LOS ANGELES TRIPTYCH

November 11, 2001

We were guided to find a movie script that, in our eyes, defined Los Angeles. With these pieces of type, we were then to make a triptych from the letterforms. Poster Size. (58"x36"/3)

I jumped on the Big Lebowski.

The Coen Brother's script contained enough bizarre letterforms to keep me occupied, but I ended up distorting the type to the point where it was illegible anyway. The movie itself is in actuality a huge mess. But what a glorious and vibrant mess it is! I attempt to reflect this rich character with a heavy narrative of movement for your eyes to follow across all three pieces. Eventually, when this piece was shown in a gallery show, I printed all three as a continuous, single poster. It is profane, extreme, and without inhibitions. A pure expression of the film.

The bowling references in the design are apparent, but upon further search you can make out a few of my own subtle additions and commentary throughout.

This file was created before Illustrator 10 was available, but I ended up acquiring it weekend after I finished the poster. The text-warping functions of Ill10 almost seemed like cheating, especially after the techniques I had developed for myself in order to warp some of the text in this piece.


This project brings back memories.

There's an interesting story behind the completion of this project. I finished my layouts at nearly 5:30am, and the sun was beginning to come through my window. I decided to skate to Drake Stadium, or the top of Janss Steps to watch the sun rise to celebrate the pieces conclusion. After all, class was at 9am. I scrambled to rubber cement the pieces of 8.5"x11"'s from my trusty HP printer into three 11x17 sheets for presentation, and hung them to dry by my window so I wouldn't fumigate my roommate. I washed my face, turned off everything electronic, threw on a long sleeve shirt, and grabbed my board. I hadn't eaten in about 9 hours.

The sun was just beginning to rise, and I flew down the parking area below the Rieber dorms, which connects to DeNeve drive, a main street, but there was no traffic at this time in the morning, so I floated down the asphalt without worry. I think the combination of my slowed reflexes, with the fact that my body was nauseated from sitting in front of a computer screen for 12 hours had an effect on my balance, and I felt queasy as I intelligently decided to go down Bruin Walk. At the bottom, I started to speed wobble, and hit the infamous grating which pummeled me into the ground, hitting the side of my head.

The next thing I can remember are my eyes opening up to blue sky, and students walking to class. A girl asked if I was ok; I said fine. Looking back, I guess it must have looking like I was sleeping in the sun. I sat up and found my board, not realizing what I was doing, and ran back to my room and fell into my bed. I woke up to my alarm 30 minutes later, with blood soaked sheets from my wounds on my knees and arms. I was shaking. My roommate had already left, and I began to clean myself up before I had to get to class.

The entire day seems like a drug trip. The combination of trauma and 30 minutes of sleep (nap) takes a destructive toll on your consciousness. I can barely remember critiquing my classmates projects. After class, I slept for 18 hours, and woke up entirely sore in the middle of the night with my sleep schedule completely messed over.

This project brings back memories.


»  Script Excerpt
»  Pre-Comp Typography Doodles
»  Full Composition





© 2002 GDUNNE