Colorado State University Clara Hatton Gallery present “Designers for Glaser”, A tribute to the designer responsible for some of the most prevalent images in pop culture.

Milton Glaser died in 2020 at the age of 91 and has spent his life creating posters and other designs. He was best known for the “I Love New York” graphic as well as a Bob Dylan poster.

“Artists and graphic designers have come together to create graphic posters in tribute to the life and work of Milton Glaser,” said Silvia Minguzzi, director of the Hatton Gallery & Digital Performing Space. “We have a collection of 86 posters from around the world. … It’s a real international effort.

Glaser founded Pushpin Studios in the mid-1950s with Seymour Chwast and Edward Sorel. This studio has become one of the most influential design organizations in the history of art in the United States, bringing memorable works to the public.

“(Glaser and Push Pin Studios) had a different approach to graphic design and illustration, which was heavily influenced by multiculturalism,” said John Gravdahl, professor of graphic design at CSU.

Jason Frazier, assistant professor of graphic design at CSU, said this exhibit shows exactly how influential and important the life of an artist or designer can be. Some of those working on the exhibit hope that after viewing the exhibit, visitors can consider the immense impact Glaser has had not only on the United States but also on the world.

Because graphic design was a relatively new medium of art and visual communication, the artists at Push Pin Studios and other designers of the time were limitless in the way they created posters, shirts, and posters. other designs. Graphics offered a whole new way of speaking and communicating.

“It’s a matter of idea,” Gravdahl said. “In design, it’s the idea first, and if there’s no (good) idea behind it, it’s just patterned wallpaper. If there is no communication behind it, it doesn’t matter (whatever) what medium it is.

In Glaser’s life, he didn’t limit himself to just one type of medium or design. He went from posters to advertisements to magazine covers and more. Frazier said it really shows people how design impacts our lives.

Frazier said that from the show onwards, the public will “see that design can be much bigger than a thing, and on top of that it can be a lot of fun – that you can use humor and silliness as a perfect part of (expressing) an important message.

Roberto Muntoreanu, assistant professor of graphic design, said that the participants in this exhibition came from all over the world. It includes artists from Russia and Bolivia.

“We have designers who have done extensive exploration,” Muntoreanu said. “I think looking at the posters, you can see it’s very broad, Glaser’s inspiration.”

Muntoreanu added that some of the featured designers even knew Glaser personally, while others only knew him through his work.

“Designers for Glaser” is presented this fall thanks to a collaboration between the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition and Bienal del Cartel Bolivia with a few other partners.

After BICeBé struggled to promote its exhibit during the pandemic, they contacted CIIPE and the CSU Department of Art and Art History. After being offered an exhibition on the University’s campus, the collaboration began.

Thanks to strong relationships between BICeBé and CIIPE, in particular between Gravdahl and BICeBé director Susana Machicao, the exhibition has survived the challenge of COVID-19 closures.

In addition to these leaders, the Golden Bee, the UBA-Argentina National Design Biennial and the University of Buenos Aires International Poster Festival worked alongside Diseñadores Gráficos Bolivia and the Aurea Foundation for the Visual Arts and design to produce this curation of designs.

“This exhibition (is taking place) in Bolivia because it is a partnership with BICeBé,” Muntoreanu said. “We are also going to have the same exhibition in Buenos Aires and Argentina.”

“Designers for Glaser” opens September 16 in the Hatton Gallery inside the Visual Arts Building on CSU’s main campus, located at 551 W. Pitkin St. in Fort Collins. Viewers can celebrate the opening alongside gallery staff and Glaser experts from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the gallery.

The exhibit runs until October 15 and is free and open to the community. The Hatton Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closes for college vacations, breaks and football matches.

The Hatton Gallery is wheelchair accessible and an area to check coats and bags will be provided. Guests are requested not to bring food and drink into the gallery in order to preserve the works in the exhibition. For those who cannot see the exhibition in person, an online catalog is available on the exhibition website website.

Kota Babcock can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @KotaBabcock.