@TheMcClelland: Now I know my ABC’s
Terminal illustrated in Swiss Style PC: Aerlice LeBlanc
Memento Artem
Senior graphic design major Aerlice LeBlanc is about to paint the McClelland Gallery with fantastical works of typography. LeBlanc’s upcoming senior exhibition puts a spotlight on something essential to our way of life the alphabet.
The exhibition highlights key parts of the alphabet throughout historical periods. I had a conversation with her to gain further insight into this culmination of design called Now I know my ABC’s.
Cameron Cizek: What was your process in curating this show?
Aerlice LeBlanc: Everything in this show features type in some way. The main feature of this show, an alphabet in six historic font faces illustrating the most distinctive anatomical feature of each letter, was a project I started in Ed Mejia’s Typography class that I expanded for this exhibit. The majority of the work that will be shown was created for this exhibit. This class gave me an excuse to create things I’ve been thinking of for years and hadn’t yet found the time make.
CC: Interesting! So, how would you describe how this show reflects your career at Union?
AL: This show is the culmination of my design career at Union. In it, I feature art I’ve created and skills I’ve learned at Union College.
Almost every design skill I’ve learned here is utilized in this exhibit. Even though I have spent the last eighteen years learning the alphabet and how to use it to read, write, do math, communicate scientific discoveries, persuade people of my sincerest beliefs and express my deepest emotions, it's only now, after design school that I feel like I really know my ABCs inside out, from their anatomy to their expressions through different font faces, weights and placements in a layout.
While I am excited to conclude this chapter of my formal education, I don’t ever want to stop learning. I am eager to continue improving my craft and communication skills in the ‘real’ world.
CC: How do you want this exhibition to impact people who see it?
AL: I hope that visitors walk away from this exhibit with a basic knowledge of the anatomy of our alphabet, a feel for some of the major artistic movements in graphic design history and a new appreciation for the typography we see around us. So much of what we encounter in this world is carefully branded. It’s easy to become desensitized to graphic design. I hope that my exhibit encourages visitors to take notice of the design around them, in simple things like the packages they throw away, the covers of their textbooks, and the layout of their favorite apps. Maybe too much to ask, but I would love if my exhibit could inspire a passion for design in at least one person.
LeBlanc’s exhibition Now I know my ABC’s will be at the McClelland Gallery November 26 through December 17. The McClelland Art Gallery is located in the Ortner Center. The gallery serves as a location to artists a location to display their work for the community of Lincoln.
Senior graphic design major Aerlice LeBlanc is about to paint the McClelland Gallery with fantastical works of typography. LeBlanc’s upcoming senior exhibition puts a spotlight on something essential to our way of life––the alphabet. The exhibition highlights key parts of the alphabet throughout historical periods. I had a conversation with her to gain further insight into this culmination of design called Now I know my ABC’s.
Cameron Cizek: What was your process in curating this show?
Shoulder illustrated in De Stijl Style |
PC: Aerlice LeBlanc
Aerlice LeBlanc: Everything in this show features type in some way. The main feature of this show, an alphabet in six historic font faces illustrating the most distinctive anatomical feature of each letter, was a project I started in Ed Mejia’s Typography class that I expanded for this exhibit. The majority of the work that will be shown was created for this exhibit. This class gave me an excuse to create things I’ve been thinking of for years and hadn’t yet found the time make.
CC: Interesting! So, how would you describe how this show reflects your career at Union?
AL: This show is the culmination of my design career at Union. In it, I feature art I’ve created and skills I’ve learned at Union College. Almost every design skill I’ve learned here is utilized in this exhibit. Even though I have spent the last eighteen years learning the alphabet and how to use it to read, write, do math, communicate scientific discoveries, persuade people of my sincerest beliefs and express my deepest emotions, it's only now, after design school that I feel like I really know my ABCs inside out, from their anatomy to their expressions through different font faces, weights and placements in a layout. While I am excited to conclude this chapter of my formal education, I don’t ever want to stop learning. I am eager to continue improving my craft and communication skills in the ‘real’ world.
CC: How do you want this exhibition to impact people who see it?
AL: I hope that visitors walk away from this exhibit with a basic knowledge of the anatomy of our alphabet, a feel for some of the major artistic movements in graphic design history and a new appreciation for the typography we see around us. So much of what we encounter in this world is carefully branded. It’s easy to become desensitized to graphic design. I hope that my exhibit encourages visitors to take notice of the design around them, in simple things like the packages they throw away, the covers of their textbooks, and the layout of their favorite apps. Maybe too much to ask, but I would love if my exhibit could inspire a passion for design in at least one person.
LeBlanc’s exhibition Now I know my ABC’s will be at the McClelland Gallery November 26 through December 17. The McClelland Art Gallery is located in the Ortner Center. The gallery serves as a location to artists a location to display their work for the community of Lincoln.
Cameron Cizek is a junior studying computing.