Corner Conversations began March 1, 2012. Documentation of the installation’s weekly progress at 412 Broadway (Seattle), along with artist information, can be found at barclaybroadway.com
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Barclay | Broadway, a new green apartment living space that’s currently in development in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood, has commissioned three local letterpress artists to create a public art installation called Corner Conversations. The project highlights the principles behind this new apartment building as it relates to the neighborhood, sustainability, and members of the community.
I am pleased to have been chosen, along with Jenny Wilkson and Dan Shafer, as one of the artists that will create this installation.
The layers of Corner Conversations keep pace with Barclay | Broadway’s growth. The first phase takes place on the fence surrounding the building as it is constructed. Each artist will create a series of four posters intended to engage viewers in a conversation. Each week a new layer of posters will be wheat pasted onto the fence, so that by week 12 the fence will have become a weathered wall of imagery and type.
My artwork will be incorporated into the wall beginning May 7 (Week 9), with a new work being posted weekly until June 3, 2012 (Week 12). Once the building is complete, the wall will be dismantled and re-purposed into smaller works of art that will become a permanent part of the building’s interior.
ABOUT MY POSTER SERIES
THE CONCEPT
The wall around the Barclay|Broadway property offers an opportunity for poster display that not many areas can: the display of multiple copies of the same poster in multiple rows and columns.
As an letterpress printer I work a lot with wood and metal type. Each character is its own block, and when the blocks are fit together they form words. Printer’s ornaments take that a step further; they are strategically designed image blocks that when placed next to one another in rows and columns, form a seamless pattern in whatever shape or size the printer desires.
This same concept was applied to my series of four posters: instead of treating the poster as just one image, what happens when you intentionally design it to be one piece in a series of many? How can the poster be maximized so that when viewed on its own it successfully conveys the message, and yet when displayed in multiples all at once, the image that is produced is greater than the sum of its parts?
This approach pairs well with the concept behind Barclay | Broadway: the building alone might be impressive, but its true success depends on the people that live in it and their involvement in the community. As a hub for this activity, Barclay | Broadway becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
View my original proposal [PDF]
POSTER A (Week 9) — “Where are you going right now?”
Design Notes: The background pattern is made from a series of question marks in the same style as the hand-made typeface. The bold, red “Where are you going right now?” message emphasizes the “you” in the question, which is repeated again in turquoise both above/below the red type. This strategic placement was done so that when posted in multiples on the wall, the posters fit together like a puzzle to reveal the question again — but this time the emphasis is placed on the “where” part of the question. It is printed with 2 inks (red and turquoise). The posters do not currently include the print credit & byline, but will at the bottom or on the side (most likely in turquoise so as not to be disruptive).
POSTER B (Week 10) — “Find 1746 places to play, pause, and prosper.”
Design Notes: The background pattern is made from a series of “play/pause/prosper” icons in a style that complements the hand-made typeface. Those same 3 icons from the background pattern were enlarged and strategically placed above/below the boldly-colored “Find 1746 places to play, pause, and prosper” message so that when posted in multiples on the wall, they create a larger pattern. It is printed with 2 inks (green and brown). The posters do not currently include the print credit & byline, but will at the bottom or on the side (most likely in green so as not to be disruptive).
POSTER C (Week 11) — “Meet your neighbors.”
Design Notes: The background pattern is made from a series of people icons in a style that complements the hand-made typeface. Four of the icons from the background pattern were enlarged and strategically placed above/below the boldly-colored “Meet your neighbors” message so that when posted in multiples on the wall, they create a larger pattern. It is printed with 2 inks (orange and magenta). The posters do not currently include the print credit & byline, but will at the bottom or on the side (most likely in orange so as not to be disruptive).
POSTER D (Week 12) — “Start here.”
Design Notes: The background pattern is a series of x’s (as in “x marks the spot” and “you are here”) in a custom-designed typeface. The “Start Here” message is also repeated as a pattern, strategically placed so that when hung in a series, the message is multiplied — and yet is still readable as a stand-alone poster. It is printed with 2 inks (translucent yellow and translucent blue); the green is created by the layering of the inks over top one another. The posters do not currently include the print credit & byline, but will at the bottom or on the side (most likely in yellow so as not to be disruptive).
All posters were silkscreen printed by Clone Press in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.