Video courtesy of Dan Richters.

Stuart Friedman is one of the first people I met when I moved to Fairfield, Iowa in 1984.  Over the years I have watched and admired his work evolve as a graphic designer.

Stuart Friedman’s 40 years as a professional graphic designer embraces a unique integration of form and function. With a BFA in graphic communication from the Philadelphia College of Art, Stuart’s professional career began in Hollywood. At Universal Studios he designed feature titles and production art, including Alfred Hitchcock’s last film, Family Plot, and such television shows as Norman Lear’s All In The Family. His work at Universal earned him the position of Art Director at KSCI TV, a multi-language, broadcast television station in Los Angeles.

In 1992, Stuart obtained an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University School of Art, specializing in print and digital user interface design. His work at Yale led him to Human Factors International in Iowa, a world leader in software design, where he served as Art Director for seven years. Projects at HFI included FedEx, Dell Computer, National Institutes of Health, Reuters, Volkswagen of America, and many other Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.

Stuart’s full-service graphic design company, Design Works, Inc., provides design and graphics consulting to manufacturing and service-based industries nationwide. The firm specializes in graphic design for print, computer software, and corporate Web marketing.

In recent years Stuart has designed posters for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Opera.  These are all so clean and elegant with subtle touches.  My all time favorite is the one for Carmen.

Yesterday I saw Silver & Suede/Halston & Warhol at the Des Moines Art Museum. Fascinating exploration of the “interconnected lives and creative practices” of Halston and Andy Warhol. I am thrilled with the trend in recent years for art museums throughout the country to give major exhibitions of important fashion designers. I think that, as with photography, ceramics, fiber etc., the art world gradually comes to realize and accept that these art forms are no different than painting and sculpture.

http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/exhibitions/Halston-and-Warhol.aspx

These are works by an old friend, Stuart Libby who I knew in Athens, Georgia during the 1970’s and 80’s. These are oils on paper/monoprints and have beautiful transparency and atmospheric effects. The one shown above brings to mind the compositions and colors of works by the Gee’s Bend quilters which I have studied extensively and written about, so it has particular appeal to me.  But above all I love the delicacy and layering effects of all of Stuart’s works.

His work is currently being shown at Jittery Joe’s in downtown Athens, Georgia.

This is a terrific artist interview I came across made by Marc Baraka Strauch.  In Finding Beauty, Tony Ellis speaks eloquently about his work and about beauty as a language of connection.  I especially love the way he describes the work coming out of his experiences in the vast, expansive landscapes of the American west, then gives us the same experiences of expansiveness with his photos of small areas of rusted metal or grafittied walls.  You can see more of Tony’s work at tonyellisart.com