Once upon a time a conversation took place–or rather a heated debate–that irrevocably divided attitudes to the practice of typographic masonry. At the core of this polarisation is an opposition that either in visual language recognizes subjectivity or strives for objectivity. Whereas many masons, consciously or unconsciously, support one of these approaches, the matter of the debate itself has remained unresolved ever since. It is a discussion, once initiated in 1972 by Wim Crouwel and Jan van Toorn, without resolution.
Even more so, perhaps it is not even the conclusion itself that is crucial, but the continuation of its discussion that is essential. It is namely, this outspokenness, deliberation, and argumentation that challenges and advances contemporary practices. That is why this Polarised Parlour has been set out in the palace; encouraging anyone to take a position in the continuation of the discussion between the, to put it bluntly, engineer and the artist.
