Typography and the metaphor of resistance

The above pieces are from the Walker Art Center Card Catalogue Collection. Each informational brochure coincides with exhibitions at the museum. In other words, each brochure or program is available at a particular show and you can conveniently collect and catalog them if you have the two-ring binder (like the Pantone® books).

For the 2010 exhibition titled Abstract Resistance, the Walker Art Center assembled seminal works by four generations of contemporary artists that relate to disturbing post-World War II historical events. As a starting point for the exhibition, curator Yasmil Raymond writes in the overview, “‘Michel Foucault’s assertion that where there is power, there is resistance,’ it [the exhibition] explores art made since World War II that has been shaped by traumatic events in complex ways.” The exhibition was gutsy and intended to upset the viewer’s comfort level.

The graphic designer for the Abstract Resistance exhibition informational piece utilizes an interesting type choice for the covers. The lowercase font design is Faricy Stencil Bold, which was designed by Chris Dickinson. However, the font is essentially Milton Glaser’s all upper case Stencil (the numerals are Glaser’s Stencil) from the late 60s; by comparison Dickinson’s font version has nuanced differences in addition to a lower-case design. Like Glaser’s Stencil letterforms, the “cutouts” in “Faricy Stencil Bold” seem rebelliously irreverent, from the frontlines, and suggesting resistance to indifference.