Video Synopsis:
Helvetica Uppercase (A to Z) is an experimental video which transforms familiar letterforms into a meditative journey. Each uppercase letter of the Helvetica typeface is repeated 360 times and rotated on a central axis. Through duplicating, rotating, and imposing each letter's structure upon itself, mandala-like images result, featuring hundreds of perceived values and harmonies, ghostly implied volumes, and moiré or interference patterns. The imagery has associations with guilloché, spirographs, and mathematical roses, as well as connections to the fields of spiritual, geometric, generative, and Op art. Each letter transitions into the next in alphabetical order. The soundtrack features spiritual tones, an underlying chiming tune (The ABC Song), and alien noises. The sources of the sounds are recordings of the artist speaking the letters, a toy xylophone, and synthesizer. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, people were encouraged to sing a song to themselves roughly twenty-seconds in duration while they washed their hands. The artist chose The ABC Song.
Brief biography:
Travis Janssen received an MFA degree in Printmaking from Arizona State University and a BFA from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. He has mounted solo exhibitions at venues such as Seed Space (Nashville, TN), DEMO Project (Springfield, IL), the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN), Arteles Creative Center (Finland), Elsewhere Living Art Museum (Greensboro, NC), and the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria (Peoria, IL). Over the last fifteen years he has shown work in over 175 juried or invitational exhibitions across the United States and international locales including Australia, Belgium, China, Estonia, Finland, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Janssen is currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Printmaking Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Travis Janssen: Abbreviated C.V.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2022- Helvetica: Uppercase, Preston Jackson Gallery, Contemporary Art Center: Peoria, IL
2018- Arcs, Grids & Zags, Department of Art & Design, Austin Peay State University
2017- Inverse (After Jasper), STNDRD: St. Louis, MO
2014- Vortex and Blooms, DEMO Project: Springfield, IL
2014- Conversion, Art & Technology Gallery, Seed Space: Nashville, TN
2011- Signal Gain, ISIS Gallery, University of Notre Dame: South Bend, IN
2011- Was that really there? I thought so., Arteles Creative Center: Hämeenkyrö, Finland
2009- Distance Times Time, Vergette Gallery, Southern Illinois University: Carbondale, IL
2008- Collecting Dust, Elsewhere Artist Collaborative Living Museum: Greensboro, NC
2007- Generally speaking…, Urban Gallery: Tempe, AZ
2007- Flash N' Glo, Five15 Arts Gallery: Phoenix, AZ
2018- Arcs, Grids & Zags, Department of Art & Design, Austin Peay State University
2017- Inverse (After Jasper), STNDRD: St. Louis, MO
2014- Vortex and Blooms, DEMO Project: Springfield, IL
2014- Conversion, Art & Technology Gallery, Seed Space: Nashville, TN
2011- Signal Gain, ISIS Gallery, University of Notre Dame: South Bend, IN
2011- Was that really there? I thought so., Arteles Creative Center: Hämeenkyrö, Finland
2009- Distance Times Time, Vergette Gallery, Southern Illinois University: Carbondale, IL
2008- Collecting Dust, Elsewhere Artist Collaborative Living Museum: Greensboro, NC
2007- Generally speaking…, Urban Gallery: Tempe, AZ
2007- Flash N' Glo, Five15 Arts Gallery: Phoenix, AZ
2007- Interlumination, Harry Wood Gallery, Arizona State University
2002- The Home Show, Yellow House: Portland, OR
2001- TRAVART, Red Gym Gallery, University of Wisconsin: Madison, WI
2002- The Home Show, Yellow House: Portland, OR
2001- TRAVART, Red Gym Gallery, University of Wisconsin: Madison, WI
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS FROM THE LAST FIVE YEARS:
2023
9th Biannual Exhibition, Angad Arts Hotel: St. Louis, MO, Curated by Vanessa Rudloff
Da(r)shak: A Decade of Printmaking & Viewership, Bihar Museum: Bihar, Patna, India
Threshold, Organized by the International Print Exchange Programme, India.
Juried by Nicholas H. Ruth, Professor at Hobart & William Smith College.
Multiple locations, including: Lewandowski Gallery, Winthrop University: Rock Hill, SC;
Northwest Museum of Art & Culture: Spokane, WA
Juried by Nicholas H. Ruth, Professor at Hobart & William Smith College.
Multiple locations, including: Lewandowski Gallery, Winthrop University: Rock Hill, SC;
Northwest Museum of Art & Culture: Spokane, WA
Sequencer, Juried by Jon Vogt (University of Georgia) & Nathan Pietrykowski (Delta State).
Multiple locations, including: Lamar Dodd School of Art: Athens, GA; Holcomb Norwood Annex, Delta State University: Cleveland, MS; Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS.
Multiple locations, including: Lamar Dodd School of Art: Athens, GA; Holcomb Norwood Annex, Delta State University: Cleveland, MS; Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS.
Gemstones, University of Illinois-Springfield Visual Arts Gallery: Springfield, IL
Optical Impermanence, Gallery E450, University of Iowa: Iowa City, IA
Juried by Jen Scheuer, Assistant Professor of Printmaking, Purdue University
Through the Lens, Juried Exhibition, Regional Salon, Yeiser Art Center: Paducah, KY
30th Cedarhurst Biennial, New Semantics Gallery, Mitchell Museum
Cedarhurst Center for the Arts: Mt. Vernon, IL, Juried by artist Dominic Finocchio
2022
Printmaking: A Social Practice, University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Galleries
Juried by Tyanna Buie, Chair of Printmaking, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
Threshold (detailed above), multiple locations, including:
Bach Art Gallery: Tallinn, Estonia; Studio PannaDwar: Naigaon, Mumbai, India; Gallery Sumukha: Bengaluru, India; Atelier de gravure Hédé 71: Brussels, Belgium; Mirabo Press Gallery: Buffalo, NY; Charlbury Festival: Oxfordshire, UK; the gallery: Johannesburg, South Africa; See Street Gallery, TAFE: Meadowbank, Australia; Shell Gallery: Baton Rouge, LA; Crisp Museum: Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO; Rueff Gallery: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; Government Museum & Gallery: Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh, India; Popp Martin Student Union Art Gallery: University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Magdalen Road Studios: Oxford, United Kingdom;
Optical Impermanence International, Centre for Print Research, University of the West of England, Frenchay Gallery, Juried by Jen Scheuer, Purdue University
Sequencer (detailed above), Kent State University School of Art: Kent, OH
Juried by Jen Scheuer, Assistant Professor of Printmaking, Purdue University
Through the Lens, Juried Exhibition, Regional Salon, Yeiser Art Center: Paducah, KY
30th Cedarhurst Biennial, New Semantics Gallery, Mitchell Museum
Cedarhurst Center for the Arts: Mt. Vernon, IL, Juried by artist Dominic Finocchio
2022
Printmaking: A Social Practice, University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Galleries
Juried by Tyanna Buie, Chair of Printmaking, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
Threshold (detailed above), multiple locations, including:
Bach Art Gallery: Tallinn, Estonia; Studio PannaDwar: Naigaon, Mumbai, India; Gallery Sumukha: Bengaluru, India; Atelier de gravure Hédé 71: Brussels, Belgium; Mirabo Press Gallery: Buffalo, NY; Charlbury Festival: Oxfordshire, UK; the gallery: Johannesburg, South Africa; See Street Gallery, TAFE: Meadowbank, Australia; Shell Gallery: Baton Rouge, LA; Crisp Museum: Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO; Rueff Gallery: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; Government Museum & Gallery: Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh, India; Popp Martin Student Union Art Gallery: University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Magdalen Road Studios: Oxford, United Kingdom;
Optical Impermanence International, Centre for Print Research, University of the West of England, Frenchay Gallery, Juried by Jen Scheuer, Purdue University
Sequencer (detailed above), Kent State University School of Art: Kent, OH
2021
2020 Screenprint Biennial, Juried by Master Printer Luther Davis, Biennial Founder Nathan Meltz, Professor Althea Murphy-Price (UT-Knoxville), & curator/print historian Christina Weyl.
2020 Screenprint Biennial, Juried by Master Printer Luther Davis, Biennial Founder Nathan Meltz, Professor Althea Murphy-Price (UT-Knoxville), & curator/print historian Christina Weyl.
Signs + Gestures, Projective Eye Gallery: University of North Carolina Charlotte; Charlotte, NC
Lonely Hearts: New Prints Summer 2021, International Print Center New York: New York, NY. Juried by Christiane Baumgartner.
Processual Abstraction, Kittredge Gallery: Tacoma, WA, Curated by Janet Marcavage
Lonely Hearts: New Prints Summer 2021, International Print Center New York: New York, NY. Juried by Christiane Baumgartner.
Processual Abstraction, Kittredge Gallery: Tacoma, WA, Curated by Janet Marcavage
2020
Intersecting Methods: Bringing Together the Arts & the Sciences, Stockton University Art Gallery: Galloway, NJ
The Paradox of Technology, Cedarhurst Center for the Arts: Mt. Vernon, IL
Radius, Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University: Jonesboro, AR
Intersecting Methods: Bringing Together the Arts & the Sciences, Stockton University Art Gallery: Galloway, NJ
The Paradox of Technology, Cedarhurst Center for the Arts: Mt. Vernon, IL
Radius, Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University: Jonesboro, AR
2019
(Un)Necessary Duplicates, Dalles Art Center: Dalles, OR Curated by Meghan O’Connor
2018
demo DEMO, DEMO Project: Springfield, IL
Uncertainty Principle, Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University: Lewisburg, PA, Juried by Lenore Thomas & Sean P. Morrissey
Drawn to Print, (SCENE) Metrospace, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI
Juried by Jacquelynn Sullivan, Director of Galleries
Delusions of Grandeur: Big Works from Below the 39th Parallel, Goodyear Arts: Charlotte, NC, Curated by Erik Waterkotte, Assistant Professor of Print Media, UNC- Charlotte
demo DEMO, DEMO Project: Springfield, IL
Uncertainty Principle, Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University: Lewisburg, PA, Juried by Lenore Thomas & Sean P. Morrissey
Drawn to Print, (SCENE) Metrospace, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI
Juried by Jacquelynn Sullivan, Director of Galleries
Delusions of Grandeur: Big Works from Below the 39th Parallel, Goodyear Arts: Charlotte, NC, Curated by Erik Waterkotte, Assistant Professor of Print Media, UNC- Charlotte