- Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Alyssa Duprey
Framingham State University, Communication Arts, Undergraduate
Words; they are everything. Words are the symbols we use to create meaning for our actions, ideas, and thoughts. Words reside in two all encompassing worlds: oral and written. This project will focus on the mechanical written word, also... more
Words; they are everything. Words are the symbols we use to create meaning for our actions, ideas, and thoughts. Words reside in two all encompassing worlds: oral and written. This project will focus on the mechanical written word, also known as type within the context of the English language in Western civilization through mediums like print and screen, and how our gendered perspectives will forever influence those words.
Throughout the history of typography (the art of arranging type) the ability to choose the characteristics of type remained in the realm of the esoteric few, mainly white males. Those anointed with this design task experienced a level of control over their choices of how the written word looked that neither script writer nor calligrapher could ever reach. Control was key.
After the Industrial Revolution there was a typographical shift of who controlled the way words look from the elite realm toward the majority. This once mysterious process of manipulating the look of type has been democratized and can be enjoyed by anyone who has access to a computer.
The computer with a word processor is already filled with a library of pre loaded fonts (various styles and sizes of type) that allow a word to manifest meaning beyond itself (the internal content) and be dressed in external attire that can range from matching its meaning all the way to contradicting the words’ intent. This is the power of the mechanical written word, of type, and this is intertwined with our power to produce gender.
Throughout the history of typography (the art of arranging type) the ability to choose the characteristics of type remained in the realm of the esoteric few, mainly white males. Those anointed with this design task experienced a level of control over their choices of how the written word looked that neither script writer nor calligrapher could ever reach. Control was key.
After the Industrial Revolution there was a typographical shift of who controlled the way words look from the elite realm toward the majority. This once mysterious process of manipulating the look of type has been democratized and can be enjoyed by anyone who has access to a computer.
The computer with a word processor is already filled with a library of pre loaded fonts (various styles and sizes of type) that allow a word to manifest meaning beyond itself (the internal content) and be dressed in external attire that can range from matching its meaning all the way to contradicting the words’ intent. This is the power of the mechanical written word, of type, and this is intertwined with our power to produce gender.
Research Interests:
This paper embarks on a journey in Northern New Mexico where there is an abundance of rock art to study. Through the use of personal references and academic literature one gains a greater understanding of the area and the rock art.
Research Interests:
This paper seeks to understand a general background of the history of pockets and their prevalence in clothing, in particular clothing designated as men's (in Western culture).
