Annie-Laurie Nichols, University of Maryland

Artist's Statement

I have attempted to capture the dialectic tensions driving the conference theme, Burkean studies, and our current situations: both academic and pragmatic, both at odds and connecting, both overlapping and clashing, both cutting across the bias and still being somewhat cohesive, both different and alike, etc.

To that end, I have chosen a somewhat messy, handwritten typeface (we need equipment for living our messy lives and dealing with our messy situations!) and paired it with a very classic serif print typeface (we are academics, driven by a sense of order!). I have chosen two shades of blue to indicate that we have differences but are still bound by community and commonality. I used overlapping people to show diversity, conversation, and the tension of conflict and the uncomfortableness of overlap, but made everyone a shade of blue, again to visually tie everyone together as different, yet essentially similar. I used classic blue pinstripes to evoke the formality of suits, the homeyness of 50s wallpaper, and the ubiquitous ruled school paper, then I turned it sideways and cut across it with the text, working against rigid classifications and scientistic systems. I gave the type some alignment, but also let it wander around a bit, taking a tiny journey on the page and inviting us to journey for a moment with it.