Baker-Berry Library, Berry Main Street
See January 28 through 30 for associated events with the artist
Through strong graphics and bold typography, letterpress printer Amos Kennedy pushes issues of race, freedom, and equality in his posters, artists' books, and publications. His works often incorporate proverbs and tales of the Kuba and Yoruba people of Africa, as well as the work of African-American poets including Paul Laurence Dunbar and others. Amos quit his corporate job at the age of forty to become, as he calls himself, "a humble negro printer." He received his MFA from the University of Wisconsin, has taught workshops in more than seven countries, and currently spearheads the Detroit Printing Plant.
The University of Illinois at Urbana‒Champaign's Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds a large collection of Kennedy's work, which can also be found in the collections of Northwestern University, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries, and others. Nevertheless, Kennedy sells original letterpress prints for just fifteen dollars. "My posters are for everybody," he says. Kennedy's work is chronicled in " Proceed and be Bold ," a documentary by Laura Zinger.
Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, Dartmouth College Library, and Friends of the Library.
