Category: Design

Literary Traditions: Molly Chan—Illuminated Alphabet Book for “Sir Gawain & the Green Knight”

Illuminated Alphabet Book by Molly Chan
Music: YoYo Ma and Allison Krauss: The Wexford Carol

Sir Gwain and the Green Knight, Book 3, XII, trans. Jessie L. Weston

Writes Molly Chan (’22)  for Professor Norrie Epstein:

I chose to do “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” as an illuminated alphabet book because I researched illuminated manuscripts for the presentation, and found it really inspiring. Being a communication design major, typography is a very large part of our curriculum, but the illuminated letters allowed me play with form and design in a way that you cannot do in typography because these letters were made before the printing press was created and all the typographic rules were made.

The major plot developments in the story all seemed to take place during the holidays, specifically Christmas and New Years, so I defaulted to red, and even more so green, because of both Christmas and the Green Knight/Green Man.

Read Molly Chan’s whole Illuminated Alphabet essay here.

Lisa Rosowsky: Truth

Lisa Rosowsky, “Designated Mourners” (Detail)

Now, when words and truth are estranged,
and slide by each other, nodding, like exes at a party,
what words should we trust?
When war empties out whole countries and the brown water rises,
what is fed to the people but words, words enough to choke on, if they don’t starve first?
Pity the poets, trying to wring from words
whatever truth might still be left
after the despots and liars have crumpled them up,
leaving them to litter the refugee roads.

Thank God then for the artists,
for their language has yet to be fouled.
Truth still resides in the etched black line, the pot well thrown,
the aperture that clicks upon what cannot after be unseen.
Even as you pluck the words from the roadsides and try to smooth them into sense,
artists are clothing the bent backs, drafting plans for the shelters,
finding where beauty hides in this roiling world and drawing it out.

When there is nothing to be said that can be certified true,
nothing to be heard that doesn’t mean one thing and still another,
why reach for words?
Trust instead the color, the image, the form carved into space
which is what it is and therefore cannot lie.
If you seek truth on this shaky, burdened, hopeful planet,
why not make art?

Reading-Poetry-Like-We-Mean-It: “Ad-Verse-Tisements”

Writes Professor Cheryl Clark:

“When I asked my Freshman Seminar Reading-Poetry-Like-We-Mean-It students to  ‘spread poetry and a conversation about poetry on campus and enliven spaces, places, and people with poetry,’ they created all kinds of amazing, inventive interactions and things —for instance, these wonderful ‘ad-verse-tisements’ that student Eliza Mecklenburg created to ‘advertise’ poems by William Carlos Williams and Emily Dickinson.”

“My Good Friend Henry:” Fashion & Culture Students Recreate In “Diaries” The Clothing Of The Past

Writes Professor Lauren Whitley:

Kelsey Wooster created the first diary.  She took on a man’s diary, and she did a superb job.  She clearly researched her character; the text is very believable. The outstanding part for me is her aging the paper, and very credibly recreating the script of the 19th century, along with the charming sketches. It really looks like a 19th century diary! On the page that the video displays, the text reads:

May 23, 1879
Henry W. [J] to Thomas M. Beaudoin

…ways, the wit she has! She would give you a challenge she would! She has given me a great deal of happiness. But my friend I say I have a great trouble because…well…I have no idea how to go about this. You know how to win [Carabella’s] affections in nearly a month! I feel rather a fly buzzing about her. I haven’t a great deal of confidence in grabbing her attention. I can hear your gruff voice now, asking where the problems lie. You know me…I’m a plain man through and through, I’m nothing like the dashing young men of today, and in the books. Nowadays they’re starting to wear two waistcoats! They think it’s new or flashy. I just know I’d pop a button or two, nearly die from the heat! Well, you know…I know nothing. Perhaps 2 waistcoats is what will make her notice. Nonsense notions. I simply don’t know what to do. Had the same tabby cat waste coat waist coat for years. What am I going on about clothes anyways. I couldn’t make my way into Veronica’s heart with looks anyways. She loves character and virtue, and has a sweet soul. It’s like her eyes, when met, melt at the corners.. as if…

Marianicy Cardona Cruz conjured up the second diary. While the text is a bit fantastical (yes, that’s was a whirlwind week!) her research into dress of the mid 19th century is stellar. The whole diary is charming, with much attention to the details of dress and the overall look of the journal (watercolor pages gave a lovely effect)   Very satisfying!

Caroline Fortin created the third diary—Rose Bertin at the court of Louis XVI in 1778. Rose Bertin was a controversial figure as dressmaker/stylist to Queen Marie Antoinette. Bertin’s unprecedented fashion creations raised the bar, and made Marie Antoinette THE trend setter, not usually the role of the Queen of France. Caroline’s diary alludes to Bertin’s unusual role, referencing her flitting into Versailles with unprecedented access to the Queen. The sketches very accurately depict fashion of the period.

Alexandra Goriounova created the last one, the diary of Princess Alexandra, wife of the future King Edward VII of England.  Her research was outstanding. She read near to everything published about Princess Alexandra. The illustrations are exceedingly professional.  They are as close to 1870s fashion magazine illustrations as I have seen. She clearly relished jumping into the other Alexandra’s life for a week, and rendered beautifully detailed sketches.  I was captivated by this diary…and learned a lot!