Corita Kent
Love, 1979
Screen Print, 20 x 20 inches
“…the ability to feel is very beautiful.” —Corita Kent
Dordt College will display a selection of original screen prints by Corita Kent from the collection of the Corita Art Center, Los Angeles. The exhibition of 26 prints will be on display from January 6 to February 12.
The exhibition has been curated by Dordt College Professor of Art David Versluis. “I attempted to select work that represents the range of Corita Kent’s typographic style and expressiveness,” says Versluis. “As a graphic design instructor for many years I’ve thought about the qualities of Corita Kent and her activist screen prints of the ’60s and ’70s. This exhibition suggests that her message and image prints are as important and relevant for us today as they were nearly 50 years ago.”
Corita Kent (Sister Mary Corita) (1918–1986), born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. At age 18 she entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary, eventually teaching in and then heading up the art department at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. Her work evolved from figurative and religious to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the ’60s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and injustice.
In 1968 she left the order and moved to Boston. Her work evolved into a sparser, introspective style, influenced by living in a new environment, a secular life, and her battles with cancer. She remained active in social causes until her death in 1986. At the time of her death, she had created almost 800 screen print editions, thousands of watercolors, and innumerable public and private commissions.
Roy R. Behrens sent me this review of the Corita Kent catalog from the College Art Association.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Corita Kent exhibit on display at Dordt College
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Dordt College graphic design and printmaking student: Christina Chahyadinata (Crissy) from Jakarta (Tangerang), Indonesia
Christina Chahyadinata
Courage
Linocut 2016
9" x 12"
Christina Chahyadinata (Crissy) is a sophomore student from Jakarta (Tangerang), Indonesia. Crissy has the heart of a christian servant. This is her first linocut print and indicates her dexterity of hand-lettering and her ability to orchestrate the integrality of text and image. A Polynesian image of tropical and verdant flora…
Friday, April 29, 2016
Dordt College printmaking student: Youra Song, South Korea
Youra Song
Youra Song
Linocut 2016
Several Dordt College art and design students, taking printmaking for the first time, recently had their artwork selected in a juried Regional Exhibition. Dabin Jeong, Youra Song, and Kwan Yong Park were among the twenty-five regional artists featured in Orange City Arts’ exhibit April 22–30, 2016 at the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Dordt College graphic design and printmaking student: Kwan Yong Park, South Korea
Kwan Yong Park
Untitled
Two-Color Linocut 2016
Several Dordt College art and design students, taking printmaking for the first time, recently had their artwork selected in a juried Regional Exhibition. Dabin Jeong, Youra Song, and Kwan Yong Park were among the twenty-five regional artists featured in Orange City Arts’ exhibit April 22–30, 2016 at the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Dordt College printmaking student: Dabin Jeong, South Korea
Dabin Jeong
Water
Linocut 2016
Several Dordt College art and design students, taking printmaking for the first time, recently had their artwork selected in a Juried Regional Exhibition. Dabin Jeong, Youra Song, and Kwan Yong Park were among the twenty-five regional artists featured in Orange City Arts’ exhibit April 22–30, 2016 at the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
We’ll be featuring each of these students in the subsequent DCAIGA blog pieces.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Jim Dine at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago
Jim Dine (b. 1935) after the poetry reading conversing with New York poet Vincent Katz far left. Visual artist, Jim Dine has always had an affinity for poets and poetry. The following is from an artnet interview with Dine by New York poet, Ilka Scobie. Dine says, “You know I was a bad boy in school primarily because I couldn’t read well, because I’m dyslexic. And the only thing I could read was poetry till I was 22 and I started to read novels. But you know, poetry kept me in the world of language.”
An exterior view of a “roomful of words”—photo taken from the entryway to the Poetry Foundation. The Foundation building is brilliantly designed by architect John Ronan of Chicago. Photography by versluis
Friday, January 15, 2016
Drury Brennan, “Die Welt” — Chicago Cultural Center, 2014
Drury Brennan, Die Welt
Untitled, (legal tender) — partial image:
Monumental site-specific hand-lettered calligraphy installation
Gouache and acrylic
Chicago Cultural Center, 2014
Untitled (legal tender) partial image:
Black Friday. Best Interests. Special Treatment. Privileges. The Awful Truth. Domestic Terrorism. To Serve And Protect. Black on Black on black-on-black on Black on black on Black. Private. Violations. Inside Job. Self-Defense. Health care. Axis of Evil. Stay ignorant, keep silent. Fit the profile. Vigilance. Hopeless situation Undesirables. Colored Silence. Hand Over Fist. A’merican Dreams built on new, quick schemes. Sleight of hand Out of hand. Merciless. 011 & Gas + Oil + Gas n’ Urri n Gash n + Carry. Homeland Security. Overnight Celebrity. Fly like an eagle. Eco-Friendly Packaging. Convenience charges. Bless your little heart. Uppity. At-Risk Youth. Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.Testy. No objection. White devils. Victim of circumstance. It’s just so unfortunate. Homicide. Accident. A right to life. Debt. Aging. Debt. Again. Debt. Aging. Debt. Again. Bet. Against. House. Bet. Vet. Debt. Aging. Debt. What have we learned? Who has learned? Have you learned? Who teaches? Who speaks for you? Silence.
Forgiveness Takes Everything And Nothing partial image:
War is not healthy for children and other living things.©
The war inside ourselves remains the critical conflict of our times, over and over again.
Can you truly accept that other beings are the same as you? Stop the wars.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
“Notable Quotable” — A Student Typography Poster Competition
© Jordan Harmelink. “Than the Trees.” 2015 Notable Quotable
11 x 17 inches.
A Dordt College Graphic Design 3 studio project.
Quote by Henry David Thoreau
Jordan Harmelink, a Dordt College junior student recently had a poster design selected for the Notable Quotable juried competition, organized by the AIGA Student Group at Southeast Missouri State University and the River Campus Art Gallery. Awards will be announced at a reception on November 6.
The criteria for design included a notable quote, which was expressed with innovative typography. Each designer had to be a student at a university in the state of Missouri or in any state that borders it.
“Notable Quotable” — A Student Typography Poster Competition
© Vanessa Blankespoor. “Elegance” 2015 Notable Quotable
11 x 17 inches.
A Dordt College Graphic Design 3 studio project.
Elegance, is not the abundance of simplicity. It is the absence of complexity. — Alex White
Vanessa Blankespoor, a Dordt College junior recently had a poster design selected for the Notable Quotable juried competition, organized by the AIGA Student Group at Southeast Missouri State University and the River Campus Art Gallery. Awards will be announced at a reception on November 6.
The criteria for design included a notable quote, which was expressed with innovative typography. Each designer had to be a student at a university in the state of Missouri or in any state that borders it.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Vernacular OldType in Grand Marais
Bally’s Blacksmith Shop (built ca.1911), Grand Marais, Minnesota.
This close-up photo features the early signage (perhaps original) on the side of the building. The structure is undergoing renovation as a historical site. Photograph by versluis ©2015.
Perhaps the letterforms in this particular sign were generated by a self-taught sign painter, but the type fitting, letter spacing and classic layout on clapboards is especially interesting. The sign painter expresses ingenuity through the combination of condensed with regular and extended type styles in order to copy-fit the text within the space.
Writer Meredith Davis in her book Graphic Design Theory mentions that:
The often hand-generated and "crudely" designed vernacular faces were in stark contrast to the typographic precision and refinement of late modernism. They recalled the history of communication, distinctions of social class and settings, and associations with how and for whom they were produced. (1)
- Davis, Meredith. Graphic Design Theory. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 2012. 120-21. Print.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Herbert Matter’s 1955 History of Writing Mural for the Grosse Pointe Public Library
The Central branch of the Grosse Pointe Public Library was designed by architect Marcel Breuer and opened in 1953 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Shown (top is a vintage photograph of the library building that dates from the around the mid-50s. The image above is of Herbert Matter’s (1907–1984) History of Writing photomontage-mural for the Grosse Pointe Public Library, which was completed in 1955. This image is a clipping from a 1956 article in American Artist magazine written by Eugene M. Ettenberg. For the caption, Ettenberg summarized Matter’s project outline:
Matter’s mural, twenty-five feet long and nine feet high, for the new Grosse Pointe, Michigan Public Library designed by Marcel Breuer, portrays the history of the alphabet. Starting with the prehistoric stone scribblings, it follows the development of our letters through pictographs—cave drawings, hieroglyphs, Easter Island and Mayan markings—early communications from Crete, China, Arabia, and right up to the present-day letter form we term “Egyptian” to be seen on the locomotives and cars of the New Haven Railroad.
Detail images above are courtesy of the Grosse Pointe Public Library. Select image for a larger view.
According to library information, W. Hawkins Ferry felt it would be appropriate for the library to have art depicting the development of the written word (the idea was Matter’s concept) and commissioned Matter to do the mural. The mural, completed in 1955 for the adult reading room, is a photomontage—Matter’s preferred medium. The work displays a pattern of communication symbols and illustrates the evolution of writing from 12,000 B.C. It includes elements of Greek, Roman, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Chinese and the typeface of the Gutenberg Bible.
Above is a brief, hand-written correspondence from Matter to Breuer (1955) that accompanied the enclosure outlining the chronology of artifacts and elements within the mural. Apparently there were inevitable delays in completing the mural on time and in the note Matter thanks Breuer for his patience. This piece is in the Marcel Breuer Digital Archive, Syracuse University Library. [1]
- Matter, Herbert. Letter to Marcel Breuer: Mural for the Grosse Pointe Public Library. 1951-52 [1955]. Syracuse University, Syracuse. Web. 5 June 2012.
Image is courtesy of the Grosse Pointe Public Library. Read More......
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Oded Ezer: “Biotypography”—imaginative discovery rather than pragmatism
The pieces shown above (top) Tipografya poster, 2003 and Helvetica Live! poster, 2008 were designed by Oded Ezer of Tel Aviv. Currently, the posters are included in an exhibition titled, Graphic Design: Now in Production, which is on display until 22 January 2012 at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Here’s an observation of the Walker exhibition catalog by Rick Poynor.
The “Tipografya” poster showcases the Frankrhulia type design, which is motivated by the adaptation of the classic Berthold’s “Frank Ruehl” Hebrew font. Ezer’s poster features the logotype for the Hebrew word for typography. Oded’s letter designs carry on the very fine Hebraic typography tradition. Traditional Pentateuch Hebrew typography fully appreciates the design elements of the letter, the word, and the book. Perhaps the essence of Hebrew type design is artistry that concentrates, like the Psalmist, “the inner soul of the poet and musician.” [1]
Oded has coined the term Biotypography in reference to the organic nature and “bio”-diversity of his typographic work. Paola Antonelli writes about this synthesis of art and science:
Ezer thinks that since, very often, a type designer chooses a typeface for its ability to embody and render the feeling of a project, the step from object to creature is direct and typefaces should really become living, biological beings. As he explains it, “The term Biotypography refers to any application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof to create [to make] or modify typographical phenomena.” [2]Ezer’s beautifully eccentric typographic designs are mainly about the impact of visual form and expression. The compelling detail in his work are the accentuated appendages that simulate moving legs and antennae. These posters also allude to the mutual feature of ubiquity suggested by the “Frank Ruehl” Hebrew text font style and the font Helvetica. Both are still widely used today. Although unintentional, it’s fascinating how one’s reflection faintly merges with the framed glass of the pieces that are in the Walker exhibition.
- Antonelli, Paola. “The Typographer’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Design Observer: Observatory. Ed. Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand, Julie Lasky, and Nancy Levinson. The Design Observer Group, 16 June 2008. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. Here’s the link.
- Ibid.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Risk: Street Art Chic
The “RISK” tag from his installation wall piece for the Art in the Streets exhibition at the MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles. The show completed its run at the museum on August 8. photograph by versluis, 2011.
From illegal graffiti to the merger of a commercial art brand and gallery art — Risk’s personal and compelling lettering style is from the heart. And his paintings express an energy that achieves high visual impact. Earlier this year the Los Angeles Times did an interview with Risk:
Risk helped to import Wild Style graffiti, with hard-to-decipher, [bubbly forms and] interlocking letters, from the New York subways to the L.A. freeways. At the Geffen, the artist takes over part of a wall inside and has parked a salvaged bus, painted in fiery colors, outside.…
At 43, Risk represents another generation, but these artists share something in common. They have all witnessed their rebellious, adolescent gestures become a popular activity — and big business. They’ve seen their own art and their colleagues’ migrate into fine art galleries on the one hand and onto clothing, advertising and entertainment on the other.… [1]
- Finkel, Jori. “Risk, more of L.A.’s street art pioneers paint a colorful history.” Los Angeles Times 10 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Chaz Bojórquez: calligraphic graffiti and art
Chaz Bojórquez, (b. 1949, Los Angeles; lives and works in Los Angeles)
Tres Placas (Three Tags), 2011
Acrylic paint on wall (Courtesy of the artist)
photograph by versluis, 2011
Art in the Streets exhibition at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
Closes August 8, 2011.
This is copy from the show documentation tag for this piece:
Tres Placas (Three Tags) is a three-layered tag that represents an evolution of my letter styles. The first layer, in light grey, is my name written in an early style representing the past. The second layer, in dark gray, marks the streets in my neighborhood where I first tagged. The top layer tag, in black, is written in my current letter style, stating “Los Locos de Cali” (“West coast crazies”) because we are crazy for living the life. —Chaz BojórquezThis is an excerpt from the exhibition brochure:
The graffiti styles that emerged fro the American housing projects, subway yards, and bleak suburban parking lots during the 1970s form the foundation for what is possibly the most influential art moment since Pop—one that continues to thrive forty years after it began.Interestingly, I’ve seen examples from “artists” in this show (Barry McGee for instance) on railcars passing through Sioux Center, Iowa. Read More......
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Classic Roman Style Letters
This photograph shows just a portion of the stone carved lettering, which indicates the entrance to the archaeological Crypt beneath Notre Dame in Paris. Photograph by versluis © 2010.
From Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris:
The archaeological Crypt under the Parvis de Notre-Dame de Paris was built to protect the ruins discovered during the excavations that began in 1965, conducted by the Commission du Vieux Paris. The crypt was opened in 1980 with the aim of presenting elements from the successive buildings constructed on the site from Ancient [Roman] times to the 19th century.About Roman lettering Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam write in their book, Type & Typography:
[Iowan] Edward Catich put forward the theory that the stone V-cut letters of Trajan’s Column were not merely the product of a skilled stone carver using a chisel. He suggested that the letters were first painted onto the carving surface, allowing the spelling and length of the inscription to be checked before carving. A skilled calligrapher, Catich recreated the strokes he considered necessary to the structure of each letter.
A brush creates letters differently from a pen: it is turned as it makes strokes, and different amounts of pressure can be applied to create thick and thin marks. [1]
- Baines, Phil, and Andrew Haslam. Type & Typography. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002. 41. Print.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
“cabin of remembrance” in Michigan, no. 2
Hand-lettered sign found in a log cabin memorial built (c. 1956) by Peter Versluis (Henry Koster, carpenter) near Grand Rapids, Michigan. The cabin, in part, memorializes some of the homesteaders in Western Michigan during the 1840s and 50s.
—“May you leave this cabin with a pleasant consciousness that those whom we commemorate have helped to enrich your life.”
Thursday, March 17, 2011
“cabin of remembrance” in Michigan
Hand-lettered sign found in a log cabin memorial built (c. 1956) by Peter Versluis near Grand Rapids, Michigan. The cabin, in part, memorializes some of the earliest Irish settlers in Michigan during the 1840s.
—“Wisdom is a friend which will never fail you.”
Monday, March 14, 2011
Roy’s logotype
This homemade, vernacular road sign for an old archery indoor practice range is located on Highway 3 near Cherokee, Iowa. Roy is a rather uncommon first name and Roy’s logotype is rendered as a stylized calligraphic signature that seems unique and friendly. In addition, when a circle encloses the logotype the combination forms a mark that has visual impact of simplicity and strength. Obviously, the sculptural arrow reinforces the point (no pun intended) in a visually compelling way.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Letters as musical notation and tempo—Paul Standard
Calligraphic Salutations: Hermann Zapf's Letterheadings to Paul Standard
Cover and colophon. Images courtesy of R.I.T., Cary Graphic Arts Press.
“The change from italic into roman script is a change from dynamic to static, from movement to repose. An italic letter is written with as few pen-lifts as possible, its cursive nature demanding running or flowing strokes. A roman letter is an assembled affair, the strokes of the edged pen here building an upright letter in any convenient number and sequence of strokes. In structural style, italic is legato, bound or linked together as by advancing current; whereas the roman is marcato, incisively demarcated and composed of kindred elements. Like italic, the roman letter has its special rhythm, a rhythm firm yet placid and assured, but its vertical stance makes the roman letter proceed lento or adagio as against italic’s allegro.” —Paul Standard
Standard, Paul. Letter, Word and Page. New York: Cooper Union Art School, c.1956. N. pag. C.U.A.S., the Graphic Workshop Project of the Cooper Union Art School. Ser. 4. Print.Read More......
With special thanks to Mr. Stan Kaplan, Levittown, New York
