Ferdinand Mertens: Otto Neurath back in The Hague

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Date: October 11, 2006

\Otto Neurath Returns to The Hague,' a lecture by Dr. Ferdinand Mertens, serves as the prologue to the event series After Neurath, organized by Stroom Den Haag throughout 2006 and 2007.

Download the text of this lecture as a PDF.

After Neurath takes as its starting point the life and work of Otto Neurath, who lived in The Hague between 1934 and 1940. The Austrian Otto Neurath (1882–1945) was a remarkable and outspoken personality. A thinker involved in the discourse on the development of science in the 1920s. A social theorist who actively participated in debates on the structure of the state and, in particular, the planning-based steering of the economy. An educator who developed forms of communication as part of a participatory democracy.

Neurath was one of the founders of the Vienna Circle and a leading figure in the Unity of Science Movement. All of these interests converged in a system that, during the 1930s, became known as ISOTYPE (International System of Typographic Picture Education), a method of visual statistics that translated numerical data on social developments into engaging icons - essentially the precursor to the modern pictogram. ISOTYPE was developed in close collaboration with the German artist Gerd Arntz, who followed Neurath to The Hague. The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag holds an extensive Arntz collection, including many sheets of ISOTYPE images. In the 1970s, the museum dedicated a major exhibition to Arntz’s work.

In the Netherlands, Neurath received little attention after the war - interest focused more on Gerd Arntz. Internationally, however, there has been a renewed and growing interest in Neurath’s ideas, ISOTYPE, and his vision of a universal science collected in a so-called Mundaneum.

Neurath always approached communication from the perspective of knowledge dissemination and democratic representation. In his view, clear information and the right to vote were inseparably linked. Given the growing divide between 'The Hague' and 'the citizen,' and the call for more direct influence through referendums and urgent debates, the relevance of Neurath’s thinking is more evident than ever. This is why the After Neurath event series has been scheduled in the lead-up to and in the aftermath of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

After Neurath explores the current significance and value of Neurath’s work, and the extent to which it inspires and influences contemporary artists, designers, scientists, and theorists. After Neurath includes lectures, a symposium, workshops, exhibitions, and a publication.

Dr. Ferdinand Mertens (1946) is a professor at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at Delft University of Technology. He has been studying the work and ideas of Otto Neurath for several years.