martin venezky...... ............. .... .............ephemerality of design .....
“I don’t think my work is chaotic at all! Rambunctious and jubilant- sure. But ‘a j u m b l e o f f o r m s ’ ?”
Martin Venezky is not like other designers. Where other designers strive for easy access in their work Venezky asks viewers to stop and look closer to find the necessary information. His work could be dismissed as chaotic or ugly, but a closer look reveals a carefully controlled environment that Venezky would describe as a, “busy, urban intersection,” rather than “a car wreck.” Venezky’s work reminds one of theephemerality ephemerality of . His of life life. pieces are rambunctious but not always innately joyful. He expresses emotion from glee to melancholy, mimicking the fleeting moments of sensation we experience as
human beings. His work is a celebration of these moments- a reminder that the world is n o t a l w a y s a jubilant place and that to feel anything other than bliss is
still human.
“ M y l i fe t i p s b e t we e n t r y i n g t o l e av e a nd t r y i n g t o remain. It is the charge of electricity between change a nd stasis, hope a nd resign at i o n . A nd l i ke e ve r y thing else, it is beautiful...
then
g o n e .�
In line with these feelings of transience Venezky chooses to work with traditional materials, specifically items he finds that have been discarded. He enjoys breathing new life into these objects but understands that they bring the feelings from their previous lives into their new one. This gives his work its distinctive melancholy flavor, and its characteristic messy feel. He encourages the viewer to stop, take it all in, and figure out where they need to go before diving in. Venezky is the master of creating an inher-
ent order out of apparent chaos.
ephemeral
Odita quo ma venis rem quis ma serchilicia a sum enet reprate pra volesciet arumendipsa aut eos millacc aborit earum ipsaper natusci debitatem dolest Venezky’s design acerem. XerumEnfuga. Ad ut aut ex firm, Appetite gineerseatet , works eoutxpla facout of a space where all the walls are covered with his findings. From pictures to posters to patterns, the building is far from the clean, modern office one would often associate with a graphic designer. Venezky is comforted by these things, as all humans are. We connect to the memories and emotions infused with these
Book design is a big job of Appetite Engineer’s of late but posters, packaging design, and branding are just a few of the other m i n i m a l i s t things they do. Venezaesthetics so often seen in graphic design now. ky’s experience from Life is not an exercise in minimalism so why Cranbrook Acadeshould graphic design be? Venezky seems my of Art and as to be teasing, with his use of abandoned ob- the former editor jects and busy, almost distracting imagery. of SPEAK Magazine allows him to efficiently run Appetite Engineers. objects, and bringing these connections front and center is what makes Venezky’s work so u n i q u e . Whatever form the design comes in, one can always count on Venezky’s work being a breath of fresh air from the
“There is
something to be said for this
bustling worldfor the
INTENSE HARMONIC RAGGED TEETERING MESSINESS of all things.”
In this emotion-laden
world,
what
is esthe point of neat and tidy? Cae es des culparchit to Venezky seems to be chalget the lenging the notion that viewer in and out graphic design before they even realize needs what they’re looking at. It is incredibly easy to get lost in Venezky’s work- this is all part of the plan. He forces the viewer to STOP and look closely, rather than let them file away any relevant information as quickly as possible. Even without a background in graphic design it is easy to see that Venezky is a master of leading the eye around a piece. Each d i s c o v e r y feels like it was meant to be found, and rewards one for doing so. Venezky’s work reminds us that there is time to spare for acute observation.
MM A RA TR I NT I N VV E NE EN Z KE YZ KY B
Y
brenna pasieka
Helvetica and Superclarendon various weights and s i z e s
April 2015. Maine College of Art. Graphic Design 102: Typography and Image.
Works Cited “Appetite Engineers.” Martin Venezky’s Appetite Engineers. Web. 15 April 2015. “Step
Q&A Martin Venezky.” AdamsMorioka. Web. 12 April 2015.
Venezky, Martin. It is Beautiful -- Then Gone. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005. Print.