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Ben Critton Some Works 2009 & 10

00.1.860.836.6289 benjamin.critton@yale.edu bcritton@gmail.com

benjamincritton.com (CV, etc.) surplusurplusurplus.com (Shop) falsearms.com (Image Repository) largeredbutton.com (Buttons)

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Ben Critton

J. Doggett Illustrations Spring, 2010 Ea. 8.5 in. 11 in.

Construction paper on construction paper.

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Ben Critton

Living In Connecticut Poster Fall, 2009 18 in. 29 in.

About three months before J.D. Salinger died, I reread Nine Stories and was struck by several of the pieces that took place in Connecticut. I sort of envisioned myself writing a new novel about the experience.

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Ben Critton

Little Boy One & Two Books Spring, 2009 84 pp., 104 pp. Ea. 4.375 in. 7 in.

Liitle Boy is a series of two books. The first is a fictional story written in traditional prose. The second is a fictional story written in informational renderings and color theory diagrams, their contexts and points of reference removed. Original writing.

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Ben Critton

Boom Poster/Painting Spring, 2010 141 in. 177 in.

A hand-painted poster announcing the arrival of guest critic and lecturer Irma Boom, rendered on painters dropcloth.

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Ben Critton

False Arms / Armes Fausses Website Spring, 2010 falsearms.com Variable

False Arms / Armes Fausses is a colourbased image re/depository

falsearms.com

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Ben Critton

Cinderblocks Booklets Spring, 2010 Ea. 16 pp. Ea. 4.75 in. 7.875 in.

A series of zines that depict non-traditional uses of the Cinderblock. Found photography showcases the objects uses outside of a building context. The series: Shelves, Artworks, Graffitis, Foundations, Karatechops, Supports, and Planters.

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Ben Critton

Red, Green, Blue Posters Spring, 2009 Ea. 24 in. 36 in.

A series of film posters for Amores Perros, 2046 and Mulholland Drive. Palette and mood associations with each film led to a color combination that relates directly to issues of light, projection, and the digital workspace.

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Ben Critton

Forma Typeface; Specimen Fall, 2009 Variable; 24 in. 36 in.

A redrawing and reinterpretation of a 1966 Aldo Novarese typeface, from the Societ Nebiolo foundry in Turin, Italy. A mostly Modernist sans-serif given a bit more Humanism and quirk.

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Ben Critton

PO.MO.NO. Book Fall, 2009 48 pp. 9.75 in. 14.75 in.

A reading list of Postmodern Fiction disguised as a reader. An attempt to create a canon, accompanied by written thoughts on language and its [ab]use in Postmodern novels. The cover was printed on loose book cloth. Original writing.

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Ben Critton

Departmental Chairs Poster Fall, 2009 25 in. 38 in.

Publication poster for a talk I gave about Yale Universitys relationship with midcentury modern(ist) furniture. An abstract representation was created for each of the 12 pieces highlighted in the lecture.

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Ben Critton

Departmental Chairs Booklet Fall, 2009 16 pp. 6.25 in. 10.5 in.

A booklet handed out at the Departmental Chairs lecture provided a walking tour of the Universitys campus and the locations of the 12 pieces of furniture mentioned in the talk. In this way, otherwise unattainable objects could be sat on and enjoyed but also questioned and interrogated.

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Ben Critton

Avant-One, Avant-Two & Avant-Three Books Spring, 2009 76 pp., 84 pp., 66 pp. Ea. 10 in. 13 in.

A series of books about Herb Lubalin, each dealing with a different aspect of his career: Avant-One, his life and output, Avant-Two, the historical context in which he made work, and Avant-Three, a specific piece of work, in this case AvantGarde magazine. Original writing and photography.

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Ben Critton

Avant-One, Avant-Two & Avant-Three Books Spring, 2009 76 pp., 84 pp., 66 pp. Ea. 10 in. 13 in.

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Ben Critton

Carter Posters Spring, 2010 Ea. 16.5 in. 23.4 in.

Noticing a resemblance between a young Matthew Carter and a young Michael Caine, stills from the 1971 film Get Carter were used to publicize a lecture and workshop by typographer Matthew Carter.

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Ben Critton

Lydian Bold Condensed Typeface; Specimen Spring, 2010 Variable; 16.5 in. 23.4 in.

A redrawing and reinterpretation of a 1946 Warren Chappell typeface, from the American Type Founders in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. A condensed calligraphic sans-serif version of the previously digitized Lydian family.

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Ben Critton

Foundry Poster Spring, 2010 12 in. 18 in.

A poster publicizing the inaugural meeting of a committee to organize the creation of a type foundry, which would distribute typefaces created via academic briefs. Twelve recently-completed student typefaces were each used to render one word.

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Ben Critton

LAmuse Bouche Journal Spring, 2010 128 pp., Offset 5.75 in. 8.5 in.

An exhaustive redesign of LAmuseBouche, the French Language journal at Yale University.

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Ben Critton

LAmuse Bouche Poster (& Detail) Spring, 2010 16.5 in. 23.4 in.

A poster announcing the launch of the newly-rdesigned LAmuse-Bouche sought out an English-speaking audience for a French-language publication by displaying items that all begin with the prefix French, as in French Bread or French Fries.

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Ben Critton

Day In, Day Out Poster Installation Fall, 2009 22 in. 22 in.

A poster (sort of) announcing a 100-day workshop. Vinyl type was applied to a white wall several days prior to the workshop. Pushpins numbered 1100 were then tacked to the wall on 18 November; one was removed from the wall each day of the workshop.

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Ben Critton

Surplus Surplus Surplus Website Fall, 2009Spring, 2010 surplusurplusurplus.com Variable

From the site: Looking around my home; identifying unused, underused, inessential or redundant objects; collecting and curating a selection of 100 of these objects; assigning them a dollar value; making one of them available for sale every day for 100 days.

surplusurplusurplus.com

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Ben Critton

Surplus Surplus Surplus Installation Spring, 2010 Variable

At the end of the 100-day period, I was left with approximately 40 remaining items and US $678. I wanted to make a sort of what I got out of the project documentation. Original Photography.

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Ben Critton

Here and Now Postcard; Installation Spring, 2010 5 in. 7.25 in.; Variable

A postcard and subsequent installation for the show Present Continuous / Continuous Present. Themes of presence and time informed the creation of a postcard that was specific to no single moment or location, but rather specific to all moments and all locations. With Melissa Levin.

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Ben Critton

1982 Poster Spring, 2009 33.1 in. 46.8 in.

A lecture given by Hunter Tura focused on the major architectural, technological and musical events of the year 1982. It was hung using extensions of its own graphic elements; in this case colored tape that blended seamlessly with printed linework. With Sara Hartman.

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Ben Critton

Yes Yes Yes Yes Bag & T-Shirt Spring, 2010 Variable

For Part Of It. A simple translation of the DaDa mark has an automatically optimistic result as well as visual connections to the Straightedge movement and New York Hard Core (NYHC) scene. (partofit.org).

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Ben Critton

DVDV Poster Installation Fall, 2009 Variable

A poster announcing a workshop to be given by Daniel van der Veldenor DvdV, as he is colloquially known13 Oct. thru 27 Oct, 2009.

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Ben Critton

Some Intellectual Property Booklet Fall, 2009 16 pp. 7.875 in. 10.25 in.

With a one-word brief Domain an exploration began into geodesic domes, intellectual property, and the striking shape of Buckminster Fullers bald head.

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Ben Critton

Ziggurat Proposal & Posters Spring, 2009 Ea. 24 in. 36 in.

A series of posters that supported a proposal to build a small-scale ziggurat on an urban green. The bleacher-like assembly sought to act as the embodied average of a playscape, sculpture, bench, stoop and theater.

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Ben Critton

D. Judd Poster (& Detail) Spring, 2010 16.5 in. 23.4 in.

Research done about Donald Judds artmaking compound in Marfa, Texas, led to the discovery that Judd kept a bed in each of the sixteen buildings he owned. Original typography.

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Ben Critton

The Princess Bride DVD Fall, 2009 98 mins. 5.25 in. 7.5 in.

Watching The Princess Bride for the first time in fifteen years or so, I attempted to replicate all the dialogue from memory by overdubbing the audio track of the original movie and then publishing the results in the format of a DVD.

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Ben Critton

George Fucking Lois Poster Spring, 2010 16.5 in. 23.4 in.

Unapologetic ad-man George Lois came to give a talk about being an unapologetic ad-man. A poster was needed to publicize the talk. Ideally the critique is inbuilt.

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Ben Critton

E.P.i.M.H.i.P.F. Postcard; Newspaper Spring, 2010 4 in. 6 in.; 11.5 in. 15 in.

A postcard was created to publicize a series of screenings that coincided with research into a filmic trend that puts bad people in modern architecture. I curated the series and hosted each of the screenings, which were free and open to the public. A newspaper was then made from the various research materials.

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Ben Critton

E.P.i.M.H.i.P.F. Newspaper Spring, 2010 28 pp., Offset 11.5 in. 15 in.

The newspaper-format publication that stemmed from the series of screenings paired original architectural criticism with several illustrations and stills from eight films. The piece intends to act as a viewing list, star map, and reader in one.

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Ben Critton

Raisonn Typeface Summer, 2010 Variable

A geometric sans-serif typeface that pays homage to the candor and rigidity of elementary letterforms. Available via Colophon (colophon-foundry.org), Winter, 2011.

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz $ 0123456789 ?!&@ (/)[\]-*.,:;% +=

I want to make big things. But they need to start small in order that they might get big. And so it begins with letterforms, which, appropriately enough, are good examples of integers; they create words that prompt paragraphs which spawn works that comprise canons. And if the success of a work depends on an engaging narrative (indeed, it should), then this is a nearperfect place to start: with an alphabet, the most common narrative-builder. And then it goes and grows from there. Unto themselves, the elements that comprise the work should be dumb, blunt, candid; honest in the same way Modernism liked its materialsthink of an O rendered from a perfect circle. In aggregate, their candor should allow multiple points of access, ultimately getting at something humorous or friendly from the artlessness of it all. With its details in collusion, the whole should literally be prettier, better and bigger than the sum of its parts. And the things must be bigin gesture, appearancebecause they seek an audience. The audience doesnt yet exist, though, and so the bigness should make them aware of something that they didnt know they were looking for. Performative in this way, the bigness seeks to create dialogue or discourse; the work, if its done, distributed and disseminated with thought, prompts exchange between me and an audience memberfiscal, intellectual, emotional, etc.and its this exchange that grows my ego and perhaps my wallet, and allows me to make more things. It should go without saying that the new things should be bigger and better than the ones that begat them.