Columbia College Gallery Exhibition Celebrates The Power Of Typography

By Jessica Mlinaric in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 17, 2014 9:30PM

Left—Fernweh (German): Feeling homesick for a place you have never been to<br> Right—Ya'aburnee (Arabic): "You bury me"; one's hope that they will die before another,as life without them is unbearable to imagine

L’appel du Vide (French): “The call of the void;" an instinctive urge to jump from a high place

The Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery at Columbia College Chicago

Culaccino (Italian): The mark left on a table by a moist glass

Tsundoku (Japanese): The act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it together with other such unread books

Koev Halev (Hebrew): Empathizing with someone so deeply (often in silence) that it causes your heart to ache

Cafuné (Brazilian Portuguese): The act of tenderly running one's fingers through another's hair

Mångata (Swedish): The roadlike reflection of the moonlight on the water

In our information driven age, we process countless words and images daily. Yet how often do we consider the vehicle of delivery the form of the content itself? Columbia College’s A+D Gallery (619 S. Wabash Ave.) explores the impact of typography with TYPES by Display, running through Dec. 13.

The exhibition imbues words with no English translation, phrases that should ostensibly be viewed as just writing on the wall to non-native speakers, with resonant and emotionally charged meaning through its visual and written content. TYPES is framed by the narrative of disjointed journal entries depicting event’s in a character’s life. Each piece marries the graphical athleticism of Display, a revolving design collective and artistic rubric led by Katherine Walker, with the written composition of Chicagoan Claire Keys, a personal friend of this writer.

Untranslatable words are seen and felt throughout TYPES. Moving through the exhibition, which is a traveling, site-specific work, the pieces strike familiarity with the viewer who may find the words foreign but all too acquainted with their meaning. One piece conveys tsundoku, Japanese for the act of leaving a book unread after buying it only to pile it on the floor along with other unread books. A compelling black hole draws the viewer to examine l’appel du vide, French for "the call of the void."

As an extension of the exhibit, A+D Gallery will also host Type Sets a public workshop series on the diverse and contemporaneous qualities of typography and text.

TYPES is a visually arresting celebration of the love of language and the power of type to meaningfully convey its message. The next time you’re drawn to the slope of an ampersand or the lilt of a foreign phrase off your tongue, consider what moves you.

TYPES runs through Dec. 13, 2014 at A+D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash Ave. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 12-5 p.m. and open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.