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graphic design

Curator's Corner

Summer Is Waning: Georges Lepape

Monday, August 12, 2024 | Karl Cole

Once August is here, New Englanders are fond of saying, “well, summer’s almost over.” I prefer to resist that inclination, since summer always seems so short in Massachusetts anyway. ...

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Curator's Corner

Happy July 2019: Edward Penfield

Monday, July 8, 2019 | Karl Cole

What better way to celebrate a new month than with examples by one of the pioneers of the American Poster Renaissance (my term, covering the period from ca. 1890–1920, others call it the “ ...

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Curator's Corner

Letters Are Beautiful

Thursday, October 13, 2016 | Karl Cole

I learned long ago how venerated calligraphy is in some cultures, and we speak of that in many of our Davis books. A short while ago as I was reading about contemporary Iranian artist Parastou Forouha ...

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Curator's Corner

Vacation Time Activities in Art

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 | Karl Cole

I was on vacation recently in Provincetown and, being an art history nerd, thought I would give some visual explanations. ...

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Curator's Corner

A True "Renaissance" Person: Herbert Bayer

Monday, August 8, 2016 | Karl Cole

I was recently reading about Herbert Bayer and realized what a treasure this artist has been! I always appreciated his Bauhaus years and his contributions to graphic design, but, I had really never in ...

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Curator's Corner

The Expanded Toulouse-Lautrec

Friday, June 17, 2016 | Karl Cole

Last week I was a jaded art historian. This week I am a socially responsible one. I always feel it is unfortunate when appreciators of art only know one genre of the work of a certain artist. Everyone ...

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Curator's Corner

Winter

Monday, January 11, 2016 | Karl Cole

Well, it’s winter. Instead of ruefully awaiting spring, I prefer to look at works of art that evoke the idea of winter, one way or another. It’s always interesting to me how artists can ca ...

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Curator's Corner

German American Heritage Month: Pennsylvania German

Monday, October 5, 2015 | Karl Cole

The more things change, etc. I get really irritated with people who say in speeches that immigrants to the United States should “speak American.” For one thing, “American” isn& ...

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Curator's Corner

It's Spring! Poster Stamps

Monday, March 24, 2014 | Karl Cole

Really, my sinuses are driving me crazy, and I’m yearning for SPRING. What better image to feature this week than springs? ...

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Curator's Corner

An Ode to "Swiss"

Monday, November 18, 2013 | Karl Cole

I just returned from a week in Switzerland to visit family. Walking through their churches—stripped of all sculpture, painting, and Biblical stained glass because of the Reformation’s frow ...

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Curator's Corner

American Poster Design: Will Carqueville

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | Karl Cole

Did you know that the second half of the 1800s saw more printed matter produced than ever before? The last two decades of the 1800s was the last era during which printed matter was almost the exclusiv ...

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Curator's Corner

Calligraphy = Line: Safavid Dynasty

Monday, March 23, 2009 | Karl Cole

In most of our Davis textbooks and studio books, we talk about the ELEMENTS OF ART. One of the key elements of art is LINE. We can look at line not simply as a way of defining a shape, but also how be ...

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Curator's Corner

Pioneering Digital Artist: Laurence Gartel

Monday, January 19, 2009 | Karl Cole

Did you ever consider that in the 1970s and 1980s computer art was in the same position as photography was in the 1800s—not considered “fine art?” But things have changed in the 21st ...

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