Chicago, March 2004 - Elliot Earls, Head of the Department of 2-D Design and Designer-in-Residence at the Cranbrook Academy of Art will discuss his graphic design and typography projects and perform for the public as part of Columbia College Chicago's ART TALKS series. Earls often features himself as the central protagonist in his own work, which is known for its integration of grotesque and cartoonish typefaces, disturbing drawings, digital tricks and pyrotechnics.
The lecture and performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. on April 21 at Columbia's 623 S. Wabash building, Room 203. ART TALKS is free and open to the public. For more information call (312) 344-7887.
As a performance artist, Earls has performed in New York City at the Wooster Group's Performing Garage, Columbia College Chicago, and the 2000 Culture Mart Festivals. He has also been a featured performer worldwide at such venues and events as the Cretiel Theatre Festival in France, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Oak Street Theatre in Portland, Maine, Experimenta 99 in Lisbon, Opera Totale in Venice, Typo 2000 in Berlin, and Living Surface in Park City, Utah.
Earls' first release, Throwing Apples at the Sun, won numerous awards and was included in ID Magazine's 1996 Annual Design Review, the 1996 American Center for Design 100 Show, and the 1996 New York Art Directors' Club Show. As a typographer, his original type design is distributed worldwide by Emigre Inc. and his posters are part of the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. In 2001, Earls was named a finalist for the Chrysler National Design Award in New Media.
In May 2002, in association with Emigre Inc., Earls released Catfish, a film on DVD that traces his work from lab to stage. The highly manipulated digital film incorporates animation, stop motion photography, drawing, typography, and live action into a seamless performance documentary. In addition, all of the music on Catfish is written, sung and played by Earls, whose influences range from hip-hop to country and from contemporary to classic musicians.
Media Contact: Micki Leventhal, 312-344-7383