Angela Michielutti
Angela Michielutti Exhibit – TextTiles – Mixed Media with emphasis on Calligraphy – 10/09 – 10/27
Posted on September 11, 2017 by admin
ARTIST BIO:
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Angela Michielutti, received a BFA with honors from Saint Mary’s College and an MFA in graphic design from the University of Notre Dame.
She is a practicing designer and calligraphy artist with a strong interest in letterforms and design as well as an educator in visual communications at Ivy Tech Community College since 2011. Prior teaching appointments include the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University South Bend, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
I am intrigued by the earliest of mankind’s artists and the development of mark making throughout time and across culture. German calligrapher and designer Friedrich Neugebauer, one of my many influencers wrote, “Writing is the clasping of hands across the millennia; the realization of our yearnings for communication, tracing our path from the dawn of our origins, to the mysteries of the future.”
Work in this exhibit has evolved over the past 30 years when I began to use calligraphic forms as a fine art medium. By layering and piecing together parts of pieces from my collection of work, I compose tapestries or images composed of calligraphic pieces, creating an experience of color, texture, pattern and rhythm that hints at language and communication in general, in a manner not unlike improvisational music.
The words in the original pieces, created for clients, family and friends, include words of philosophers and theologians, as well as passages from a variety of sources including scripture and other sacred writings. In some pieces, the prints were then marked on or collaged onto, creating another layer of visual complexity and interest. While not intended to be read per se, and using only words in English, the compositions are juxtapositions of disparate pieces and layering of many words that try to paint a picture to form a broad visual language. Although my pattern-making has made the words almost unreadable, I am trying to make a more universal statement about the power of words and the beauty of letterforms, color and design with its power to attract and delight.
With sincere gratitude to Angela Boembeke, Craig Sheaks and Colleen McCahill for making this exhibit possible.