TDC Annual Awards1999, Judges' Special Prize: Philippe Apeloig
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Poster for 1998 Fete du
Livre, Aix-en-Provence I design this poster for a book festival which happened every year in the City of Aix-en-Provence. In 1998, the subject was "Caribean literature". To create this poster, I wanted to escape from "cliche" we have when we think about Cuba and Haiti which are famous destinations for tourism. To start my work, I collected an important number of images, as well as I read books, and listened cuban music. I understood the weight of the terribly hot and humid climate which makes colors and light becoming very bright, and creates an interesting contrast between day life and night life. I learned a lot about the social tensions describe by the authors, and of course the politic engagement and the role of the writers in societies where unfortunately a lot of people don't know to read. This is a reason why writers appear subversive for their government. It is not easy to be a writer in such countries. In fact most of them are living in exile. The poster reflect the complexity of the Caribbean Islands. I wanted to express the sadness and the vivacity of this part of the world with a poetic attitude. For me, the poster needed to be structured around a kind of dance motion with a strong contrast between light and shadow. The typography is in movement and evokes the human presence. I mixed letters, big and strong like an out-cry, with an image of a palm tree and the pages of an open book. Anything in this poster is stable. The total effect evokes a powerful impression of movement and emotion. The impact is not only created a by technology, or traditional of knowledge, but is the result of experimentation with mixing images and type lay-out. I try to use the poster design composition freely, opening up new possibilities to express the Caribbean spirit.
Philippe Apeloig Born in Paris in 1962. Graduated from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, Paris.Trained at Total Design in Amsterdam and in L.A. with April Greiman. In 1989, he established his own studio in Paris. He has been engaging in the graphic design works for public institutions such as the Jewish Museum in Paris, the Musee du Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay and the Contemporary Art Museum in Nimes. In 1994, with a scholarship from the French Ministry of Culture, Apeloig devoted himself in the experiment with letters and the development of typography for the purpose of typographic abstraction at the French Academy of Art "Villa Medicis" in Rome. Since 1992, he has been teaching typography at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs. |
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