Friday 2/17/12 CRIT with Ben Critton

Friday was my thesis group critique with Ben Critton and it went pretty well. It was good to have a fresh pair of eyes looking at my work and giving feedback. I actually think he offered a lot to everyone for the critique. He basically said, in regard to my thesis project (on hand typography), that even though it has been done a bunch before, and has been really popular in the past ten years, I need to find something that makes my exploration and thesis outcome fresh. He said maybe working on a larger scale or finding one thing to focus my hand lettering around. I've been working on a few series of hand lettering, and  before the crit on Friday I was thinking  about picking one or a few particular studies from my thesis work thus far and making them on a much larger scale to hang in the gallery, with a book of all my process and work accompanying it, somewhere. 


What I've mostly been working on with hand lettering is writing out phrases, thoughts and some letter compositions. But  I think it's coming time to find one part that I want to start focusing in on for my large-scale  finished pieces. Right now I'm leaning most toward a composition of letters, because if I have a phrase or words it's giving the viewer something specific to think about, but if it is only letters the viewer can just focus on the forms, detail and composition, not what the work specifically is saying. 


During the thesis critique I was given some artists to reference too.  I've been looking at Tauba Auerbach, Ed Ruscha, and Kate Bingaman since the critique. 

wwwwwwWW

Seth Clark is another designer's work Im looking at.

http://sethsclark.com/work/index.php?/projects/hire-me-pittsburgh/

http://www.humanempire.com/#2553866/B-Gibbard-lp

EEEeeeee

Designers I've been looking at who draw their letters/words. I intend my thesis to involve my doing that in some way. My main ideas as of right now involve drawing my own typography, and somehow making it into a book. Or using my own type to make "public service announcements" that are positive messages, as a pick me up for  anyone who reads it. I came across KARIN RÖNMARK.

Yesterday I was recommended to look at Mike Perry: I really like the combination of pattern, drawing and hand lettering. Perhaps if I  combined a bunch of things like this into a book, I could blow one particularly good part up and display it above where my book is placed in the gallery. And I especially like the flip through book be made on his website, which is really relevant to my idea. 

http://issuu.com/untitled-a-magazine.com/docs/summer_zine_2011/13