For my open-ended final project in my calligraphy class, I chose to make signs for Occupy Denver protesters.
Here is where I set up shop. I knelt on the ground next to my backpack.
I went to Civic Center Park in Denver on November 26, 2011 at 9am with a stack of found cardboard, brand new container of Higgin’s ink, pen nibs, and a camera. While I was setting up my pre-made “FREE Calligraphic SIGNS” sign I met a friendly occupier named Dwayne. This particular Saturday was the day of the first Occupy Denver Children’s March. Dwayne was the first to request a sign and his message was “Children are our future, let’s pave their way!” The police had been enforcing a law prohibiting tables on the sidewalks (because they are “encumbrances”) so I worked on the ground. Before I was halfway done with Dwayne’s sign, a protestor walked by and accidentally kicked over my ink, spilling about eighty percent of it. The next sign I made was for a veteran, his message was “Vets don’t need to pay for the rich”. The next sign was for a woman who felt funding for education is more important than corporate banks, so her message was “Bail out our teachers”. The final sign was created for a brighyoung girl named Alexia. Her message: “I don’t want to be a slave when I grow up!”. As soon as I finished her sign another protestor accidentally kicked over the rest of my ink! But I couldn't be mad when the ink splatter on the sign just happened to follow the exact angle of the word SLAVE, and the march began immediately after finishing the sign. I loved the dialogue I was able to have with so many different people.
I’ve always been fascinated and obsessed with hand-made signs by the public. I love to see the design-decisions people make. During the several previous Occupy protests I participated in, I didn’t see any signs using any form of script. I thought calligraphy on cardboard would be amusing because of the contrast between a highly-respected art form and found trash as a canvas. Much of what is bothering these protestors are issues of unconstitutional activity by the government. The entire constitution was handwritten with a calligraphic pen, and the very first words, “We the people”, are absolutely gorgeous. So calligraphic protest signs just make sense. I wanted to portray beauty and sophistication with the important messages of fellow protestors. I kept the message legible but also added thin flourishes to letters that could fill and balance empty space.
