January 29 – February 3
Reception: Tuesday, January 30, 5-8pm
Location: Gallery 7, Humanities Building 7th Fl, 455 N Park St, Madison, WI
Tamara McLean Unveils Groundbreaking Solo Show, “They Said,” Exploring Unwritten History of Women Graphic Designers in Wisconsin through New Media.
Interdisciplinary artist Tamara McLean is set to debut her first solo show, “They Said,” a captivating exploration of the untold narrative of Women Graphic Designers in Wisconsin. McLean creates imaginative portraits and objects that pose questions rather than offer solutions, breaking new ground in contemporary new media art. What are the tools of the trade? What is the weight we carry? What does winning look like?
Before 1989, Wisconsin’s graphic design landscape was dominated by men entrenched in the printing industry. McLean’s research uncovers this historical shift from the physically demanding, highly-paid union jobs centered around the Heidelberg Platen Press (1914-1985) to the democratization of communications by introducing Letraset’s dry-transfer type in 1961, and the pivotal moment arrived on January 24, 1984, when Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh Computer, making computing accessible to the masses and launching desktop publishing as a billion-dollar industry.
“They Said” and the corresponding website, wgraphicdesigners.com, examines data as it relates to Wisconsin’s graphic design history, told by women graphic designers in northeastern Wisconsin, shedding light on the crucial role women played in various mediums, including package design, visual merchandising, environmental graphic design, branding, print collateral, and web. McLean’s innovative approach ensures each piece offers a narrative, interactive, and tangible visual experience, providing audiences with a unique journey through the rich, yet undocumented, history of women graphic designers in Wisconsin.
Don’t miss the opportunity to witness the groundbreaking intersection of new media art and Wisconsin history in Tamara McLean’s solo show, “They Said.” The exhibition promises to be a transformative experience, challenging preconceptions and reshaping our understanding of the graphic design landscape in Wisconsin. “They Said” will be on display at Gallery 7 on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in the George L. Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N Park St, Madison, WI 53706, from Monday, January 29, 2024, to Saturday, February 3, 2024. The public is invited to the reception on Tuesday, January 30, from 5 – 8 pm.