Behind the Design Scenes with Carol A. Wells

Thank you to our reception sponsors Richard Forsyth and Katherine Leonard, and to the 45 design patrons and leaders who joined us at The Graphic Imperative presentation by Carol Wells. We were honored to have President Steve and Susan Weber at the event. Arthur Ollman, SDSU School of Art, Design and Art History, Tina Yapelli, SDSU Gallery Director, Susan Merritt, SDSU Graphic Design Head, and Calvin Woo made introductions and acknowledgements to event sponsors, SDSU grad student assistants, and Dii's volunteers. A special thank you to Sivly Ly who helped us make this event a reality! Photos by Sivly and Chris Woo were greatly appreciated.

It was also terrific to see our board members Rene Hausler, Carina Courtright (sponsor to the exhibition), Bennett Peji, Richard Forsyth (reception sponsor), Mike Stepner (and Rosie!), Sid Wool, and Rosetta Sciacca, who along with Susan, guided us to make this soire a comfortable but elegant affair! It was great to see artist Mario Torero, Kathy LaMaster, Associate Dean of the College, and Avery Caldwell representing the New School of Architecture there too. Thank you all for your Dii presence and support and look forward to seeing all of you again at our upcoming event!

The Graphic Imperative
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Click here for more scenes from the event
Click here to view the Graphic Imperative website

International posters for peace, social justice & the environment 1965 to 2005 111 posters representing 22 countries and 40 years of sociopolitical graphic design were exhibited at the University Art Gallery, San Diego State University from September 10 through October 10, 2007.

Can Design Stop a War? a presentation by Carol A. Wells, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Los Angeles and exhibition catalogue essayist took place at San Diego State University, School of Art, Design and Art History, Art Building, Room 412, on Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 6:00 p.m. This was sponsored by the Design Innovation Institute, as part of Dii's Behind the Design Scenes series.

The Graphic Imperative is a select retrospective of forty years of international sociopolitical posters. Themes include dissent, liberation, racism, sexism, human rights, civil rights, environmental and health concerns, AIDS, war, literacy and tolerance, collectively providing a window to an age of great change. Focusing on the issues of our turbulent times, these 111 posters depict the social, political and aesthetic concerns of many cultures in a single exhibition through delineating themes and contrasting political realities. The Graphic Imperative: International Posters for Peace, Social Justice & the Environment 1965 to 2005 was curated and organized by Elizabeth Resnick, Chaz Maviyane-Davies and Frank Baseman in collaboration with the Massachusetts College of Art, supported in part by The Massachusetts College of Art Foundation and Philadelphia University. The San Diego State University presentation of The Graphic Imperative was organized by Tina Yapelli, director of the University Art Gallery, with the assistance of Susan Merritt, head of the SDSU Graphic Design Program, and sponsored by Garden Communities; AIGA San Diego; Design Innovation Institute; Legal Arts, Inc.; Neenah Paper; Bennett Peji Design; and Crescentera, Inc.