Graphic design exhibit opens in E.L. art gallery

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Tweet It can be seen in magazine advertisements for every product from shampoo to clothing, as well as the clearance sale signs of storefront windows on Grand River. And this summer, it can also be seen on display at the (SCENE) Metrospace art gallery's second exhibition show, "I Profess: The Graphic Design Manifesto," in East Lansing.

An art show dedicated to graphic design will be on display now until Aug. 15. Almost 100 graphic design educators from all over the country, as well as a handful from outside the United States, submitted posters to be chosen for the display. Only 30 made the cut.

Ranging in collegiate-level teaching experience, from professors down to graduate assistants, the only stipulation set for them was to express the design philosophies they strive to teach their students.

"We have a level of responsibility as mass communicators," said exhibition co-curator Chris Corneal, who is also an MSU assistant graphic design professor. "What we do and what we believe has a social effect."

Corneal, MSU graphic design Professor Chris VanWyck and professors from other universities held a public discussion about the exhibition art Sunday afternoon. Both Corneal and VanWyck had their own pieces in the show.

The show will travel nationally after Aug. 15 - its last day in East Lansing. Corneal said the future stops aren't set in stone yet, but he knows he wants to have the art displayed in college towns where art schools are nearby.

"There are not enough graphic design exhibits," Corneal said. "When people look at posters in a gallery, they are more critical. We hope they'll do that more on the streets, really noticing what clutters up the windows they walk past."

Explaining the idea he got for his piece, VanWyck mentioned how he wants to open students' eyes to new ideas. His design included a man's head simulating a fish tank full of ideas.

"When students arrive at college, they have a finite knowledge of what they're exposed to or know," VanWyck said. "Our role as educators is to have them explore uncharted waters and broaden their horizons."

As a recent MSU graphic design graduate, Lindy Nowak attended Corneal's and VanWyck's classes. She said she came to the art exhibition's discussion yesterday to see the difference in teaching ideologies between MSU professors and others.

"What's most interesting are the different routes they decided to take with their pieces," Nowak said. "Some of them were playful and simple, while others were more literal and serious."

Dropping by to peruse through his professors' work, Don Jean, a graphic design and studio art senior, said it was worthwhile to see what they created.

"In my old illustration courses, professors critiqued you a lot and you got the idea, 'How are they to say my piece is wrong or not visually acceptable when I don't even know what they're capable of doing?'" Jean said. "Just seeing what they can do helps a lot. They really do know what they're talking about."

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