Radical Cut Up is a campaign for the announcement of the graduation exhibition of the master’s course Radical Cut Up at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam, led by Lukas Feireiss from 2017 to 2019. Over the two years, students worked on research into the different kinds of collage as forms of expression within the visual arts and design. Topics like authorship, plagiarism, sampling and appropriation were researched using theory lessons, workshops and studio visits. Bart de Baets plays with the data in a complex collage of clichés, ostentatious references, typographic proofs and light-hearted statements. They are all references to the manual nature of the process and the handwriting of the various makers. As well as posters, the campaign consists of various forms of social media, a t-shirt, signage at the exhibition and a hand-out.

There are very few people who can give themselves a task such as Bart de Baets. His work is radical and associative, but always recognisable. Whether he makes his own work or as a commission, he approaches every project equally. Prominent in the professional field and impactful for the upcoming generation of designers. In the Radical Cut Up campaign we also see layers of humorous, cultural references that attest to quality and personality. Despite this, the message is not lost. The campaign is well thought out and explains exactly what it is about. Compliments also go to the commissioning body that recognised this added value and had the courage to give him a free hand.