Citizens for the Arts would like to present its support for the project "Write. See. Talk.", Typography and Sign Painting workshop taking place in Ambato, Ecuador. A key point of interest with this project is bridging the gap that is the language barrier between participants. The outcome was the most exciting aspect; reflecting human development, innovation, and interaction from person to person, representing opposite sides of the globe.

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Historically, typography, along with varying forms of symbolism, has been the merger of communication amongst people. Its message and letterform help create a visual language, with attention given to its arrangement. With examples seen in coins, royal seals, and tablets such as the Rosetta Stone, its origins can be traced back to ancient times.

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With the advent of the Digital Age, the craft has expanded beyond being a specialized occupation. The arrangement of type can be seen anywhere from hand-made designed posters, to graffiti, advertisements and billboards, in television and film, on fliers, and even written postcards. The list of the ways we interact with typography is endless. Practical application and comprehensive letter design are a crucial component in traditional type settings. The purpose of this project aimed to concentrate on the artistic manipulation of letterform. Each letter is its own autonomous representative, and when paired with other letterforms, it creates a message that interacts with the viewer.

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Attendees were provided paper and letter blocks carved from linoleum and wood. Participants have the option to manipulate letterforms by means of hand printing each letter, creating graphite rubbings on linoleum, or “stamping” the selected linoleum and woodcut letter pieces. The collaboration between students and leaders was a success.

 

Citizens for the Arts would like to thank members of the Central Dogma Collective and the Antagonist Art Movement, as well as their donors. All donations for this project were privately funded through each group.