAND 900, and Birgit Jensen the LITHOMAN as their objet d’art. The results can be seen starting May 6 in Düsseldorf, where MAN Roland will present the presses as the “drupa 2004 limited edition” systems.
In Düsseldorf’s Kö-Galerie, the International Senefelder Foundation’s exhibition “LithoArt” demonstrates this kind of creative man-machine interaction. The foundation was established on November 6, 1971, the 200th birthday of Alois Senefelder, the inventor of lithography, in Offenbach am Main. In addition to preserving the memory of the ingenious inventor, the foundation supports young artists and engineers, collects documents, objects and lithographs related to the field, and sponsors exhibitions that serve the technology of lithography. In conjunction with drupacity, the foundation is showing around 60 works of former Senefelder Prize recipients, among them artists such as Bruno Bruni and Jim Dine. The exhibition is particularly important for the Senefelder Foundation since this is the first time it has shown its collection publicly.
MAN Roland and the private Düsseldorf brewery Frankenheim are welcoming drupa 2004 visitors with rich local color. Going on the motto “Print global. Drink local,” the drinks – in this case Frankenheim’s special brews of Altbier (a type of German beer) – are on MAN Roland in the VIP lounge at the company booth and during the evening chill-out. In addition, visitors to MAN Roland’s stand can sign up for a tour of the Frankenheim brewery.
“The idea behind MAN Roland’s varied program throughout drupa is actually quite simple,” says Hauser, head of Corporate Marketing & Communications at MAN Roland: “It’s important to us that our customers, partners, suppliers and friends have fun experiencing our service mentality. Besides the technical aspects, this includes interacting, communicating, and sharing rewarding experiences.”
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