New Brunswick has a rich and notable visual history, and recently there has been much explored relative to its postwar visual culture. Yet a significant and pervasive area of that culture has been largely unexamined to any degree: graphic design. From the modernist 1960s corporate identities of NBTel and NB Power, to the Saint John Harbour Bridge symbol, the extraordinary legacy of Theatre New Brunswick’s 1970s posters, and the groundswell of energetic work created to embody the modern Acadian Renaissance, the province’s graphic design narrative is an active and integral part of our cultural identity that has been overlooked – until now.
Presenting New Brunswick’s graphic design history from 1945 to 1985 is an invaluable undertaking for our visual history record as well as a testament to our part in the larger story of Canadian and international graphic design. Through archival research, interviews with industry professionals, and analysis of historic publications and cultural programming, this exhibition will present the roots and lasting effects of our iconic symbols and visual legacies
Exhibition curated by Tanya Duffy and organized by the Marion McCain Institute for Atlantic Canadian Art.
