Please join us in welcoming Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. to Portland!
A self-described “humble negro printer,” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., is internationally recognized for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked prints made for the masses. Borrowing words from civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, Kennedy issues fearless statements on race, capitalism, history, and politics—along with plenty of witty truisms—in his exuberant, colorful, and one-of-a-kind posters and handbills.
Our friends at Monograph Bookwerks will join us after the talk with copies of Kennedy's book, Citizen Printer, published by Letterform Archive.
Citizen Printer is a vital monograph on the trailblazing Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. The book features more than 800 reproductions representing the breadth of Kennedy’s letterpress prints (including rarely seen artist’s books), plus original portraiture of the maker at work, a powerful manifesto, and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon, all presented in a dynamic and type-forward design from AIGA medalist Gail Anderson and Joe Newton. With essays by scholars Kelly Walters and Myron M. Beasley, Citizen Printer tells Kennedy’s inspiring story and contextualizes his work within the entwined legacies of Black printing and Black protest—and offers readers tools for lifting their voices so they too can agitate, agitate, agitate for a better TODAY.
Free and open to the public!
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The Matthias Kemeny Design Lecture Series is coordinated and managed by students in our A+D Projects class. This series brings internationally celebrated design professionals annually to Portland to give a lecture for the benefit of the students and faculty in the Graphic Design program and the broader design community. This series is free and open to the public and highlights a wide range of design practices in an attempt to facilitate a community-wide dialogue about design and related fields. The Matthias D. Kemeny Charitable Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation has made the series possible.
Organized by Portland State University Graphic Design