You Are Here Series (Monoprints)

I began the monotypes in the "You Are Here" series while I was working as a screen printer of architectural graphics. The technical precision required by the job left little room for creativity, but I was able to break free of those constraints after hours by using the same silk screen stencils to create a thick layering of text and symbols.

Several qualities in graphic communications fascinate me. For one thing there is a formalist architecture that instantly conveys information and the relationship between bits of information. For another there are symbols and icons which amount to a universal pictographic language. And lastly, there is an air of authority, especially in signage and newspaper headlines, which almost always goes unquestioned.

When I started this series I was most interested in the formal structure of signage: how it blocked out sections of information, and how maps and symbols were integrated with text. However, as the series progressed, my choices became more intuitive, and my interest in structure was surpassed by my fascination with symbols of all types, whether typographic, pictographic, or archetypal. The "You Are Here" series plays with the architecture of layout and design as a kind of formalist art space in which symbols, both familiar and original can interact. My purpose, however, is somewhat the opposite of most graphic communications. Whereas the purpose of signage is to present information, these art works offer ambiguities and innuendoes. And whereas signs regulate and direct our movements, these art works encourage the mind to wander.