Conference talk
Silas Munro:
Resistance Made Visible
In a rich tradition of graphics, signs, banners, images, and demonstrations, the reemergence of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd has appeared in an explosive variety of visual languages, mediums, scales, and formats. A notable aspect of this movement’s tipping point has been the wide-ranging socio-economic, racial, and class hierarchy origins for these forms and messages. Catalyzed by grassroots Black-led organizers, we have seen interventions by independent artists, from crowds of protesters globally, led by city departments, and even corporate marketing departments. The levels of typographic finish range wildly. Of particular interest is the juxtaposition between street murals and defaced Confederate monuments, primarily across the Southern United States. All of these have been recirculated and presented across social media in our digitally distanced age.
This talk will take place online, Saturday, July 25, 2020, at 12:00pm (UTC-4), as part of the main Typographics conference schedule. Registration for the conference is free.
About Silas Munro
Silas Munro is a partner of Poly-Mode. His studio has collaborated with MoMA, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Mark Bradford, and the Wynwood Arts District. Munro’s writing appears in Slanted, Walker Gradient, and a forthcoming book, W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America published by Princeton Architectural Press. He has been a visiting critic at MICA, RISD, and Yale University. Munro is Associate Professor at Otis College of Art and Design and advisor at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
