Type Design I
DSD-3611-C
Week 2 — 9.13.16
Tuesday 03:00PM–05:50PM
209 E 23 St, Room 506
805B 380 Second Avenue
Assignment 02
Essay Chapbook
Read the essay ‘Heaven is Real’: John Maus and the Truth of Pop. You are to make two printed editions of the essay. Interpret the text when making design decisions such as defining your grid, choosing a typeface and gathering content, images or resources. Consider your interpretation of the text when choosing size, format, printing technique, binding, etc.
There are specific requirements for both editions. Both publications should have a title page and colophon. They must also have running headers and folios for the text section. Edition one requires you to use as little agency as possible. Edition two requires you to use as much agency as you would like.
Deliverables
Two editions following the rules above
Size and format of your choosing
Timeline
Week 2 — 9.13.16
Essay Chapbook Assigned
Week 3 — 9.20.16
Essay Chapbook R01
Print out your editions. We will review them as a class. Try to print them at a 1/1 ratio, color not necessary unless it’s integral to your concept.
Week 4 — 9.27.16
Essay Chapbook R02
Editions in complete form. Printed and bound perfectly.
Background
John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American avant-garde musician, and composer. A keyboard player for Panda Bear and Ariel Pink, he has released three albums of his own music to acclaim. He grew up in Minnesota. He is known for his eclectic samples when composing, “an almost absurd mix – a stand-off between taut, bass-driven post-punk, whooshing electro-pop and, thanks to the chants and bleak intoning, Medieval and Gregorian disco.”
Charles Ubaghs 2012 review for the BBC also took notice of the philosophical undertones of Maus’ works: “...behind these retro overtones is a desire to explore our modern relationships with pop, and its impact on our wider philosophical and cultural lives.” The review also remarked that on Maus’ self-referential tendencies: “Couple this with lyrics like The Fear’s surprisingly frank “What’s wrong with me, ‘cause I’ve tried everything,” and you’ve an accessibly rich portrait of Maus’ ever-questioning mind.” Likewise a 2011 BBC review noted that Maus was “ as much a professional existentialist as he is a synth-pop musician” and that “reading his interviews can make your cerebral cortex pulse with befuddlement.” —wikipedia
Maus has found vehicle in pop music to express his ideas and philosophies. His work lives in an odd cross section of nostalgia and contemporary music. Fans have made unofficial music videos, creating juxtapositions from old films and other media that fittingly work with Maus' songs like the above example, remixing footage from the 1991 film 'Cool As Ice'.