The first artist lecture I went to go see was Joel Swanson at the Wells Fargo Auditorium. My first impression of him and his art was that it was really different as it dealt with the frames of language. It was not a topic I was very used to hearing being brought up in the art world.
To be honest, when it comes to art, Swanson’s style does not really strike me as interesting or fascinating. It is rare to find typography art that really catches my attention. However, the neon sign NO/NOT/NOTHING had a unique vibe to the project. It felt like there was an ambiguous message to be said with that, and I felt as if the piece could be well used for a number of different audiences. The piece itself could very well be used to help people who are struggling with different issues or help with environmentalism. I also liked the t/here piece he showed as I could see his themes of the materiality and technology of language in play. I could also see his creative play with the two words stated there as I did with NO/NOT/NOTHING. Homophone was also a very interesting take on words that were similar in spelling yet different in meaning.
The most interesting piece Joel Swanson showed was a piece named Sol Lewitt’s “Sentences on Conceptual Art,” Diagrammed. It is something that quickly took my eye as it definitely stood out amongst all the other pieces. The form of the lines and the branching-like webbing all gave a unique perspective to his typography art. To be honest, I cannot say if this is typography, but it certainly does fall under conceptual art well. It sort of reminds me of the braille language if lines connected those dots. It’s a very beautiful piece in its own right, and I believed it to speak greater than any of his other pieces.
Overall, Joel Swanson’s lecture was an interesting one with a unique take on art. His themes on materiality, indexicality, quirks, inconsistencies, and technology of language did show in every piece he showed. Though the art style is not one I hold much interest in, I could clearly see his point of view in making the pieces.
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