Art with issues: Mississippi State University professor’s poster among display on campus Mississippi State University graphic design professor Jude Landry stands beside a poster about child labor he created as part of the Good 50x70 project. / Tim Pratt
The chain link fence next to Mississippi State University’s Colvard Student Union is lined with posters from all over the world.
Some feature images of smokestacks and mushroom clouds, while others address climate change, AIDS, health care and child labor, among other topics. They are part of the Good 50x70 project, an international competition that called on artists to address any one of a number of social issues on a 50-by-70-centimeter poster.
Of the more than 4,000 submissions, Good 50x70 judges chose a poster created by Mississippi State University graphic design professor Jude Landry to be one of 210 featured in a traveling display. The posters were put on display at Mississippi State Feb. 24 and will be taken down late Wednesday or early Thursday, Landry said. The show already has been displayed all over Europe and the U.S.
Landry’s poster reads “Child Labor Isn’t Working.” Below, in small print, it reads “Children need an education, not a job. Help stop child labor.” The poster also features images common in the workplace, like a wrench, a gear, scissors and a clock.
“I was interested in picking something I hadn’t really thought about much before, something that would be new to me,” Landry said of his decision to address child labor. “I hadn’t really thought about child labor before because it’s not really an issue here. It’s not really something I encounter in my day-to-day life, but it is a problem, so I thought it would be something interesting to do and I wanted to choose a category that was different from most of the rest.”
Landry said he hopes the display will allow his students to see professional graphic design work that isn’t client-based. He also wanted to draw attention to the social issues addressed on the posters.
“I wanted to bring something to campus that’s a little different and gives the general student population something to look at, maybe something to talk about or something to think about,” he said. “Hopefully that’s what happens.”
Some of the other artists featured in the display hail from Italy, where the Good 50x70 project originated, but others are from all over the U.S. This is the second year one of Landry’s posters has been chosen for the display, though he is still excited by the honor and it is the first time the exhibition has come to Mississippi State.
“It’s a big deal for me,” Landry said. “It’s probably the most recognition I’ve gotten for my work. There were small odds for getting chosen, so I’ve been really fortunate.”
The 2010 edition of the Good 50x70 contest kicks off this spring. For more information, visit http://good50x70.org.
