Duffy and Megan’s Commemorative Poster for IMAGINE

Yesterday I shared Sonnenzimmer’s commemorative poster they created for Harrington College of Design’s IMAGINE 2010 Event.

Harrington College of Design instructors Duffy O’Connor and Megan Sterling also contributed to the event by creating a commemorative poster which you can see above. 

The concept for the poster first took shape from an initial drawing by Megan. After some collaboration between Duffy and Megan on details, text and atmosphere, the final imagery took shape.

Duffy shared, “The printing was led by Megan with assistance from me, as well as timely help from the wonderful Maria Sanchez of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. In total, we printed four layers to produce the finished image, with each layer as a separate color.”

As a result of the project, Duffy and Megan plan to create more collaborative projects in the future – I, for one, definitely look forward to seeing the work!

Again, warm thanks are due to our Harrington instructors Duffy and Megan – thanks for your creative contribution to IMAGINE 2010!

Poster courtesy Duffy O’Connor and Megan Sterling.

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Sonnenzimmer’s Commemorative Poster for IMAGINE

IMAGINE is an annual art auction organized by Harrington College of Design. Each year, a new charity is chosen to receive all the proceeds from the event. This year, the money raised was donated to Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA).

For this year’s IMAGINE event, a commemorative poster was created by a well-known screen print studio, Sonnenzimmer, and Harrington instructors Duffy O’Connor and Megan Sterling. I followed up with Nadine Nakanishi from Sonnenzimmer to hear the background story behind their poster (pictured above) and here is what I found out…

“We were honored to work on a project of this scale, producing an edition of commemorative posters. It’s so nice to get a break from gig posters and the idea that we could actually be helping someone in need with our work feels really good.

With such a loaded word as “Imagine”, we struggled to find the right imagery for the project. Cliches are always hard to avoid, but this time around it was even harder than usual! We are sure everyone would get a good laugh from some of our initial sketches. Think bad, then think worse! After lots of back and forth, we eventually settled on an impossible geometric abstraction anchored by a warm color pallet. We wanted to reference the hope that DIFFA helps spread, without beating the audience over the head with the imagery usually associated with such a sentiment,” Nadine shared.
Warm thanks to Sonnenzimmer for your outstanding work and contribution to IMAGINE 2010!

Poster courtesy Sonnenzimmer

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Harrington’s 6th Annual IMAGINE

The Harrington College of Design Student Government (HCDSG) was proud to present the sixth annual IMAGINE community art auction on Friday, Oct. 15, 2010 at the Center on Halsted.

The event featured donated Harrington faculty and student art work from all skill levels, all sizes and all media including prints, paintings, jewelry, pottery, sculptures, clothing, photography and graphics. Their diverse artwork was then offered in an exciting live auction and silent auction, with all the proceeds benefitting Design Industries Fighting Aids Foundation (DIFFA), one of the country’s largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk. Merging care and commerce, DIFFA supporters come from all fields of design and visual arts, including architecture, fashion design, interior design, photography, industrial design and consumer product design.

“IMAGINE provides a tremendous opportunity for the Chicago design community to come together, while raising awareness and giving back to a worthy cause,” said Erik Parks, president of Harrington.

This year’s show also featured two posters created by Harrington Faculty members Duffy O’Connor and Megan Sterling and by Sonnenzimmer, a well-known screen print studio in Chicago which offered limited edition prints for sale to help in the fundraising. See the posters and learn about what inspired their design next week!

Photos courtesy Harrington Digital Photography student Danyel Duncan

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Vorab Fabrik: Minimalism, Arte Povera and Abstract Expressionism

From their partnership studio Sonnenzimmer, Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher have created screen printed posters for clients as varied as Throbbing Gristle, Andrew Bird, The Newberry Library, and Human Rights Watch. Using a mixture of chance abstraction, modernist typography, and representational imagery, the duo has created a unique aesthetic that pulls from various movements in art history while remaining distinctly forward thinking.

Vorab Fabrik or “Beforehand Factory” is the duo’s first exclusive solo gallery show focusing on their non commissioned art work. Pulling from such influences as minimalism, arte povera, and abstract expressionism, the two are creating work that forgoes the functionality of the poster yet retains the graphic quality found in their commercial work. Vorab Fabrik features new paintings, prints, and installations.

 

 

 

Opening reception, February 26th, 7–11pm

Gallery open: February 26th – March 19th
The Family Room
1821 West Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL 60622
www.thepostfamily.com

Call or e-mail for viewing after opening, 312-265-6406 or everyone@thepostfamily.com

 

 

 

Posters by Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher

 

Caption: Snowshelf, by Nadine Y. Nakanishi, 2009, Aluminum Typecast, Bookcover, Tape, Acrylic, Latex
4 x 4 ft

 

For more info about the artists go to:
http://www.yoneko.net,
http://www.nickbutcher.net
http://www.sonnenzimmer.com

Interested in purchasing posters? Click here

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