Summary
The project “From Hedwig Kiesler to Hedy Lamarr” focuses on the life of Hedwig Kiesler, who later gained fame as Hedy Lamarr. The project examines the development of her acting career, including her controversial nude scene in the film “Symphony of Love.” Hedwig also married an arms manufacturer but fled from him. The project explores various aspects of Hedy Lamarr’s life, including her residences and escape routes. The second part of the project analyzes three of her works from the film noir era, aiming to determine which films meet the most film noir criteria. In order to match Hedwig Kiesler’s film reels, a font called “DT FemmeFatale” was created. The font is designed to reflect the spirit of strong and playful female characters in film noir, capturing their dangerous personality.
Progress
The research on Hedy Lamarr
My femme fatale obsession took hold early on. As an Austrian and a fan of Hollywood’s golden era films, I thought directly of Hedy Lamarr. She is possibly one of the best embodiments of a femme fatale and on the other hand also a legend of technology. “Remarkable,” I thought and started my research. I rummaged through exhibition catalogs, scholarly books and articles, and most recently through archives of the Jewish Museum Vienna. My fellow researchers at the museum provided me with some good quality images – a big, heartfelt thank you to you!
The “Femme Fatale” typeface
The typeface family already developed in the course of the theoretical bachelor thesis on “Neo Noir”. There were improvements and coaching sessions with lecturer and type designer Giovanni De Faccio until the end, for almost a year, to make the typeface as full of character and legible as possible.
Impressions
